Traveling with Reusable Menstrual Products

     So this last week, I went to Vegas for 3 days. We drove there for approximately 6 hours and I was on day 2 of my period. It was a long and uncomfortable journey. My starter pack of pads came with one overnight and one heavy. I wore the heavy that night and the overnight that day for the long drive. I only had the two pads that could possibly handle my flow and one of them was dirty. I discovered that the pads while they were more comfortable while dry, definitely felt wetter than the disposables after a while. So I had to wait it out until I got to the hotel. I'm definitely glad that I used the overnight pad for that long drive since it covered a larger surface area and I needed that on the long drive.

Look at me having fun driving. JK.

This was our view on the drive over.

     Cleaning the pads was super easy. All I had to do was wash it out in the sink with cold water and rub the lining of the pad together to help remove the stains. I dried out the pads by laying them out in my open luggage which I propped up right in between the wall and the bed. Unfortunately, with all the people in my family, I didn't want to leave that out for everyone to see; otherwise, I would have just hung them up somewhere. In the dry Vegas air, the pads dried out completely overnight. As always when clothing is dried without being tumbled, the fabric was stiff afterwards even though I tried hitting the pads through the air for some extra drying effect/to keep them moving.

     I'd spent the entire day before trying to figure out how to get the menstrual cup to work so I was a little frustrated. I think the hardest thing about using the cup was that it was so much more hands on than a tampon. With a tampon, you just stick the applicator up there and push. With the cup, you are literally guiding it up there without the use of an applicator. This reduces waste but can also be a messy, slightly embarrassing process -especially when you're new to it. With the cup, you also see the blood quite frankly; there is no stain or soaked up tampon. This is nice because you get to see how much blood you lose instead of just vaguely knowing that today is your heavy day.

     The whole trip started out a little disheartening. I was tired from traveling and stuck sitting in a wet cloth pad for several hours so when I got to the hotel, I was pretty much done with reusables. My ego had taken a hit. I'd asked for reusable menstrual pads and a cup for my Christmas present and I couldn't even figure out how to use them. Like I said earlier, I only had the one pad left that was wet so I fiddled with the menstrual cup until I managed to get a good seal and paired it with a light pad. Thankfully, I managed to get a good seal for the first time. This saved me big time. If I wasn't able to get the menstrual cup to work, I would have to go back to the emergency tampons I brought in case I ran out of menstrual products to use.

     Cleaning the cup in between uses is super easy. When I was in a public bathroom, I just wiped out the inside and around the cup with toilet paper and popped it back in. When I was in my private hotel bathroom, I rinsed it out before popping it back in. I do feel that it's easier to insert after running water over it. However, it's not impossible to put in dry. Thankfully, the long life of the cup allows for less changes during your cycle.

     I was pleasantly pleased with the menstrual cup once I finally got the hang of it. I am pretty sure I am still wearing it wrong though because I still felt like I could feel the tip (which made for a very awkward time). However, nothing feels better than being dry so I did put up with that. As soon as I got home, I trimmed the stem off because I had no problems getting the cup out at all so I didn't see the point of the stem. Overall, I was able to do just about anything with the cup in; I even went swimming once I found out how to get the seal. I was definitely nervous about leaks but once you have a good seal, leaks are like non existent. I'm pleased to say that I slept with the cup in twice and each time, the cup held all of the liquid (approximately 10 hours worth) without any leakage. This is such a relief because let's just say it wouldn't be the first time I've woken up in bloodied sheets looking like some scene from a horror movie.

     This was definitely a nice change. Before this, if I wanted to feel completely dry during my period I had to wear a tampon and worry about changing it every so many hours to prevent TSS. If I didn't want to worry about TSS, I would use disposable pads which felt oddly akin to wearing a diaper and so I was always running out of these. I hated seeing the the disposable pads that I threw away each month. I love the reusable aspect of the cup and cloth pads simply so I will have something for every stage of my period. For my heavy days, I can use the cup to take that heavy flow without feeling wet and on lighter days I can use heavy/light pads as necessary. However if I don't feel like using the cup, I will have a small stash of pads to reach from so that I don't ever need to feel wet again.

     Overall, I think this was a good first cycle experimenting with reusable menstrual products. Everything was a little more complicated since I was traveling at the same time. However, it was very much worth it to try out something I've been researching and waiting for so long.

