Bleeding on everything I love (Periods--the adventure)

Okay so maybe I'm the only one who hasn't mastered it yet but any tips on how to prevent accidentally turning things red? I'm fairly good about it but it just irritates me to no end when I have to pull out the spot remover on my underwear (wow. tmi keeprolling tmi). Or my pad misses a spot and CONGRATS it's on my jeans. Especially when I suddenly sneeze it's like a sudden Niagra Falls except a really gross, gory version that has me running to the bathroom to make sure I didn't destroy anything asides from my already self-imploding uterus (sorry if this is graphic I'm just upset haha).

I guess I'm frustrated because it's an every month adventure that I didn't exactly signup for and somehow almost always catches me off guard and I think I've only survived a handful without some sort of evidence. AND I get uncomfortable dragging bloody underwear down to the laundry room where there are pity glances from the girls and extreme discomfort from the guys. Honestly, I have no idea why they think we're squeamish about blood. We probably see more of it than they do in their lifetimes.

I've heard of the diva and moon cup but I'm not sure I could use that where I'm at now since I use a lot of... more public bathrooms and I'm pretty sure you're supposed to rinse it between uses and I'll probably be an idiot and fumble around with it until my hands are covered in blood and they call the police on me. So... yeah.

So yes, tips, funny/gross battle stories, comments about "waaay too much information you're gross", are all welcome. :P

Overnight Always pads, they come in orange. Wear two or three at a time. All women go through this at some point. You could also use a tampon. If you're bleeding heavy every cycle consider seeing a doc. Without knowing your age I suggest the Always pads, and sleep on a towel during your cycle. I haven't left a spot in years.

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hahaha, that's exactly how I was.

Have you considered birth control? BC will often lighten or stop your periods entirely. I am on the Mirena and after bleeding 2-3 months I no longer have periods and it's the most amazing feeling.

I would say buy ugly underwear and use it just for when you have your period, because you're right, even when wearing pads it can still get on your underwear. Your jeans will wash it right out, but your underwear will stain. But honestly, it's no big deal.

I second this. I reserve oversized pure cotton underwear for periods. Big pads fit more snugly on them too. There's less pad displacement + leakage compared to what I experienced when I used my normal underwear with pads.

Also, I find that hand-washing bloodstained clothes with cold water gets the stains out very effectively. Hot water (e.g. in a washing machine) causes bloodstains to set in, and then it's just pretty much permanent. I ruined quite a few articles of clothing that way until my mum taught me to use cold water.

Also: pads with wings. WINGS. Makes so much difference (sometimes I forget and buy pads without wings. Big no no).

I can relate...I have mentioned my fibroids and subsequent anemia from blood loss.....

I never, not once, had a month without....evidence.....occurring.

Overnight was a nightmare...and I find the pads to not sit against you? There's a gap between your.....womanly anatomy and the pad, when you think about it. Especially the very (supposedly better) ultra thin ones.

And WHY OH WHY....did nobody mention my....accidental evidence? Did other women hate me that much?!?! They couldn't have given me a discreet heads up?!?!

So yes...been there done that. At night I would wear two pads (tampons were out of the question at home because we have a septic system).

Get some cold water on your "smalls" as soon as you take them off....even if you can't launder straight away, just get the cold water on them.....if you can, wash them in the sink....

Daytime my armor of choice was a tampon plus a pad....for a couple days before, also because my body couldn't possibly help me out enough to be regular in any way....

I have not had a period in ten years, on Mirena. 30% of Mirena wearers lose their period, and now you can get Mirena inserted even before having babies. Seems like worth a shot, no? 30% is a high enough probability to hope that you will get lucky with Mirena. Plus, it is virtually foolproof as a birth control method (the likelihood of failure is negligible, and when the man also uses condoms, infinitesimal).

Good luck.

Oh my goodness I relate. I'm one of the lucky ones who's period lasted for a week with debilitating cramps. And heavy heavy flow. Then I had kids. It got so much worse. After my daughter I had them 3 weeks on 2 weeks off. It was horrible. Finally I strong armed my doctor into a hysterectomy. Since I was so young he wasn't a fan. But seriously it was the best thing ever. I've been period free since 2011. Best feeling ever. Not that it is necessarily the answer for you but yes I understand.


Oh and a doctor once said your own saliva should get the blood out. I was too grossed out to spit on my underwear but I used a combination of soaking. Then peroxide. Then toothpaste. Then soak with oxi clean then wash. That cleaned about 95% but the elastic and fabric around it always held the stain no matter what. I also used the Always plus size with wings overnighter pads. Really thick and bulky but reduced leaking

Fefe(28) -bipolar II
Hubby(28)
Son(8)-aspergers and possibly ADHD and odd
Daughter(5)

Thanks for the comments everyone! Haha I'm glad I'm on the right track at least (using thick pads and putting a towel under me when I sleep). I also wear workout pants to sleep when I have my period just in case the weird synthetic fibers will help block anything. Although, sometimes even with my best defenses up, Mother Nature knows how to thwart every plan and destroy every barrier to rain on my parade. Now if only my period would start to be on some sort of regulated schedule (it skips or shifts around when I don't have enough sleep or get stressed which is pretty common).

