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Women's Health Issues: LadyGardening for Dummies
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loveisdivine wrote: »Anybody else feel kinda hungover during their period? Ever since my periods came back after stopping the pill, they've been quite crampy and given me a dodgy tummy and a general crappy hungover feeling
The dodgy tummy is totally normal. Your body is sending signals to the muscles of your womb to contract, but it's not very good at sending them only there, so some of them end up telling parts of your digestive system to cramp as well, which is why a lot of women, myself included, have very upset tummies during their period.
As for the hungover feeling, I find myself a bit more sensitive to dehydration during my period, which sometimes feels a little like being hungover. You could try making sure you have plenty of fluids to see if that helps you.0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 25686
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Chattastrophe! wrote: »Well I'm on Cerazette two weeks now, and loving it!
I've had an aversion to birth control pills for about a decade. After trying out Microlite, Yasmin, Dianette and a couple of others over a couple of years, and having horrible side-effects with all of them, I swore I'd never try going on the pill again.
But, so far so good! I know I haven't been on it for long, but with the other pills, the side-effects kicked in within the first couple of days. I've had nothing, I feel exactly the same as I did before, no spots, no bleeding whatsoever, nothing!
Hopefully this will continue.
Yep, I definitely spoke too soon!
I've figured that the way Cerazette works is that you have constant bleeding, so you're never going to get any action - therefore, no chance of pregnancy! Clever, eh?
For the last ten days or so, I've had it ... not heavy enough to call a "period", not heavy enough for a tampon (switching between pads and pantyliners, it's so unpredictable), but definitely there, and definitely enough that it's really annoying.
Still no other symptoms. I'm a month in, I'm inclined to maybe keep taking it to the end of two months and see if it continues?
Would be interested in other women's experiences ... if this happens at the start, is it likely to continue? Should I just give up on it now and go back to the doctor? Or do you sometimes just bleed for the first month and then it stops?0 -
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I posted a few weeks ago that I was going to give cloth menstrual pads/reusable sanitary towels a go and that I would post an update.
Mods, if this would be better split into its own thread feel free, or if you feel there are too many pictures I can make it into a blog post and link to it instead.- Buying the pads
There were a LOT of choices of different brands and different sizes and absorbencies which I found really confusing. There is also a huge variation in price. I read a tonne of blog posts about starting out in order to help me make the right choice. It's a hefty financial outlay so I wanted to make sure I did it right.
My period is usually quite heavy, so I decided not to bother with light absorbency pads or pantyliners. I also measured the Bodyform pads that I usually use and compared to the sizes available. As I said, there is a lot of variation. Also, they recommend that if you're plus size that you go for longer pads.
For my day pads I chose Charlie Banana super pads, which come in packs of three (handy) and with a little waterproof travel bag for about €15. This was at the cheaper end of the scale.
For my night pads I chose Eco Femme night pads, which come in single packs and are about €8.
Delivery only took a few days and they even threw in a little pack of Love Hearts sweets, which brightened my day up considerably
As recommended, I washed everything before use to ensure maximum absorbancy. I just put them in a normal wash with a tiny bit of Dettol laundry cleanser and no detergent.
As for the pads themselves, here is the absorbent (body) side of the Eco Femme Night and Charlie Banana Super:
And the leak-proof (panty) side:
The Charlie Banana ones also fold into neat little packages.
The Eco Femme one is just sort of "normal" cloth at the surface and the Charlie Banana one is a sort of soft fleece-like material. Both have the surface layer, absorbent material inside and then a leak-proof backing. They both also have snap button fastener wings, but not all brands have wings, so be aware of that.- Wearing the pads
I found the Charlie Banana ones really comfortable. They were so soft and felt really nice when I was so sore and I forgot I was wearing them after a while. I found I had to change them about as often as I normally would with disposable pads. At the start of my period that is every three-four hours and at the end every eight hours or more. I tested the Charlie Banana ones a few times by touching the stained areas and they were dry to the touch so they did a good job of keeping moisture away from my skin compared the the plastic pads.
I was a bit more aware of the Eco Femme ones as they're larger and flared at the back to prevent leaks, but they were still a lot more comfortable than normal night pads. None of that annoying plasticky feel or rustling sounds when I moved. I wriggle a lot in my sleep and I had no issue with leaks. I often do leak with normal pads so I was delighted with this.
