quote:They have changed the packaging ever so slightly. The little paper tab that covers the adhesive on the wings is now printed with a friendly little greeting: "Have a Happy Period." And, for our French-speaking neighbors to the north, "Bonne et heureuse semaine."
To think that they paid someone to translate that; probably in a few other languages as well.
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
OK, I have to share my love for the Diva Cup. It's basically a silicone cup that your stick up there. I put mine in the day (or sometimes the day before) I think I'm going to get my period. Then, every morning during my period, when I wake up, I pull it out. Dump it in the toilet, wash it in the sink with soap, and put it back in. Same thing right before I go to bed.
The first few times you use it, it's a little weird getting it in and positioned correctly. It takes some practice (I recommend practicing when you don't actually have your period). I love it because there is no mess and I never have to fiddle with it during the day or in a public bathroom.
They are supposed to last about 10 years. I've had mine for about 5 so far, no problems yet. I have pretty heavy periods and I've never had it leak or overflow or anything like that.
Posts: 159 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Jenny, have you tried Natracare pads? I use them on the road-thay have no gel, and are made from recycled paper.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Shan: Y'know -- reading this thread makes me appreciate my hysterectomy at 30 a whole lot more.
I had forgotten the bafflement, the perplexity, the head-scratching perusing the aisle looking at way too many options, brands, makes . . .
And I still wonder why in heck women (with the collective "we", don't you know) don't get a co-op or some sort of business that WE own, and GET THE PROFIT from, on a product that should be made by and for us!
Hmmmm . . .
Women do, actually. Tons of work at home mothers (and other women) have web businesses selling menstrual products, mostly in the cloth pads/diapers vein. Some sites do include the diva cup and/or keeper, and organic pads and tampons. The pads are often something the seller made themselves (and uses and likes).
Cloth pads are a lot easier to deal with than you might expect. Being a menstrual cup person, I don't use cloth pads much. You throw the pads in a bucket of cold water, (I do add laundry detergent to the stained area), wait 12 hours, change the water, wait some more, and then ring 'em out and through 'em on a line. They don't stain, which still shocks me to no end.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I can understand using cold water to keep it from staining, but wouldn't you want to use hot water at some point to kind of sanitize?
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Menstrual blood isn't germy, so I think the laundry detergent takes care of everything. I just need to get rid of it. I'll throw my pads in the wash/dryer when I get around to doing laundry since they're stiff otherwise and don't take up much room.
Besides, I wash everything in cold water anyway because I do one load of wash every two or three weeks and don't bother sorting.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I like my Stayfree pads...my mom uses Kotex Ultra-Thin, and so when I run out I have to use them; they're not bad (I like the velcro), but they're so thin, I never feel like I have enough protection. Three or four years now and already I'm wishing for menopause. Or a hysterectomy. Cramps and grumpiness and ruined underwear--not worth the knowledge that someday I might decide that I want to go through the horror of pregnancy, then have to push out an eight-to-ten pound body from my womb just so I can have the joys of motherhood. I know it's a cliche from people my age, but if I ever decide I want to raise a kid, I'll adopt.
Posts: 283 | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote: I wash everything in cold water anyway because I do one load of wash every two or three weeks and don't bother sorting.
<insert envious graemlin>
It never occurred to me that there were any options other than the ones in my local grocery store. I'm intrigued ... I may have to check some of these more obscure options out.
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Oh my god, Tante...I just had the same experience last month. My supersize package of Always ran out at last, so I picked up a new one. When I opened one up and prepared to apply it to my Superman underpants, I sat staring for many moments at the befuddling "Have A Happy Period!" greeting on the little peely-cover deal.
I was so shocked that I showed the peely-cover to my husband. He couldn't stop laughing.
Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I don't think I have ever, in my entire life, had a happy period.
quote:Three or four years now and already I'm wishing for menopause. Or a hysterectomy. Cramps and grumpiness and ruined underwear--not worth the knowledge that someday I might decide that I want to go through the horror of pregnancy, then have to push out an eight-to-ten pound body from my womb just so I can have the joys of motherhood.
