sleeping question

[bebewood.livejournal.com]

I have kind of a dumb question. I know youre supposed to wear a pad instead of a tampon when you sleep at night to help prevent toxic shock syndrome or whatever...but this forces you to sleep on your stomach. meaning sleeping with your back to the air. At least with me, when i try to sleep on my back with a pad on, i wakeup with my underwear drenched in blood because the blood collects up my butt. The problem is, i want to stop sleeping on my stomach because sleeping on my stomach forces me to sleep on my face thuse causing my face to distort throughout the night and i think it may be causing long term damage, wrinkles and assymetry.

So how do YOU sleep at night? I guess if i try maybe one of those luna/diva cup things I can sleep with those at night? Are they much thicker than a tampon? because tampons in themselves are a hastle to put on. Also, wouldnt having that thing stuck up your vagina for so long without rest on a pad irritate your vagina?

Comments

[cuzgoatsrkool.livejournal.com]

I alwyas sleep whatever way I want with a pad and usually have no problems....always ultra slender with wings :)

[mayara13.livejournal.com]

Me too; the only times I have problems it's because I didn't change before bed when I should have, or something along those lines.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Menstrual cups like Divacups, Mooncups, Keeper, Instead’s or diaphragms as menstrual cups can be worn at night because unlike tampons they are SAFE, as well as that they can be left in for up to 12 hours.

They aren't thicker than a tampon; they are about as wide as an expanded tampon, see this link that shows bell-shaped cups compaired to tampons - http://www.geocities.com/angua_nemi/tamp_moon.html - based on experience menstrual cups are FAR more comfortable and easier to use than tampons.

They do not irritate the vagina, far from it, tampons irritate the vagina by drying it out, causing vaginal splitting, vaginal dryness, expand adding to menstrual craps, provide bacteria a place to breed, leave fibers in the vagina and chemicals in commercial tampons not only increase risk of infection but also irritation.
Remember TSS is only one risk from tampon, there are many others from general infection and irritation through to the dioxin risk in the 90’s – although dioxin is longer an issue they STILL risk women’s health and the environment by using unnecessary chemicals purely to make tampons whiter, the companies still risked the lives and health of men women and children just to take advantage of outdated menstrual taboos.

Menstrual cups are made from either soft plastic, rubber or medical grade silicone so there is nothing about them to irritate - unless you leave the stem long, which can irritate, but the stem can be completely removed.

I would really recommend menstrual cups, as well as a lot more convenient, they are cheaper, environmentally friendly, have a lot fewer social implications, do not support unethical companies and most importantly they are safe.


Oh and of course:

Divacup (Reusable silicone bell-shaped cup) has a year’s money back guarantee.
Mooncup (Reusable silicone bell-shaped cup) has a three-month money back guarantee.
Keeper (Reusable rubber bell-shaped cup) has a three-month money back guarantee.
Instead’s (Disposable soft plastic diaphragm shaped cup) offers free samples on the site.
Diaphragm as menstrual cup (Reusable soft plastic cup) doubles as birth control.
So in short it costs you little to nothing to try.

[bebewood.livejournal.com]

that would cause permanent stains...

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, also if pads do this, does this also happen with cloth or homemade pads?
Have you tried using a towel rather than pads?

[Both as well as more likely to be more comfortable are also cheaper, greener, woman-positive and safer than commercial pads]

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

"menstrual craps"

lol, sorry that should have been menstrual cramps

[immaginarylife.livejournal.com]

i disagree to some of these points, but it's just my own experience. my divacup was extremely painful to both take in and out (and i can fit super plus tampons in there). the cup also irritated my vagina and made it extremely flaky, dry, and itchy.

just my two cents though, i wouldn't trust the cups completely from what everyone says, but i think it's worth trying out.

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

I sleep with an overnight Glad Rag, and because they extra long and snap into place, I have no leakage problems. And since they're reusable, they environmentally friendly.

[heightened.livejournal.com]

The long pads come in very useful at night. I wear fitted undies and sleep on my side.

On a side note, I'm trying to use the DivaCup... but since I'm going from pads to a cup, I'm not used to inserting things in my vagina and, well, ouch.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

If using disposables, which is rare, I use two extra long nighttime pads, one end of each overlapping in the middle of my panties.

Usually, though, I use homemade pads and I just make 'em longer and wider. Sure, they're more diaper like, but I don't end up with nearly as many stains. ;)

[daisybones.livejournal.com]

what do you make your homemades out of & can you explain how? i have to use 2 giant nighttimes overlapping like that but they still leak & it costs a small fortune to buy all these commercial pads.

[soda-raison.livejournal.com]

have you tried over night pads? i like always overnights. also, you can sleep with a tampon in because it's safe to keep on in for about 8 hours.

[eluted.livejournal.com]

I usually sleep on my side when I'm on my period just for this reason.

I like to sleep on my back, though, so when I want to, I just lay down an old towel and sleep on it. I wear black panties and a cloth pad. So.

If the towel is old it's not like you should worry about staining it. It could be your "hey-i'm on my period and i want to sleep on my back" towel.

[parker-wolf.livejournal.com]

TS is caused by bacteria and while the link between TS and tampons is not fully known, it is suggested that certain high-absorbancy tampons provide a nice warm moist place for bacteria to grow.

Since it is a bacterial infection, it is also contagious and is treated with antibiotics.

