Pad vs. Tampon

I assume "rubber stopper" = the cup. Most of my friends who have started using it haven't gone back to the disposable stuff again.

Tampon (plus sometimes a pad). I have never tried the cup but hear it's fantastic.

Certainly not the mooncup...

What didn't you like about it?

I think it was the idea of leaving a cubicle in my workplace to wash it out with my pants round my ankles and messy fingers. Mostly.

I like my tampons.

Couldn't you take your pants down after leaving your cubicle?

How would I remove my little cup of blood? Or are you suggesting I do that at the sink?

Ohhh - you mean the cubicle in the toilets. Gotcha.

Tampons although I do have a couple incredibly cute washable enviro-safe fleece/flannel things for overnight/pantyliner purposes.

Tampons are the only ones; pads or anything like them feel like a diaper that bunches and wads in the worst, most uncomfortable ways.

It's The Museum of Menstruation!

NOIZE PADS:

http://mum.org/carefr90.jpg

SOOOO invisible you can wear BODY PAINT and nothing else:

http://mum.org/freekot.jpg

http://mum.org/kotadx92.jpg

WHY AM I HOLDING THIS ROSE? DUH, IT'S TAMPONS.

http://mum.org/mlretton.jpg

Lee Miller, not shot by Man Ray:

http://mum.org/LeeMil.gif

http://mum.org/lernpaks.jpg

http://mum.org/kotpuss.jpg

OH HO INTL HUMERZ

the music in that video is entertaining

http://mum.org/period2.jpg

whoa

er

i feel like that kind of comic/'humour' thing is a thread in itself

also lol 'rubber stopper'

http://mum.org/nwfrbx71.jpg

A+

Yah, that comic is pretty WTF...sorry.

http://mum.org/modJan47.jpg

OKAY YES THIS IS A POST V MUCH IN CHARACTER B/C I DO THIS EVERY TIME THE SUBJECT COMES UP:

Rumpie, the Keeper rubber cup thingy holds about an once of fluid safely. The chances that you'll have to empty it during the day at work, unless yr bleeding is unusually heavy, are v v slim. Do not fret. Alternately, do yr own damn thing with your period, I don't care.

there is no being sorry abt how wtf that comic is b/c it is very wtf eye-rolly agh

keeper does rule

Keeper, I have one, was really into it for years but I've started to prefer tampons again. I've accidentally left thee Keeper in for over 24 hours and unless it's a really heavy day, the seal (kind of v gentle vacuum pressure securing its place and capturing abilities) doesn't break. Not for me. I've even fucked without realizing it was in there until afterward.

I can't wear those disposable cups that look like translucent hollow boobs on a flexible pink ring (forget what they're called). I think it's bcz I have a retroverted uterus and the space near the cervix isn't shaped right.

Oops that should be boob singular.

I think they are calling the Keeper the "Diva Cup" these days. DSTUPID! They were originally going to call it the Liberty Bell, wish they'd have stuck with that.

hm
http://www.keeper.com/
vs
http://www.divacup.com/

I call WAIT WAHT on the spring-loaded educational tampons.

Also, does anyone use the cup for keeping their periods, like those people who keep their hair, nails, jizz, pee, and whatnot?

yeah that's what people do

divacup is silicone, keeper is rubber. i like the divacup. that translucent hollow boob thing is called instead and they're ridiculously uncomfortable to deal with--i gave up on them.

xp ew

yah springloaded tampon ad was made by a guy in an advertising agency as a joke for himself; he was bored doing tampon ads all the time

Agreed - Instead cups are are so hard to use. I could never get the hang of it. xp.

Good, now I don't feel like a patient in Dead Ringers or something.

Menopause rules.

OMG! I remember staring at that "your lab partner is totally hot" ad (in a Sassy magazine) when I was like 12 years old.

Er...I have also thought Abbott was Nick Dast00r for some time until reading this thread. Unless he has fucked with a Keeper in, which is doubtful.

Also, does anyone use the cup for keeping their periods, like those people who keep their hair, nails, jizz, pee, and whatnot?

Why in the WORLD would you do that unless you are in some Sopranons/Fuckedup Harry Potter universe in which you think your evil twin would use it against you?

Ok - the German body paint ad way up thread says something like "Monthly hygiene that creates fun!" Those must be some incredible pads.

They've probably seen that scene in Kids and think the tampon can be used as some tea-bag or something.

The cup isn't a container proper, its long-term storage capabilities do not exist.

Why did you think I was Dastoor?

You could dump the keeper into a little jar.

If I start getting my period again I'll use one. I've only ever tried the instead.

