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Everyone’s Opinions on Different Period Products?


Zosia

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I switched from tampons/pads to a cup about a year ago and I never wanna go back. I was a bit hesitant at first, but at least for me it's so much more comfortable than tampons. I can do almost any type of sports with it and it saves a ton of waste and money.

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I use the mini pill, a specialized kind of birth control that only has progesterone (the typical birth control pill has both estrogen and progesterone). Apparently since I have migraines the combined birth control put me at risk of stroke, so I had to change my prescription. The upside of using the mini pill is that there is no 7-day placebo period, so my period is very small and manageable and only comes for a day or two. So I only have to use a pad occasionally!

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RoseGoesToYale

I've been using reusable cloth pads (a woman in Canada makes them) for about 5 years, and I will neeeeeeeeeever ever go back, not even for a million dollars. They're comfortable as hell, they don't "crunch" loudly like paper ones do, nearly impossible to bleed through (bottom is polarfleece), have snap wings that can't come unglued, can be folded up for travel, are environmentally-friendly, and once soiled I simply throw them in the wash with the regular laundry and they come out clean and ready to go.

 

The set I have is about a USD $125 value, and they should last me another five years, maybe more. So considering about $10.80 a box per period and 12 periods a year, for five years, that comes to $648 I've saved so far. In ten years that'll be $1,296. So if they seem expensive at the start, they're basically like a stock investment that's very worth it. If you're handy with sewing, you can even make your own!

 

The cup doesn't work for me, unfortunately. Even the smallest size was extremely painful and I had problems removing it. And tampons are hades, even without the TSS, I don't even want to know how much pollution they contribute to, how much sea life has been harmed because people still flush them.

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I have a cup, but I have not been able to figure that out. I just got some underwear from knix, but I haven’t had a chance to try them yet. If I like those I’ll probably slowly add to my stash.. I mostly use pads, and tampons only if necessary for now. 

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I'm down with people using whatever they're comfortable with.  My partner could not handle tampons and went with pads.  Their cousin only uses tampons and can't fathom using pads.  To each their own.

 

IMO if you're a janitor yet insist there's something you're not willing to clean, you're in the wrong line of work.

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My opinion on period products: everyone should wear whatever feels most comfortable. Reusable products are better for the environment, but your tampons/pads/whatever aren't killing the planet. There are a few things that are Not It: 1) shaming other people for what they use, and 2) throwing pads/tampons in the toilet when there are other options (JUST STOP). 

 

I use regular pads. Ideally, I'd like to use a cup because it seems super practical, but my body is a fortress and nothing gets inside (was that too much information?)

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I've started to feel real guilty about the environment lately. We're talking zero waste and flirting with veganism guilty. I nanny for people who use only disposable stuff. They are the picture of American consumerism and willful ignorance, and it really grinds my gears. 

 

So I feel really bad now when I use disposable products, even period products. I've tried the snap-on pads and to be honest they're not my favorite, but I've found Thinx to be really great so far and I use a diva cup on heavy exercise days. 

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I used to have periods. I liked the cup because it saved money and helped me feel less dysphoric because I wouldn't see it as I would with a pad and not have to take it out as often as a tampon. Whenever I would have to interact with it, it's short and just have to clean it properly. 

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5 minutes ago, Zosia said:

I’ve used Thinx exclusively since December and they’re fantastic :P

Yes! I love my Thinx! 

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I only use pads. I hate the idea of putting anything inside my vagina. I'm straight up terrified of it. Plus, this is tmi but, I really like the way I can feel periods come out of me when I'm using pads. I love my period, and I love the way I can feel all the bleeding. I wouldn't want to use anything but pads since pads allow me to feel it all come out. It feels nice. 

