I had the Mirena inserted 2 years ago when I was 27 and love it! I was on the pill before and was always forgetting to take it. I’m CF so it took going to 2 OB/GYNs to get it done because the first refused to do it (this was in Portugal – a very Catholic country). Be honest with your doctor – explain your plans and how you would like the benefit of immediate fertility when it’s removed which you won’t have if you continue using depo.
I won’t lie – it hurt! But, the pain was gone in a day. I had an ultrasound the next week to make sure it was positioned correctly and that’s it. I bled heavily for about 10 days after the insertion, and then had very light, irregular bleeding for 2 months. After that, for about a year, I didn’t bleed at all. Now I bleed about every 6 weeks, and it’s very light, only a day or two. Before, I had heavy bleeding 5-10 days a month when I was on the pill.
Weight gain hasn’t been an issue – in fact I’ve lost a substantial amount of weight (75 pounds through diet and exercise) while it’s been inserted.
Kimdog-
My OB/GYN said if I feel it during sex, it is not positioned correctly and to come in to have it checked. I've never felt it during sex.
My husband and I just bought a Scion XB - it is the most fabulous car for commuting! We drove cross-counry in it from South Carolina to Seattle, WA and were averaging 33 mpg (the sticker says about that). It is easy to drive, and underneath it's really a Toyota so you have to put a bullet through the engine to kill it!
Start a coversation with your local dealer about a month before you want to buy it. We put a deposit down and got the car with the features we wanted in less than a month. The dealers are really hot to sell these.
Good luck!
As to your first question, I don't know.
As to your second question, if you go the home page of the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) there are several how to links which walk you through the process.
Good Luck!
Here in Portugal this is about the only type of water heater you'll find - either gas or electric. We've had no problems with it - in fact, showering at the other end of the apartment from the water heater unit, it only takes about 2 minutes for the water to be hot enough to shower, and about 3 minutes for it to be burning your skin if you're not careful! Our model is gas, and also heats our radiators.
I'm not sure what natural gas prices are where you are at, but our natural gas bill is about 9 euros a month in the summer and 75 euros in the winter (because of the radiators being on nearly continuously!). When we lived in Southern California, we had a standard water heater and our gas bill was about $50 a month (no radiators in the winter!). So, it appears it is cheaper than a standard tank model.
I second Portugal. It's fairly cheap here - 20 euros will buy you a 4 course meal in a nice (fancyish) restaurant. Otherwise, a quick sandwich and soda runs about 2-4 euros depending on where you stop. A 4 star hotel runs about 60 euros a night, including a full breakfast buffet.
A rental car (to get out into the countryside) costs about 100 euros for 4 days, but the gas prices would probably get ya (2 euros a liter!). Public transit is fairly cheap - a day pass in Lisbon for the Metro, trains, and buses runs about 4 euros, and a 10 day pass gets a further discount.
Most museums, castles, and palaces are free on Sundays, and otherwise cost anywhere from 1 to 4 euros for entrance.
Most people in the Lisbon area speak English. Cascais, a suburb of Lisbon, is a beautiful beach town which kicks off the season in the middle of April. Also, Sintra is on another train line from Lisbon and offers a quaint mountain village with 2 palaces and a Moorish castle.
I took the LSAT in June and did fair (I'm not looking to go to a great school, just a decent one!). I used the two books mentioned above and both really helped. I also did all the practice tests I could get my hands on.
To repeat others - relax before the test. Also, if you can, take the LSAT in your hometown so as to avoid jetlag. I currently live overseas and the closest testing center (and cheapest place to stay) has a time difference of 5 hours from where I live. Not only that, but a trans-Atlantic flight two days before the LSAT wiped me out. Oh, did I mention I thrive on stress?! I'm lucky I scored as well as I did.
