the keeper

where does this thing stand to the ladiez of ilx?? in my college I got the impression that it was pretty common - not predominant by any means, but at the very least, used by a good portion of reasonable not-hippy ppl who were generally just concerned about their well being. but i made reference to it in a discussion recently w/ some female friends who all were like "wtf thats gross ew" and these are relatively progressive, politically aware folks, depaul college graduates. so now im wondering if maybe my college was just more cutting edge.

i think the point is im kind of wondering how 'weird' the keeper is considered to be. i know this is a hella tuomas-y question for a dude to ask but i was kinda embarrassed that these girls thought i was some kind of weirdo oberlin-style hippie for thinking this was something 'real people' use

also, a friend of mine has a pretty funny but definitely tmi story about being in a public restroom and accidently splashing her face with menstral blood when the keeper unexpectedly popped in her hands after removal (apparently something pretty easy to do, i have no idea how that shit actually works in terms of physics of it) and having to leave the stall to go to the sink and quickly clean herself up before anyone walked through the door and saw her. ewww!

first paragraph made me think "holy shit deej is a girl??"

first thread that lived up to the tmi label imo

is depaul a catholic school?

read that as "olberman-style" and was like ???

olbermann-style hippies are the worst

I still have no idea what a keeper is.

If it's some revolting menstrual thing like a mooncup or whatever, I NEED TO KNOW.

I think we are talking mooncup here, I don't thing there is a non-silly euphemistic name for it. I probably know far too much about these having spent a lot of time around hippies.

A lot of my friends use the mooncup, and most them have said only positive comments about it. Apparently it's quite easy to use once you get used to it, and obviously it saves money and the environment.

I don't thing there is a non-silly euphemistic name for it.

In Finnish it's most commonly called "the menstrual cup", that sounds quite neutral to me.

I like the idea of it, but I just have trouble using anything invasive. I've never even been able to get used to tampons, so sticking a rubber cup up there is just so NOT gonna happen. Which is a shame, as it sounds quite hassle free.

That said, I fucking hate the kind of hippies who bang on them.

I don't understand, like, what are you going to "keep" yr menses and put them on your flowerbed like some kind of creepy earth mother?

i don't really like girl talk so i don't know how weird it is considered to other people, but i have had the divacup (the silicone equivalent of the keeper) for like 3 years and would never use anything else ever again! i don't get why people would think it's gross because it's definitely less gross than tampons, which are weird. it is way cleaner (i mean your hands can get dirty but you can always wash them, right?), doesn't smell like anything, cheap after the initial cost, and produces 0 garbage. also no TSS risk and you can leave it in for a long time. mine has lines and "1/8 oz." "1/4 oz." on it so you could measure how much blood you made if you wanted! i am not a hippie, btw. just practical.

None of my friends who use the cup are really hippies or anything. I think it initially had the hippie stigma in Finland too, but that has begun to fade away now, and it's gradually becoming just one option among others.

Personally I think pads are the grossest things around. Who wants to rub a bloody piece of cotton against their vagina all day? I've never used the keeper/divacup/etc because I've never seen one for sale and am too apathetic in my granola nature to order one online, so tampons for me. I've only used pads during two emergencies in my life and felt so dirty both days :P

I loooooooooooove my Keeper, my only possible complaint would be that it's a bit stiff and hard to fold for insertion. Is the silicone version softer?

I esp love that since it works by suction there's no limits on swimming, baths, or general water activities...I've worn tampons to go swimming but it's inconvenient afterward and far from foolproof.

Agreed re: pads.

I know we've discussed the keeper before but I'm not going to be one of those annoying ilx0rs who says 'hey we did a thread on this," ;) Especially since we have a new home for TMI.

I've used the disposable kind (forget what it's called) but not really the same since you don't rinse it out, just dump it. Stays for awhile though and good for sex on yr period.

If I kept on having periods, I would use it.

Works by suction, eh? Well, that explains a lot of things.

Wow. The keeper is like the cervical cap, but you don't have to get it all the way to the cervix.
In my ultra-feminist days I used sea sponges - also reusable, environment friendly, etc.

I don't have periods anymore. It's kind of weird, because I'm not really all that old. I just took progesterone for a week to induce menstruation. Nope.

