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Girls! Pads or Tampons?


Chewy

Pads or Tampons?  

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  1. 1. Girls! Pads or Tampons?

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The very few times that I used Tampons I must not have used it right, cause when it expanded, I felt it there and was very uncomfortable.

When I started this thread, I was thinking that majority of ace won't like to shuff something up there.

So are there any that know they won't have sex but use birth control or have implants?

I already said I use Birth Control. :/

I am NEVER going to have a period again. And I'm fucking PROUD of making that decision. :)

it's completely free. 0$ I get 3 months worth of birth control each time.

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The very few times that I used Tampons I must not have used it right, cause when it expanded, I felt it there and was very uncomfortable.

When I started this thread, I was thinking that majority of ace won't like to shuff something up there.

So are there any that know they won't have sex but use birth control or have implants?

I already said I use Birth Control. :/

I am NEVER going to have a period again. And I'm fucking PROUD of making that decision. :)

it's completely free. 0$ I get 3 months worth of birth control each time.

As others have pointed out though no matter how much they would love to use birth control to stop their periods, it's just too expensive. I think it just depends on what country you are in. Where I live, the birth control pill itself is relatively cheap, but the clinic is $80 every 3 months to renew my prescription (due to a lack of clinics for the amount of people in my town, I don't have an option to go to any other clinic). $80 doesn't seem like much, but it's the price of a whole weeks worth of food for my kids and I, so it's just not a possibility for me right now. Also, I think Serran said, there is no way her medical insurance would cover so she will have to wait until she's rich before she will be able to consider it. Again just depends on where you are I think.

The very few times that I used Tampons I must not have used it right, cause when it expanded, I felt it there and was very uncomfortable.

When I started this thread, I was thinking that majority of ace won't like to shuff something up there.

So are there any that know they won't have sex but use birth control or have implants?

Many women find tampons uncomfortable for various reasons, it's not just an 'ace thing'. remember asexuality isn't about 'not liking things up there', though there are of course plenty of ace bio females who do feel that way (not liking things up there) but that is not what defines asexuality exactly. Again though, it's not just an ace thing.

For many people, birth control is too expensive, but for those who can afford it (the pills anyway) I know many do not use it for the full month, they take the sugar pills for 7 days every month so they still have their period anyway. The health benefits/dangers of stopping ones period using birth control are still being debated. I did a fair bit of researching online a while to find if this would be a good option for me, and honestly some people say it may reduce your risk of ovarian cancer, some people say it increases your risk of ovarian and breast cancer.. some people just don't like the idea of messing with ones hormones to that extent. I think it's up to every individual to decide and I would definitely take birth control to stop my periods if I could afford it!

Also, as it says in the package insert for tampons, if you can feel the tampon expanding inside you, you possibly do not have it in far enough. Once the tampon is 'right up there' there should be no feeling at all. I have experienced both having it up far enough, and not having it in properly, and let me tell you, not having it in properly was agony, especially when it started expanding, the times that it was properly inserted though, I couldn't feel it once it was actually in place. However, the act of actually getting them in causes me so much pain that I have only used them a few times in my life, and that was mostly because I hate the feel of pads so much that I wanted to try to force myself to get used to tampons. I can categorically say now that is not going to happen, ever. heh.

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I think wearing pads is very hindering, it feels uncomfortable and unhygienic to me and I was always afraid of leaks. When I was younger, I was really intimidated by the thought of inserting tampons, but it only took a short amount of time to get used to them. I would advice anybody who is not bothered by penetration to give them a try. You will learn how to insert them quickly, piece of cake, and once they're in, you don't feel them at all.

I am really considering buying a menstrual cup - The thought of playing it safe once PMS kicks in (instead of waiting for the bleeding) is really comforting and, more importantly, I am also always on the lookout to minimize littering. They sound great so far, I am just skeptical about which size or variant would be appropriate. I heard of different experiences on how long they take to fill during a heavy flow. While we of course need to learn from experience how long which tampon size takes to fill up on what kind of flow, that is one type of math I have down, at least. A menstrual cup would be new and a little uncertain again. My main worry would be it becoming overfilled while being out. 1) washing out your menstrual cup in a public bathroom in front of others and 2) "leaking" while you're doing that are really not pleasant thoughts.