I'm in. Yeah, I'm mostly a lurker, but I want in!
posted by somcak 17 years ago
In "Curious, George: Boys keep out"
I had the Mirena inserted 2 years ago when I was 27 and love it! I was on the pill before and was always forgetting to take it. I’m CF so it took going to 2 OB/GYNs to get it done because the first refused to do it (this was in Portugal – a very Catholic country). Be honest with your doctor – explain your plans and how you would like the benefit of immediate fertility when it’s removed which you won’t have if you continue using depo. I won’t lie – it hurt! But, the pain was gone in a day. I had an ultrasound the next week to make sure it was positioned correctly and that’s it. I bled heavily for about 10 days after the insertion, and then had very light, irregular bleeding for 2 months. After that, for about a year, I didn’t bleed at all. Now I bleed about every 6 weeks, and it’s very light, only a day or two. Before, I had heavy bleeding 5-10 days a month when I was on the pill. Weight gain hasn’t been an issue – in fact I’ve lost a substantial amount of weight (75 pounds through diet and exercise) while it’s been inserted. Kimdog- My OB/GYN said if I feel it during sex, it is not positioned correctly and to come in to have it checked. I've never felt it during sex.
posted by somcak 19 years ago
In "Commuter Car Choice"
My husband and I just bought a Scion XB - it is the most fabulous car for commuting! We drove cross-counry in it from South Carolina to Seattle, WA and were averaging 33 mpg (the sticker says about that). It is easy to drive, and underneath it's really a Toyota so you have to put a bullet through the engine to kill it! Start a coversation with your local dealer about a month before you want to buy it. We put a deposit down and got the car with the features we wanted in less than a month. The dealers are really hot to sell these. Good luck!
posted by somcak 19 years ago
In "Curious George - Patenting an Product"
As to your first question, I don't know. As to your second question, if you go the home page of the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) there are several how to links which walk you through the process. Good Luck!
posted by somcak 19 years ago
In "Curious George: tankless water heaters"
Here in Portugal this is about the only type of water heater you'll find - either gas or electric. We've had no problems with it - in fact, showering at the other end of the apartment from the water heater unit, it only takes about 2 minutes for the water to be hot enough to shower, and about 3 minutes for it to be burning your skin if you're not careful! Our model is gas, and also heats our radiators. I'm not sure what natural gas prices are where you are at, but our natural gas bill is about 9 euros a month in the summer and 75 euros in the winter (because of the radiators being on nearly continuously!). When we lived in Southern California, we had a standard water heater and our gas bill was about $50 a month (no radiators in the winter!). So, it appears it is cheaper than a standard tank model.
posted by somcak 19 years ago
In "Worldwide Pants"
I second Portugal. It's fairly cheap here - 20 euros will buy you a 4 course meal in a nice (fancyish) restaurant. Otherwise, a quick sandwich and soda runs about 2-4 euros depending on where you stop. A 4 star hotel runs about 60 euros a night, including a full breakfast buffet. A rental car (to get out into the countryside) costs about 100 euros for 4 days, but the gas prices would probably get ya (2 euros a liter!). Public transit is fairly cheap - a day pass in Lisbon for the Metro, trains, and buses runs about 4 euros, and a 10 day pass gets a further discount. Most museums, castles, and palaces are free on Sundays, and otherwise cost anywhere from 1 to 4 euros for entrance. Most people in the Lisbon area speak English. Cascais, a suburb of Lisbon, is a beautiful beach town which kicks off the season in the middle of April. Also, Sintra is on another train line from Lisbon and offers a quaint mountain village with 2 palaces and a Moorish castle.
posted by somcak 20 years ago
In "Curious George: The LSAT"
I took the LSAT in June and did fair (I'm not looking to go to a great school, just a decent one!). I used the two books mentioned above and both really helped. I also did all the practice tests I could get my hands on. To repeat others - relax before the test. Also, if you can, take the LSAT in your hometown so as to avoid jetlag. I currently live overseas and the closest testing center (and cheapest place to stay) has a time difference of 5 hours from where I live. Not only that, but a trans-Atlantic flight two days before the LSAT wiped me out. Oh, did I mention I thrive on stress?! I'm lucky I scored as well as I did.
posted by somcak 20 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)