Menstrual products. [This one's gonna get graphic]

[tomboy4life]

I sometimes use OB tampons or the Keeper cup. The cup is better (one time cost, no risk of TSS, better for the enviroment). But its a bit of a pain to wash, so when Im too tierd or drunk or out I use tampons.

[Forensic]

Pads (must have wings!!!)

Have tried tampons, but either I can't insert them right or I flow too heavy or something, but it's a messy result, every time.

I'm interested in a cup, but my time is awful irregular and I don't know if I can carry it with me as easily as a pad.

[Kamtoad]

I use disposable pads. Not for any real reason though.

[pico_the_great]

Pads, and I go through a pack and a half a month. :(

[Dexlar]

pads mainly because I lucked out in the whole "curse" thing. I do get it once a month, but it only lasts for around 3-4 days, its light and I get no side effects. I'm not anemic or anything either...just lucky.

[gravity_defiant]

Mostly disposable pads (yes, wings!), but I'm hating tampons a little less than I used to. They're still not my primary method, but I'll use them on occasion.

I feel kind of bad about the waste--I'm very eco-conscious in pretty much everything else I do--but switching to any alternatives would require a level of comfort with my bodily fluids that I can't quite achieve yet.

[ily]

I use tampons with pads for back-up, or on the last days of my period. I use cloth pads sometimes too; I was skeptical at first, but it's cool how you can re-adjust them. I tried to use a mooncup, because it seems like a great concept, but it was like inserting a small football up there. Sticking to tampons for now...

[Shinnok]

Pads..always used them. I couldn't take having something shoved up in there lke a tampon especially when that area is hurting around menstruating anyway

[Juniperberry]

Pads, as much as possible. My doctor claims that occasional tampon use will make that little procedure with the plastic silverware every couple years less excruciating (so far it hasn't), so that's the one concession I'll make.

Okay that just scared we half out of my wits. I thought that wasn't necessary, if you still had an intact hymen. I thought there were other ways of testing your health down there without actually doing/using that kind of an invasive method. I've never used tampons in my life, just pads because although they're gross, the thought of anything up there freaks me out way too much (as in I feel like hiding under my bed and turning into a rock).

[Hurricane Camille]

Pads, here. I used to use a combination of pads and tampons, but the tampons gave me such horrible cramps that I had to stop using them. Plus, they always leaked. Yuck!

I am blessed with scant periods, so one of those big bargain packs of 32 pads lasts me about four months. This month I only used three. I'm one of those freak-of-nature menstruating females with hemochromatosis (high iron), and I have read that we have light and/or irregular periods.

[peachy]

Pads for me. Unlike for most people, it doesn't feel like I'm wearing a diaper. Even if I wear the thick overnight pads, I don't even really notice them.

I used to get it every month, but now I only get it like 4 times a year, or less. Wish it was like that when I was in school; mine were super heavy.

[Seien Hananosei]

I got a Keeper menstrual cup several months ago....I LOVE IT! Never going back to tampons EVER!

FREEDOM!

*does a happy dance*

After I got over the whole uncomfortable bit, tampons are a wonder, but after this forum I'm looking into a Keeper or something like that. :/ It seems more convenient from what I've heard so far....

[Solodancer1]

Every few years I have no good choice or want to do something where a pad doesn't work and I try to use a tampon. Aaagh! I remember not to try that again for a while and then one day I have to again. They don't work anyway, and they're cotton. I mean, cotton, you guys. A drying material. And then you have to pull them out. The cup and sponge look even harder to use.

Why do some women not like pads? They barely touch you. It's like having nothing there at all, and you can tell when it's time to change them because that's when you become aware of them. I mean, no periods at all would be even more convenient, but pads are just the simplest solution. You throw a wad of bandaging down and go about your business.

I do think they ought to be way bigger.

[Sally]

What is a cup? You mean you shove a cup up you? What keeps it upright -- doesn't it hurt? It must have edges -- eeeee.

If anyone wants bigger pads, look on the Incontinence shelves -- they're huge and very thick.

Ick.

[mindlife]

I use tampons coupled with cloth pads.

The cotton pad is wonderful in summer.

[Phalio]

When I was first starting my period I used pads as I was wary of sticking things up there.

It wasn't until I used my first tampon that I realized how gross and uncomfortable pads were.

I've recently switched to the mooncup which I've been using for about half a year now, and I LOVE it! It's totally comfortable (once you get used to it), easy to use, reusable and it prevents all leaks.

[HelloKoto]

I used tampons, then bought a divacup. It is really more comfortable.

[ButternutSquash]

I used pads to start with, then tampons and now I use a Mooncup.

The Mooncus is by far the best for me. I used to leak with everything else, but I don't get that at all with the Mooncup. It does take a few attempts to get used to it, but once used to it, it's great!