Menstrual cups for me are roughly the same time line as a heavy flow tampon, if that helps. And you don't have to wash out the cup if you are out in public. You can just drain it and wash it when you get home. One trick some women use with the cups is if you "push" with your muscles like you are straining to go the bathroom, you break the seal of the cup and it drains while still inside you and once you relax your muscles, it seals back up. They use that in order to not have to deal with any mess while wearing the cup in public. You could also just carry wet wipes and use one to wipe it off, it isn't very messy at all once you empty it, so a wet wipe can be used to wipe it off and toss that to avoid having to take it out to the sink to wash it (or plain old toilet paper would work too in a pinch). The "mess" left in the cup once it was emptied into the toilet was never more than just a slight residue for me. I do recommend the type of cup with a tab though. I hated the soft cups because they had no tab, you had to break the seal with a finger at the rim of the cup and if you did it at a bad angle... ew!

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WhenSummersGone

Wouldn't a cup be harder to use compared to a tampon? How does it feel? I'm afraid it will hurt. I've seen them in stores here but I haven't bought one.

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Trying to, for lack of better word, visualize it, that muscle trick sounds like mad wizardry, Serran. But it also makes me paranoid to imagine I could accidentally spasm or push (stay with me here, laugh too hard or demonic possession? :lol: ) and then have the blood spill out.

That. Would. Be. Unforrrrrrrrtunate.

By tab you mean the the end part, what looks like a stem? Are those square, ring or ball ends better to grip than the elongated hollow stems? I just read that different company=different hardness/stiffness. And how some can therefore feel very uncomfortable inside the vagina...

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Wouldn't a cup be harder to use compared to a tampon? How does it feel? I'm afraid it will hurt. I've seen them in stores here but I haven't bought one.

Nah, they are easier to insert than tampons, once you learn how. You squish them so they are super thin and then insert them and position it properly. Then, forget about it til it needs emptied. Can't feel them if they are in right, really.

Trying to, for lack of better word, visualize it, that muscle trick sounds like mad wizardry, Serran. But it also makes me paranoid to imagine I could accidentally spasm or push (stay with me here, laugh too hard or demonic possession? :lol: ) and then have the blood spill out.

That. Would. Be. Unforrrrrrrrtunate.

By tab you mean the the end part, what looks like a stem? Are those square, ring or ball ends better to grip than the elongated hollow stems? I just read that different company=different hardness/stiffness. And how some can therefore feel very uncomfortable inside the vagina...

By tab I mean the stem at the end, so you can pull it out without having to put your fingers all the way up there to the rim, like with soft cups (which are just a circular thing and smooth). Soft cups were horrible to take out, even if they were super easy to insert (very soft material). And no, you aren't likely to push hard enough to break the seal without trying. It's kind of more like... push as if you're giving birth sort of big push to break the seal that way. Not that hard if you're trying, but you'd never put that much pressure on it without meaning to.

Example of one with the tab thingy:

divacup.jpg]

Example of the soft cup without:

IMG_4195.JPG

As you can see, the diva cup (first one) holds more as well as having easier removal. The softcup is more like... a condom that catches blood. The softcup is popular though cause it's softer and you can have penetrative sex while wearing it (which, obviously isn't that important for asexuals, but for sexuals it's a bonus).

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Notte stellata

For many people, birth control is too expensive, but for those who can afford it (the pills anyway) I know many do not use it for the full month, they take the sugar pills for 7 days every month so they still have their period anyway. The health benefits/dangers of stopping ones period using birth control are still being debated.

Yeah, the standard way is taking 21 active pills and then 7 sugar pills (or taking nothing for 7 days). The "period" you get during the 7 days isn't an actual period (because no egg has been released), but it can assure you that the pill is working and you're not pregnant. I only take the active pills back-to-back to skip a period when I'm traveling.

