The Sunday News
Hi Sis Noe
I HAVE been on my period for four months now. I don’t know what is wrong with me. — Help.
Reply
That is not a period, something is wrong. Vaginal bleeding for four months is out of character and a good indicator that it’s time to see a doctor. The average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days, although 21- to 35-day cycles are common. Menstrual blood flow usually lasts for five to seven days. To learn more about why you have had continual bleeding for so long, it is recommended to schedule a visit to a gynecologist or a health practitioner who specialises in women’s health. Many people visit the gynaecologist at the recommendation of a general practitioner doctor.
When you develop a problem or have unusual symptoms, such as prolonged bleeding, there is no need to wait for that recommendation. A doctor can help you consider your symptoms, determine a diagnosis, and discuss a treatment plan that will work for you. Having bleeding for such a long time may be frustrating or concerning; fortunately seeing a health care provider can help get you on the track toward an effective treatment and more regular cycles.
Hi Sis Noe
I am two months and two weeks pregnant and suffering from terrible morning sickness and I vomit a lot. One day I got so sick that I ended up in hospital. The nurses told me that I might go back again because the morning sickness I have is terrible. — Worried.
Reply
Get back soon. I hope your extreme nausea and vomiting will soon diminish. After the first trimester, or around 12 to 14 weeks into the pregnancy, the nausea usually dissipates. You said you are 10 weeks pregnant, so you can expect to notice a change in the way you feel within the next few weeks, which may feel like forever. There is a chance, however, that the nausea could continue longer. Some women continue to experience nausea and vomiting throughout much of their pregnancy. Severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is known as hyperemesis gravidarum, which causes weight loss, dehydration, liver damage, and can even be life threatening to the mother and the baby, if left untreated.
Women who are at high risk from this condition tend to be young mothers-to-be, those with high body weight, those who are pregnant for the first time, or pregnant with twins. A woman with this condition is considered to have a high-risk pregnancy and medical supervision throughout the pregnancy is required. Someone with NVP needs to be under the care of a high-risk obstetrician, also known as a perinatologist, throughout her pregnancy. Stress, anxiety, and worry can make the morning sickness and nausea worse. Perhaps you will feel better if you find ways to relax that work for you. While it may be difficult to think about it right now, having severe nausea during this pregnancy does not necessarily mean you will experience this again in subsequent pregnancies. Every day is a different day for your body.
Hi Sis Noe
I recently had sex with my boyfriend. Before I did I was a virgin. The problem is that I wanted to have sex after marriage and even though I have had sex I don’t want to do it again. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy, I did but I just want to wait until I get married. — Help.
Reply
Some people feel that once they have started to have sex that they have to continue. In fact, people can and do decide to stop having sex for all sorts of reasons. You are allowed to change your mind and you are allowed to define and redefine your sexual boundaries as your feelings evolve or change over time. Talking openly and honestly with your boyfriend about how you are feeling and what you do and don’t want sexually is an important next step. You are navigating quite a few relationships. First, you are dealing with your relationship with yourself, who you want to be, and what you want to be doing; second, your relationship with your boyfriend; and third, your relationships with your family and peers. Since sex can be sometimes confusing and hard to talk about, you may want to think about talking with a trusted friend before or after you talk to your boyfriend. It takes courage to reach out and ask for help, but you have to. There is nothing to be ashamed about.
Hi Sis Noe
I don’t know whether I am satisfying my boyfriend. When we are having sex he does not make a sound. Even when I give him a blowjob he will be quiet throughout. What am I doing wrong? — Worried.
Reply
Not everyone makes a commotion at climax; it’s possible to remain silent while stimulated, including at orgasm time.
Although he may not express himself verbally, inside your boyfriend may be panting, moaning, and yelling your name, but keeps his mouth shut for fear of letting anyone within earshot in on what’s going down. Many people, especially when young, are taught that sexual activities — masturbation, oral sex, intercourse, etc — are best kept secret. This belief remains with many adults long after mom or dad would ever catch them in a sex act, but is powerful enough to keep them quiet for a long time.
His stillness and apparent lack of reaction could also come from feeling nervous, tense, or uncomfortable with part or all of what’s going on. Or he thinks its macho; some men believe making noise is an admission of weakness, that they are not real men. It’s definitely nice to know how your partner is feeling during sex, so how might you turn up the volume on what he thinks about your intimate times? You could ask him and talk about all this together. If you approach this subject with him in a calm, supportive way, he might see that it’s okay, and even hot and helpful, to talk about this personal stuff with you. Such talk may not produce more audible and observable pleasure, but you might gain a bit of insight.
Hi Sis Noe
I am just curious. I am a woman aged 21 and I wanted to know whether women have wet dreams like men. — Curious.
Reply
Not like men, but yes women also have wet dreams. In 1953, Alfred Kinsey, the famous sexuality researcher, found that nearly 40 percent of the 5 628 women he interviewed experienced at least one nocturnal orgasm (orgasms during sleep), or wet dream, by the time they were 45 years old. A smaller study published in the Journal of Sex Research in 1986 found that 85 percent of the women who had experienced nocturnal orgasms had done so by the age of 21, some even before they turned 13. In addition, women who have orgasms during sleep usually have them several times a year. Dr. Kinsey and his colleagues defined female nocturnal orgasm as sexual arousal during sleep that awakens one to perceive the experience of orgasm. Girls and women who don’t have orgasms in their sleep, or who don’t know whether or not they have had them, are perfectly normal. It is easier for men to identify their wet dreams because of the ejaculatory evidence. Vaginal secretions could be a sign of sexual arousal without orgasm.
Hi Sis Noe
Is it true that having big hands or big feet means that a man has a huge penis? — Curious.
Reply
Or that a man with small hands or feet has a small penis, right? No it is not true. There is nothing like that. Penis size could be a factor of genes from either parent, both, or it could be a product of neither one.
