Anonymous asked: Thanks for answering my iud question baybay

ur welcome!

FYI

I keep getting anons asking about my sex life w/Chris. I will gladly answer these questions 1) privately (so turn off anon) or 2) on my sex blog. I don’t want to answer them here because many of my students read this blog. Please and thank you!

xo

#thishasbeenapost

Anonymous asked: hey margitte. kind of personal, but i was just wondering what kind of birth control you use? or if you know anything about IUDs? just wondering, I am having one put in next week and am very nervous bc i heard the insertion is incredibly painful...

I have the Mirena IUD. It differs slightly from its non-hormonal version, Paragard, in a few ways. Paragard, which is a copper IUD, works to prevent pregnancy without the use of hormones—as such, it does not regulate your period in anyway, so for many people their period and its related ish stays the same. For some, period symptoms increase: harsher cramps, more vaginal discharge throughout the cycle, and heavier bleeding. Mirena, on the other hand, has a small amount of progestin (the synthetic form of the naturally-produce hormone progesterone) which decreases period symptoms. I rarely get cramps, and almost never have my period. Paragard, however, lasts longer (about 10 years to Mirena’s five), and has the benefit of not having any hormones for people who are hormone-sensitive or otherwise don’t like the idea of taking synthetic hormones.

I am neither of these types of people, and since I did not need a full 10 years of birth control (nor did I want the other effects of Paragard), I opted for Mirena.

Not gonna lie, Anon, the insertion IS incredibly painful. I took a few tylenol or whatever before the procedure and it didn’t do a damn thing. It was about 30 seconds of the worst pain I’ve ever felt, but it subsided quickly and I only had faint cramping afterwards. 

But 30 seconds of intense pain for 5 years of not worrying about condoms or the morning after pill? Totally worth it. And, some of my friends said it didn’t really hurt them at all, and others experienced little pain during the procedure but severe cramps throughout the day afterwards. It depends on your body, really.

Good luck! You’ll be fine. :)

sheloveslibraries asked: hey margitte. my name is carly and i am a canadian fatty who is flying to a different province to work. i am nervous because the last time i flew the seat belts BARELY fit. i know a while ago you travelled and asked for a seat belt extender... i just wanted to know how that went. i am extremely nervous to ask for one should i need it. please feel free to answer privately.

I’ll go ahead and answer this publicly because I think it’s important for folks to know the process, especially if they’re stressed about potentially having to ask for an extender.

What happened was this: I got onto the plane (it was a Delta plane, I don’t know if that matters), sat down, was momentarily elated when I found that both armrests went down without any trouble (or too much pain), and then promptly realized there was NO way I would be able to use the buckle. Sometimes if I reorganize my clothing or shift weight around I can make a too tight seatbelt work, but this one was clearly not going to comply. I hit the ‘help requested’ button that signals a flight attendant to come, and after a few more passengers had loaded the plane the attendant asked me what I needed. I smiled at her and said “can I get a seatbelt extender?” she smiled back, said “sure thing!” and brought me one. 

It was all very simple.

I had to ask for another one on my flight home (different airline, I think) and the process was similarly easy. I find it to be really odd that on some planes I can’t get the armrest down (or can, but am in a lot of pain) but have plenty of seatbelt room, and on other planes it’s the exact opposite. Sometimes I have no issues at all. Basically, it’s a crapshoot. BUT asking for a seatbelt extender isn’t super difficult if you can get over the initial anxiety of the ordeal. :)

Edited to add: you can also purchase your own extender if you don’t want to deal with asking for one!