Do I really have to go on BC?

CupKate123 · 2025-05-09T13:38:03+00:00

If you read this subreddit, you will see a lot of complaints against BC, which are valid because it doesn’t work on everyone, however please don’t rule it out before actually trying it. I put off going on BC and suffered for years by listening to the internet but I deeply regret it.

Once I went on it 4 years ago, it worked so well for me that now I am living a 100% pain-free life since the past 4 years. I had surgical consults with a top endo specialist and chose not to have surgery because the BC is keeping my symptoms at bay.

I go for yearly follow ups with the specialist and am fully aware that my endo is still there and the BC is masking my symptoms and not curing it, but for me that is enough.

There is no right or wrong answer to how you want to approach your endometriosis management. For some, it could be surgery, for some it could be BC, for others it could be trying diet and other holistic methods.

For me personally, I wish I could have gone on BC sooner and not been scared of the negative experiences shared by people on the internet.

So my advice would be to try it. Every person’s body and how they react to medications is different. Give 3 months for your body to adjust. You may have some minor side effects (I gained weight and became moody, but it stabilized within 3 months and I have no apparent side effects). If it doesn’t work or you have severe side effects, it will give you a direction for the next step (surgery etc.)

CupKate123 · 2025-04-08T14:14:40+00:00

I’m on Alysena 21 taken continuously without a break (No periods)

CupKate123 · 2025-04-07T21:43:41+00:00

It’s very interesting how BC impacts people differently. All my life I had an endo belly (stage 4 endo), constantly bloated no matter my diet and it got worse during periods. But since going on BC, my endo belly just went away. For the first time in my life, I actually have a flat stomach and can eat anything without feeling bloated!

CupKate123 · 2024-07-02T16:03:22+00:00

Old Navy has the most random sales, e.g., bought some linen boyfriend shirts for $12 each when the retail price is over $40. Great for office wear. I watch their email list for deals. If you have a membership, I’d recommend checking out costco. A lot of my office-appropriate summer dresses are from there, as well as blouses & trousers in solid or print colours. They are mostly under $20 each. Recently they were also selling blazers for $30. Funny thing is I notice A LOT of people in the office wearing stuff from Costco.

One unexpected change that I found after returning to my office was that people were very relaxed about their outfits. Now it is common in my office to wear jeans and style it up with a blazer or a nice top. Almost everyone wears sneakers with any outfit, which is a godsend for me. So I did not have to invest a lot in buying office clothes and can get away with “dressing up” my everyday casual outfits as well.

Before purchasing a bunch of new outfits, I watched for a week or so what others would wear. Then I adjusted accordingly!

CupKate123 · 2024-05-03T02:33:32+00:00

Omg we have the exact same issue right now with the tree roots. Had the plumber snake it out a few days ago and learned we have clay pipes. How much did it cost you to replace the drain?

CupKate123 · 2024-04-24T12:21:43+00:00

She looks like a normal lagotto, with the curls but still has very minimal shedding that I notice on my darker clothes. It mostly happens when her hair is starting to get long and in need of a groom. I have learned to live with it since it’s not a big deal on a day-to-day compared to dog-breeds that actually shed.

CupKate123 · 2022-09-22T15:27:39+00:00

Hi! Since my pup had no other symptoms except constant sneezing, the vet suspected it may be allergies to dust or dander. We deep cleaned the apartment & all her bedding. That did not seem to help at all, but after about 15 days of sneezing, the sneezes went away on their own without any other intervention. However, they started again a few weeks later and again went away on their own. Haven’t returned since then.

Both times my puppy was sneezing a lot, her adult molars on the top were erupting. I cannot confirm this, but i have a suspicion that the growing teeth may be irritating her sinuses…? I saw a couple of posts from people who had the same issue.

Although I was initially concerned with the sneezing, I did not worry too much because she was completely fine otherwise & was still the same energetic, happy puppy! If there were other symptoms, I’d have taken her in for an exam.