Yeah, I'm going through "the change", and it's even worse than my periods were before. I'll be glad when it's over, though, that much I can tell you. But then, I've been looking forward to menopause ever since my period first started.
posted
We have two brands of tampons here. OB and, um, the other local brand that isn't as good, absorbent, or comfortable as OB, but is much, much easier to find.
And yeah, I'm a woman. Either that, or a man with some severe medical problems. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'm seriously thinking about getting a Diva cup for my oldest to see how she likes it. It sounds like it would be perfect for my gymnast daughter too (not that she needs it yet, but she presumably will some day) because they cannot wear pads (any underwear that might show under the leotard is prohibited as it is a deduction) and they spend long hours at meets without the ability to get to a bathroom and change. I know several of the older girls on our team have complained about how difficult it is to go to meets while on their periods. This might be a good answer for them all!
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Belle, I had that same problem as a volleyball player. I'd be careful, though. I tried tampons, and I got so flustered about them, and they hurt. The diva cup seems like it might hurt too, and maybe be more difficult to put in.
posted
I've never tried the Diva Cup, and I probably won't, now that I work mostly from home and feel comfortable with parading around in a pad. If I leak, WHO CARES? Woohooooooo!!!!!
It sounds kinda intriguing, though. Maybe I should invest in one in case I'm ever at a wedding where I just can't get into the bathroom for a quick change.
Actually, I was having my period once while shooting a wedding on a schooner, sailing around the San Juan Islands. That was a bit nerve-wracking. A Diva Cup would have come in mighty handy then.
Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Now that I am 6 months post cancer surgery, I am very pleased with the outcome. I finished menopause within a week of the surgery. No more hot flashes, irregular bleeding, crampy periods, or anything else unpleasant. Nothing hurts. The parts I have left work fine. I feel better than ever.
I kept a few Always Ultrathin overnites and generic Wal-mart tampons in case someone comes over and needs one. I was always disappointed to find out my hostess had had a hysterectomy thirty years ago and didn't have anything when I needed it.
Of course, the day I first got my period, my mom taught me to make "roll-yer-own" intralabial pads from toilet paper. So it wasn't the end of the world.
But first, she announced to all the neighbor ladies gathered for canning and quilting next door that, "My little girl is a woman!" I tried to get her to come home without having to tell her what for.
Okay, I got that all out of my system... R
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Dead Horse, it's great to hear from you. It's even better to hear you're doing well - at least, that's what I hope you mean by "pleased with the outcome". I've been thinking of you... Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I actually made a sanitary protection discovery yesterday that has solved my overnight messiness problems. Poise Panties, which are meant for incontinent women, but work great for an overnight heavy flow. No more stained underwear, sheets, pajamas for me! Put them on at bedtime, and toss the whole thing in the morning. Brilliant!
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I can't use tampons without a plastic applicator, just too painful to put in. No cardboard or OBs for me! Always Ultrathin with Wings are the best. Use Playtex tampons too. I would like someone to invent a way to cause your uterus to shed the whole lining in a shorter period of time - I would love it if it took a few minutes, but I would totally do whatever I had to do for a few hours too if I knew it would then be completely over.
Definitely went on the Pill at 15 strictly to get my periods down to a week instead of 8 days of heavy flow plus spotting for 4 more days (I'm talking two Super Absorbency Playtex tampons AND a heavy flow pad in eight hours - that's fun at school). Wasn't sexually active till much later, but ahhh . . the Pill is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Now I'm on Seasonale! And it is the BOMB! I LOVE LOVE LOVE going 3 months at a time without a period. So great. I'm also less inclined to call boys four times in one day or weep over Hallmark commercials in those three days a month before my period like I used (I basically act like a sad drunk, it's hilarious for everyone else, and me later.
