Extreme Girlie TMI: The Period Products Poll

In My Humble Opinion
1

Boys, this is gonna be some heavy-duty discussion of menstrual items here, so unless you’ve got some fetish for that stuff or you are morbidly curious, you may want to leave now. From this point on, it’s period talk time.

I grew up in a pad household. All pads, all the time, my mom, my big sister, and me. 'Twas all I knew. The thought of tampons scared me. And we didn’t use those skinny little millimeter-thick ultra-thin pads, either. I grew up feeling like if I couldn’t feel the thing between my legs, then I was not protected. So I wore pads and only pads from the time I was 11 until my sophomore year of college, in 2001, when I was stranded on a trip with nothing but tampons. So I said what the hell, I’ll go for it. And after that, I went out a bought a multi-pack and gradually phased tampons into my period regimen. I used the Tampax ones with the cardboard applicator, for flushability, for a long time, then a few months ago I tried the Playtex Gentle Glide plastic ones, which I found a little easier to work with, but I really didn’t like the non-biodegradable plastic-ness.

And then last week Aunt Flo came for a suprise visit at work, where the one tampon machine in the bathroom is stocked with the o.b. no-applicator kind. But I was desperate, so I used one. And to my surprise, it was not nearly as gross as I would have figured. (I mean, that’s about the one time of the month you really don’t want to stick your fingers in there, right?) and it worked very well. And so small and compact! No big applicator to flush or throw away. Just make sure to wash your hands thoroughly.

So I am now an o.b. applicator-less tampon convert. As for pads (still gotta wear them at night, at least) I stick with Always, because of one thing: Dri-weave. That stuff is amazing.

So, Doper ladies, I am curious. What do you use to handle your monthly crotch-bleeding, and why? :slight_smile:

2

I’ve been an o.b. non-applicator chica for years. When I switched to tampons, they were the kind I found that worked best for me - I never had a problem getting them seated right (unlike Kotex and Tampax).
Also, tampax always seemed to lead down the string, while I never had that problem with o.b.

As far as pads, I generally buy Always. I only use them at night, so it’s no big deal.

3

I’ve tried tampons but gave them up. I find them irritating - they absorb TOO well and tend to ahere to my delicate bits. It’s like withdrawing a dry loofa sponge or something. Owie. I’ll use them if I have no alternative, I’m swimming, or I won’t have access to decent bathroom facilities for 12 hours on a heavy day, but not on a regular basis, no way (And yes, I did try several different brands). Not to mention, with my allergies to everything, I didn’t want to risk getting a rash in that particular area.

Anyhow, pads for me, 99.999999% of the time. In particular, Always with wings. I like that they come in different weights and sizes

4

I love, love, love the ob no-applicator ones and have ever since I first tried them a year and a half ago. It always seemed a little icky to me, but last year we were on a trip, I started unexpectedly, and they were cheap, so I figured, what the hell?)

So small and discreet. So easy to use, and surprisingly clean. So comfy, and so leak resistant. Yay, women gynecologists!

As for pads, I’m an Always ultra-plus girl.

Oh, and Broomstick, what absorbancy do you use? The lower absorbancy, the better, you know.

5

I used tampons from day 1. My mom recommended that I use them. I did try pads, but didn’t like having a mattress between my legs.

Since she used Tampax, I used Tampax. And I endured leaks and slippage for years. And then, like the others in this thread, I had no choice but to use an applicator-less OB. No leaks, no slippage! Yay!

Then they came out with OBs with the carboard applicator. And that is what I use now. I prefer to use the applicator. But I do use the applicator-less ones sometimes–I keep a couple tucked in my purse for emergencies. I sometimes use an organic brand of unbleached tampons, but they are pretty hard to find in “super” absorbency.

But one day, a couple of years ago, I found myself completely out of tampons. I did have a couple of Always pads that I had received as free samples stashed away. So I used them. And I was delighted to find that modern pads are very much unlike the pads from 20 years ago! It was thin and comfortable and dry! So, now I use Always wingless pads part of the time.

When I was very pregnant, I experienced some pee leakage, so I ended up wearing an Always pad for 2 months straight! Yay Always pads!

6

I’m a devoted fan of Stayfree Ultra thin maxi pads with wings. I have tried using tampons in the past but since I’ve been on the pill for 3 years, my flow has gotten pretty light and sometimes I barely even need more than a panty liner. I generally found tampons (even low absorbency) to be awkward and uncomfortable and basically couldn’t get the darn things in.

So, for now, pads it is.

7

I like the new Kotex pads with the velcro wings. They stay put in my undies far better than anything else I’ve tried. I use the really thin ones, of course – who uses the big fat kind anymore, anyway, except in an emergency?

I only use tampons when I’m swimming or something, or on the first night when it’s REALLY heavy and I don’t want to get up to change the pad at 3 AM plus risk ruining my sheets. (Tampon plus pad=drastically lessened chance of leakage.) The OBs with applicators are the best, but I’ve had trouble finding them recently, which is really frustrating. I just can’t handle the non-applicator ones, I can’t get them in far enough or to sit right. But OBs are the best tampons out there as far as I’m concerned.

