(no subject)

[antigoat.livejournal.com]

Hi! The name’s Bryna. Nice to meet you all…or introduce myself to you all. Gah.
I have a couple of questions, and would greatly appreciate any input. Thanks!

I get awful, awful cramps. I take ibuprofen…which seems to work well enough… but I’m always sort of wary about consuming more chemicals than necessary. Using herbs is also somehow reassuring, my body feels less tampered with. I would really like to find an effective homeopathic solution for alleviating the pain. Any suggestions?

Secondly, I’m looking for a reliable natural feminine hygiene rag pad sponge cup sort of thing along the lines of what a rag pad cup sponge feminine hygiene thing would be. I know… I need to work on my lucidity. But right. I have a pretty heavy flow for the first 2 ½ days or so…Do those sponges work? Are they really absorbant? I can just see so many disastrous scenarios…
And the cloth things? Absorbant? Is washing them difficult?

Thanks to all that reply!
And those that don’t reply. Because they didn’t reply…and that in itself is sort of cool in a non-chalant sort of way.

Comments

[ourika.livejournal.com]

You can probably get a lot of information looking through the memories of this group and also the [Unknown site tag] group. Some quick thoughts, though. Each of those menstrual products is different, so you'd need to choose what you wanted. If you want something to insert, you'd be looking at the menstrual cups or at the sea sponges.

http://www.divacup.com is one address to look at reusable menstrual cups.

http://www.pandorapads.com/sponge.htm is one place to look at sea sponges.

The cups can be worn for up to 12 hours. The sea sponges DO work, but they need to be removed and rinsed under running water every 3 hours.

If you're interested in pads (I recommend them as a backup even if you choose an insertable product – especially while you adjust to using the cup/sponge and learning how often you need to change them, etc.), you'll want to look around. There are several different styles, but here's my favorites: http://www.rhythmandbluespads.com/

There's tons of posts about dealing with cramps, and the main thing is that if they're bad enough for medications, take something the moment you start to think you may have cramps. They won't get as severe and won't require as much medication as if you try to "tough it out." Also, raspberry leaf tea is great. You should drink it at least several times per day. They have it through Traditional Medicines Tea as well as in bulk form at a health food store. I'd recommend the actual raspberry leaf tea and not the "menstrual tea," but that's just because its my personal preference!

Heating pads are great, and another way to keep your cramps in check is to exercise regularly and make sure that your diet is not high in fat or sugar. Alcohol and caffeine can also help make them worse. Stretch regularly when you have cramps – don't curl in on your cramps, but instead make sure to stretch through them. You don't need to do a full out stretching session (although that's not a bad thing), but at least stand up and stretch your arms above your head every 30-40 minutes (or if you're laying down, you can do it that way) so that your pelvis muscles don't contract in on each other. And orgasm can help cramps, too. It can be hard to "start" if you're not feeling well and crampy, but if you can manage it, masterbate. I've personally found that inserting something (finger, toy, penis) actually tends to make my cramps worse, but clitoral stimulation to orgasm helps.

[antigoat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tea leaf suggestion! I'll try to find some. :)

I had no idea caffeine could intensify cramps. Alright, no caffeine. I can handle that.

And as for masturbation...
I can definitely handle that.

[mamaraffle.livejournal.com]

I personally, like my Diva Cup, and like you have a really heavy flow for the first couple days. There are other cups out there:

The Keeper and The Moon Cup.

I also use (and make) cloth pads (so comfy!). They are really absorbant IMO.

You can always find good cloth pads on Ebay, too.

I don't have any experience with the sponge, but, it's a dead animal. :( Not something I'd want to put into my vagina!

pads and herb

[fuckyoubigtime.livejournal.com]

I grow and use my own Lady's Mantle, a really pretty herb that is also great for cramps. You can get seeds fairly readily, and they aren't terribly hard to grow.

I'd also recommend shopping around for cups and cloth pads- prices tend to vary wildly (especially with pads, stay far away from the more brand name lines with obscene prices). Actually, just using cloth pads made my cramps vanish. I love them.

Hope that helped a bit...

[antigoat.livejournal.com]

"I don't have any experience with the sponge, but, it's a dead animal. :( Not something I'd want to put into my vagina!"

Oh ugh! It IS!? Well thank you thank you... I was sort of confused as to whether or not it was an actual creature, or a plant.

That's sad.

Maybe someday a giant life form will appear and cultivate humans for the sole purpose of sticking us up into the bowels of its genitalia...
Gah.

[chats-noirs.livejournal.com]

Have you talked to a gyne about your cramps? I had terrible ones from the time I was 9 till just a couple years ago. After years of suffering quietly, using various painkillers & even taking a steroid, a doctor put me on birth control pills, which eased the pain but hid the real problem: fibroids. I got a new doc a few years ago who diagnosed the real problem & lucky she did b/c had it gone on much longer I could have become infertile. Unfortunately I had to have abdominal surgey to remove the fibroids b/c they'd gotten too big for any other control method. Get checked out if you haven't already!

[antigoat.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh... I'm scared to go to a gynecologist. I'm only 15. I think I have a modest vagina.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Definitely get checked out by an ob/gyn.
But also dietary changes can help with cramps, in particular avoiding coffee and making sure you are getting enough calcium in your diet (believe it or not).

See
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/47/93.cfm

if you're trying to avoid the chemicals.