There's a livejournal community for women who collect their blood and then make art with it. Now, I'm not usually squeamish about this kind of stuff but that's . . . intense.

do they also collect their pet's fur, spin it and knit with it?

Bloody hippies.

Ahaha.. I made a funny.

Ha!

Why in the WORLD would you do that unless you are in some Sopranons/Fuckedup Harry Potter universe in which you think your evil twin would use it against you?

I believe that one of the correct answers is autism.

But clearly, a better answer is menstrual blood art.

And the best answer is because you want to die from blood-borne pathogens cold-chilling under your bed in a tupperware.

It doesn't get any gothier than that.

link 2 menstraz artz pls

http://mum.org/crekepin.jpg

Chaki - Here's one lady who did a whole series of paintings:

http://spiralingmoon.livejournal.com/2003/02/12/

more:

http://community.livejournal.com/blood_art/

woah those are cool. i bet they smell though.

You've never actually come in contact with menses, have you chaki?

i got my redwings, bro, i just make a joek. sheesh.

Probably not months-old blood!

Why did you think I was Dastoor?

I have no idea, actually.

Someone I know has used water w/ some menstrual blood in it to water a friend's pot plant. Supposedly it's v nutrient rich and makes excellent plant food.

call me square but i'm just gonna stick with y'know not doing anything with it and just be boring and send it through the sewer system and into treatment plants and/or ocean or whatever

I'm with you, R. I think it's great that people can be so creative and handy with theirs but I'm pretty happy being square too.

Gawd, Robn, yer such a hippie.

haha
yeah i like the keeper b/c of ease of use + no waste but even though i am all into biology and awesomeness of inner body, i think i will express my artistic self through other forms and reduce/reuse/recycle in other ways yeah

ok i guess if there were no ink and no pens and no other alternatives and i needed to write an important note of life-or-death consequences, i wld resort to what had to be resorted to. i am weird but i am no batshit vagina art lady.

see also: art that uses human hair, esp hair mixed with paint
guh
sure sure i get yr point but guh

In prison you can smear toothpaste on something and then scratch your messages into it w/a comb.

Whoa, that first menstrual blood painting is really cool! I guess one of the ideas behind such art is, like, "we're not ashamed to bleed, fuck your punishment of Eve, here's it in your face!". I'm not sure how relevant it is today though... Are there many people who're still ashamed of their menses?

i am no batshit vagina art lady

This sentence fills me with joy for some reason :D

from the diva cup testimonial page:

"Truly the best invention since sliced bread has been found!!!!

First off, I am not a gusher; it’s just not an aspect of my personality, BUT...Oh My God! I L-O-V-E my new Diva cup!! More women need to know about this product. It’s phenomenal."

Voted for the "Rubber Stopper" option, assuming that it's a reference for the Keeper.

Great device - got one five+ years ago and haven't purchased tampons or pads since. Just empty it twice a day (in the shower, which is convenient 'cause I shower twice a day anyway) and I'm good to go - no overflow, nothing to purchase, nothing to trash. I love it.

Hey MsLaura!

In prison you can smear toothpaste on something and then scratch your messages into it w/a comb.

Prisoners also melt M&Ms and use the coloring to paint.

I guess one of the ideas behind such art is, like, "we're not ashamed to bleed, fuck your punishment of Eve, here's it in your face!".

That or "Gee, what can be so shocking that noone will question the triteness of the presentation itself??"

what is this cup thing?? where do i get one from? i'm obviously out of touch with menstrual technology.. but it sounds very good. especially if you can have sex while wearing it.

onestly what is the CUP???

i save all my menstrual blood jars for later use in black sorceries

rubyredd--the one you can have sex with is called instead.
http://www.softcup.com/

they're disposable. and to many people, hellish and uncomfortable. but some ppl love them.

also, there's the mooncup/keeper/divacup, which are reusable and made of silicone or rubber. do some google searches and there's all kinds of info and testimonials and such. (or feel free to email me, i feel very strongly about mine!)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I didn't expect rubber stopper to come in 2nd.

wtf no joke votes for 'let it flow?'

Some things are too serious to be joked about

If tampons are so much more popular than pads, why are there like ten times more pad ads on TV?

Or maybe that's exactly the point: being so popular, tampons don't need so much marketing.

Tuomas on Advertising

Tuomases say the darnedest things.

wtf with the tampon ad with the rose

who's sticking a ROSE in there?????