Back to the original question, I use tampons and sometimes panty liners in case the tampon leaks. I used to use pads, but there was no looking back once I adapted to tampons.

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littleheartsofjoy

Pads, but the idea of menstrual cups interest me.

I hear that your body will adjust to it (and adjusts to the use of pads/tampons). Has this been true for any of you who use the cups? If so, how long did the adjustment take? 1 period? 2 periods?

Adjusts in what way? I found them easy to use from the first time. The only thing that took any "fiddling" was insertion/removal.

People talking about pain - I find my mooncup is in NO WAY painful, and actually helps my cramps a little because it provides a small amount of resistence (not enough to particularly feel)

I meant like your body gets used to it being there during a period.

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HOW DID I FORGET??? SEA SPONGES! women have used sea sponges during their periods for thousands of years!

FH_seapearl_LRG.jpg

As someone who has used them on occasion myself, I can't believe I forgot about them :o

They are natural (they are single (? maybe multi) cellular things that grow in the sea, and they are sustainably harvested as well, only the tops are cut off so that plant/thing can keep growing. You want to make sure you buy real sponge, not the chemical man-made kind. The are super absorbent and reeeally soft to insert once you have moistened them thoroughly with water.

You buy the sea sponge from any chemist/drug store or online from sites that make them especially as menses products. They are yellow/white and puffy, and usually really hard when you buy them, but you moisten them and cut off the size that you need. You can experiment with sizing to find something that suits your flow and your own personal sizing too of course.

They can be worn during sex with no messy blood issues, that's for someone who is actually having sex of course! Fun Fact! prostitutes have used them for centuries because they can continue working right through that time of the month.

I found sponges a lot more comfortable than tampons because when going in, they are moist and soft (not all dry and hard) then you take it out rinse it out with hot water, and back it goes (you get used to taking it out before leakage happens, when it starts getting heavy inside you you know it needs to be rinsed). At the end of the day you can sterilize it and use a bigger, fresh chunk of sponge for the night, that way you can go the whole week using only a few sponges instead of a whole pack of pads or tampons. I stopped using sponges in maybe 2008 because I just hate the feelings of my fingers going inside me (to get the sponge in or out) but no one else I knew who was using them had that problem, and I guess that's why I completely forgot about them, it was that long ago that I used them.

One lady I knew said she and her girlfriend were travelling in Thailand, and her girlfriend washed her sea sponge in a puddle and ended up with an infection in her cervix :o but as far as I know as long as you don't wash them in puddles (!!) you shouldn't be at risk of infections or anything. No one else I knew had ever had any problems. There has been one recorded case of TSS associated with sponges, as to the 40 or so from tampons.

I can't believe that I had forgot about sea sponges for this entire convo haha.. I actually haven't thought about them in years. Now that I have remembered I am almost tempted to try them again, maybe taking some painkillers half an hour before insertion and removal would help with the discomfort of my fingers (honestly the sponges themselves are so soft and squishy, nothing like a tampon!!)

Anyway, that is another option for people looking for alternatives to tampons or pads!

http://www.ecomenstrual.co.uk/shop/Jam_Sponge_Tampon.html

http://www.raisingmyboychick.com/2010/07/sea-pearls-menstrual-sponges-a-review/ <<< this is a fascinating article about one woman's experiences with a sea sponge. She hasn't had sex with them in, but as long as you put in a fresh one before intercourse, you are fine (I have done this myself).

Serran this may be interesting for you: http://www.adnuther.com/2013/04/sea-sponge-tampon-alternative/ This woman couldn't use pads or tampons due to how heavy her flow had become, but using a sea sponge made her flow lighter and easier to manage. she does mention having to 'fish around for it' to get it out, but you can sew dental floss onto it like a tampon so you can pull it out more easily afterward. Anyway you may not be into the idea of sponges at all, but honestly they are probably the most comfortable thing I have ever used. Of course no good if your flow is impossible to staunch, but as this woman said, they actually made her flow lighter! you could cut off a much larger chunk for a heavy flow also. some women insert a larger one, then a smaller one to catch any accidental leakage. Or you could use a panty liner too just in case. I used to cut off bits that were about the size of cotton balls, and they would last me a few hours (they really are super absorbent)

Anyway, not sure if anyone else would be interested in trying these, but I'm thinking about trying again. The cups just look too big for me, as even tiny tampons cause me a lot of pain, but sponges are so soft and squishy they may be a good option.

