I had a very heavy period (and severely bad cramps) as a teen. My solution for preventing blood stains was to wear two pads. And they didn't have the super-thin kind they do now, or at least not that I can remember. I'd have one closer to the front, and one that covered more in the back.
But, another embarrassment, only it's something that didn't embarrass me at the time (although maybe it came up and I was embarrassed). This is something that embarrassed me later in life when my mom told me about it. I walked into the bathroom as a kid, and my mom had a douche hanging on the bathroom closet door. I don't know what douches are like now (I've never used one), but this was a water bottle-like thing, with a long tube and a piece at the end. I didn't know what it was, and I don't know why, but I put the piece at the end in my mouth!!! After my mom told me what it was and what it was for, I was grossed out and I don't usually tell people about that. Nobody reads these boards, right?