Tampons or Pads?

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yes, i agree with you - you almost have me sold on them.

one concern i have is that (warning: serious TMI coming up) i get chronic UTIs, which might be aggravated by a cup. the UTIs are mostly under control now, but obviously i want to do everything possible to avoid them again.

my other concern is the mess of removal. for example if i ever needed to take it out at work or someone else's house, i would be afraid of the spillage. i have poor dexterity and tend to make a great deal of mess in general. the potential for an accident scares the crap out of me.

Haha, I really don't care what anyone says---- sitting in my own blood is the most disgusting feeling I've ever had and, like I said, kept me from doing gym because I was constantly wet down there. I absolutely needed tampons when I had a period because I had a VERY heavy seven day flow and had to change a pad every thirty minutes. I'm sure it works for girls with very light, very short periods, but I don't think pads are a good option for the average, on the go woman. Like I said, I was interested in using the cup when I had a period because it was the same idea as a tampon (no blood outside the vagina) without the TSS risk, but luckily I don't have a period at all anymore. Best thing I've ever used for a period is Mirena. Haha.

As far as pain? I said that if you were inserting it right, it shouldn't hurt. That goes with most women. The site you linked me to pretty much says the same thing. All the things they list have to do with either phobias people can't control, Vaginismus (muscle clenching problems-- which is treatable) or inserting it the wrong way (i.e.: using the wrong absorbancy, getting manual tampons instead of applicator tampons, picking a tampon with an applicator that's too wide). Although there are some exceptions in the matter of phobias of touching oneself or TSS, or having that particular problem with the vagina, or (as it lists along with it) not being able to find the opening of your vagina (which . . . is a fixable problem that doesn't reduce the effectiveness of tampons, it just means you aren't looking hard enough, obviously), most women can wear a tampon comfortably if they're *doing it properly*. Again, the site says as much: most of the reasons listed have to do with either fear or not inserting it correctly or finding one small enough for you.

TSS occurs more with traditional tampons because it dries the vagina out. This typically occurs in women using absorbancies that are too high and with women using cardboard applicators (cardboard applicators always caused me discomfort and felt like they were scraping against the vaginal wall, where rounded plastic applicators did not). Obviously, if you have only light bloodflow, you should probably wear a panty-liner. Otherwise, Junior absorbancy tampons should have a much lower rate of TSS because they are very small, the applicators are thin, tend not to scrape against the vagina, and they should not be removed until they are saturated to some degree. If the tampon has been in a while and it's still too dry and hasn't absorbed enough blood, you're using too high of an absorbancy, because the tampon should be saturated after about just two or three hours (and should be changed that frequently to avoid streptococcus bacteria from accumulating--- wearing tampons too long, using cardboard applicators that scrape along the vagina, or pulling tampons out when theyr'e still dry (which pulls layers of skin with it) are big causes of why TSS is linked to tampons. However, I must note that only HALF of the TSS cases are linked to tampons (and I imagine, as I've said, it's most rampant with misuse of them), and TSS can affect women who have never touched a tampon in their life, so I don't think it's necessarily a rational fear if you know how to use a tampon and don't wear above the absorbancy you absolutely need. As a rule of thumb, juniors and regulars are what should be used the most frequently. But I know girls who wear super absorbancy all the time. I also know girls who try to have sex with tampons in, or wear two tampons at once, so I know that a lot of tampon pain is linked to not knowing how to insert them properly.

Voted "something else".

And that something else is a CUP! That has to be the single most useful thing invented for women, EVER..!

Menstruating used to be a seven day long major PITA hassle, with the cup I can nealry forget all about it apart from occasional cramps and rinsing it out about every 12 hours or so on heavy days.
I have rarely needed to do it in public stalls or other undesirable locations, I rarely spend more than 12 hours away from "safe" bathroom facilities.

Love the thing for many, many reasons, including the fact that I can happily stay in my usual tomboy state of mind and not having my nose rubbed in my femaleness every 3 weeks...

I used to use a mix of pads and tampons. I hated having to change anything so often, so I looked into other options.

Now I use the Diva Cup. And it is AWESOME. As someone with a super-heavy flow, I had to get the gigantic tampons, which then dried me out like nobody's business, and were just a pain, and gross, and then there's always the issue of where to put them when they're used up, and blah blah blah.

The Diva Cup took a lot of getting used to. I am not a very patient person, and when PMSing I have even less patience. So when I bought it, I tried it out before I got my period. That's one of the great things, too. Using it will not hurt you, as long as you follow the directions of course, no matter what you do. You can't get TSS from leaving it in too long. You won't get dryness issues ever. You're not risking leaving bits of cotton sticking up there. And it's made my periods more bearable.. I don't know how, but it has.

Pretty much, it's a silicone cup, and you stick it up there (fold to insert, then it pops open painlessly), then you can leave it up to 12 hours - probably more if you felt like it, but I prefer to wash it at least that often. When it's full or it's been 12 hours, you remove it, empty it in the toilet, rinse/wash it in the sink, and re-insert. Then you put it in boiling water for 10 minutes between each cycle, which sanitizes it.

Admittedly, dealing with a cup of blood is a little weird. But this is an event I will have to deal with for the next few decades - I may as well get used to it. It is your own blood, you can't contract anything from it, and you can always wash your hands.

As for the pad situation, I've switched to fabric, reusable Luna Pads. I have one full maxi-pad sized one (with insertable liners for added absorption) so if there's ever a time I don't want to use my cup, I have a back up. Along with that I also have 8 panty-liner type pads. I am the type of person that needs a panty-liner every day, and these are absolutely awesome. They also work as back up for when I wear the cup, if I've put it in wrong or don't empty it in time. I just put them in with my laundry once a week.

Sorry that was sort of long - I just love my new period accessories, hah.