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Depends on how bad it is. If it's REALLY heavy I use the maxi pad and the "hope and pray I don't mess up everything" pad. :) Otherwise, either one will do. I have always been irregular, and every time I've brought it up, unfortunately, my mother tells me not to worry about it. The one time I did go on birth control for medical reason was conveniently also the same time I had an ear infection so bad that I couldn't walk for a month. I am going to ask my doctor if there's a benefit for me using progestin-only method the next time I have a physical, or if I should just grin and bear it and stick to Aleve.

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Pads. I'm allergic to Rayon which is a major ingredient in almost all tampons. It took me many years to figure out why in the world tampons were so painful to me and made me feel so sick. Never crossed my mind to look at the ingredients. I react so badly to rayon that if i so much as touch a shirt that is 5% rayon it will immediately feel as though i sm being stabbed with millions of needles and my skin will break out in a rash....so you can imagine what the heck was going on when i kept trying to shove 50%+ rayon up inside myself! I only came across it by fluke, i was bored one day while stocking shelves at a store and read the box lol

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I used tampons and a pad, since the tampons overflood in only a couple hours =_______='

There is the choice also to just not have periods at all. Gotta love birth control pills :D

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Buying a menstrual cup has been one of my best investments.

Now I'm curious. Where did you get it (as in, what type of store) and how much did it cost? How do you re-use it?

Sorry just got back on here, most other people have covered the basics.I got a small Eva Cup off of Amazon.com for under $20. I've used it For 2 cycles now and the company that makes it says it's good for 15 years.I thought I had a heavy flow but I'm on track to emptying it every 12 hours on my heaviest days. I'm still working on getting it to open every time, but I only need a panty liner as backup.

I will say that if you value your Hyman for personal or cultural reasons, don't bother.

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genderirrelevant
I will say that if you value your Hyman for personal or cultural reasons, don't bother.

Ha! When I was first using my DivaCup I thought, "Is this what it feels like to lose one's virginity?" Older virgins should get the smaller size. I'm glad I did. Damn thing still hurt like a bitch on every insertion and removal for several cycles. I also had random leakage problems when sometimes it didn't 'sit' right. Pretty gross to use. Honestly the only reason I kept using it was for environmental reasons. It has lasted 9 years and now I'm hitting menopause. Yeah!

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AmethystKitty

Wouldn't be nice if asexual girls didn't have periods?

All girls think that. even the sexual ones.

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I love my menstrual cup, I must have saved a fortune since I bought it! I use it in conjunction with light panti-liners on heavy flow days, just in case. It's easy to insert (easier than non-applicator tampons) and once it's inside you shouldn't be able to feel it at all.

Before that I used tampons, again along with pads on heavy days, for those of you saying you found them painful, it sounds like it wasn't inserted far enough, I made that mistake to begin with and it hurt like hell. If they're in properly you shouldn't be able to feel it at all.

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Cups! I'm excited there's already a discussion going on about those. I just discovered them this year and I have to say - effing lifesaver. I tend to go really heavy, though, so I still wear a light pad with them on the first couple days if I can't change it within a few hours, or at least overnight. Never could use tampons, and pads alone seem to actively dodge 50% of what they're supposed to catch...