I'm worried (as is my doctor) because it just stopped. But I also took Depo-Provera for a few years, and I'm convinced that Depo fucks with your fertility permanantly.
however, I started on Depo after getting pregnant with an IUD...I'm still convinced the iud is imbedded in my uterine wall or something. IT NEVER HAS BEEN FOUND!
(it was an ectopic pregnancy, You'd THINK they would find the IUD...It's an unsolved mystery.)
OK- TMI, thank you for allowing me to share!

ud is imbedded in my uterine wall or something. IT NEVER HAS BEEN FOUND!

wow, that is freaky. Could it have just slipped out?

Well, not during the ectopic pregnancy. It MIGHT have during the induced miscarriage part, but i was pretty alert about it. And the Dr's were also befuddled during the D&C - no sign of it. It showed up on ultrasounds, vaguely.

Wow, that's REALLY interesting. Did they do an ultrasound after?

OK, I recognise that I am PMT-ing and that may make me slightly cranky, but I'm trying to figure out how it could somehow be LESS revolting to have a wadge of bloody cotton SHOVED UP YR 'GINA ALL DAY than it is to have a wadge of bloody cotton near your vagina all day. (Never mind the fact that you're supposed to change a pad several times daily.)

Everyone has their own personal comfort levels, but I'd much rather have that kind of thing not inside me.

And, well, wicking technology has done much to make pads far less icky/messy/leaky, I do have to say.

I hate regular pads because I don't like the plasticky shit they're made of. I do, however, use reusable cloth pads for around the house/sleeping and I love them. Otherwise it's tampons for me all the way. I can't use the keeper or divacup becuase of my IUD :-(.

can someone point me to the best place to buy one of these kinds of things from? it's been at the back of my mind for awhile now, but i haven't bothered to research it. the whole no-mess sex-on-yr-period thing is v v appealing. my bf is totally down with it (the most not-squeamish guy i've ever met), but i can't stand the mess and grossness and stuff.

http://www.keeper.com/ordering.html

Might be able to find some better prices online just by googling. If you want to buy in person then i think whole foods and other natural stores generally carry them.

wait - it says on that site that you CAN'T have the thing inserted while you're having sex?! sucky :(

That's correct, it's not compatible with sticking things other than it up your parts. I think the only product that IS would be the moon cup/goddess cup/whatever it's called these days. But that one is still disposable, although I think you can get a few uses out of it first.

Ok - I could be wrong about this but I'm pretty sure the Moon Cup and Diva Cup are both shaped like The Keeper and have stems so they = no sex.

As far as I'm aware Instead cups are the only product that can be worn during sex:

http://www.softcup.com/

They're still disposable but I guess you could get a keeper and a box of insteads for use only during period sex. I tried them years ago but wasn't a huge fan. I've heard others rave about them.

thanks, ladies!

OK, I recognise that I am PMT-ing and that may make me slightly cranky, but I'm trying to figure out how it could somehow be LESS revolting to have a wadge of bloody cotton SHOVED UP YR 'GINA ALL DAY than it is to have a wadge of bloody cotton near your vagina all day. (Never mind the fact that you're supposed to change a pad several times daily.)

Well, personally? I can smell people's pads - not just my own the two times I've used it, but in general. On the bus sometimes, at work.. I think it's disgusting and not too far removed from how smokers don't smell smoke on their clothes. The tampon goes from hidden away to splashing in the water in a few seconds, and I never have an old pad stinking up my bathroom..

It's been a couple of years since I used a pad but I simply can't reconcile the idea. Props if you can!

yeah it's the disposal of them that's such a pain. and i find them awkward to wear - no matter how well designed they are, they always seem to slip around.

i don't think i've used one since i was a teenager.

Twice in my life for me - first day, and one day when I had to borrow from a friend. The thing about the tampon being SHOVED UP YR 'GINA is --and maybe this says something about me, but I hope not--if it's inserted correctly you don't even realize it's there, so I barely notice my period exists!

non-applicator tampons are hard to find in the US! i don't like applicator ones, and when i went to walgreens there was maybe 20 applicator brands and one non-app brand right up on the top shelf. i almost missed it.

I don't know what they do and don't have in Canada, but as far as non-applicator goes OB are pretty easy, I just buy the ones with the applicator 'cause I'm cheap and get the generic ones.

er, by Canada I did of course mean America..

Before I bought a Keeper I used to swear by OBs; still do for circumstances when emptying the thingy is going to be a problem. My office has free ones in the women's restrooms but they're cheapish applicator kinds and I hate to make you all spew but sometimes I can feel them sliding right out. OBs are specifically made, wrapped, whatever, to increase in WIDTH when they get wet, not in length (run one under the faucet and see!). So many other brands get longer but stay skinny, and how that is supposed to help me, I have no idea.