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everywhere and nowhere

I use ordinary pads. Plus - I don't know why, maybe because of quite heavy flow, but I always need to put a little bit of toilet paper between my buttocks. Otherwise blood will flow behind the pad. "Overnight" pads don't help, so I only use maxi pads (one step short of "overnight") plus that bit of toilet paper, on both days and nights, and medium pads on the first day and last two. (My periods last about 6 days, but the last two are probably no longer really period - just remains of blood which has stopped on the vaginal corona, slowly flowing out. At least that's what I suspect.)

Yes, pads become waste, but sorry, I have a right to bodily comfort.

Cups are something I find somehow surprising. I mean - some time ago I read an old topic about periods and was surprised about how relatively many users wear them. On an asexual forum there is a clear overrepresentation of virgins, and cups are probably quite impossible to use for most anatomical virgins. Yes, it is possible to lose your virginity to a menstrual cup. ;)

I would consider trying them if someone produced very elongated (to compensate for much smaller diameter) cups, or rather tubes, with a diameter of less than 2 centimeters. I tried tampons once and couldn't insert even the smallest one. Although... maybe I was just missing the right spot (sorry, I don't want to look at my plumbing :wacko:), because now I know that a part of a finger is able to go in (although not without pain).

Anyway it shouldn't be long now, I hope to start menopause in about 10 years, maybe I'll even be lucky to get it earlier...

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firewallflower

I've been using reusable pads since menarche, and am quite happy with them. I've tried eco-friendly disposabales on a couple occasions (when I didn't have laundry access and didn't feel like having a sackful of used pads sitting in my backpack for a week :P), but that's it. I've considered a cup, but am personally uncomfortable with the idea of an insert-based product, so... probably not. I'm interested in period undies, but don't have any currently.

 

As far as other people... whatever they're comfortable with. I definitely do think reusable products are preferable in general, but at the end of the day, you do you.

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Back to Avalon

I'm 46 and have, with rare exception, always used pads. I could count on one hand the number of times I've used tampons, and I'm not sure I've ever done it successfully. I tried a few months ago, for the first time in a long time, and I didn't get the thing in right. When it comes to switching products, I don't think I'd be bothered now. There are some intriguing ideas in this thread (I honestly don't think I've heard of reusable pads; how do you get them totally clean?), but I figure why change horses when I'm almost all the way across the stream?

 

 

1 hour ago, Nowhere Girl said:

Plus - I don't know why, maybe because of quite heavy flow, but I always need to put a little bit of toilet paper between my buttocks. Otherwise blood will flow behind the pad.

I end up with blood back there, too. To this day, i don't understand it. I use plastic-backed pantyliners as an extension of the pad. They absorb enough (it's not much blood, after all), and I finally found a use for those plastic-backed liners that I don't want to use for daily wear.

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Grumpy Alien

I think it’s a matter of preference but they’re a necessity so it’s not gross. I use disposable pads. I have pelvic floor dysfunction so tampons and cups are not only impossible but painful. I can’t be bothered to use reusable pads, sorry...

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I don't like using anything you have to insert- it just feels wrong, both on a dysphoria level and as a physical sensation.

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AmorphousBlob
6 hours ago, Ardoise said:

I don't like using anything you have to insert- it just feels wrong, both on a dysphoria level and as a physical sensation.

Same, I'm a very small person but I get very heavy periods so any kind of insert product is too big or runs the risk of leaking. Plus they just feel bleh.

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everywhere and nowhere
1 hour ago, AmorphousBlob said:

Same, I'm a very small person but I get very heavy periods so any kind of insert product is too big or runs the risk of leaking. Plus they just feel bleh.

There's very little correlation between body size and diameter down there. I'm not tall, but I have a "large frame", definitely big-boned - and my vaj seems extremely tight, probably due to not being used...

By the way, do you know how outraged can some allosexual people get at the very mention of "not using one's intimate parts"?... :angry:

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I honestly hadn't heard of any other kind of period products besides pads and tampons before, except for maybe the diva cup. o__o I was straight-up terrified of using tampons for a good half of my life, but my periods can be really heavy, especially when I was younger, so I eventually had to start using them. I don't like using them if I don't have to, though, because of the side-effects of keeping them in for too long.

