Go to GNC and buy the most potent Biotin supplement you can find (1.000 mcg a day) After taking this for a month you should see a massive improvement in your hair and nails. Also, what products are you putting in your hair? Alcohol and sulfates can cause some hair loss and clogged follicles. edited to ask: What supplements do you girls take?
I forgot to mention that I did try Biotin for a month and I didn't see much improvement, actually, I think my nails got worse. Should I stick it out longer this time?
I think so...I haven't drastically changed my eating habits or anything. I made a doctor's appt. to have my thyroid checked, so hopefully that will provide some answers. Ugh.
Question for the TiBettes: I'm working on putting together a care package to send to my girlfriend (tax season just ended and so did a ridiculous amount of extra work for her) and could use some input. I've already bought an gift card for her at a massage/spa place I know she likes (enough to cover an hour long massage or some other stuff), but want to include a few other items to round it out. So excluding candy/chocolate, are there any items that would be especially awesome for pampering herself/spending a day relaxing at home?
Just how girly is she? Polish always done, hair always done and never forgets makeup or is she more tomboy...?
Be careful when you get your thyroid checked. If you have insurance that will cover it, go straight to an endocrinologist. Thyroid problems are sometimes overlooked and go undiagnosed because GPs go by a certain scale to determine whether you are hypo, hyper, or normal. While tests and bloodwork are awesome at diagnosing some diseases (leukemia, etc), these scales are a farce when it comes to a person's thyroid. There is no such thing as an across-the-board normal in thyroid diagnosis. It truly does differ from person to person. My friend noticed ridged nails but didn't go to the doctor until her hairstylist of all people suggested it. After the second time she gave my friend highlights that turned bright day-glo orange, she said it could be a thyroid issue. She was right. While she had to suffer with looking like a clown for a short while, my friend was finally diagnosed and is now on synthroid and all the happier for it.
I PMed a response, but for anyone else: Gift cards to a beauty store are always a good idea. It helps justify little luxuries for us girls.
If you're going for relaxing, I say bath salts and sleepy time tea. You could also get her one of the books they sell in drug stores. Not the romance novels, but the girly best sellers. They're a good read, but you don't have to think too much to enjoy them.
Can we talk about birth control? I'm not on it. I don't plan on going on it for anti-baby reasons (I am just not crazy of being on hormones or prescriptions long term in general). However, I got that Rx from my doctor for Differin like we talked about a couple pages back. He asked if I WAS pregnant and for some reason that didn't send alarms off in my head until I was talking to my sisters about it. One sister in particular is super wary of that stuff. She had a baby at 29 weeks so she's looking out for 'wildered. I looked more into it and called the pharmacist. Apparently there is a small chance of birth defects if you get pregnant on this stuff. I'm not crazy about the idea of taking a pill the same time every day. However, if I understand it correctly, the shot makes you not have periods at all? And that when you do, they can be crazy and erratic? I suspect for my purposes of a couple months of BC I probably just need to suck it up and take the pill. And of course my doc (whenever I get one, holy waiting list, batman) will have things to tell me. I'd like to kinda know what people do and what's out there before I start messing with my hormones in such a big way.
You could always opt for the NuvaRing. It's a weird concept, but I have a friend that uses that because she can't remember to take a pill around the same time every day. The shot DID NOT work for me. It made me have my period for 3 months. I mean, that's effective birth control, but not really what I was after. Just a little fun fact: my friend used to take anti-acne pills in high school and they had a picture of a preggo lady with an X over her on them. So yeah, I guess you're not supposed to take them when you're preggo.
Yeah, that was a big deal with Accutane when it came out. It can cause SEVERE birth defects. I assume that was what she was taking. Not sure if it was accutane also, but one of those cutting edge oral acne medications that came out in the 90s had a risk of psychological issues. I guess some people are desperate (or have acne 1000x worse than mine, same difference).
The NuvaRing is awesome. Like Trickysista said, the concept is a little strange but it's actually very easy to use. I'll admit, the first month when I went to take it out, it was kind of a what the fuck moment. The first time I had sex with it in, my boyfriend freaked out a little because he could feel and didn't know what it was. My period still came every month but was lighter than it was without birth control and I didn't notice any side effects - no weight gain!
For the record, I'm a guy: From my experience, the NuvaRing is surprisingly good to use. You have to remember the day to take it out and the day, a week later, to put it back in and that's about it. A recurring google calendar reminder takes care of those easily. You can also take it out if you're having preplanned sex and prefer it out, but it's totally ok to have sex with it inside. At worst, at least from the guy side of things, everything lines up against you and there's a moment of discomfort before you shift .0005 degrees to the left and all is well again. It also seems to be pretty minimal on side effects, if any, particularly in having less tendency to cause major emotional swings. One ring per month. One woman I was with for awhile used a patch form of hormonal birth control. I think it involved having to remember to replace it once a week, so not too bad there, and it really was just an adhesive patch you stuck to some random part of your body for a week. One patch per week. The pill is, well, it's the pill. Highly calibrated, many types, some perfectly fine some will cause endless bleeding, some will cause total mood swings. It's very sensitive to needing to remember to take it every day at the same time which is a good reason to disqualify it for many. One pill per day. I don't, to my knowledge, have any experience seeing how the shot or IUDs work in action. If I had to pick one BC type to recommend I'd suggest the NuvaRing even though it seems like the most counterintuitive thing in the world. Particularly for a short term thing, it seems like the easiest way to go.
The Nuva Ring can be fun because if you DON'T take it out during sex, it can come out around his weiner. Like a little prize.
This is another vote for the NuvaRing. Also, if you are taking it out during sex, you want to be very very careful about how long you take it out for. The prescribing info says, very unhelpfully, can be out for up to three hours, but doesn't give a time span. So, three hours a day? A week? Per NuvaRing? Taking it out during sex has always struck me--and my gyno--as unnecessarily risky. What if you fall asleep/get distracted/the dog eats it/whatever, and you forget to put it back it. It's also VERY easy to eliminate your period altogether on the NuvaRing--just replace immediately instead of taking a week off. I haven't had periods for 4 years. It's fantastic! But, I've been using it for six years, I'm not pregnant, ring toss is an awesome game, and I'm super happy with it.
Another guy perspective on the nuvaring... I dated a girl once who wanted to try it. It served its purpose but for some reason she had an abnormal amount of discharge when it was in. Supposedly, it irritated her and that was her vagina's way of trying to get it to come out. She also told me it itched a lot. But another female friend of mine has been using it forever and had no issues at all. So I guess it's worth a shot. And what shimmered said has also happened to me. It once came out on the head of my penis, like a little crown that Cesar would wear. Minus the leaves.