My god, if you're that upset by the smell of a period, what would you do if someone actually broke into, like, a totally disgusting SWEAT around you or something?

I just find your whole attitude totally incomprehensible. Me, I don't go around sniffing random strangers to see if they're menstruating or not, but hey, whatever tickles your stick.

I used to use pads at night until sometime in college, and my biggest prob is that they ALWAYS ALWAYS bunch in the middle and leave gaps. I used to wonder if you had to have the model-icious lack of inner thighs for them to work, because mine scrunch right up and become useless.

Also I would always need a new one every time I had to pee, because I couldn't stand putting something wet and cold and slimy back against my skin afterward. It got ridiculous.

My god, if you're that upset by the smell of a period, what would you do if someone actually broke into, like, a totally disgusting SWEAT around you or something?

I just find your whole attitude totally incomprehensible. Me, I don't go around sniffing random strangers to see if they're menstruating or not, but hey, whatever tickles your stick.

― disgusting menstruating person (unregistered), Friday, September 26, 2008 6:36 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

The point is that I don't HAVE to sniff them to smell it? It's incomprehensible that a person has made the personal choice to use tampons instead of pads? I haven't personally insulted you. How could I? You're throwing this anger out without a name for me to call you (even if writing style has led me to guess)? Guess what, I do sweat and I have a period (and I smoke!) but I use antiperspirant, tampons and wash my hands* to counteract these unspeakable horrors of life.

Laurel, I've felt the slide once or twice, hahaha. Thank god for panties! The brand I use now hasn't bothered me though.

*Obviously nothing removes the smell of smoke but this helps a lot.

I don't want my panties to be the only thing holding my menstrual protection in! I like my panties too much for that!

hahahaha, fair enough. I just meant "thank god" as "thank god I had some on and it didn't actually just slip out and splat on the floor!" though that's a bit of an exagerration w/r/t the actual feeling of slipping.

this board has now officially earned its stripes. tmi indeed.

AND I think this thread witnessed TMI's first instance of butthurtness! Hurrah TMI!

tru dat! Champagne?

It's 4pm.. I've already had far too much to drink today! ;)

the keeper rules

tho i can see how some people might be grossed out, i mean, society being what it is and all
but i feel kinda weird if for some reason i have to use a bleached-out freakin tampon (which, thinking abt it, hasn't happened in a v long time)

I just bought 5 new cloth pads. Not generally brave enough to wear them during the day but I love them fo night. They're so incredibly comfortable.

people might be grossed out

I should clarify that my aversion to the smell is not that I care if I know who around me is menstruating, it's that I don't care for anyone to know I am menstruating ;) The bleached thing bothers me, but I do a lot of things that aren't the best idea for my body that require attention prior to that. Heh. That said - can you find anything like the keeper at Shoppers/Pharmaprix?? I've never noticed one but you are my Canadian go-to girl! Even if you do hate the greatest city in Canada ;)

These people you're smelling must not be changing their pads very often cause I don't think I've ever just noticed someone's smell. Strange.

xp I hate to be a pain (okay that's a lie) but in the time we've been talking about it you could have ordered perhaps a thousand of them online, one at a time.

i got mine years ago at a health food store in vancouver - so if toronto's really all that, they'll be selling the keeper at some health food store. if they aren't, well, you know my feelings ;)

hahaha true Laurel, but I prefer to use my cash rather than my credit card whenever possible. Sadly I am such a toxic anti-hippy I never go into health stores! I do know where some are though, phew!

plus yes, you totally love to be a pain ;)

ENBB: I have been blessed with the gift of super smelling, apparently. It has nothing to do with my other gift of super posting.

I am so happy I am young enough that I never had to use a belt.

Laurel OTM about width vs length. Tampax, you suck.

tampaxes and other major brands, i think, also expand by width, but only in two directions (l and r). o.b.s expand in four (i.e., all around).

love o.b., btw

I have a The Keeper (which I call by the name of Liberty Bell, their 'working name' for the product). I have had it abt 7 years and I use it now pretty much when I have run out of tampons. I used to use it exclusively. I just got tired of it somehow?

John had no idea why I used it and thought it was srsly from the Victorian era, like a pre-pad invention. No.

They are the least leaky.

uh, the ohne bindes, that is.

I can manage to make any menstrual product leak.

In defence of ffm, I too have noticed a smell that has to only come from a woman wearng pads - one perhaps not changing it/being as hygenic as could be. It isnt "omg yuck the smell of menstrual blood ew how wrong" either btw: it is the smell of it *being exposed to air and going off*. And yes - you *can* smell it occasionally. Many ppl probably just dont know what the smell is.