As the pads only have snap buttons there is the potential for them to move forward and backwards. I didn't have any major problems with this, I just checked them every time I went to the toilet, but then again I work in an office and don't move around that much. I'm not sure if this would cause an issue if you were into sports or running, etc. As I mentioned above, there are wingless pads available and I honestly wouldn't feel secure wearing them. There would be nothing to prevent movement. The buttons are a necessity imo!- Washing the pads
Once I went to work on Monday it became a little more complicated. Even though the Charlie Banana pads fold up neatly they're still bulkier than plastic pads so you might feel a bit conscious of having one in your pocket. I seem to have no pockets in any of my work trousers so I just put a pad in one of the waterproof bags that came with them and away I went.
Personally I would never rinse my pads out in a sink that other people use, so I followed what a few blogs said which was to run a tiny bit of tap water onto the pad just to wet it and then you can rinse it and soak it later. I found this fine and the waterproof bag from Charlie Banana kept any moisture away from the contents of my shoulder bag. However, there is only one toilet in my office with the sink inside the room. The suggestion for if there are cubicles with sinks outside (also applicable for out and about) is to have a small bottle of water in your bag and use that instead. It seems a bit fiddly but I'm sure you'd get into the habit.
All my pads came out squeaky clean afterwards (the pads in the photos above have been washed after one use and look as new). The Charlie Banana ones took just over 24 hours to dry and the Eco Femme ones took a good two days as they're thicker. This is something to bear in mind if you're hoping to wash, dry and reuse the pads in the same period cycle.
I bought 12 day pads and 4 night pads, which easily got me through my six-day period. I was able to use day pads at night time at the end and I never had any panic about running out. Obviously the amount you need depends on your flow and how often you wash them.- "Do-Gooderness" and money
I worked out that I will also save money in the long run (including postage it cost me €100 for the pads, so if I buy one pack of plastic pads a month at say €3 a pop I'll save around €50) but the initial outlay is not to be sniffed at. Also with deals on pads it may actually end up around the same price, so finances probably aren't a good reason to go this route.
The Charlie Banana pads say on their box (and website) that they support Operation Smile but the details beyond that are a a bit scarce. There's no indication if it's a percentage of profit or a donation for every purchase, etc. That's the sort of information I would like to know and I intend contacting them in the future.
The Eco Femme pads are a totally different story. They started out as an initiative of an NGO in rural India focused on educating Tamil women about menstruation and other issues. The pads are made by women in their own self-help groups for a fair per-piece rate. They operate a "pad for pad" programme, whereby each pad you buy gives one to a woman who cannot afford to buy her own and the profits go back into education programmes. Their website has a lot of information about the work they do. You can't say fairer than that!
- Final thoughts
On that front the pads have been very successful. They didn't make me feel sweaty or itchy at all and my skin (so far) finds them very agreeable. That alone makes them worth the purchase price for me. If you've had similar problems then I would definitely consider them.
I had no issues with leaks or odours or any of that. My only thing would be keeping an eye that the pad doesn't migrate if you're an active person.
Otherwise, I quite enjoyed using the pads. It sounds weird, but they were lovely and soft and very comfortable. Rinsing them out wasn't gross or anything and in a hippy sort of way made me pay a bit more attention to my cycle and accept it as just a normal thing that my body does.
Fingers crossed everything goes as smoothly next month!0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 25686
so im on day 53 with no sign of stopping :mad: medication done nothing. Energy is gone. On the plus side got a treatment done on my hair today and founds its not as thin yet as i had thought. Big increase in nosebleeds tho
You really need to change your doctor. That's outrageous.
Ask them to consider the other medication I mentioned in my PM. You may need to pursue non-pharmaceutical methods at this stage.
I can't believe any doctor let you go on that long.0 -
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its good to have someone that knows what its likeYou really need to change your doctor. That's outrageous.
Ask them to consider the other medication I mentioned in my PM. You may need to pursue non-pharmaceutical methods at this stage.
I can't believe any doctor let you go on that long.
and u have been a great help with the medication too 0
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