Can't Get Tampon Plungers to Work On Lighter Flow Days

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone...

I have a problem. Anytime I've ever used tampons, they work just fine until around the third day. By then, I don't have a totally heavy flow, but I don't want to use a pad. I have low-flow absorbency tampons, and even the slim ones...

I can get the tampons IN just fine, but the plungers on the applicators WILL NOT WORK. I move my body in various positions, do this, do that - nothing works. I can't get the tampon to come out.

I know that if you can't get the applicator itself in, you can use KY to put it in, but I don't know if that'd help my situation? It's REALLY annoying, especially since I hate pads, but I always have to use them after the first three days or so. It's just, GAH! I push and push, and the tampon doesn't come out! It's frustrating.

Comments

[sulingsi.livejournal.com]

your post is a little confusing because of terminology. see, most people refer to the cardboard part that the tampon comes in as the applicator, and that isn't supposed to go in you. i'm assuming you mean the actual cottom part. and that it has a string on it. the way i'm picturing, shouldn't you be pulling on the string instead of pushing? unless you mean pushing down with your sorta vaginal muscles. are you saying if you pull the string, it would just pull right off the cotton?

also, menstrual cups are very cool and used by a lot of people in this community, they have rubber/silicone stems and maybe would be easier to pull out?

[flightlessangel.livejournal.com]

she means the plunger part of the tampon, which she outlined. i don't see her post as confusing at all. she can get the applicator tip part in, but she can't push the plunger in. it's stuck, it won't move (the plunger won't move, t herefore the tampon won't go into your body like it should). it's happened to me many times.
what i do is just take it out, wiggle the plunger, and then try again, this time with the tampon pressed against the tip of the applicator so im already pushing on the plunger.
usually works.
my problem is that i can't find any light tampons! ARGH!!

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

Phew! I was worried that NO ONE would know what I meant, but yep - you understood me. I got one in NOW, because I'm guessing I had a pad in for awhile so maybe it wasn't so dry...? Anyway, I'll try what you suggested next time and see if that helps. Thanks!

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I highly highly highly recommend an applicatorless tampon such as NatraCare or O.B. It gives you so much more control over where you are sticking the thing. Every time I try to use a tampon with an applicator I end up jabbing myself with it painfully somewhere inside or it gets stuck or doesn't go in right. No applicator it can't stick because the plunger is your finger.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

You know I mean - the thing your finger pushes. The "push-in" part of the applicator.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

right, but you can't have one part without the other. in order to have no pluger you also have to have no sleeve. they kinda go together.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

Whaaaa-? I never said there wasn't a plunger. There WAS a plunger that would NOT work.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

er, right. the tampon you were using, which didn't work, had both a sleeve and a plunger (i.e. an applicator).

What I was RECOMMENDING is an applicatorless tampon which has neither. You stick it in with your finger. Since there is no sleeve and pluger it can't get stuck.

Are we speaking two different languages here?

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

No, I just didn't see where you meant an applicatorless tampon, which is what confused me.

I've never used one without an applicator - how do you get it in?

[ladieophilia.livejournal.com]

Have you tried non-aplicator tampons? I know that a lot of girls have a problem with them, but I just make sure that I am clean before, wipe my hands right after, and we always wash our hands regardless, so you are more then clean. It is just different. Of course the hardest part about a tampon with me is that I have got to be curved, or something, so I always endup having to straiten out the darn thing, so maybe an aplicator will be better...hmm.
Things to try: lube is a maybe, but it is hard to carry it around, unless you want to carry the little ones, but that can get expensive and you won't be using that much, so it would be a waiste. If you mouth is clean, then a little spittle shouldn't hurt. Just don't get in on the tampon itself.
You might want to look into getting a menstral cup. A lot of women have talked about it in this community, but there is menstralcups comm if you want to see what they have to say. Mostly, because they hold the liquid and not absorb it, you don't get dried out. They are hard at first to use, but like a tampon you get it eventually. It is just a new thing to learn. They are pretty cool, and worth investigating!

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

I've never tried ones without an applicator, so I don't even know how those things work! I'll do some research. Much thanks!

[cheekymama.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of the angry vagina in Vagina Monologues...something about "shove a fucking wad of cotton up my twat"...
Have you considered switching to a cup instead of a "wad of fuckin cotton"? :) much more comfy I hear.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

I hadn't before, but based on the recommendations you and other people have given me, I may have to try that! :)

[vespakid.livejournal.com]

i don't think i could possibly recommend anything higher than the diva cup.
www.divacup.com
it could, quite possibly, be the best investment i've ever made. (besides my vibrator of course)

it's a rubber cup thing that fits nicely in one's vagina.
benefits:
1) doesn't dry up your cunt like tampons because it won't suck away all your natural juices -- this translates into a happier cunt all around and
2) unlike tampons, which cause tiny cuts in your cunt due to the rayon (which lead to higher risk for std transmission), the diva cup doesn't interfere with your body's well-being whatsoever (i often forget it's there)
3)it holds a lot of blood, so you can wear it for up to 12 hours a day
4) you can insert it in before your period if you're expecting it come, and then you don't bloody up your favorite underwear.
5)it lasts for 10 years

drawbacks:
1)it can be hard to get in when you first buy it (but my pussy is incredibly tight and it works for me!!)
2) it's 30 bucks.
3) you have to order it online


there are others, like the keeper, (http://www.thekeeper.com/) but the diva cup is better because it's clear, isn't latex (so those of you with latex allergies don't need to worry), it can be boiled so it's super clean, and a portion of the cost goes toward progressive feminist and environmental ngos).

but of course, if you still want to use tampons, don't let me stop you!

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Lets not forget menstrual cups of any sort don't contain a load of nasty chemicals/bleach like commercial tampons, does not increase your risk of TSS, does not leave fibers in your cunt, are easier to insert, greener, cheaper than tampons, and doesn't support unethical companies in the case of commercial tampons.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

I'm not really that concerned. All I wanted was to figure out how to get the plunger on my applicator to work. I have a friend who used those cup things, and I didn't like the idea.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Can I ask why not? They are certainly much better than tampons.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

Because I like tampons and don't like the idea of the cup. Simple as that.

[vespakid.livejournal.com]

yes! all good points!!!

[vespakid.livejournal.com]

and holy shit! where the hell did you find that cool icon? do you have the coloring book that accompanies it?!

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

The icon was made by aquatang, I don't have the colouring book unfortanatly.