I dont know how the hell they make tampons in the US but all this talk of there only being applicator types, ones that expand *lengthways* (what the fuck!?), ones that arefluffy, or bleached.... ok, here we can buy organic cotton, unbleached tampons with a smooth cover over them to stop fluffing, desgned to expand widthways/to the body shape. Plenty of brands in this vein.

I thought only 14 year old girls terrified of things in their cooter used applicator shit like tampax :/

http://llamabutchers.mu.nu/cooter.jpg

There are certainly applicator-free tampons in the U.S.

And there are certainly some terrible ones, too.

It's always a little odd asking a woman for a tampon and it turns out to be super plus XXL half-pint absorber,,,,which I normally do not use.

Yeah those kind are pretty o_0... Ive never seen the need, but then Ive not had kids, I guess that makes a diff. Erm. Possibly.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/7404/imageuploadimagesn2.jpg

How about The Sponge, or, um, knitted tampons?

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5713/imageuploadimagelf9.jpg

oh my gosh twee menstruation

I think reading this thread made me early.

apparently, on the pill, my period only lasts one day

The only no-applicator brand I know of in this country is OB, but I haven't been searching the market so pls correct me. Anyway, there's an old Liz D thread on ilx somewhere in which she does a great impression of teenage girl who is afraid of her own cooter, along the lines of "I couldn't possibly touch myself there, it's private and not meant for the light of day and only the dirty penises of teenaged boys are fit to touch it."

I DISPOSE OF MY MENSES BY WAY OF VAMPIRES

http://images.funfreepages.com/images/anime_menstruation.jpg

HOORAY!!!!!

BOARD LOGO IS FINALLY HERE

since i don't care at all about vaginas i had to look up what a "keeper" was and ewwwww gross gross

Oh shit you know what this board needs? I menstrual art thread . . .

haha, perfect.

Um that should have said "a" menstrual art thread. I have not made any such art myself. Yet. Mwahahahaha.

ME MENSTRUAL ART THREAD

is the pic i posted not working any more or is it just my comp

It's working for me.

It's your computer protecting you, deej.

not any more

yeah, so, what about the sea sponge? I mentioned it upthread (amongst other things!) It's a good alternative except...you are SUPPOSED to wash it out in the sink and reuse it. But I imagine it is at least, if not more, flushable, than a tampon?
I used sea sponges for a few years, with tampons as a stand-by.
I do think the bleaching process in many tampons cannot be good for the cooter.

I thought the Keeper was one of the goat.se images.

Er, Goatse.cx

you know the one

http://goat.se/

I've never tried sea sponges but it's a good idea if you don't need too substantial a level of protection. I guess hypothetically you could use larger/denser sponges if you need more absorbency but it seems better suited to a light flow, to me.

Maybe I'll go find some.

I think you'd have to keep some extra sponges and a ziploc bag handy, with most public bathrooms having shared sinks, and the risk of the sponges over-loading during the day and leaking when you squeeze anything. Which is why it seems like something for light days.

Sea sponges are pretty absorbent - it's more the societal no no gross factor of squeezing them out in a public/shared bathroom.
But that's sort of my point.like, sponges are more flushable than tampons, one would think.

The whole idea around sea sponges is to reuse them. The nice part is putting something up there that is , like, natural.

I have a friend who DID squeeze her sponge out in a public bathroom, much to the dismay of other people using that public bathroom. I couldn't do that - but i admire her for sort of making it clear that menstrual blood shouldn't be scary.

I really liked the sponge, way back when I had to worry about such things.

I never tried the keeper - I just used my cervical cap as a stand in.
But, whatevs - I also knew when i was gonna get the gush - I'm always a bit startled when women "GET" their periods all of a sudden. I mean, it's not that surprising!

I always knew - not because it was monthly, but because I just knew. (Actually, drinking red wine to an excesive point and weeping was always the preamble to bleeding.)

I sort of miss those days. Going through menopause in your thirties, without knowing you're going through menopause - sucks. I feel cheated. I don't get to have kids - not that I wanted kids, but I liked thinking about it. I don't get to experience menopause. because I already did it, I guess.

I am very resentful !

whoa! that's dreadful...and surprising (i'd imagine).

Thanks! it is dreadful - because I have to think about stuff that seems like old lady stuff. Bone density, for one. I just had a ton of blood work done, and i will probably be on meds for the thyroid - I sort of look forward to that if it helps me from being sluggish