BluBlog

Ok - I've always just hated my monthly cycle. Outside of the pain, which has greatly subsided since having a baby, the mess just wiggs me out. I cannot wear tampons. They increase the pain, which until recently was pretty unbearable anyway. I hate the way you can only tell when they're full by the leaking, or if you try taking them out prior to being really full, you feel like you're pulling half your insides out too. And as small as the string is, it's still enough to bother me. Plus, with a septic tank, I have no good way of disposing of them.

But frankly, I hate the pads too. I hate going to the bathroom, only to have smears on the inside of my thighs as I pull down my pants. Trying to keep Mandy away from all this during a simple trip to pee just drives me crazy. Plus, I have a newly developed bathing problem - Mandy won't let me take a shower & who wants to take a bath with their "monthly gift"? I don't even like having the wrapped up used ones in my bathroom wastebasket. Maybe a throw back to the time I had a cocker spaniel who would get them out & eat them. She left me a lovely scattering of cotton all over my living room one day when I got back home - with GUESTS.

So I was menstruating last month & thinking "it sure seems like there should be a better way to deal with all this." The next thing you know, I'm on a parenting web-site & someone mentions Lunapads. Never heard of them, so I looked them up. They're re-usable pads made from fabric. You just wash & re-use much like a cloth diaper for a baby. I can see why women would prefer this over disposable pads, but it didn't solve a single problem I had. In fact, it would just add to my laundry problem. (Yes I did just spend an entire paragraph telling you about a product I didn't buy & I'm not interested in. I don't want them, but maybe you do.)

Anyway, on this same web-page was a product called a Diva Cup. It's a funnel shaped cup made out of medical grade silicone that you place inside you. Twice a day, you take it out, empty & wash it and put it back in. I was instantly intrigued. And I almost as instantly bought one. Wonderful, I tell you - wonderful! Once you get used to it, you can't feel it, so you go about your day like you're not even on your period. Bathing at will - not at all concerned about mess or odors or proper disposal multiple times per day. There is an ick factor involved in emptying it, but I'd much rather deal with the ick factor twice a day than 10 or so. The only negative is I do think I cramped a little worse than with pads. Not as badly as with tampons, but worse than pads. Only for the first day though.

So why am I telling you what's in my va-jay-jay? That's TMI even for me. Because I'm 41 years old - I've been dealing with this for about 28 years and I didn't even know they existed. I think all females should know about all their options.

Oh - and it costs about $25, including shipping, and can last up to 10 years. Imagine the money you'd save. I can see it paying for itself in about 5 months. (Of course, I'll go into menopause now.)

There is one thing that concerns me & that is the weird thing some women are doing with their blood. Yes, their blood. Some are saving it and using it as fertilizer for their plants. One even painted with it. I'm hoping this is not a side effect of using and give you full permission to come stop me if I start doing anything remotely like this.