One of the pads...I think KOTEX, is actually being advertised w/red fluid instead of blue...the dot over the letter i is a red spot and they say something like "the best...PERIOD." This was pleasing, unlike the pregnancy test ad where they say "it's the most sophisticated piece of technology you'll ever pee on." Uh....

which is totally untrue anyway

There are so many douche labels that have a lady with '80s hair holding a rose on a misty beach or whatever.

I'm sure I've peed on more sophisticated things.

"The road to vaginal freshness is paved with potpourri!"

Scented vadge candles

Surely the human body is the most sophisticated piece of technology on earth.

(xx-post)

Who hasn't peed on some yuppie's Hummer?

Bird bodies are way more sophisticated and streamlined than humans' (non-ratite birds anyway). We are nothing next to corvids.

I have only peed on the five simple machines. Nothing like relieving yourself on a pulley.

i'm sure one or two of these have been peed on

http://www.atriumimaginggroup.com/patients/images/CT-multislice025.jpg

Lab technicians?

probably yes

I don't think I've peed on any machinery at all. :( I once peed on a huge cross though, with a friend.

Peed on a forklift at a rave.

I felt Good about this.

Perhaps "Upon which machines have you urinated" deserves its own thread.

peni pads

wtf no joke votes for 'let it flow?'

I did not read all the choices before I cast my true vote. If I had I would've chosen that option merely b/c it was a Beastie lyric.

http://michellebank.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/kotex5.jpg

These are the closest I will get as a non-smoker to buying those party Nat Sherman multi-colored cigarettes.

I totally bought those. I'm a like an infant - a sucker for brightly colored things. Also used to buy those Nat Sherman's every now and then.

The only prob with those U's is when you accidentally fling any out of yr handbag its like this flourescent LOL TAMPONS! advert :/

When I was doing safer sex ed stuff a couple years ago i dropped my bag on the bus and a bunch of condom and lube packets spilled out. That was fun.

Haha :D The other week a friend's club night included a pinata that contained condoms and chocolates. I still have a bunch in my bag and live in fear of them all flying out in front of my boss or something horrible.

It's like a party in your vagina!

It is stupidly blowing my mind that you can buy those same tampons in Australia.

I can have the comforts of pre-menopausal life all over the world.

Can you buy Tampax tampons in the US with cardboard applicators, where the applicator covers the whole tip of the tampon? They're the standard in the UK but I've only been able to find ones where the cottony tip is exposed at the end and kind of plumps out a bit, for extra discomfort when using. I feel like they're forcing me into buying the 'pearl' ones with their landfill-filling plastic applicators and I hate them for it :(

Yes I am pretty sure you can and that they're called petal tip applicators or something but you're right about the ones you've described being more common.

My sister-in-law has these organic cotton applicator-free tampons that make me feel guilty using the party color guys.

oh the petal tips are the plastic ones

sorry - maybe you can't

I should probably get another menstrual cup. The only downfall of them was when they failed, it was a really big mess.

I have never seen cardboard tampons w/the opening like that in the states, only plastic.

Boo. The worst thing is, on the pack it actually says "smooth tip!" and the picture kind of has these vague lines to almost make it look like a 'petal tip'.

Hey I just bought a box of Insteads before realizing that I'm not supposed to use them w my IUD. Can anyone else comment on the wisdom/paranoia of that ruling? Used to love my Keeper but have gone to tampons lately -- would like to find something else non-disposable??

The box says it's dangerous in case I accidentally pull the IUD string while getting the Instead out...but wouldn't that be the same with ANYTHING inserted??

I think the risk of pulling it out is higher because of the suction created by things like Keepers and Insteads. I know there are women who have successfully used such things with IUDs but I've always been to nervous to try. :(

MENSTRUAL CUP?

what am i doing on this thread. wtf.

Oh man Insteads never worked for me at all. A true disaster. I have no idea why but I could never get the thing to do what it was supposed to.

Yeah I tried Inseads a bunch of times years ago and could never get them to work right.

They are really complicated! You know how you're supposed to position it so it fits behind your public bone or something? I could like feel where it was suppsed to go but never really quite errr get it to sit in that space.

Yeah same here – or it would for a while and then later – surprise it's not holding anything anymore :/

This happened while I was in high school btw & I had to go home for the day.

oh man that's awful

I think I only ever tried them around the house or something. I always really wanted them to work but it just wasn't meant to be.

I always wondered if it was because I have a retroverted uterus but I am now just blaming it on them being slippery little bastards.

Yeah, I think that's why.

The only downfall of them was when they failed, it was a really big mess.

That would be my big worry, that I would end up looking like Carrie after being crowned prom queen.