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Grumpy Alien
6 hours ago, Nowhere Girl said:

By the way, do you know how outraged can some allosexual people get at the very mention of "not using one's intimate parts"?... :angry:

... What?

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Iam not grossed out by anything period related, I have done janitorial work before I had no problem with discarded pads, etc, if your grossed out by periods then you should be in another line of work.

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Spoiler

I would like to use reusable stuff, but I bleed so freaking heavy that I'm unsure I would be able to find anything that actually works and is washable afterwards. I literally have to wear two pads at once it's so bad. Plus tampons and menstrual cups are not a thing I can do for multiple reasons.

Warning: the above is probably TMI but at least there's finally somewhere I can say it.

 

Also just to clarify, you can't lose your virginity to an insert product. The whole 'cherry popping' thing is just a myth. Your hymen is an elastic membrane and it can change shape for a lot of different reasons if it does at all. This is also why virginity testing is horrible and doesn't work.

 

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everywhere and nowhere
4 hours ago, Dr. Beat said:

Also just to clarify, you can't lose your virginity to an insert product. The whole 'cherry popping' thing is just a myth. Your hymen is an elastic membrane and it can change shape for a lot of different reasons if it does at all.

Vaginal coronae are different - some are more elastic, some more stiff. OK, what I'm writing about is pure anecdotal proof - I have simply read about such a case. But still, according to the account, some woman managed to insert a menstrual cup - but her vaginal corona couldn't withstand the pressure and ruptured. It's probably not likely, but also probably not impossible.

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DuranDuranfan

I prefer using tampons. But on my heavier days I wear a thin pad, just in case the tampon gets over-saturated.

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I would prefer tampons, but one got stuck inside of me once and... ow. There was something pink and rope like (but very much attached to my body) wrapped around it when I tried to remove it and that was honestly the worst experience ever trying to get it out. So, I use pads now. 

 

I tried a cup but it leaked too much and I constantly had bloody undies. It only worked for about 3 hours until it was empty it or leak. I couldn't be bothered to do it that often. Plus, bloody hands to empty it was gross, especially in public restrooms. 

 

Not tried any other products like reuseable because putting blood covered pads in with clothes sounds ... dangerous for the other clothes. 

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On 7/18/2019 at 12:37 AM, Rhyme said:

Reusable products are better for the environment, but your tampons/pads/whatever aren't killing the planet.

Tampons/pads end up as landfills and they wont biodegrade for centuries. Many people flush tampons/pads despite being told not to and they end up in rivers and oceans and harm the aquatic animals. They kill planet, but slowly.

 

I tried making old school version of reusable pads in the beginning for years but eventually couldn't deal with the mess and just started using disposable pads (been years). I feel terrible about it and I am planning to try reusable pads/underwears. I can find them only in N America and I forgot to buy them last year when I was in the states *facepalm* Thanks to this thread, I will now see if I can order internationally

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4 hours ago, Chihiro said:

Tampons/pads end up as landfills and they wont biodegrade for centuries. 

I don't know where you live, but my pads don't end up in landfills. In Norway, most un-recyclable waste is sent to incinerator plants (?  'forbrenningsanlegg' in Norwegian) where the heat is used to create energy.

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firewallflower
6 hours ago, Serran said:

Not tried any other products like reuseable because putting blood covered pads in with clothes sounds ... dangerous for the other clothes. 

As in laundry? I rinse the pads first (by hand and then with the pre-wash cycle on the washing machine - though really, one or the other would probably be enough), then add other stuff in for the regular spin cycle. So by the time other clothes come into the picture, they're water-saturated no-longer-blood-covered pads.

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everywhere and nowhere

I hate washing anything by hand due to my allergy (generally, doing it without gloves is dangerous for me) and I just don't want to wash something bloody. Sorry, as I said - I believe that I have a right to some comfort.

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