IUD update

I have had my IUD for almost a year now.

When I got it, I had been on the pill for a few months, started having sex and started using a Mooncup, so it was really hard for me to know what my "normal" period was like and which changes might be due to the IUD.

Anyway, after a year I can report a few things. Firstly, what the information I got described as "spotting" (quite common after the IUD is first put in) is actually a little heavier than spots. I guess most women who have IUDs have had children, and so may be familiar with "spotting", but I wasn't.

My periods before I started messing about with them were quite light, lasted about 4 days and were not usually painful.

My periods definitely got heavier and longer with the IUD, and I would have several days of "has it started?" before it got heavy and sometimes quite painful. I also got quite grumpy and irrational. I was starting to think about giving up on the IUD.

However, I figured that my body was not used to heavy periods and was probably feeling a bit depleted. I started taking a women's multivitamin and that helped a lot with the pain and the general grumpiness - Trevor is very grateful to the makers of multivitamins! When I mentioned the grumpiness, the nurse at Family Planning was quite surprised about that, because of course there is nothing hormonal in my IUD. She did suggest iron pills, but the multivitamins seem to be fine.

My last period was much more like what I used to have - lasted for about 4 days and was not very painful and lighter than it has been for a while. If it stays like this, I will stick with my IUD and get another one when its five years are up. I will also keep taking the women's multivitamins just before and during my period for a while. I might try not taking them some time in the future and see what happens.

Most importantly I suppose, I have not had any pregnancy scares, so it seems to be carrying out its primary function very well.

I will try to write about something else at some stage!

PS The Mooncup has survived overnight hiking and cycle races. I just worry that I'll drop it into a toilet at some point and then a) have lost my expensive investment b) not have anything to deal with my period
but since I've had it for a while it's kind of paid for itself by now.
A friend of mine burnt hers to a crisp while boiling it recently, and almost set fire to her kitchen, so try not to do that!

Go ahead, say hello

There is an office building which I walk past most days on my way home from work.

Through the window, I can see a huge poster on the wall that says,

"go ahead, say hello"

I assume that the poor people in that office are telemarketers or some other lucky people who get to talk to people on the phone all day, and who are just waiting to be given permission to say "hello."

Then again, I have a friend who does work in a call centre and who is not allowed to say "bye" - it has to be "goodbye."

If I worked there, I think I would mention that poster in my resignation letter. Or, if it didn't cover a whole wall, perhaps use it as stationery for my resignation letter.

Fashion and Beauty tips from Parchemina, Part 2

Do not wear stockings and suspenders without first checking whether everyone else will know that you are wearing them if you

• bend down
• go outside in the wind

How often is it that you can take off a piece of clothing and feel less exposed?

Note to self: check length of skirt/dress carefully next time

So many thoughts, so much sand

I started this blog because I have a lot of things that I think about, and I wanted to put the thoughts down in words, partly for myself and partly for other people to read if they wanted to.

I find myself composing blog posts as I walk home, as I work, when I get up...

But when I try to actually write them, the ideas and words trickle out like a handful of sand between my fingers.

When I'm with a group of people, it can be hard to shut me up (in fact, that is one thing I'm trying to learn - to listen more and talk less), and I think I'm relatively good at expressing myself.

But when it comes to writing, it all just disappears. Frustrating!

I am going to keep trying though.

When I read other people's blogs, I laugh, I think, and I say to myself "It doesn't seem that hard!" But I need to remember that I didn't see all the drafts and I don't know how long those five lines were in production.

Cheers.