Tracking my Period

[thefadedcolor.livejournal.com]

Hi, im new here. I have some questions.


I've been trying to track me cycle and it seems to always changes on me,but it always starts around the end of the month. See the thing is i want to know when its going to start..if its gonna be that week or this day. This last month was totally off, and it pissed me off because i started at my friends house and was totally embrassed. Is there an easy was to track this?


I always have a question. I use tampons and i notice that their is leaking so i figure it needs to be changed and when i take it out it doesn't..is there anything to help this. I feel really silly wearing a pad and a tampon at the same time, to me if you have one you should need the other.


Its funny how i can talk to complete strangers about this and not with my mother or doctor..

Comments

[ourika.livejournal.com]

There are a few websites you can track your cycle on. For several years until I found them, I was just using a calendar. The day I started, I would mark it on the calendar. Then I'd start counting the next day. The next time I started, I'd mark it on the calendar, and I'd also put the number of days it had been since my last start date.

I did this for about six months, and I got an average. Here's the thing, though: I have a regular cycle (I'm lucky, I didn't get regular till I'd been menstruating for 10 years), but it's not regular to the day. So I've currently got a 29 day average length cycle, but I can expect it anywhere from 27-31 days afterwards. It was 26 days, but it's morphed over the last few years.

Some women can track their cycle to the day (or at least to the half day) without taking hormonal birth control, but some don't have that exact a cycle without exerting some sort of hormonal influence on their bodies. The majority of my friends who know exactly when (day, time, etc.) are on the pill.

sites:

http://www.mymonthlycycles.com (I just switched this month to it)

http://www.cyclespage.com

I used the cyclespage for a couple of years. I just switched to the monthly cycles page because it tracks a lot more stuff. It tracks moods and cervical mucous and spotting and headaches and stuff. Th cycles page free area only tracks when you start your period.

Oh, as far as tampons go, I know a lot of women who always wear a pad and a tampon. I use a menstrual cup, and even though I know that it's not going to leak on me, I wear a pad anyway because I prefer to play it safe. I'd hate for the day it leaks to be the one that I'm wearing beige pants and away from the bathroom for two hours!

[ourika.livejournal.com]

I forgot to add, I still use the cyclespage.com to see when I'm due. For some reason, the mymonthlycycles.com doesn't seem to want to calculate days, and I've suddenly become too lazy to count it ;-)

[thefadedcolor.livejournal.com]

yea, im always worried about the "leak", i guess i do the pad thing for the same reason you do, and the teachers at the school are no where near understanding when you say you gotta go, it means you "gotta go"

im pretty sure i'll try those sites with me next cycle.

Thank you so much. this community is gonna be pretty helpful i can already tell.

[tariecloth.livejournal.com]

Have you tried a different brand of tampon? Some have diff. shapes that might fit your body better. The round playtex ones leak for me but Kotex, which is flatter, works better.

[thefadedcolor.livejournal.com]

I use the peral, thats all i've used becuase i just started using them. but i'll take that into consideration

[puttysan.livejournal.com]

I use http://www.cyclespage.com But if you're young, your cycle may not be very regular yet.

[thefadedcolor.livejournal.com]

im 15, i've had it since i was 13, i know they say it takes a couple years to even off.

[puttysan.livejournal.com]

That's it right there. You can try tracking, but it may just be too irregular still.

[shockmesane212.livejournal.com]

I've started using the cycle site after reading it from someone's post and I think it's quite handy.
As far as the tampon leaking....I use tampons 90% of my period and I use the Tampax and haven't really had a problem...I had tried the O.B tampons, and I foudn those leaked constantly. I think it boils down to trial and error, and finding the brand that works for you.

[soulchic.livejournal.com]

I *always* wear a pad and a tampon, but I'm horribly paranoid about leaking. If you don't want to wear a pad, you could wear just a panty liner instead.
And like others said, it may be trial and error. Get just the little boxes of different brands and see what you like. :)

[straightjacket-.livejournal.com]

i'm the same was as far as my period is very inconsistent. i try to keep track of it but some months there will be, say, 28-30 days in between, and other random months it'll be way longe,r like 35-40 days. i can usually tell, though, when my period will be coming because i get cramps the night before, and the next day i'll have it.

i've had my period for 6 years, but i'm only 16, so i don't expect it to be perfectly regular. i do hate not knowing exactly, though. for the general week i'm expecting it, i always have to go to the bathroom constantly to check *just in case*, and things like that.

i use Tampax, and the only time it has leaked is when I kept it in for a bit too long on my first or second day (aka very heavy flow). but i still wear a pad with a tampon sometimes.

i hate talking to my mom, even friends, about this. it's much easier to do it online ;)