Bonus pics from Vegas for reading through my post:

Yummy food

Pretty sights

City at night

First Time Using A Menstrual Cup & Punch Down Fold Demonstration

So this was my first time using a menstrual cup. I chose the Lily Cup original, size A. Most menstrual cups are available in two sizes. One size is slightly smaller for women who have not given birth or given birth by C section; the other size is for women who have given birth vaginally or have weak pelvic floor muscles. The Lily Cup came with everything pictured here (the cup, the drawstring bag, and user manual). 

I did a dry run the day before my period just to see if I could get the hang of it before I threw blood into the equation. It was definitely a little intimidating at first. With a tampon, there is really no messing about; you just stick the application in and push. However, with the cup, there was some messing about inside trying to get the cup all the way in and running my finger around its base to look for the formation of the seal. It was a little difficult to get all the way in until the stem was completely inside but just because I didn't want to let go of the base too low. As mentioned on many blogs and videos, there is a learning curve associated with the cup. I was, however, able to successfully insert and remove the cup on my first try.

The Lily Cup, itself, is very soft and made of medical grade silicone. One thing that I liked about it was that it has not rim that sticks out like some other cups do. It has a narrow stem with rings at its base so that you know when you have grabbed the stem. I will wait for at least a cycle before I decide to keep or cut the stem.  

Here is a demonstration of the popular punch down fold. For the Lily cup, you take the lower edge and push down with your finger until the cup curls in on itself. Then the longer, more narrow edge is inserted. 

Place finger on lower edge of cup.

Press down on edge of cup until it folds in on itself.

Pinch the fold and insert!

This is what the fold looks like from the top.

This is what the fold looks like from the front.

Insertion is done pointing toward the tailbone just like a tampon would be put in. The stem should rest completely inside you and should not be protruding at all. The cup is worn lower in the body than a tampon and should be inserted 0.6 inch past the vaginal opening. The best advice I can give for insertion is to try to relax everything down there are you do it. Tensing up only causes more resistance and possible discomfort on your part. To check if the cup is really in and a seal has formed, run your finger around the base of the cup to see if it has opened. Then give a little tug downward and if it resists, it should be open with the seal in place. 

Removal is relatively easy. To bring the cup lower in the vaginal canal, bear down like you are going to have a bowel movement. Your pelvic floor muscles will push the cup lower in the vagina until you can reach the stem. Once you can reach the stem, pinch the base in order to break the seal and angle the cup to prevent spillage. Dump the contents in the toilet, rinse the cup in the sink, and you can reinsert the cup. It is possible to wash the cup with mild soap (so as not to disrupt the pH of the vagina) and water. 

If in a public toilet, one can either dump the contents and wipe the cup out with a toilet paper or bring a water bottle and rinse the cup out over the toiled before reinserting. However, the cup can stay in for up to 10-12 hours without any risk of TSS. The cup works by collecting menstrual fluid instead of absorbing it, therefore there is no need to worry about pairing heaviness of flow with the cup.  

Today is my first full day wearing the cup and so far it has been comfortable. I can vaguely feel it just like how I can vaguely feel the pressure associated with having a tampon in. It did take some coaxing and tugging to make sure that the cup was completely in and open but probably just because it's my first time with hands on experience. No leakage but I'm still wearing a cloth pantyliner just in case.

UPDATE:

     So I've had practice with my menstrual cups for the past two or three months. Each time they are getting easier to use. There is definitely a learning curve to using these and you have to be comfortable with your own body. However, once you get the hang of putting in and taking out a menstrual cup, it is amazing. You can hardly tell you're on your period because there's no blood for up to 12 hours! Honestly, no tampon can beat that. I've slept with the cup and swam with the cup in without any leakage. There can be some slight spotting right after you put in the cup due to the blood that is already past the rim of the cup when you inserted it so I'm seriously considering investing in a couple more cloth pad panty liners and light flow pads just so that I have a little back up and for the end of my cycle. 

References: http://www.intimina.com/en/lily_cups

Lunapads Sample Offer

Here is my review of the sampler Lunapad that I requested. I found this while searching about samples of reusable menstrual pads available online. For only $5 shipping&handling, I received this Lunapads Pantyliner sample. Included in the envelope I received was also a $5 off $35 coupon for future orders. This is what I received (minus a little booklet on care).

You can order your own here: http://lunapads.com/free-pantyliner-sample

 It's important to note that in order to receive this sample, you must have not purchased anything from Lunapads before so if you've bought stuff from them before, then this offer is not for you. 