I highly recommend Seasonale - I hear some people have adverse affects, but it's worked so well for me, and not having periods as often is a real gift. Try it. Four periods a year. FOUR.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Seasonale? As far as I know, it's just the regular birth control pill packaged a bit differently. I considered using it, but it turns out that buying the regular formulations of the pill and then just throwing out the pack when I get to the placebo pills is cheaper.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Samarkand, I can't use non plastic applicator tampons, either. Except I've been having a lot of trouble finding my Slimfits lately. It's a conspiracy.
My periods have only lasted 3-4 days since I started using the nuvaring. Except this month, which I am going to attribute to stress. I like how our bodies respond to stress by giving us more, ickier, messier stress.
posted
Depending on how your insurance covers it, Seasonale can be dirt cheap. But, before seasonale, I just threw out the sugar pills and still did the period every 3 months. I liked seasonale because it worked really well- though every formulation can affect each woman differently.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I'd be very nervous on bc where you only had your period once every three months. I mean, there is a chance that it'd fail, and you wouldn't know it until you were three months pregnant. Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I finally decided to take myself off the Depo-Provera. I ended up gaining net 38 pounds (and lost and refound quite a bit in the middle), I had a lot of hair loss, and oh good gravy the acne!!! Since I'm no longer in a relationship and have no time or energy to get into a new one, it doesn't make a lot of sense to keep spending the money every 3 months and fighting the scale. The doctor said it could take as much as a year, but probably around 6 months, before the hormones are fully out of my system and I start to cycle again. That's the one thing I'll miss about being on it, the absense of Aunt Flo.
And we have started preliminary discussions with regard to permanent options... I'm just not quite ready to think seriously about it yet. No way am I going to want another baby, but still, I've got enough on my plate right now.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Ahh Goody, I may be doing the same soon... the people at the clinic are very concerned that I've been on Depo for 6 years, I guess there are some studies that point to increased risks of osteoporosis with long-term Depo use.... but I'll be sorry to switch, it's been great for me, I'm really bad at remembering to take pills, and having not had a period in 6 years... man, that'd be tough to give up.
They managed to convince me to consider an IUD, even though my initial reaction was something like "nononononoooooooewewewowowownoooooo".... but as much as I don't like the idea, you only have to think about it once every 5 years, and does stop menstruation completely in 20% of women if you get the kind with hormones, and since the hormones are in much lower doses than in Depo, the side effects (like eating away at your boooones) are way lower risk.
posted
Depo, I believe, is known for having some of the nastiest side effects of any form of hormonal birth control, simply because it gives you a very high exposure to hormones.
The patch also exposes you to a high level of hormones.
posted
Just indulging in a little immaturity to celebrate my upcoming six-month anniversary of no periods (next week).
Girls with straight hair want curls, curly haired girls want straight. Widows would rather be divorced and divorcees would rather be widowed (well, some of them). Kids want to grow up and adults want to go back. And, well, you don't appreciate your ability to ovulate until it's gone! Or on vacation, or whatever it is.
The *kick* was basically my way of saying I wish I needed the products discussed in this thread! Posts: 2762 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Just don't go like me and go from needing none of the products (for only 3 months though - 6 would be tough) and then making up for that absence and then some in 3 weeks.
posted
The bone-eating thing is just Depo, I think, because it uses a different kind of hormone. The more I look into it, the more I think I've had my last shot and will be switching to another option.
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
I once had a period that lasted for 35 (or 42? I forget) days. Then I got a break - no period! - for three or four days, and it started up again and switched back to my usual (for then) cycle of 10-14 days of period followed by 3-4 days of no period. Rinse and repeat.
Although, I believe that, with no ovulation, it's not a true period but a, um, breakthrough bleeding where the uterine lining sheds the excess buildup. Or something. Like semantics really matter when you're going through a box of tampons and a bag of pads every few days.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
What's rugged about a tampon with a comfortable plastic applicator that won't keelhaul your nethers?
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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