8

I use pads all the time, unless I’m swimming. Generally, I use the Always ones with wings, and when I get to the “spotting” stage, I use Kotex pantiliners.

9

No Instead fans? I like them for light days, although if I’m having lower back problems (which is becoming more frequent the older I get), I can’t get to them. Grrr.

Otherwise, on heavy days it’s a Tampax super and an Always pad. No other combo works as well. I loved OB, but they have the same “lower back/can’t reach” problem I have with Instead.

10

I started with pads (iccck) but then switched to tampons. Used Tampax for years, and I still use them. I buy those boxes of 80 mixed absorbency ones and use whichever absorbency is appropriate for my flow on a particular day.

A few months ago I broke down and started to use pads along with tampons – for overnight only when my flow was especially heavy. I had finally gotten sick of ruining panties to the point I had to throw them away, and for my heavy-flow times I use Super absorbency, day or night but especially at night! Since I used up the pads I had, I might buy some more when I buy my next box of Tampax (should do it tomorrow actually since Aunt Flo’s next visit is due the end of the week and all I have left is one tampon!).

I had tried the Always with wings, and I hated the damn wings, with those peel off things and tucking them right; couldn’t get the hang of it. I’ll look for something without wings this time.

11

I used pads until I was about sixteen, then switched exclusively to tampons until my mid-twenties. I was having a lot of trouble with cervical dysplasia and read that tampons can exacerbate the problem, so went back to pads. I don’t really have a brand loyalty, but I do use the thin ones. I like the super-long ones for overnight. I only use tampons on an “as-needed” basis now - working out, swimming, hiking, etc. - and I use OB brand.

12

I don’t like tampons, they scare me. When I was a little girl, my mother got one stuck, when she tried to pull it out the little string broke off , she and my dad had to go fishing for it.

Stayfree ultra thin with wings is the only thing I use.

13

I use the Always super long pads with wings. It’s incredible, I don’t feel anything and the dri-weave keeps the icky feeling away. I don’t know if this is something all you other girls out there already knew, but I’ll put this out anyway. You know how the two halves of the pad separated by the wings are not equal? For years, I’d been placing the short end of the pad in the front of my panties. Obviously, the longer end went towards the back. Since there wasn’t too much coverage in front, I would get bleed through and have ruined sheets and underwear. I tried doubling up pads–putting one pad way in the front and overlapping a pad for the back, but this felt uncomfortable. About 6 months ago, I decided to place the pad with the longer end in the front of my panties. Success!! I don’t have any bleed through anymore.

As far as tampons go, I use them for work but this is really TMI: When I insert the plastic or cardboard applicator, I have to be very careful not to let my fingers get wet (whether blood or water from my shower), or else I can’t get a good grip on the outer applicator and make the inner applicator move the tampon up.

14

I’m strictly a Tampax girl. Don’t like non-applicator tampons much, hate hate hate pads.

15

I only use pads - always with wings. Love that driweave!

For some reason, after having kids, having a tampon in is incredibly uncomfortable, so I can no longer use them. :frowning:

16

I don’t use tampons. No one in my immediate family situation used them, so I never knew about them (situation hasn’t changed, and I’m not that interested in them anyways).

Now I use Always with wings (or Target’s adaptation, although they have smaller wings).

I hate the velcro wings. In my case, the pads still work as if they had no wings at all, which in my case means squishing together so that it leaks on the panty sides.

17

I’m all about The Keeper, and for nighttime, I use Gladrags, which are reusable cloth pads.

About five years ago (or so) the idea of continuing to unnecessarily pollute the earth with my menstrual garbage just really began to turn my stomach. Thinking about all of the paper and cotton and plastic and the four-walled, tabbed, winged, quilted, driweaved, velcroed, stickybacked, bleached, gel-filled stuff that would take decades to biodegrade out there in the landfills and the water supply in the name of “convenience” makes me very sad.

18

For tampons I use Playtex Gentile Glide (with the plastic applicator - screw the environment, I say!), deodorant usually, Super Plus.

For pads, which I almost never use, I use whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart. Usually this is the Equate brand, the kind with wings. When I had just given birth I used the thick-as-a-pillow kind because I bled like a stuck pig for about a month.

Never heard of the Keeper. Went to their website, interesting. Is it me or does that thing look like a plunger, though?

19

tlw, I have to admit I found your post to be a bit “holier-than-thou” at first.

But thinking about it…I use tampons, and the ones here in Japan SUCK because most women don’t use them. Plus they are really expensive, and Og knows what chemicals are in them.

So I’m thinking about getting a Keeper. Any idea how I’d go about it, since I’m here in Japan?

20

Started out, at the tender age of 11, with pads. They were just what my mom gave me, so that’s what I used. But I have an insanely heavy flow if I’m off the pill (which is why I’ve been on it for 4 years, even though I very rarely need it, and often forget to take it. Yay for NuvaRing!) so I never liked them. Then, on a family vacation to a waterpark, the Scarlet Pimpernel showed up to thwart my fun. Mom had some Playtex Portables with her, and I got hooked. (ironic since Mom is an extreme Tampex user) Used them until recently, when I started phasing in the Keeper.

I guess between the NuvaRing and the Keeper, I’ve got a lot of weird stuff kept up there! :slight_smile: