We thought we’d help and every Thursday our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin will be answering your questions. The ones you couldn’t ask your doctor in person. Just leave your questions in the comments, or send em over to us. (We’ll keep it all anonymous for you.) Dr. Lissa will answer anything – really, anything – about sex and other lady things. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: This is a really gross question, but I have to ask someone.

I discharge…a lot. And it’s not just around the time of my period. It’s random and plentiful. Ew. Anyways, I don’t know what to do about it or if it’s caused by something serious? Help. I’m afraid to be with a boy because he’ll be super grossed out.

A: This isn’t gross, sweetie. It’s your body, and discharge is a normal part of being a woman. But I wish I had more information. Is your discharge white, clear, or greenish? Does it have an odor- like fish or fresh bread- or is it odorless? Do you have any vaginal itching or burning? Is it there all the time, or just in the second half of your cycle? Have you been checked for sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) like gonorrhea and chlamydia?

Without knowing those answers, it’s hard for me to comment on your specific situation. If you haven’t seen a doctor about this issue, it’s time. Go in, let your gyno take a gander, and make sure you’re not missing something. Sometimes, an increase in vaginal discharge is the only sign we have that something’s going on down there.

But I’m going to assume that you’ve seen a doctor and that you don’t have a vaginal infection, STD, or abnormal pap smear.  If we’ve ruled those out, we’re left with the fact that every woman makes some vaginal discharge, and every woman is different. The amount of discharge your body makes depends on your own glands, your hormones, your anatomy, medications you might be taking such as birth control pills, and where you are in your cycle.

It’s common for your body to make more discharge at certain times of the cycle, as the menstrual cycle is under hormonal control, and those hormones can affect production of secretions. It’s also normal to make more discharge when you’re turned on – thus the wetness you feel when you’re sexually excited.  If you’re taking birth control pills, you may notice more discharge from the estrogen in the pill. Also, if your cervix happens to have the glands on the outside of the cervix instead of the inside (a normal variant we call ectropion), you may make more discharge.

If your doctor has told you you’re normal, there’s no need to worry. Trust me, guys will be so honored to be down there that they won’t be turned off by your discharge. In fact, some guys find a wet vagina to be even more stimulating. Some women have very dry vaginas and would die to have your problem.  It’s all part of accepting our bodies just as they are and  loving ourselves, secretions and all.

We thought we’d help and every Thursday our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin will be answering your questions. The ones you couldn’t ask your doctor in person and didn’t really trust the Yahoo community to answer for you. Just leave your questions in the comments, or send em over to us. (We’ll keep it all anonymous for you.) Dr. Lissa will answer anything – really, anything – about sex and other lady things. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: My period is irregular every month. Sometimes it comes 6 weeks apart and other times it can be up to 9.  I am not on birth control (can’t handle the side effects) and practice safe sex with my boyfriend. The problem is that I get freaked out every month that I’m pregnant. How soon can I take the test? Are there any signs I can look for that will either tell me I’m absolutely not pregnant or that maybe I am?

A: Sounds like your periods are annoying, unpredictable and scary. Bummer about that.  Chances are, if your periods are that irregular, that you’re not ovulating regularly, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about pregnancy. Your ovaries can still spit out an egg from time to time. When you’re not ovulating regularly, your uterus doesn’t know when to bleed, and your hormones can be all over the place.  Why might you be skipping periods or not ovulating?

Common Reasons for Irregular, Infrequent Periods:

- You exercise vigorously (think marathon runners and competitive gymnasts)
- You have an eating disorder.
- You’re overweight.
- You’re young and your body just hasn’t matured yet.
- You’re under a lot of stress.
- Your thyroid hormones are out of whack.
- You have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

What can you do about irregular, infrequent periods?

See your gynecologist. A thorough physical exam and laboratory evaluation are in order. If you can’t take birth control pills, progesterone therapy may help balance out your hormones, assuming there isn’t some other underlying cause.

In the mean time, what can you do about the pregnancy scares? That’s tricky. There’s no reliable sign to signal to you whether you’re definitely pregnant. Some people experience nausea, breast-tenderness, and fatigue in early pregnancy, but many women do not. Technically, a pregnancy test should be positive within two weeks of ovulation, but since you have no clue when or if you’re ovulating, that makes it tough to time taking pregnancy tests. You can try taking a pregnancy test four weeks after the first day of your last period, when you would expect your period to come if it was regular. If that’s negative, repeat it every two weeks after that until your next period comes.

But that’s just a band-aid. You’re better off getting to the root of the problem and seeing a doctor.  Good luck, honey. I hope you get it sorted out.

Q: I have been getting extremely horrible PMS symptoms. I’m incredibly moody – sometimes to the point that I can’t get out of bed – my cramps are awful and I keep breaking out. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

A: I’m so sorry your menstrual cycles have been torturing you.  Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can definitely turn the sweetest angel into the evilest monster around that time of the month.  But it doesn’t have to be that way. If your PMS is seriously affecting your well-being, relationships, job, or life, you may have a more serious form of PMS called PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), so you may benefit from seeing a doctor.  But until then, here’s some tips:

Improving your PMS symptoms naturally:
- Eat a whole foods diet. You’ve heard it before, but it really does help. That means cutting back on sugar, refined carbohydrates, dairy, caffeine, processed foods, and saturated and hydrogenated (trans) fats, and instead adding fruits, veggies, and whole grains, especially during the luteal phase (second half) of your cycle. Sorry, but that means bye-bye chocolate.

- Increase essential fatty acids by eating nuts, seeds, and fish.