I used to use the Nuva-Ring which "sits" in much the same place -- I think I can hack the positioning but just thinking about the suction thing -- the Keeper was truly FEROCIOUS in suction power, like sometimes it was momentarily painful?? I figured the Instead was less rigid and not that strong.

Having never used a Keeper I can't say for certain but I feel like just by the nature of the way they're designed/mechanisms of how they work the Insteads would have a lot less suction (if any) and be less likely to yank out the IUD. Still, I'd be really careful during removal.

The Keeper was suction-tacular, it's true. Every once in a while when using the restroom in the middle of night (=all sleepy/low brain function) I would try to remove it & forget to 'break the seal' first, you know, and it would feel like I was pulling my insides out.

I feel like a disgusting person having posted on this thread; thanks everyone for your tolerance.

Lol @ chris's horror

Abbs, you feel how you're gonna feel, but no one here is disgusted! Or we are all equally disgusting -- either way, you're in the best company, which is the kind that <3s you.

Lol @ chris's horror

Yeah, it's kinda funny that at this day and age some guys have not heard of the cup.

And are shocked by it... If you've been in at least one LTR with a woman, shouldn't mensies be like everyday stuff?

some women have absolutely no fucking desire to go anywhere near anything resembling the cup and some of us have been in relationships with them for close to 18 years

I didn't mean that, I meant that even if your significant other(s) haven't used the cup, the idea of such a thing shouldn't still be a shock!

pretty sure the cardboard applicator tampax are still available in the US

Tuomas, not every guy is as eager to lap up menstrual details as you are

don't you mean lapp up?

that's racist iirc

Oh get off it, people. If you don't want to talk about menses, go away instead of coming here to tell us how fucking gross you think it is.

My sister-in-law (a smart woman) was genuinely distressed by my menstrual cup – she had not heard of them. But it's because she picked it up out of my medicine cabinet and said, "What is this thing?" "It is a menstrual cup, it is an alternative to tampons." "Ha! you're so quick-witted, how do you come up with these things?" "No, I'm serious." And then she dropped it like it was a dog poop. All around: awesome conversation.

imo that is a justifiable comeuppance for rooting around in my medicine cabinet.
Maybe some other time I will tell you about the time she accidentally handled my pessary collection.

(I don't really have a pessary collection.)

lol John Mensies

I'll be honest and tell you Id never heard of this cup thing til our discussions on here ober the years. Is it maybe more of a US thing? I dunno. I dont exactly have loads of girfriends who I have these kind of conversations with :/

Oh get off it, people. If you don't want to talk about menses, go away instead of coming here to tell us how fucking gross you think it is.

You mean "person", who actually hasn't posted in the thread since Tuomas decided to do his ingenuous superior dance.

yeah I will join Trayce in RFI re: cup

http://www.divacup.com/ <---what I have been generically calling a menstrual cup – reusable for years & years
http://www.softcup.com/ <---Instead – disposable after one use – advantage: can have the sex w/it in

DIY reusable tampon – call me a h8r but this is a little much even for me – I would make one for a friend if they asked tho

I used one of these for 10 whole years: http://www.keeper.com/

on & off of course

http://www.keeper.com/facts_files/comparison_72dpi_shadow.jpg
look at this poor consumer perplexed inside her own fortress of tampons

Hope it doesn't rain on her fortress or she'll surely suffocate

I feel like I might be grossed out by having to empty the cup....but seems pretty practical and way cost-efficient given $$$$ I spend on tampons

Accidentally bought fucking SCENTED tampons by mistake, still have them as emergency backups bc can't bring myself to throw them away

SCENTED

I should note the only time I had problems w/the keeper being messy was upon first waking up. IDk why. Being horizontal for too long? Going so many hours w/out taking it out? It never happened at the grocery store, high school, church (I also had an accident with Instead cups in the middle of sacrament meeting – my mom was very nice and took me home w/out complaint but she also threw away the box of Insteads).

i bought some insteads but haven't had a chance to use them yet -- am i correct in thinking the insertion is slightly different from a diva cup? the "band" part is like a freaking livestrong bracelet.

insteads are enormous, and I've used them, but with great difficulty. Insertion is completely different than a diva cup. You can have sex with them in, which is a plus. But I would rather just deal with blood.

I've had a Diva cup for probably 10 years or so. I adore it. handling it doesn't seem any more gross than tampons, IMO.

I remember someone had been looking for a petal tip, cardboard applicator tampon available in the U.S. Trader Joes's has organic cotton tampons (they were the only tampons sold, which should make them easy to find) w/such an applicator. I find them a little more challenging to jimmy out of the applicator, actually, but if this appeals to you, ta-da!