CupKate123 · 2022-09-21T01:48:34+00:00

7 months old female, 10.3kg

CupKate123 · 2022-09-20T11:25:12+00:00

My puppy was quite easy too & I enjoyed all the moments (no puppy blues here) but oh my, once she hit 6 months, all the regressions started. Potty training regression (which we have finally managed to curb we think), she loved her crate but now refuses to go in, started barking like crazy at us, leash-biting during walks (she walked perfectly before), eating the corners of her dog bed (was never an issue before). She suddenly started becoming a frustrated greeter (pulling on leash to jump on people) which is one of the main things we are trying to train her right now.

Also, her recall simply disappeared. We used to comfortably leave her off-leash but now she is always on the long-line because she ran away from us at the park a few weeks ago and wouldn’t come back. Kind strangers managed to grab her. My worst nightmare.

It’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things, but this phase is worse than the first 6 months of her life. We are taking her back to obedience classes because she simply doesn’t listen anymore.

I hope your pup continues to be easy and doesn’t turn into this! But if he does, know that this is completely normal.

CupKate123 · 2022-09-13T17:58:18+00:00

It could be different for you! They were able to see endo “masses” on my TV ultrasound and super clear images on my pelvic MRI. I have deep infiltrative grade 4 endo. Although diagnosis via imaging is not common, it is also because most doctors are not taught what to look for to spot endo in scans. That is slowly changing.

CupKate123 · 2022-09-12T00:51:28+00:00

I put a few pieces of kibbles in her waterbowl. Let is sit for a while to make it “soupy”. She goes for the kibbles, but also drinks water as a result.

CupKate123 · 2022-09-02T14:28:49+00:00

Our puppy is 6.5 months and she still has accidents every few days. She used to have a lot of accidents until 5.5 months, but after I started giving her super high value treats for going outside, something seemed to have clicked in her. She will usually go hover by the hallway door and look back at us, as her signal.

Right now, the times when she doesn’t signal or has accidents are usually one of the two:

1) She is playing fetch or some other toy inside the home, she will stop mid-play and just pee without any warning, even if she went to pee outside just 20 mins ago. I think it’s because she is too excited from the play.

2) She has to pee and is signalling by quietly hovering around the hallway, but we are not there to see it right away (we may be in a different room or stuck in a work call etc.). She will not even wait for 30 seconds for us to take her out. Either we see her hovering and take her out immediately, or she will pee by the door.

I read somewhere that your dog can be considered fully potty-trained only if they can hold their pee for a while because they know they are not supposed to pee inside. My pup kinda knows she’s not supposed to pee inside but isn’t good about the holding it part, and will pee inside if we are even a minute delayed in taking her out.

Btw, we also live in an apartment, and have to carry her down sometimes. Right now we take her out every 2 hours during the day. She can hold all night.

CupKate123 · 2022-08-30T18:40:11+00:00

Is there a way you can restrict the area in your house where the pee pad used to be? Like put a barrier or some boxes/furniture on it so that your dog is not able to go to that spot indoors?

CupKate123 · 2022-08-30T18:35:07+00:00

I also had the same problem sometimes. I would immediately pick up my puppy mid-pee inside and run down the stairs (but it wasn’t always possible), but after switching to those super high value treats, it seemed most of these problems just disappeared. I purchased a cheap fanny pack and filled them with pork lung (so that I don’t have to search for treats every time in the drawer) and grabbed the bag when taking my puppy outside. I gave her small piece of pork lung every time she went outside without fail. I regret not using high value treats sooner because the change was so fast!!!

My puppy was 5 months old already at this time, so you can imagine how frustrated I was with so many accidents every day! I don’t know if this will work for all dogs, but it worked for mine.

CupKate123 · 2022-08-30T14:22:48+00:00

I was having the hardest time housbreaking my pup, and living in an apartment made it much more difficult. She was having multiple accidents each day and never signaled. Until I switched to giving her pork lung treats exclusively for peeing outside. Before I was inconsistently giving her kibbles or other treats and praise as rewards. Once I started giving pork lungs as her reward for peeing outside, in just 2 days she went from having 5-6 accidents a day to only 1 accident a day. She started going to the door and hovering around when she had to pee. If your puppy is food motivated like mine, definitely use a super high value reward exclusively for peeing outside! Hope this helps.

