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[leila82]

EEEP! Test tomorrow, panic time today :( Apparently have new pattern where I turn into insomniac three nights before an exam - not good at all, because now am cranky and sleepy in addition to being panicked and also still having the allergies (as a side note - dear mother nature - make the allergy making things stop, please? my chest, it hurts

Comments

[tv_elf]

Sadly, I know less of tampons than you. (When I bothered with a period I didn't want my aides getting that personal.) In college I opted to stop getting my period, and never went back. (I take the daily pill, but don't take the week of dummy pills.) You can now get a pill that only gives you four weeks of dummy pills a year. As someone who has major mood swings with my periods, I highly recommend it.

[leila82]

Alas, no birth control! Because I don't really have use of the birth controlling part of it (my love life = deader than dead), and my PMS symptoms aren't really bad enough to warrant going on the pill, either. They're unpleasant, but not so bad that the Midol can't take care of them. And I think they don't mix well with my anti-migraine stuff, and given a choice, I'd choose not having migraines.

I seriously considered Seasonale, though (I think that's the one that gives you only 4 a year), last time I went to India. Because the one thing that's more unpleasant than a period? Is having a period in a developing country in the summertime. A developing country with squatty-potties. *shudders*

[maya]

i use regular tampax pearl - i find they slide in easier then the regular cardboard applicator. i use regular cause i'm never really that heavy and they just feel better then the larger ones. i'd start with a smaller (thinner) until you get used to it. also it helps to still use a panty liner in case of spotting.

funny story: one month soon after i first started getting my period i wasn't prepared for it and i started during school. so i asked my friend for a pad but she only had a tampon (which I had never used before) so i went into the bathroom and just pushed the thing in there - but didn't push in the cardboard tube that actually pushed the tampon inside of you. aside from feeling wierd all day, I stained my pants anyway and i was super embarassed.

[leila82]

See, a panty liner...that's something I wouldn't have thought of on my own. This is why I come to you guys :)

And that story is one of the many reasons why I figure I should get over my fear of tampons - what if I'm stuck on a deserted island and and I get my period and there are only tampons available? Clearly, I'd have no choice then, but a deserted island is probably not the best time to face these sorts of fears, since there are other, more pressing issues.

Also, poor school-aged maya :( That sort of thing is very embarrassing.

[lijago]

Good luck on the test

[leila82]

Thanks for the info and the good wishes!

I figured TSS wasn't a big deal anymore, seeing as how the only references I've seen made to it mentioned the 80s, but if you ask my mother, she'd make it sound as though women were dropping like flies from it right this minute! I'm not exactly sure what her issue is with tampons...

Oooh and panty liners, that's a good thing you told me about that. I wouldn't have thought of it on my own.

Here's a question - what about nighttimes? Because it looks like there's a time limit on the absorbancy issue, and...most nights I don't sleep eight hours, but on weekends, you know, it happens. Eight, ten, twelve...how on earth would you handle that? Or is that when you're like, screw it, and just use a pad?

[lijago]

For the first 5 years or so, I did say screw it, and use a pad. Now I've moved to tampons all the time. You'll get to know your body & how much you flow at night. As well, you may want to use a slightly higher absorbancy at night, in case you don't wake up. But for the first little while, it might be easiest to use a pad. I don't know - it's really hard to say, b/c my bigger concern with not waking up is that the tampon will overflow, causing a mess in your bed, but I know that I've also made messes with wearing pads at night too.

[annabelle50]

I would recommend either Playtex Gentle Glide or Tampax Pearls (that's just the name, not some weird thing you don't know about!) You should probably start off with just regular absorbancy until you know how well that works for you. (You don't want something too, too absorbant because it will dry you out too much and you don't want something not absorbant enough because...well, you can probably guess!) Either of those brands should be good. They were always my favorite (I use the Diva Cup now but I won't scare you!) They were most comfortable and easy to insert.

[annabelle50]

Also, the reason I liked them better was because they were plastic, they went in more smoothly. I never liked cardboard applicators myself, but that doesn't mean you won't. I'd probably start out with plastic though.

[annabelle50]

Sorry for all the comments...I keep thinking of something to add. I think I have about half a box of the Playtex Gentle Glide that I'm probably never going to use. If you'd want to try them, I could send them to you. That way you don't have to buy them.

[leila82]

Ooh, no all this information is great, very helpful. And thanks for the offer, also; it's OK, though - I think I'm probably going to try a couple of those small trial packs so I can experiment around with different brands and absorbancies.

I seriously was wondering about the Tampax Pearls, like if there was something special about them. Because they have a picture of a strand of pearls on the box, and everything! I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not...

[world_on_fire28]

i'm afeared of tampons too but i've used them before. sometimes it takes some trial and error (unfortunately) to find ones that work with you well enough. There's the whole flow thing and absorbency whatever. blah blah. but what the hell is a "Diva Cup"?

[leila82]

Oh wow, so...Diva Cups are cups that you insert, and I think they are supposed to fit around your cervix (but I'm not positive about this fact), and they catch the blood flow. And then you empty them out when they get full, rinse, re-insert. Environmentally great, obviously, since you're not throwing anything away, and also financially the best route in the long run, but...the potential for messes is huge, especially if you're as clumsy as I am. Also I don't know how you know when they are full, things like that. And what about when you sleep?? So yeah...I think that's a line I'm not quite ready to cross yet.