Of course, I would rather not have periods at all. The cup makes them slightly more bearable though.

[himynameis!]

Pads, and I go through a pack and a half a month. :(

me too, gah );

[Shinnok]

What are these cup things? I have always used pads because I don't want anything up there and I want what's in there to come out..not stay in there. I'll have to hear more about these cups

[EIito]

I mostly use tampons. The only time I've used pads in the past 10 years was that very unfortunate post-partum month (trust me, I worried more about having to use pads for a while than I did about labor pains). I also use the occasional disposable cup, but I manage to turn in it into a disproportionate mess upon removal, so I tend to only use them at home (mostly overnight, since they'll hold more than a tampon). I kind of like the alternation between the two to cut down TSS risk, since there's very little risk associated with the cups, which I'll talk about some more for Zato/PR.

The look huge, but the rim is incredibly easily flexible so you just kind of pinch the sides and it slides in and basically forms a light suction-seal around the cervix. There's an enlargable video on the site's main page that tells about it a bit, and shows how it works with both an graphic and visual aid. It doesn't actually go very far back because of its length, so you don't have to reach in very far to poke it in/take it out (maybe an inch-ish?)

[Shinnok]

I see....I couldn't even think to use something like a tampon or a cup since both of them go "in". I have high sensitivity to that area. Even if I wanted to I couldn't use it...I'll stick with pads

[Filmfan]

Always pads with wings. Gotta love those wings.

Yes, wings are the best! ;)

Just the thought of using a tampon (or having anything else up there) makes me want to faint!

[Porygon]

The idea of anything other than a pad creeps me out.. >.< I only use disposable pads.

[Sciatrix]

Pads, as much as possible. My doctor claims that occasional tampon use will make that little procedure with the plastic silverware every couple years less excruciating (so far it hasn't), so that's the one concession I'll make.

Okay that just scared we half out of my wits. I thought that wasn't necessary, if you still had an intact hymen. I thought there were other ways of testing your health down there without actually doing/using that kind of an invasive method. I've never used tampons in my life, just pads because although they're gross, the thought of anything up there freaks me out way too much (as in I feel like hiding under my bed and turning into a rock).

Well, no, since the point of the Pap smear is to test the cells in your cervix, so they do have to get pretty far "in there" whether you have an intact hymen or not. If you're not sexually active or on the Pill, and especially if you're young, the Pap smear isn't as important, but it's probably a good idea to have routinely done anyway in order to catch for cervical cancer (which is very common in women).

TMI:

Because I'm on birth control for hormonal reasons, I had to have my first Pap smear last summer. Asking for a small speculum helps (in my case, because I'm also physically small, she started off with a child-sized speculum--and the reason for their existence depresses me, but anyway). My OB-GYN is a truly awesome practitioner who does her level best to make what's already a stressful and uncomfortable experience as easy as possible. When it still pinched and hurt after three tries she just said "it's all right, this is enough" and let me go on my merry way without having to complete the test, since not being sexually active and besides being eighteen I'm very low-risk.

I just use disposable pads, by the way. No interest in tampons, and I'm just not comfortable enough with even the idea of tampons to entertain the DivaCup.

[ChaliceFlame]

My solution in the end was to cover the bed with a sheet of plastic. I mean periods lead to so many health problems that since I'd be spending most of the time in bed, this seemed like the most practical solution.

I still have the plastic bed covers I was using.

[Princely One]

Pads. Just because I have to.

Not gonna elaborate on that.

I'm blessed in that I don't have to go to doctors for those tests... I'd rather die a horrible death (or wait.. I did that already) than be raped by another doctor.

[prettyeyes]

Gee, I must have a big and/or insensitive vag because tampons don't hurt me at all unless they come in a cardboard applicator! I used pads when I first started menstruating and hated it because I was always convinced people would smell the drying blood and that they could see the pad through my jeans. Tampons are so nice and unobtrusive.

(I feel bad that I never intend on getting a pap smear but I have an intense distrust of all doctors and baring my crotch to one would probably give me a panic attack. Besides, I can't trust doctors not to stop doing something if it hurts. They always just tell me to "breathe, breathe" even if I'm screaming in agony like the time they got the bright idea that taking blood pressure from my leg would hurt less than getting it from my arm... Curse my hyperalgesis indeed.)

[Hayley]

I have a Mooncup, but after a few months haven't got the hang of it despite following all the FAQs and advice around. I find it very difficult to both insert and remove regardless of what bizarre positions I twist myself into. I do use it in the hope it'll eventually click because I love the idea, but tend to alternate between that and tampons.

I've never had any problems with tampons, and find them far superior to pads in both terms of comfort and practicality. Just a shame they're so wasteful!