u/bird_nerd_girl

I was on Lo Loestrin Fe and it wasn't working for me because of breakthrough periods, so I got put on Larin (Loestrin) Fe. About a month and a half of it and I couldn't eat anything, had diarrhea at the drop of a hat, and so I requested a different pill called Nextstellis. It has a more 'natural' form of estrogen instead of ethinyl estradiol.

Two weeks in I was doing well, and had more constipation which was manageable but my appetite was back and I was feeling good. Then I think I ate too much of the wrong thing, and the past 4-5 days I've been rushing to the bathroom after every meal. I'm going to go back on the diet and probiotics that worked last month, but just wondering if any birth control pill is safe at this point? I need to be on a pill to control my skin condition called hidradenitis. I wish it was an option to just stop taking it. I'm also going to go talk to the GI I had seen a few years ago.

*Rant* If you don't have a Clipper card, you're stuck trying to use one of the working machines while standing in a long line, hoping you won't miss your train. Oh, and if you want to go order a Clipper card online because you don't want to deal with the world-class ticket machine ever again, good luck dealing with a glitchy Clipper card website. What an embarrassment for public transit. *facepalm*

I was on Lo Loestrin for about 5 months, but was getting a period every two weeks instead of only during the placebo pills. I have a skin condition called hidradenitis that flares with menstruation, so I need to be on birth control and spironolactone to keep it under control.

The gyn PA put me on Larin/Loestrin and the first month I had some irregular digestive symptoms with diarrhea but it settled down. But this second month has been awful. I can't eat anything except eggs and toast which is not sustainable. I'm taking high dosage probiotics which are only helping a little bit. My toddler is sick and I need energy to function, I can't sit around being weak and exhausted.

I asked her to put me on Nextstellis instead of Aviane which she suggested, because Nextstellis has a different form of estrogen. I start it this week and I really hope it will not cause IBS to flare up. Just posting my experience here in case it helps someone.

There's been more and more homeless people hanging out at Murphy Park. It feels unsafe during the afternoons to use the playgrounds. One evening a few days ago, a homeless guy clearly not in his senses was sleeping on a bench inside the gated playground, and had the gate propped open. A call to the DPS non-emergency number resulted in no response for the 30 minutes we were there after the call.

I understand that homeless people need somewhere to go, but kids also need safe open spaces to play. I just don't know what can realistically be done by the city to improve the situation at the park.

I made 3 pounds of apricot jam today -not for the first time - but I don't have a canning rack to keep the mason jars off the bottom of the pot while sterilizing them. So I used an old green cotton placemat at the bottom of the pan, instead of a kitchen towel or the lid rings.

Well turns out I cooked some of the dye out of the placemat and only realized it when I went to pour out the water from the pot. By then I'd already put the jam into 6 half pint jars. I poured out almost all the water from the jars before adding jam, but some drops would obviously remain. This means my jam is now contaminated with green fabric dye. Does it all have to go in the trash? *sob*

Edit: To clarify, I was making freezer jam, not canned jam, so I sterilized the open jars beforehand.

Took my child to Greenwood Manor Park and there was an old white guy tossing the ball everywhere for his pooch, including onto the playground. I requested him to leash his dog but he claimed the dog wouldn't bother us. (Isn't that what all dog owners say?) At one point the ball almost hit my head, followed by a not very regretful 'sorry'.

Needless to say we won't be back again. Thought it would be a change from the usual parks but I don't want a 70lb dog thundering around while we're trying to get some relaxing outside time.