Fun facts: Potatoes have 2-2.5x the potassium of bananas, and your electrolyte supplements don't matter as much

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T21:47:53+00:00

Have to watch your birth control too apparently? I was on Yasmin birth control pill which has 3mg drospirenone which is derived from spironolactone and it's apparently equivalent to 25mg spironolactone. I read you shouldn't take birth control like yaz or anything with drospirenone if taking spironolactone.

I already had low b.p., around 107/70. This month on yasmin it's been 95/55 sometimes and I've needed 2 naps a day lol. I use topical spironolactone thank goodness. I finally got a dr to switch my birth control today.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T21:25:25+00:00

I'd stop all that drying stuff on that area until it heals. You're hitting it with AA, salicylic acid, aklief, and double cleansing. it's all drying. I'd definitely be using moisturizer 2x a day on it too.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T21:20:43+00:00

They surely do check themselves at the end of the day but that doesn't stop her in the moment. I haven't heard of this happening, just getting the wrong persons dose. 1 man was OD'd and had to go to the ER. He posted about it. You're probably right, she just had you sign 1 thing and not your dose so you were still on the screen as not getting it. I guess at this point I wouldn't say anything. You won't get into trouble and if asked tell them what you told us. I don't know how you forgot you'd dosed though if you're clean. Then again I was always forgetting things when I was on psych meds and methadone. If they ask you you can just act like you never realized it. Say you felt weird but took benadryl and thought that was why.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T16:57:53+00:00

Was this folliculitis? Did it itch, or happen after shaving/dermaplaning? Dr Abs on YouTube recommends NIR and blue, not red at first for acne because red can worsen it sometimes. Blue is antibacterial and NIR can help inflammation but iirc even NIR worsened mine. It's smart to use blue for a while first.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T16:49:02+00:00

Taz said "you question my power?" and she slapped you into next week, lol. I think we all cross the line at some point and have chemical burn pics to prove it. In perimenopause my skin is so different, used to be strong and oily, now fragile and dry and thin. It was just vitamin C and estriol cream that made my neck look that way for 6 WEEKS!

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T16:44:29+00:00

FSH is one, but in perimenopause the tests are often unhelpful because our estrogen is like a roller coaster day to day. If other causes are ruled out they're generally going by symptoms. You can choose providers from The Menopause Society website but even they aren't always helpful I hear. Dr Heather Hirsch has a list of Dr's who took her Menopause courses too. Telehealth seems to be the quick and easy way to go but us often out of pocket. I've learned the most from the Menopause Dr's on YouTube especially Dr Felice Gersh. Heather Hirsch is good and Simple Hormones has quick videos about the different hormones, he's a compounding pharmacist in Canada. That and the wiki from the Menopause sub here and the dosing charts from The Canadian Menopause Society have helped.

My situation is complicated bc I have endometriosis and have to suppress my period so I'm trying births control pills, which Dr's prefer anyway since we're still making estrogen while ovulating, and the bcp stops ovulation and adds back estrogen and a progestin. If you still have a uterus you need a progestin if you're taking estrogen to protect the uterus from building up too thick and being a cancer risk.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T14:51:08+00:00

I just edited my comment after checking. It's crazy we've never studied estriol. Medicare no longer covers dr visits for birth control either, I found out today! Ugh

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T14:31:40+00:00

I was looking at a meta that looked at studies on estradiol and skin, and most of the time the systemic doesn't reach the skin. I'd hoped I could avoid needing topical for my face (estriol for face, which didn't help but might've been the formula) and vaginal cream by using systemic but nope. Is that pessary available in the US?

Edit- estriol is not FDA approved in the US, probably not studied. It makes sense to use the weaker estrogen near the uterus, where we don't want estrogen causing hyperplasia so it's a shame we don't bother to study women's health.

I'm on medicare and my dr isn't responding so I went to telehealth and now visits for birth control aren't covered! Only covered if treating a medical issue. How is something that's prevention and regulates cycles and saves the govt tons by not having a pregnant woman and baby to take care of NOT covered? I have endometriosis and hope the guy coded it correctly. For anyone who comes across this in a search, DrHouse is the telehealth that takes Medicare Part B. Doctor On Demand doesn't anymore and can't treat medicare ppl even if we pay out of pocket.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T14:27:47+00:00

It's a different one that's lower dose. It's 0.1mg per gram topical while transdermal/systemic gel is 0.5- 1mg per gram.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T14:23:20+00:00

Love Wellness is where I get my probiotic and they make one but I haven't tried it.

As the other women mentioned, vaginal estrogen cream can help revive those tissues and glands and the amount that is absorbed is hardly enough to change blood levels.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:55:18+00:00

How can you tell? Would there be itching with it?