So now I've got a Diva, and my personal favorite, a Lunette. They take some getting used to and some experimentation with different cups, but they're absolutely worth it. I might buy one or two more, just to get a better idea of the various "fits." Some women have a lower-sitting cervix than others, and in my case I had to cut the stems off both of my cups because I could feel them even with the cup properly inserted. Actually, when I use the Diva (which is one of the longest cups available and thus not the best choice I could have made) I turn it inside out to make it a bit shorter. Works fine. Well, not at first when I realized there were no textured parts to get ahold of then and I hadn't yet mastered the muscle-push trick. But like I said, experimentation. To anyone who wants to try them, make sure you've got some time to yourself for trial and error. Don't try and pop it in for the first time right before work or something. It actually took two periods before I could call myself a pro with them. Also, you do have to be ok with your own blood. I've found the cups very... educational, in that aspect.

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The very few times that I used Tampons I must not have used it right, cause when it expanded, I felt it there and was very uncomfortable.

When I started this thread, I was thinking that majority of ace won't like to shuff something up there.

So are there any that know they won't have sex but use birth control or have implants?

I already said I use Birth Control. :/

I am NEVER going to have a period again. And I'm fucking PROUD of making that decision. :)

it's completely free. 0$ I get 3 months worth of birth control each time.

I know but I didn't want to make the assumption that you don't have sex.

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iamphoenixfire

tampons. pads just feel disgusting to me.

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I'm actually shocked at how many people prefer pads to tampons. I can't stand them. It's the menstrual cup or tampons for me, always.

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AmethystKitty

I'm actually shocked at how many people prefer pads to tampons. I can't stand them. It's the menstrual cup or tampons for me, always.

I hated pads, too. They were always leaking, and it felt like a wet diaper. It's why I switched to cups.

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I'm actually shocked at how many people prefer pads to tampons. I can't stand them. It's the menstrual cup or tampons for me, always.

Well, I don't like the feel of pads, but it's better than tampons after what happened with the tampon. And the cups I have tried don't work over night, so I need pads anyways. So, I figure why not just use them and save myself the hassle of having to use multiple things.

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I'm a guy, but I can tell ya, if I had to pick, pads. The idea of tampons just seems really off to me. And now you know the guys take. ;)

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Pads. You couldn't pay me to shove anything up my vagina.

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I'm actually shocked at how many people prefer pads to tampons. I can't stand them. It's the menstrual cup or tampons for me, always.

I hate the feel of pads too,and they hurt me when I sit down or walk, but for me they don't hurt as much as tampons, which is why I have to use them even though I hate them >.< .. however, the fabric pads do feel better than the awful regular kind *ugh* and I am thinking about trying sea sponge again, as it may be easier to use than tampons. either that or find the money to get the birth control pill and solve all my problems at once heh.

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Pads. I suppose that I would feel tampons or menstrual cups. I'm afraid that it feels uncomfortable. I'm very sensitive and feeling that there is something stuck inside me would be as uncomfortable as permanently having a large suppository stuck inside my butt. :D

The other reason is I don't want to get dirty hands each time I change a tampon or menstrual cup. It would be embarrassing in a public toilet...

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I'm actually shocked at how many people prefer pads to tampons. I can't stand them. It's the menstrual cup or tampons for me, always.

I hate the feel of pads too,and they hurt me when I sit down or walk, but for me they don't hurt as much as tampons, which is why I have to use them even though I hate them >.< .. however, the fabric pads do feel better than the awful regular kind *ugh* and I am thinking about trying sea sponge again, as it may be easier to use than tampons. either that or find the money to get the birth control pill and solve all my problems at once heh.

I must say, I did some research on the sea sponges yesterday, and I am extremely intrigued. I might try it. I don't mind tampons at all, except that I have an extremely light flow, so it's either yanking them out which is not totally fun or leaving them in for like 12 hours, which isn't totally proper. But I hate the liners and pads. The sponges seem similar to the tampons but potentially better suited to my light flow and possibly cheaper as well, though maybe not seeing as I go through sometimes as few as 3-4 tampons per cycles, which comes every 25-28 days for me. I go through less than two boxes of tampons a year. I only use them for the first 2 days of my period each cycle and then nothing the last one or two days because the flow is so light... Which is why though I'm cool with the menstrual cups, they also are a bit more than I usually care for dealing with. But I really am fascinated by the sea sponge idea.

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