Talking sex with your doctor isn’t always easy. Whether you are afraid she will judge you,  you just don’t feel comfortable sharing the intimate details of your life between the sheets, or you can’t think straight with a speculum between your legs, many people get tight lipped in the doctor’s office. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have questions.

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. Read More »

"Oh, I'm kicking that guy's ass? Poor guy..."

There are some things you should always apologize for, like being late to meet a friend, bumping into someone on the street, or accidentally running over your ex-boyfriend’s foot with your car (whoops).

But there are also some things that, as a woman, you shouldn’t have to say sorry for.  I don’t care what anyone says, but you should not be left feeling guilty for any of the following.

Beating a Guy at Sports: Sunk the winning shot in a battle of the sexes?  Poker faced your way to a win?  We’ve all been told not to beat men at sports so we don’t bruise their precious egos, but this is also not 1950, so don’t hold back and don’t apologize.

Bypassing Lines at Clubs: Don’t let the haters have you giving looks of remorse as the velvet ropes are lifted.  Flaunt it if you’ve got it! Read More »

I had just gotten out of a long relationship and immediately hopped into the sack with a new guy (…what? I needed some emotional support!) when I decided to change my birth control prescription. I had never really been happy with the old one, but had put off changing because I didn’t want to deal with the whole spotting issue with my BF around. So now, I reasoned, since the new guy and I were taking things slower, it would be a good time to make the switch.

Well, of course, taking it slow only lasts until somebody gets horny (or drunk), so a few days after I made the pill switch I found myself rolling around naked with my new beau. Everything was going fine – great, in fact – when he whispers in my ear excitedly “wow, you’re really wet!”

For just a second I was proud of myself for my impressive lubricative prowess (yes, it takes very little to make me proud) when suddenly he just stopped. He looked up at me worriedly and asked if I was OK. Confused, I looked down to see what he meant and almost had a panic attack. The spotting I had been worried about had started… all over his groin. Read More »

Talking sex with your doctor isn’t always easy. Whether you are afraid she or he will judge you,  you just don’t feel comfortable sharing the intimate details of your life between the sheets, or you can’t think straight with a speculum between your legs, many people get tight lipped in the doctor’s office. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have questions.

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? Read More »

Everyone has done it or at least thought about doing it. It’s dirty, it’s sneaky, and it’s best left to professionals.  What I’m talking about, of course, is the period excuse.

Women, being the fragile, emotional creatures that we are, are often incapable of simple activity due to the massive blood loss through our vaginas that happens once a month. You know, so when you park at a meter and don’t put money in, it’s obvs that you’re broke because of your “monthly bill.”

Wrong or right, using your period as an excuse works every time. At least when men are involved. And because thinking is hard when Mother Nature is visiting, we came up with a cheat sheet of excuses to use when you just can’t carry on functioning as a normal human being:

Work:

“I won’t be able to make it in today because I have a really heavy flow, which makes it difficult for me to answer the phone and type things.  You know.”

“I think I’m gonna have to leave early today.  I don’t have any tampons here at work. Would you like me to explain further?”

“I don’t think people would want their food served by someone who has been bleeding for 4 days.” Read More »

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. Read More »

I saw a guy yesterday wearing two pastel polo shirts with both collars popped. Yesterday. As in 2009. Where was this kid’s girlfriend/friends to inform him that the popped collar thing went out in 2005? Or, I don’t know, that the double pastel shirt look wasn’t OK on a guy even then? Friends don’t let friends pop their collars (anymore)!

I felt bad for the kid. Here he was, thinking he was lookin’ all cool in his pink and purple shirts while the rest of the world pointed and laughed. (And by “rest of the world,” I mean “me.” I couldn’t help it! He was wearing white loafers with them!) I wanted to reach out and give that kid a much needed makeover, but I was also late for a manicure so I just sort of let it go.

But now I want to give back. There are so many things that guys don’t know or understand. Whether they are getting bad information, or ignoring the good information that they get, guys are constantly misguided. This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share the most important piece of wisdom they would want guys to know. Pass this on to any and all men in your life – they need it. Share your own advice/thoughts in the comments section below!

Laura – St. Johns: Don’t fart on me. Seriously, my boyfriend did this last night and almost died.

Brithny – Duke: PMS stands for Permissible Man-Slaughter and also Preposterous Mood Swings. So during that time, please forgive us for anything crazy we may do. And lots of wine and candy would be nice too.

Charlsie – Hollins: When you are in a relationship, the number of people your girlfriend has slept with before you has no correlation with how much she loves you, adores you, and wants to be with YOU. Don’t bring up the past — she loves YOU!

Lauren – University of Michigan: When you are workin’ on a lady with your hand, deeper does not mean better. You are not a gyno…and we don’t really want you to be. Read More »

Sometimes it seems like your skin has a mind of its own, (an evil mind that wants to ruin parties, dances and dates). Remember that episode of Family Guy where Chris’s zit takes over his life and tries to kill him? Yeah I feel like my zits do a similar thing sometimes. And I would love to make it stop. Now.

You’ve probably heard lots of different reasons regarding why your face turns on you at whim, and some of it is probably true, but there are also some awful skin myths out there.

First of all, you’re not going to get breakouts from eating chocolate (or french fries)! The Vegetable Association of America made this up to scare you into staying away from delicious foods. Sure, if you ate chocolate for 3 meals a day for a week, your body’s natural balance would be thrown off, and yah, you’d probably breakout. But if you consume a normal amount of sweets, you’re fine. The reason greasy foods are associated with breakouts is because people tend to eat more of them when they are stressed. (You know you eat way more Reese’s cups when you are stressing over a big test.) Read More »

Dear PMS:

Why?
Just why?

Who do you think you are? I mean really. You come around once a month like that annoying friend you don’t really want to hear from, yet every month, without fail, she asks you for plans and you feel sort of obligated. So you give in, but then coffee turns into an all day shopping ordeal and by the end you want to tear your hair out because now not only did you learn that you can’t stand the person you are with, but  – bonus lesson! – you learned that eating cookies DOES in fact equal having to buy a size up in your jeans.

Well that’s how I feel with you. Only instead of a day, it’s 5 and the only person I can’t stand to be around is myself. (The part of the too-tight jeans rings true thanks to you making me feel the urge to eat a bag of something salty, which of course leads me to want something sweet, which then of course leads me to want a tuna sandwich. I know! I don’t get it either!)

You make me weepy. I cry at Disney commercials (true story) and when the cheesy music comes on as the lesson is learned at the end of Full House. Strike that – you make me actually want to watch Full House. Read More »

I don’t know about you gals, but there’s something about shopping that always puts me in a better mood when I’m down in the dumps.  This is especially true when I’m PMSing–buying myself new, pretty and sparkly things makes me feel so much better about myself (even if trying things on over my bloated ass does not).  Now there’s proof that there may actually be a biological reason for why shopping makes us so happy.

A new study says that women are more likely to go on a shopping spree about 10 days before their period, on which they actually tend to spend more than usual and are more inclined towards making impulse purchases. (Editor’s Note: that explains the Snuggie….) GREAT — as if we needed yet another way PMS ruins our lives. Read More »