I'm a little uncomfortable to add birth control to my ever growing amount of meds that I take but I'm glad it's an option if I decide that the torrent of blood becomes too much. And that a hysterectomy is also available in the future.

If you cant wash your underwear right away your own saliva has enzymes that break down your own blood. Just some interesting info...

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I have the same problem. I keep a change of clothes in my car. In my purse I have learned to keep a small decorative bag with a clean pair of undies and a spare pad.

At night I have used bladder leakage products. The extra long, overnight, extra thick type. I am almost 40. So I never know what I am gonna get, spotting or what looks like a mas murder has been committed. I still leak at night sometimes. I am seriously considering disposable underwear. The full brief kind. I really didn't plan on wearing "Adult Diapers" until later in life. Oh well, you do what ya gotta do.

Mirena has a very small amount of progesterone and no estrogen, so it is not like adding another heavyhitter med. Plus, it offers some protection against the endometrial cancer.

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Is this true even if your medication is known to interfere with hormonal contraceptives? This is not related to the OP's post, but I know that my meds interfere with my OC pill, and this scares me quite a bit because i) I'm allergic to latex, ii) I'm also allergic to lubricants, and iii) I can't find any non-latex, non-lubricated condoms on the market.

I had periods like yours and it turned out I had a fairly large fibroid tumor (benign) on my uterus. An ultrasound picked it up. If this has not been your norm, you might consider discussing with your doc.

I keeeeep bleeding I keeeep keeeep bleeding love....

My mom and grandmother, went through the same thing. I used to, not to that extent. My first u/s back in '11 showed one, then after that, I'd taken an interferon med for multiple sclerosis, which I am no longer on, body rejected that type of med. I have had much, much, much lighter periods since. If you stop and think about what my body took in, consider family history with those pestilent, yet benign fibroids, I agree, something to look into. Both mom and grandmom had D&C's to take care of them.


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Always infinity overnights with wings. Two at night. *And* a heavy tampon. Tampons are easier to stash in your pockets for changing and if you find your self without you still have the pads. They also are backups to tampon leaking.

tapatalk post.

Oh and some fitted shorts will keep everything in place.

tapatalk post.

Just yesterday I put another stain on my sheets. I do get sick of it. It's gotten so heavy the last few years. At one point I soaked through a super, ultra type tampon in 15 minutes.

I hate when I'm in a public restroom, and my hand is covered in blood from retrieving a tampon, and I have to try to clean up the best I can with tp.

I don't get how you would use more than one pad. The plastic liner would keep it from going to the one below. Are we talking one in front of the other?

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Wow - all I can say is what an issue this is for us women! I've done the double tampon, side by side thingie with the super pad under it, the towel at night under me, hypervigilant to changing the whole set-up ... it sucks.

I ignored heavy bleeding for years thinking it was just one of those things. Then I read some info that said you should get it checked out if the bleeding soaks through your pad / tampon in under two hours, or you pass clots or you need tampon + pad, or your cycles are shorter than 21 days. So please ladies, if this applies to you go and get a check up. It usually isn't anything serious and BETTER than that there is usually something that can be done.

My bleeding was caused by polyps and these were cleaned out with a D&C. As for other treatments, if you've had kids, or don't want them then there's endometrial ablation where the lining of the uterus is destroyed using heat. Its less radical than an hysterectomy, but doesn't work for everyone. Hormonal birth control is also an option, but for anyone with depression I'd advise caution on that. I've tried the pill and mirena but both seemed to aggravate my depression, the docs said nope that couldn't possibly happen, but the patient advice leaflets do list depression and mood disturbance as possible side effects. I wouldn't say don't try them, just be aware that it might be a problem.

What does your medication interfere with, precisely? Estrogen or progesterone? Most birth control pills, with the exception of the mini pill given mostly to nursing moms, contain estrogen. Mirena, like the mini pill, does not. Also, Mirena contains much less progesterone than the mini pill, because Mirena's primary effectiveness comes from it being a mechanical device, ie an IUD (IUD's have been in use since ancient Egypt and nobody knows exactly why they work, but they do). The progesterone in Mirena is like icing on the cake.

So you need to figure out what exactly the untoward drug interactions are. Think about your overall sanity - not having to worry about the possibility of a pregnancy which you most likely need to abort due to your psych meds would be a MAJOR boost for the overall sanity.

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The OC I take contains estrogen only. However, my medication interferes with both progesterone and estrogen (I had considered switching to mini-pills, but that wouldn't have helped). However, if Mirena's primary effectiveness comes from the fact that it's an IUD, then I'll definitely consider it.

You're totally right about sanity. Ever since I realized that my new meds interfere with my OC, I've been paranoid, and this definitely adds tension to my relationship with my bf.

How does an IUD fitting work? Does a doctor have to do it? How expensive is it? I guess I'll have to discuss with my doctor anyway. The reason I started OCs was because I have PCOS (hence painful, messy, erratic periods), and I'll have to figure out how Mirena will fit into that whole situation too.

I saw this today, it is kind of on-topic and it certainly made me think that how lucky we are.
BBC News - The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

What an incredible, inspiring man.