Overall, I must say that I'm excited to try this product out and pleased that they have a sample offer. I really like that there is a cheaper option in order to try out the pantyliner. I have been trying to try different products and companies in order to see what I like so a sample like this- even with $5 S&H is pretty exciting. Per the invoice that came with my sample, this product was worth $12 so I don't mind paying $5 to try it for the first time. It's nice to have this as an option before taking the plunge and investing more money by buying pads from a company. I have also ordered a sample from Party in My Pants which has yet to arrive and which I will also be posting a review on. 

This is what it looks like when you go to the sample offer page.

Overall, I like the pad. It turned out to be much cuter than the plain black one posted on the website and I'm happy about that. I really love this little leopard print pattern and cotton candy pink lining. I must admit when I first got this sample, I was a little confused why a giant tag was hanging alongside the pad. I took out a pair of scissors to remove the inconveniently placed tag as seen here. 

The back of the pantyliner

However after a quick visit to the Lunapads site, I realized that this was the back of the pad and the pink fleece lining was the part of the pad that would be towards me. Per the Lunapads FAQ: "The soft , solid-colour fleece panel should be facing your body, while the tag on the outside of the Lunapad faces your underwear." I don't mind having the tag there but I was surprised that both ends weren't stitched onto the pad itself like a clothing tag might be. I guess it's not that bad though since many underwear is the same way with those flyaway tags only stitched on at one end. Oh well, I can always cut it off later if it proves to be an issue.  

The lining of the pantyliner. 

(Sorry for the blurry picture).

Anyway, the pink fleece is nice and soft and the leopard print flannel backing is soft as well. It's pretty thin as to be expected from a pantyliner. It seems to be about 6 inches total in length. I expect it will be useful for light soiling at the end of my periods. It would also be useful for discharge and daily use as well. 

Here is a picture of the pantyliner next to my glasses for reference.

I have just received the liner so I thought I would post my initial thoughts on the sample. An update is to follow once I have a chance to use the pantyliner. 

References: http://lunapads.com/free-pantyliner-sample

So I'm starting a new blog...

       The last couple months I've been researching a lot into a topic that's a little taboo: reusable menstrual products. WAIT DON'T GO. I know that sounds gross but hear me out.

       Per the flyer that comes with Lunapads orders, "Approx. 20 billion pads, tampons and applicators are sent to North American landfills annually. On an individual level, each of approximately 73 million menstruators in North American will throw away 125-150 kg or 16,8000 disposable menstrual products in their lifetimes." These numbers are huge. Personally, I try to live a more sustainable lifestyle: I don't drink from disposable water bottles without necessity, recycle my plastic bags, and often shop at thrift stores to recycle clothing/prevent waste. However, I couldn't help but notice all the pads I was throwing away each cycle. It seemed like so much waste and I was always running out of pads. Not to mention, I was leery of tampons because I have a busy lifestyle which leads to me not always being able to replace them as often as I like and they are associated with TSS with long use.

       I stumbled onto a sponsored Facebook post for Thinx underwear, an underwear that claims to be able to replace pads and tampons. I was so amazed by this new technology. I'd only ever seen pads and tampons advertised on the television commercials. I didn't know such underwear existed- and it was just as cute as the Victoria's Secret underwear I loved so much with its lacy hiphugger style. I saw that for every pair of underwear that was sold, 7 pads were sent to a girl in a developing country. The only problem is being a full time college student that just quit her job, I couldn't help but think $34 for one pair of underwear was a little steep (-don't get me wrong, I love the company/idea/technology, I just can't afford it right now!).

Look how happy she looks riding her bike in her brand new Thinx!

       This opened my eyes to all the different kinds of reusable menstrual products there are out there. I did research on different pads and menstrual cups from different companies. At first, I was a little grossed out by the idea of having to deal with bloodied pads and just wanted to try out menstrual cups instead. However, I realized if I wanted to get off of disposable products entirely, I would need a stash of pads for the days I didn't want to stick something up my lady parts. So we'll see how that goes! Anyway, so I watched hours of videos about reusable menstrual products (or RUMPs) on Youtube. Then for Christmas this year, I decided to ask my fiance for two sets of pads, a wet bag, and a menstrual cup. I've already received my TreeHugger pads, my wet bag, and Lilly Cup and reviews will follow. I am still expecting my Terrapad Stash Sampler as well.

      I started this blog to share my experience trying out reusable menstrual products. Maybe it won't seem as scary anymore if people talked about it more. I'm definitely excited about this new experience and to share it with you! Now just to wait for my period to start so I can try out my new goodies.

As always, have a happy uterus! #tamponliberation # helloflo

References:
lunapads.com
shethinx.com