I always like the sound of "pink bits" or "bold parts", although those would be for casual chit-chat only, not for whispering dirty nothings into my lover's ear, or for talking to my doctor.

I also like "quim" (which comes from the Old English word for "pleasant" and sounds just as dainty as can be) as well as "queynte" from The Canterbury Tales (as mentioned by someone in another thread) and the good old "cunt" which is nice and powerful and ribald in the hearty Germanic tradition. It sounds like the owner of said cunt should also have a headful of coiled braids, strong shoulders for leading teams of oxen or hefting big strapping yogurt-and-muselix-fed babies, and an appetite for steaks and beer.

"Smerconish" is good too, because it sounds kind of cute and squishy and fun, but it's too long to say so it would invariably get shortened to "conish" which would then be shortened further to "conie" which brings us right back around to the Latinate versions of same.

Ingesting anything is a matter of calculated risk.

As with every medication, the Pill (all variants) mess with your system in some way. There are a number of benefits to it, including a reduction in *some* types of breast cancer, reduction or elimination of painful periods, reduction of adult acne, and of course preventing unwanted pregnancy.

It is not for everyone. Some people have genetic factors which will put them at greater risk for certain conditions, the most well-known being blood clots, and now also apparently one type of heart disease.

I was on the generic for OrthoTriCyclen (regular, not Lo) and I LOVED it. The extreme pain, nausea, and mental fog that I had experienced with every single period since onset of menses when I was 12 was *gone*, which meant I never had to miss work because of it (which I have had to do on several occasions.) My period came like clockwork when previously it could show up anywhere from every 3 to 5 weeks. It was also blissfully moderate and short. Glory be!

But then in late July after a transatlantic flight, over the course of only a few days, I went from being athletic to not being able to walk 100 feet without stopping to gasp for air. My doctor told me to go immediately to the ER, where they found two massive clots, one in each pulmonary artery, and a third in my pelvis.

So, the Pill is not for me! Prior to going on it I was tested for Leiden Factor V -- the most common and most problematic genetic marker for women taking the Pill -- and it came back negative (as have all the other tests they can do while I'm still on anticoagulants, we'll see about the other two markers after I come off the Coumadin). I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone else though, because even though I got nailed with two PEs, the overall risk factor is *still* very low.

It does not pump your body full of drugs

Yes, they do. The Mirena, currently the most popular IUD, releases levonorgestrel which is a synthetic hormone. It's not estrogen so I don't know what effect, if any, it has on clotting factors but it absolutely does release a hormone into your body.

My copay for one drug that was *keeping me alive* was $35 for six days' worth, and I had to go through three separate rounds of it.

A comfortable life doesn't come for free.

Women generally don't like them much either, FYI.

Another aspect that is ignored is that when BC is only available "by prescription", that entails a visit to the OB-GYN. For someone with insurance, that's a co-pay of up to $30 (without insurance, it can easily run to $200)

Well for god's sake it better be available by prescription only. The Pill can really screw with your system; everyone's body chemistry reacts differently to different pills, and the one think you *must* have before going on any BC pill is a test of clotting factors, Leiden Factor V in particular, and the others if your insurance will pay for them prophylactically.

Additionally, most doctors want a 3-month followup to re-test the your PT/INR to see if your blood is starting to clot faster. They also take that followup appointment to ask about how you are reacting to the pill, so they can change brands if they need to (I needed to, the first one I was on made me paranoid and manic, and also gave me two periods a month instead of just one).

This isn't aspirin you're taking; its a pill that manipulates your entire encodrine system. You'd better be under a physician's supervision while taking it.

So I've been looking at them quite a bit online, and the common critique I've heard is that they're reeeaaaally slow on pickup. Do you ever drive it on the highway, and if so how secure do you feel merging into traffic from an entrance ramp? How do they handle on hills (just thinking of the route between my house and my family's homes, there are a few hilly spots in between). I was looking at the sedan, in particular.