[ariel]

I'm sorry about the abdominal pain! That is all very strange. If it is somehow cramps try a heating pad on the abdomen a hot bath etc. Would this be the right time on your cycle?
Do you mind me asking how you figured out your cycle? Sorry if that's rude
Also the moving around in the breast...I've had that sensation...lactating I hope you don't start!!

[AbiDrew85]

I'm sorry about the abdominal pain! That is all very strange. If it is somehow cramps try a heating pad on the abdomen a hot bath etc. Would this be the right time on your cycle?
Do you mind me asking how you figured out your cycle? Sorry if that's rude
Also the moving around in the breast...I've had that sensation...lactating I hope you don't start!!

Well... I didn't figure out my cycle. I just sort of forced it to be what I wanted it to be for ease of scheduling. LOL.

And yeah. Been taking hot baths... and the ibuprofen did help some. I still have soft stool but at least it's not leaking out every time I change position...

As for this being the "right time", yep. This is currently day 3. Tomorrow should be the last day of simulated "menses" as my doses start ramping back up.

And the potential for lactation... Welllllll... I did kind of want that result actually. LOL. Wasn't expecting it so soon though. Especially since I'm still getting those sensations and I'm off the fenugreek right now because I only bought enough for a month trial and am out of money to buy anything more atm.

Jeeeese... Well... I am going to have to see a doctor. But tomorrow SHOULD be the last day for this for this month... But if what seems to be going on is going on, I can't imagine leaving things in the way would be a terribly bright idea, especially come NEXT month.

I'll just have to wait about a week and a half to do so...

LOL. 27 years old and experiencing symptoms of dysmenorrhea during my apparent menarche... Right... No bloody way is this even remotely probable. There HAS to be something else going on here even if everything fits that explanation. There's one very big glaring problem: I'm biologically a male! A 27 year old biological male who's never shown any signs of an inter-sexed condition until now. There MUST be something else going on.

I'd love nothing more than to be a biological female, but I'm a realist. And that stuff only happens in fiction.

[Summerglow]

I'm kind of worried about you. What if you have some condition going on like polyps in your intestine, appendicitis, etc... some sort of infection in there? Did the pain ever go away?

Are you under the care of any doctor? Now would be the time to find one that you feel you can confide in so that if anything arises, this person will understand your history.

[AbiDrew85]

I'm kind of worried about you. What if you have some condition going on like polyps in your intestine, appendicitis, etc... some sort of infection in there? Did the pain ever go away?

Are you under the care of any doctor? Now would be the time to find one that you feel you can confide in so that if anything arises, this person will understand your history.

I really doubt any of that!

And no. I have no insurance. Kinda hard to be under regular care when you can't even afford insurance.

As for "feeling I can confide in"... Unnecessary. It's just a matter of this is who I am, this is what I've been doing. You can either help me. Or I can go elsewhere. And since I DON'T have insurance, and therefore WILL have to be paying you myself, I CAN take my business elsewhere if you don't want to do your job. Simple.

But yeah. If a doc doesn't vibe right you can bet I'll just turn right around and find another without paying them a dime. Ain't nobody got time for that. And I ain't got the money to be throwing around for that.

[Summerglow]

I pay out of my pocket too. I do see a doctor when I'm sick, for my yearly, and I do a wellness check-up once a year too. He has all my medicines and supplements on file. That way, lets say I came up with sudden appendicitis or something, he can see my chart and know if there would be any interactions with medicines he plans on adminstering. Or if I was on a BCP and got a blood clot, he would be aware of the possible cause. That was my thinking with a doctor having something written down about you in case a supplement/hormone caused a problem.

It's funny b/c I was thinking of telling my OB about some of the supplements, etc.. that I am taking and I felt embarrassed thinking about it.(even after several kids, going to the OB embarrasses me!) I don't know if I could and I have known him for years. That's why I said "confide".. I'm a personal person so I guess I relate to other people as being the same way, at first.

[AbiDrew85]

I pay out of my pocket too. I do see a doctor when I'm sick, for my yearly, and I do a wellness check-up once a year too. He has all my medicines and supplements on file. That way, lets say I came up with sudden appendicitis or something, he can see my chart and know if there would be any interactions with medicines he plans on adminstering. Or if I was on a BCP and got a blood clot, he would be aware of the possible cause. That was my thinking with a doctor having something written down about you in case a supplement/hormone caused a problem.

It's funny b/c I was thinking of telling my OB about some of the supplements, etc.. that I am taking and I felt embarrassed thinking about it.(even after several kids, going to the OB embarrasses me!) I don't know if I could and I have known him for years. That's why I said "confide".. I'm a personal person so I guess I relate to other people as being the same way, at first.

