(no subject)

[perksofbeingyou.livejournal.com]

hello everyone.

i have had my period for years and i still haven't found a good way to sleep without chance of leakage.
a couple of nights ago i wore a tampon for about 5 or 6 hours while sleeping AND wore a pad, and i still woke up with blood everywhere

blood on the COMFORTER
blood on my pants

it was really frustrating.
so sleeping for more than 4 or 5 hours with a tampon won't work because i suppose it will leak.
and tampons can't be worn for more than 8 hours anyway.
and the DivaCup i have tried but it leaks also if it gets too full so that won't work the whole night through either.
i am quite tired of this and quite tired of cleaning things and trying to get stains out of things

how does everyone sleep with their period comfortably and without leaks?!

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

Comments

[herekittykitty.livejournal.com]

My flow isn't that heavy at night, so a big maxi usually works for me. Try getting the long ones though- it catches it in the back, especially if you sleep on your back or on your side.
Worse case scenario- rubber sheets. :P

[geminigirl]

Before I was on the pill, when I had unreasonable periods, I'd sleep with a tampon and a pad together overnight-one of the superlongthick overnight kinds. I'd also put a towel down on my bed and sleep without pants on.

[lileprechaun.livejournal.com]

Is you're problem that things travel up the cracks and pool at the tops of your underwear (missing the pad completely)? That was my problem. When I used disposables, I would place two panty liners, one in the front and one in the back, up near the waistband of my underwear. Then one of the super long, thick maxis (I used Always Super Overnite) in the middle. And to top it off, I'd sleep on a folded dark towel. That took care of it. Now I use an overnight/postpartum cloth pad (about the length of the afore mentioned maxi) and I guess they absorb faster because I don't have that problem anymore. But in any case, have you tried the Diva with a maxi?

[kwokj.livejournal.com]

Is you're problem that things travel up the cracks and pool at the tops of your underwear (missing the pad completely)?

that used to be me, too!

[perksofbeingyou.livejournal.com]

thanks for the advice. i have, however, tried both the divacup and a long overnight pad.
it didn't work...i guess i slept for too many hours and the cup overflowed or something and there was blood...everywhere. ugh.

[megan0905.livejournal.com]

When I used disposables, I would place two panty liners, one in the front and one in the back, up near the waistband of my underwear. Then one of the super long, thick maxis (I used Always Super Overnite) in the middle.

heh, I always thought that I was the only one who did that. Good to know I wasn't alone! :P Although, now with my DivaCup, I don't have to worry about it at all. :)

[achtungbaby.livejournal.com]

2 things you could do.

wear snug fitting undies to bed so that way the pad will be against you more and more able to catch liquid.
OR
wear adult diapers (tried to find a better word for it! honest!!) I knew a girl who had BAD BAD leaking problems at night, that helped her out the most. and she showered in the morning anyway, so cleanup wasnt too much of an issue.

re: adult diapers

[kwokj.livejournal.com]

huh. wish I thought of that back in the day.

[crassy.livejournal.com]

If you don't want to do the diaper thing, get yourself an old towel, preferably dark blue, green, red or black. You can fashion a sort of diaper out of it, and you don't have to fasten it at teh sides. It is also good if you want to not wear a pad or tampon, you can walk around the house with your blood towel. Easy to wash, environmentally friendly and you don't have to walk into a drug store to buy adult diapers :)

[achtungbaby.livejournal.com]

how is it that you wouldnt have to fasten it somehow by the sides? how does it stay on? and i cant imagine a towel being comfy to sleep in. also, towles (that would be walking or sleeping friendly) wouldnt be thick enough to keep in all the liquid at night. you'd move and it would squeeze out.

and i dont see the "embarassment" in having to buy adult diapers. BFD! i mean, they are made for a reason yanno?

[crassy.livejournal.com]

I never had to fasten it, I just rolled it under and it worked just fine. Also, it was quite comfy, don't knock it until you have tried it. It is preferable to use a softer towel, and it is more comfortable than sleeping with a tampon or a pad. Try it sometime, you may like it. I have been using a blood towel for almost 18 years now and I don't know what I would do without it.

As for the embarassment thing, yes I do realise that they are made for a reason, and I am very happy you do not see the embarassment in it, however, other people may. And, not to be rude, but I really thought the purpose of this community was to assist each other, not to get self-righteous and knock each other down for a simple disagreement of opinion.

[achtungbaby.livejournal.com]

i'm really mood swingy right now. if i came off rude, i'm sorry, it wasnt meant to come off that way.

[crassy.livejournal.com]

:)

Truce?

[achtungbaby.livejournal.com]

you got it :)

[heightened.livejournal.com]

Augh, me too. I'm utterly paranoid to sleep over at someone's house if I'm on my period because of this. And I still suck at getting stains out so there's no bright side.

About the paranoia, I sometimes wonder if it actually affects the bloodflow. Because sometimes, if I'm really worried before going to bed, I'll wake up and my pad will have almost no blood at all. Then I'll have intense cramps for the rest of the day, bloating, and heavier flow than the previous day.

Anyways....

I wear "snug fitting undies" XD and longer pads (you know, the ones that extend so far back you sometimes wonder if they're actually sticking out of your underwear :P), then I sleep on my side with my legs together to prevent it. I try to set my "inner alarm clock" to wake myself up in the middle of the night. If it's really heavy, I'll set my real alarm clock. I the paranoid type.

It's the sleeping on the side with my legs together that stops the leaking for me; everything else is just a precaution because I tend to twist about while sleeping. Did I mention I was paranoid? :P

[heightened.livejournal.com]

I forgot to metion that I've only ever used pads.

[meshisseky.livejournal.com]

You're just like me! With the paranoia about sleeping over at someone's house, the "snug fitting undies", and the sleeping on your side.

To add to what you said, in hopes of helping the original poster, I used to get leaks all of the time too, but what I do is where the uber huge overnight pads, and sleep on my side with my legs pressed together, and then (sorry to be graphic, but I guess that's ok in this community ;) ) kind of cram the middle of the pad between my legs so it bends in and is more against my body.. if that makes sense.

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

I couldn't seem to cure that until I started using tampons, but apparently that isn't a working option for you, either.

If this is something that's going on for more than 1 or 2 nights per month, you may have a bigger problem than how to prevent unwanted clean-up. If you're losing THAT MUCH blood overnight (which is when MOST people tend to have a lighter flow) you might want to have a little chat with your doctor about why this might be happening. We all have little "accidents" here or there, but this sounds like it's a constant battle for you.

A doctor may be able to put you on some sort of a regimen that would reduce the flow itself, rather than worrying about the "catching the mess" issue. I work with a woman who is highly anemic and has VERY heavy periods, so they have her on iron supplements and birth control. They recently found a tumor (it's non-cancerous, but causing lots of undue stress on her uterus) and hopefully soon she'll be back to normal.

[ptilu.livejournal.com]

My flow is only reasonably heavy. with pads I used to get leaks (they are *never* quite in the right position, are they???), but a tampon worked fine for me, as does the Diva cup.

I sympathise though. Super-heavy flows sound like hell, from the testimonials I read here and on other forums.

[seethroughstars.livejournal.com]

I second what skeptictank said. Definitely chat with your doctor, because this kind of regularly heavy flow doesn't sound healthy.