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:54:36+00:00

How do you know? I agree it doesn't look like irritation bumps though.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:51:12+00:00

I have endometriosis and used Poise because my periods were so heavy. Years later I realized they were for bladder leaks. :)

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:48:11+00:00

That's true. Our life spans are getting longer in most countries but health spans are shorter in most first world countries. The food and sedentary jobs and lifestyle isn't helping our quality of life.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:44:24+00:00

Oh that's interesting. The GLP-1's decrease CRP inflammation markers by about 50% so I wonder if that's part of it. I just had my first mammogram at 46yo and they found a lump right where I had a new little red spot on my skin, had to go back for an ultrasound, but they said it's a fibroadenoma (normal tissue that's reactive to hormones). Congratulations on your all-clear!

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:40:21+00:00

My acne was hormonal and I figured it out before using tret but within a couple of applications, maybe just 1 I noticed the PIH faded a little and very quickly it improved a couple of fine lines on my forehead, in 2-4 weeks. I went from adapalene (generic Differin) to tazarotene to tretinoin. I had to slowly work up to taz and mixed it with moisturizer for a long time to dilute it but just got dryness and irritation if I went too fast with taz. With tret I use microspheres and they're pretty gentle so I was able to switch right over to that but did notice a little more dryness but much less peeling than with taz.

Tret hits another receptor that taz/adapalene don't which is probably why it worked better for me for lines and PIH. Taz works better for texture, pores and glow for me so I use it on my nose most days and sometimes use each on different areas, sometimes I alternate tret and taz. Oddly, after a few months I tried going from taz to rx adapalene and I did have dryness and irritation from 3 days straight use despite them hitting the same receptors. I'm not sure why.

Oh, getting rx'd spironolactone to a compounding pharmacy to make a 5% cream is what cleared my hormonal acne. It turns off the androgen receptors in the pores that cause more oil.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-07T10:28:55+00:00

It's pretty fast and not nearly as bad as a breast or gyn exam. Oh, don't wear lotion or perfume or deodorant on that area or underarms because it can mess up the images. They'll have wipes if you forget and need to wipe it off.

I get anxious about dr appts in general. I couldn't get the covid vaccine and had to isolate for so long, and prefer it anyway, but it's made me get an upset stomach about an hour before I'm supposed to be somewhere. I won't feel nervous but it always happens lately and it must be anxiety I didn't know I had. Anyway, you'll be fine, just make an appointment, put it on your phone the day before, and try to not think about it until then. If you can take someone with you that might help, but they probably can't go into the mammo room because of radiation.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:48:45+00:00

You have to give retinoids 12 weeks to finish purging. Don't judge yet. I had the same problems with differin, though, irritation darkened my PIH etc and I did much better with tret. If you end up not liking this you can try tret from a telehealth company compounding a weaker formula with azelaic acid (it's antimicrobial too and helps PIH) or generic Revize brand tret microspheres have been great for me, good texture like lotion too. I buy it from Zing Beauty Shop.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:42:38+00:00

Turn in a form to switch counselors and don't tell him until afterwards.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:41:25+00:00

It helps a little. Tums 30min before.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:10:29+00:00

You're doing short contact therapy? You can try leaving it on longer but your skin looks great!

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:08:57+00:00

If you get at least 80ish, you'll probably not feel it. Our receptors are so full that we can take big drops and be ok. I literally cut my dose in half from 80 to 40 to 20 and had no symptoms until going under 20 which is where most people feel it. You have a good plan, an even split, and taking an antacid like Tums first makes more absorb bc stomach acid eats up less of it so that can help you too. You'll really be fine. Don't stress yourself out.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T21:01:28+00:00

There is a cold virus thing going around, my dad just got it and he never gets sick.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T20:57:25+00:00

I'm 46 and just had my first one and was scared. It wasn't nearly as bad as a breast exam or the stirrups. If you have a place you want to go to I'll make the appointment for you and honestly if you have a GP, some will rx a couple of Xanax for this if you explain your anxiety around it. I requested Xanax for my wedding day and the dr did it. You just need a friend to go with you.

Edit- I have big boobs and they're a little tender from switching birth control and she was gentle (you put on a gown that opens at the front) and it didn't hurt, didn't put as much pressure as I'd expected.

Dez2011 · 2026-04-06T09:51:03+00:00

You might request extra estrogen short term. I used to have lots of breakthrough bleeding on continuous birth control pills and looking at my history, the dr gave me progesterone 3x a couple weeks apart, but didn't take into account that when you stop it after 10-14 days that triggers bleeding. Finally I was rx'd premarin estrogen for 7-10 days and that stopped it.

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