That's interesting... I'm really a very private person too... But I know a doctor NEEDS to know everything I do about me. At least when it comes to my health related needs. There's no reason to hold anything back and every reason to lay it all out in front of them. At least everything I can think of.

If if they want to BS me because of something in there that I already know isn't the problem, I suppose I'll just go elsewhere. I'm not invested in any particular doctor. At all. So if the first ones I go to are full of BS...

[ariel]

Well let us know how it goes for you if you do go! I hope there's nothing seriously wrong :-(

Also, why do you want to make yourself lactate? Does it do something hormone wise? I should probably know the answer to that since I've breastfed two kids.

Don't they do uterus/ovary transplants now? One day you might have "cramps". Even though now you know they suck!

[AbiDrew85]

Well let us know how it goes for you if you do go! I hope there's nothing seriously wrong :-(

Also, why do you want to make yourself lactate? Does it do something hormone wise? I should probably know the answer to that since I've breastfed two kids.

Don't they do uterus/ovary transplants now? One day you might have "cramps". Even though now you know they suck!

Well. It really is REALLY strange because I am mostly fine now! Still some occasional slight cramping, and very tired today, but no constant ibuprofen intake just to keep off the porcelain throne. Today is my "day 5".

So definitely not some kind of serious illness, cuz I'd still be having problems in that case!

As for wanting to lactate... Yes. It does do something for breast development, though the CAUSE of lactation is hormonal, but the lactation itself is the cause of the additional development that's not possible if you don't ever produce milk!

Basically until you actually produce milk there's a certain quantity of your milk glands that'll never fully mature. Stage 5 pretty much requires that you produce milk at least once.

And no... Still not for me... And they've barely even begun doing it at all. And what they're doing is only "close match" from related donors and then pumping you up with anti-rejection drugs. Until they lift the stupid ban on stem cell research and they could grow me my own... And who knows when that might ever happen.

[AbiDrew85]

My Mom thinks that Truvia may be causing us problems. I don't think it really fits perfectly what I went through, but... I suppose we can give switching to a different, purer, stevia brand a try. And no, that doesn't mean switching to PepsiCo's offering from Coke's... They're basically identical. It means switching to a stevia being offered by a well-regarded supplement brand: NOW Foods.

Of course, she doesn't know EVERYTHING I was going through, and she doesn't really know anything about my supplement schedule cause she chooses to remain purposely ignorant of that. So, hopefully with any luck in timing, we'll be using a different stevia by the time my next first 5 days come up to see if things are any different.

Now, what SHE's been experiencing recently, and the timing, and everything... it DOES fit, for her, that she's having a reaction to Truvia.

She linked me to an article she found on the subject, and I did some additional research, and it seems that depending on the specific reactions, there are certain additive ingredients in Truvia that some people may be allergic to.

One of these is erythritol and one of the biggest reactions is an increase in yeast production, which she has noted in herself. It can also cause moderate to severe diarrhea.

There are also "natural" flavors (actually quite artificial, but whatever.) Which can cause problems, among them are diarrhea and mild to moderate cramping...

However, there's two things that DON'T fit this diagnosis, for me. First, timing. I've been using Truvia nonstop for months now. And I only react during the first 5 days of a simulated cycle? And I am STILL using it, and I'm NOT reacting anymore days 6+? Second is my having responded so well to the ibuprofen treatment. The ibuprofen treatment would have eased the cramping, but NOT the diarrhea from a Truvia allergy. Truvia allergic diarrhea comes from a different cause that would not have been responsive to ibuprofen.

But anyways... NOW Foods has a stevia offering that's extracted with water and alcohol and then the alcohol is mostly evaporated out so there's only less than 11% alcohol left and very highly concentrated stevia extract in deionized water... No other additives. So we'll be trying that once the Truvia runs out. I'm really not having any bad reaction to it AFAIK, so there's no sense in wasting this crazy expensive stuff.

Oh. And for those who aren't familiar with stevia (shame on you!) it's aka "Sweet Leaf", it's a plant that's naturally super sweet without any calories AT ALL. And I do mean super sweet. It's waaaaaay sweeter than sugar. Just one teaspoon of NOW's extract will be equivalent to one cup of sugar.

Truvia is mixed with other stuff to make it taste more like sugar, because believe it or not, sugar isn't JUST "pure sweet" but actually has a unique flavor to it.

NOW's extract is pure sweet otoh... So I dunno how my mom'll react to it... She doesn't realize it, but she's quite addicted to that unique sugar flavor. Any time she has something that's sweet without having sugar she responds with a "don't like that as much as sugar".

[Outofstyle]

Hmmm perhaps something in the Truvia was aggravating your system and then something else set off a more severe irritation? The time of your cycle could have just been coincidental, or maybe hormones are what set it off. But it is good you are feeling better now and at least have ibuprofen to offer relief if it comes back!