- Manage your stress effectively. Try yoga, meditation, massage, or guided imagery CD’s.

- Engage in regular aerobic exercise. A good, long hike helps regulate your hormones and your stress, and it builds up happy-making endorphins.

- Take a multivitamin and 1200mg of calcium/day.

- Talk to an integrative medicine doctor about how to use supplements to help your PMS symptoms. Alternative medicine therapies like acupuncture can also help.

Improving your PMS symptoms medically:
If you’ve tried everything and nothing helps, don’t despair. Apologize to your friends and family for chewing their head off, but blame your hormones. Talk to your doctor about how bioidentical hormones or birth control pills can help. If you have the more severe form of PMDD, you can blame your brain chemistry. If the serotonin levels in your brain are low, you may benefit from taking an anti-depressant, either daily or during the last two weeks of your cycle. To meet criteria for this diagnosis, you must experience five or more of the following symptoms during most of the week before your menses, and they must interfere significantly with your daily life and relationships. At least one of the first four symptoms must be present:

1. Significantly depressed mood, hopelessness, self-deprecating thoughts
2. Significant anxiety, tension, feeling irritable, uptight.
3. Sudden mood changes of sadness, weepiness, or easily feeling rejected
4. Anger or irritability or increased conflict with others
5. Lack of motivation for usual activities
6. Difficulty concentrating
7. Lethargy, easily fatigued, low energy
8. Changes in appetite, overeating, food cravings
9. Sleeping too much or insomnia
10. Overwhelmed, feeling out of control
11. Additional physical symptoms, such as breast tenderness, swelling, headaches, join or muscle pain, bloating, weight gain

Improving your PMS symptoms mentally:
Some theorize that PMS is nature’s way of making you slow down and take stock of your life. We can’t be Superwomen all the time, and maybe your body is telling you it’s chick-flick night, and you need some personal, quiet time. So if you can, take this time to listen to your body, write in your journal, and reflect. Is there something else going in in your life that might need to be addressed? Do you really hate the direction your life is taking? Are you unhappy in a relationship? Do you have some things in your past you might need to address with a therapist? Are you not living authentically? Our bodies are often the mirrors of our souls and psyches, so take stock, and make sure you’re not ignoring some glaring issue in your life.

If you’ve checked deeper and all is well, don’t worry.  If you’ve tried everything natural and nothing helps, talk to your doctor about a trial of continuous birth control pills, which will also help your acne breakouts. By taking the Pill every day and skipping your cycle, you can often eliminate PMS symptoms altogether.  If that doesn’t help, antidepressants may be necessary.  You don’t have to be a complete mess before your period. Take charge of your life and your health, and help your body help you by treating it like the temple it is.

[Check out Dr. Lissa at OwningPink.com]

 For the past few weeks I have been freaking out about the fact that I might be pregnant. My period has always been irregular and I go months without it quite often, but for some reason I couldn’t shake the idea that I might soon be sharing my apartment with a 6th roommate….and binkies and bottles.

I knew deep down that there was no possible way there was a baby in by belly (I use multiple forms of birth control), but whenever I would feel a pain in my stomach, or have the urge to dip things in frosting, I let my paranoia get the best of me. I would go to CVS to buy a pregnancy test, but every time I walked into the store I would freak out at the prospect of a little blue plus sign showing up and walk out empty handed.

It just seemed easier not to know for sure and let the irrational thoughts pass.

Until I had yet another odd stomachache. Sure, it could have been caused by the large amount of candy I ate for dinner, but I finally mustered up the courage to find out the truth.

I waited until 10pm – I thought the store would be less crowded…and I wanted to watch my shows – and talked to myself the entire way there. “You can do this. You will be fine. You are not preggers. You just ate too much candy corn.” Nothing helped.

I picked up a Diet Coke and chugged it as I scoured the aisles for the pregnancy tests. The artificial sweetness calmed my frazzled nerves, and the 20 ounces of liquid prepared my bladder for the big task. I finally found them… right next to the “Female Cleansers.” I prayed not to run into anyone I knew; I didn’t want people to think I needed to buy douche!

But that was the least of my problems – pregnancy tests are expensive! I was left with a decision: buy the name brand for $15, or the CVS brand for $8. Was this the right time to be bargain hunting? At the same time, though, I’m a poor college student! I spent 15 minutes comparing the boxes, which is a long time when you have 20 ounces of Diet Coke in your bladder and a potential bun in the oven.

I ultimately went the cheap route (what can I say? I’m frugal), and took my purchase to the front counter. And this is when things got really awkward. There was quite a long line for 10:30 pm at CVS. Luckily, I didn’t see anyone I knew, but I did notice the strange look the CVS employee gave me as he rang me up. Well, attempted to ring me up. Turns out the box I chose was damaged and he had to call for a price check. Yes, a price check. On the loud speaker. So everyone in line could hear.

“Price check on the CVS home pregnancy test!” Everyone stared at me. A stock boy came quickly with a new, undamaged box, but it was too late; everyone already knew that I was damaged goods with a damaged box.

Hands shaking, I whipped a $20 out of my bag, threw it on the counter, and ran out of the store before I could even get my change. So much for the bargain. I saw a few friends walking in as I ran by and thanked god they hadn’t been there 1 minute earlier. When I finally made it home, I didn’t have the opportunity to second guess the test; I almost peed my pants. I opened the box, unwrapped the little stick and got a nice fat minus sign.

Clearly, it was a giant relief, although I am still plagued with the task of finding a new CVS to shop at…