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howie1222

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howie1222 last won the day on November 18 2014

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About howie1222

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  • Birthday 07/08/1940

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    Single male
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    Texas
  1. We're both 74 years old and still going at it. What matters is what you have and how you use it!
  2. As a gynecologist I tell my patients that there is only one guaranteed method of birth control: total abstinence! Even tubals and vasectomies sometime fail. I have delivered babies for women whose tubals failed or whose husbands' vasectomies failed. (There were lots of accusations of her having an affair until he got a sperm count done.) Probably the safest and surest method is to use a condom along with a tubal or vasectomy.
  3. It's too late for this family, but for others who may face similar questions from a child in the future, please remember the response proposed by Ann Landers or Dear Abby to such a question. When someone asks you a question you do not feel is appropriate to answer, respond with a question of your own: Why on earth would you ask me a question like that? Their response can then lead to a discussion of privacy, boundaries, etc. In an interpersonal interaction, the person who is asking the questions is in control of the interaction. Best wishes to all. Howie
  4. Yes, endometrial ablation can be done by a variety of different techniques. There is the electric heated, curved wire with which the gynecologist carves away the uterine lining, as well as the rollerball and the laser and Thermachoice each of which burns away the lining. But none of them is guaranteed to wipe out 100% of the endometrial lining. While endometrial ablation greatly reduces fertility, it should not be trusted as a method of contraception. You know Murphy's law! If a sperm can find the egg on its way through the fallopian tube to the uterine cavity, Murphy is going to be sure that the egg will find that tiny little remnant of endometrial tissue and implant there to make a baby. By the way, I am fond of telling my patients that there is only one method of birth control which has never, ever failed -- total abstinence! Every other method of contraception has what is called a failure rate. That includes birth control pills, IUDs, hormone implants under the skin, tubal ligation, vasectomy, condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, and even -- I know it's hard to believe --hysterectomy.
  5. Ah, yes. I had forgotten to mention that little trick in my earlier comments about using the pill to postpone a period. When I start a patient on birth control pills, I almost always recommend that she start the pills on a Sunday. That way she will take her last hormone pill three weeks later on a Saturday. She usually doesn’t start her period the first day she goes without a hormone pill (Sunday) but the second day without a hormone pill (Monday). Her period will end Thursday or maybe Friday. The same thing will happen every four weeks, and, as I tell her, she will have all her periods beginning on Mondays and ending on Thursdays or Fridays. That way she will have all her weekends free to party with her boyfriend or husband.
  6. Yes, Avid. First, nothing of what I say below is to be used or understood as medical advice! I would like to answer your second question first. It is not known how long any particular woman can take birth control pills (BCPs) continuously. Thank you RPU3 for mentioning the brand of BCPs called Seasonale. Yes, it is designed for the woman to take 84 hormone pills, one every day, and then skip 7 days. That comes to exactly 91 days. The woman using Seasonale has four periods per year. I suppose that she could take BCPs for four or six months if she wanted without doing any harm. For twenty or thirty years I have prescribed regular BCPs for a few patients so that they can take them in that fashion. I did this even for some patients in their 30s and 40s who (because of their religious faith) were still virgins and who certainly didn't need the BCPs for contraception. Some women have very painful cramps during their periods, and the cramps can be reduced by the use of BCPs. However, for a small percentage of women the BCPs cannot completely eliminate the cramps. (I strongly suspect that many women who have especially crampy periods actually have the condition called endometriosis, in which there is tissue outside the uterus which is pretty much identical to the inner lining of the uterus.) So I told them that they can take the pills so that they have their periods and cramps only four times a year instead of thirteen times a year. Yes, all women are strongly advised not to smoke if they are taking BCPs. Non-smoking women can continue to take BCPs until after they are past menopause. Well, enough of that. Now a question for you. In the totally natural setting, how often would the average woman have a period? I'll give you the answer below. First, in order for me to explain what is natural, I need you to take a trip with me--using your imagination--back through time. To get to the natural existence we need to travel to prehistoric times, before people domesticated animals and came to understand what caused pregnancy. Prior to the development of religion and the institution of marriage people probably began sexual activity at about the same age as our youngsters today develop that interest--during their teens. The average woman needs about four months of exposure to sperm in order to conceive (25% chance each month). So after four months of sexual activity by the fertile female she would be pregnant. IF she survived pregnancy and childbirth she did not have Enfamil or Similac to feed her baby. She did not give her toddler Gerber or Heinz. She breastfed! And she breastfed. And she breastfed some more! Even today there is a tribe of Africans, the !Kung (that exclamation point represents a clicking sound at the start of the tribal name) who live essentially that same type of existence I just described. The mothers and their babies have been observed by the anthropologists, and they found that the women breastfeed their babies for about three years. The tribe is so remote from modern civilization that the only contraception they have is that provided by breastfeeding. Breastfeeding the way the !Kung women do it actually has a fairly good success rate at preventing pregnancy, although some breastfeeding women can and do get pregnant. So now we can put together the pieces of this puzzle. The prehistoric women or the !Kung women get pregnant after four months of sexual activity, the pregnancy lasts 9 months, after which they breast feed for about three years. When they wean the baby the mother will have another four periods and be pregnant again. So once every four years the women have about four periods, an average of one period per year. That is the Natural course of events. I have a strong suspicion that those women probably don't ever develop endometriosis. I hope that you enjoyed your imaginary trip through time with me and that I didn't ramble on too long. Isn't the human body absolutely Amazing?
  7. Since you posted your original question 8 days ago, I'm sure the first instance of your problem is over. However you say you have another function coming up at the same time that Aunt Flo is due to visit. You can postpone her visit for several days or for as long as you like--with your doctor's help. First let me say, since I am a physician, that it is unnatural (I didn't say "abnormal") for a woman to have a period every month! (I can explain that statement later if anyone is interested.) But if you can start taking birth control pills (they should be the kind that are all the same strength) immediately and if you take a pill containing the hormones every day until after your next event is over (you will need to use the first 21 pills out of two separate packages), you can then delay your next visit with Aunt Flo until after the event. But be sure to see your doctor (or if you know her/him well enough, maybe she/he would be willing to prescribe just a couple of packages with only a phone request from you--just tell him you have a family event coming up) and start the birth control pills ASAP! Have fun.
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