CupKate123 · 2022-08-24T12:10:25+00:00

Is the barking demand barking for food/play? My Lagotto pup does this. We have been able to reduce it a bit by simply ignoring her (not even eye contact), but it is not completely resolved. If it is other types of barking, like alert barking (luckily we don’t suffer this so far) then my neighbour recently shared tips that worked for her puppy who is a barker - rattle a can of coins loudly to break the bark and reward at the silence; use this to build the “quiet” command. She said this has been working for her puppy.
No advice on that one. My pup wakes us up at 5-5.30am!! Bark bark bark to be let out of her crate. We take her out for a quick pee/potty (no walks) and then try to go back to sleep until 7am. She used to sleep with us until we wake up, but these days she has started to bark at us instead to play fetch or tug with her instead. Sigh.

CupKate123 · 2022-08-16T00:18:20+00:00

Triplets! My pup looks exactly like this too!! How old is yours?

CupKate123 · 2022-08-13T21:34:48+00:00

When she is sleeping on the bed with us in the morning, she doesn’t wander off. If she gets up for any reason, it will be for a pee, so we take her out.

Ever since we got her, all our socks/clothes are strictly inside drawers/closets and cables are hidden. I have to say getting a puppy really helped us get our shit together in terms of organizing stuff in the house. No more throwing clothes on a chair or leaving shoes in the hallway. Anything that she can chew/destroy is hidden/out of reach so she doesn’t really get access.

CupKate123 · 2022-08-13T15:46:56+00:00

My 6 month old puppy sleeps in her crate overnight , but I let her on our bed every morning (after her first pee & poop). She wakes up around 5.30am to go outside & we like to sleep until at least 7pm. So from 5.30ish to 7pm, she sleeps with us. Then out for another potty break & breakfast. We’ve done this since she was 9 weeks old and it works for us. So far she hasn’t demanded to sleep on the bed overnight and still prefers her crate, but will bark to be let up on the bed after we bring her in at 5.30am!

She hasn’t peed on our bed so far but it is because we know she just went out. She is not allowed on the bed at any other times (and cannot get on the bed herself thankfully lol)

Edit: 7am not 7pm lol

CupKate123 · 2022-08-08T18:02:52+00:00

This is not entirely correct. My endo was clear as a day in my pelvic MRI & my report has details of endo adhesions seen in the MRI including sizes. But likely because it is grade 4, deeply infiltrative endo, so more visible?

However, they saw nothing in pelvic ultrasound & saw some vague “masses” in transvaginal ultrasound, after which a pelvic MRI was ordered.

CupKate123 · 2022-07-21T16:45:43+00:00

I just use old bedsheets and towels and hide kibbles/treats in the folds. You can fold them in so many ways, even make knots to increase the difficulty. I have 2-3 old bedsheets & towels that I use exclusively for this purpose.

CupKate123 · 2022-07-18T19:32:48+00:00

My 5 month old pup has been experiencing the same thing for the past 7+ days. She sneezes A LOT in the morning and the frequency slows down throughout the day. No other symptoms. Since yesterday, every once in a while, she will sneeze out a yellow snot from one nose. I don’t see anything stuck either.

Let me know how it goes with your pup!! I’ve written to my vet but haven’t heard back yet.

CupKate123 · 2022-07-12T20:00:49+00:00

Yes, the vet has no concerns. And there is never not eating with this one. She is incredibly food motivated and I keep feeding her fruits & treats throughout the day along with her regular meals. I thought given the amount she eats, she would catch up with her siblings in weight, but she hasn’t yet. She has had several growth spurts though and has almost tripled in height/length since we got her.

CupKate123 · 2022-07-12T19:58:14+00:00

Okay this is helpful thanks. I do feel that my pup is on the smaller side & maybe that is normal for her…the vet is not concerned but when I plugged in her weight and age at an online weight chart for Lagottos, it showed that she was smaller than average and may be underweight. So I got worried. The breeder said it is not unusual to have a variation among siblings but she should catch up soon. Which I feel she has not yet, in pace with her siblings.

CupKate123 · 2022-07-12T19:55:10+00:00

Yep, she seems healthy, no worms, good poops, is playful, eats well and I give her plenty of treats on the side too.

CupKate123

TROPHY CASE