There is no information I have found about not wearing them at night ~ it is merely suggested that if you use tampons, to use the lowest absorbancy as possible (depending on the amount of your flow) and to switch them out with pads from time to time. These two things will simply reduce your risk, but you can still get TS if the bacteria has a chance to grow and thrive in your vagina.

Incidentally, Diaphragms, contraceptive sponges, and other vaginal devices may also increase your risk for TS.

Just to let you know, tough, TS affects 17 (or less) out of 100,000 women per year (thats less than 1%).

I, personally, never use pads ~ I hate the way they feel, sound, etc. But if I was on my period and suddenly had a fever of over 100 and was vomiting, I would get myself to a doctor for the antibiotics asap.


Of course, if you still decide to sleep on your stomach and are still concerned about getting wrinkles, you could always purchase the “Save My Face!” Pillowette (http://www.totallypamperme.com/savemyface/howitworks.html).


Good luck.

[bebewood.livejournal.com]

wow, awesome, thanks i didnt know they had pillows with my psychotic obsessions in mind

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

The reason why they should not be worn at night is because most people sleep for more than 4-6 hours - leaving them in for a long time significantly increases your risk of infection and TS.

Your statistics are faulted.
When it comes to TSS the number of people who have TSS are FAR higher than 'official' because:
- Manufacturers go out of their way to cover up the risks of their products (FDA also going along with this as we already know).
- Doctors do not always know that it is TSS they are dealing with.
- Doctors do not always report TSS cases.
- For it to be counted as TSS the patient has to have had three major organs fail – so you could have TSS, have blood pouring out of your eyes, have your heart fail, your liver fail and have life long health problems that will shorten your life…but they will not recognize it as TSS.
TSS is on the increase again because people forget how much of a risk it is, they do not take precautions and do not realize the risk – TSS is FAR higher with the use of tampons, more so again with commercial tampons, it is much safer not to use tampons at all, not just for the sake of avoiding TSS risk but all the other risks and social issues.

[lindsey-nichole.livejournal.com]

Toxic shock isn't considered contagious.

I'm sure a few people have contracted it from others - but it would be highly unlikely and very rare.

I had it when I was 11, due to strep infection getting into my blood stream and going rampant (I hadn't even started menstruating at the time), and my family as well as doctors were only required to wear protective masks etc, because of the risk of me catching something else - not because of the risk that they could catch it.

[meshisseky.livejournal.com]

As someone said before, when I sleep on my stomach I turn my head to the side and use my arm as a pillow under it. I have the same problems with leaking sleeping on my stomach as I do sleeping on my back, so I usually sleep on my side with an uber huge overnight pad and kinda dent it into me (ha, good imagery?) in the middle of the pad, and keep my legs kinda close together.. and I'm on my first day right now, so that will be fun tonight, haha

[laululintu.livejournal.com]

I rarely have problems with staining when I sleep on my back during my period. I tend to twist and turn in bed a LOT, so I usually find myself in a completely different position from the one I started out in. I usually sleep on my side during my period though, as it allows me to curl up into the fetal position easily.

I always wear pads, as I've never really gotten the hang of tampons...

[flightlessangel.livejournal.com]

i sleep on my side... sometimes use a tampon, get up earlier to take it out. however-- i dont seem to bleed at night anymore.. after 9pm i stop menstrating until the next morning after i get up... so i dont wear anything but a liner to bed (just in case).
but years ago i would wear an overnight pad with some kleenex under the end of it so that if any blood actually went up further than the pad, i was covered...but i sleep in basically any position i want to... if you use a silk pillow you dont have to worry about wrinkles. maybe i'm just weird, but i really am not worried about that right now.

[kwokj.livejournal.com]

I totally know what you mean about the blood pooling in your butt. heh, I can only say this to another woman, but putting folded kleenex between your butt cheeks helps.

people possibly screaming at me be damned, but toxic shock is exceedingly rare. granted, I've not tried all that many brands of tampons, but I think they usually say up to 8 hours, which is enough for a lot of people to wear over night, and tampax even says 12 hours. (though a lot of people hate tampax for it's shape, according to my mom, back when people first became aware of the tampon-tss link, she read that tampax was linked to either the least or zero incidents, and platex the next least.) Upshot, you won't catch me discouraging you from using tampons overnight. If you want to even further reduce your (already miniscule) risk with tampons, get all cotton ones (as opposed to the usual rayon blend,) perhaps just for overnight (dunno if they're more expensive or harder to find).

Having said all that, I'm a cup user (bell shaped kind) and love it though I still use tampons on my first two heavy nights (has to do with my sleeping posture breaking the cup seal, which isn't a problem once the flow lightens up.) More reliable for me than tampons ever were, and I can ignore my period for much longer. They *are* harder to get in and out if you aren't completely comfortable with inserting things inside yourself so that you're relaxed and muscles ready to stretch a little. Um, I disagree that folded they're no bigger than tampons. I'm fine with this, not everyone is. On the bright side, they all have money back guarantees so there is little (shipping, if you can't get it walking in a store) or no loss if you try it and it isn't for you.

Also, people keep saying that there is no risk of TSS with cups. Theoretically, they are lower risk than tampons, but the fact that there have been no reported incidents of tss in cup users is because tss is so rare. Cup use, though gaining (which is exciting to see, since I think the cup is so great) may not be high enough to see tss yet, that's all.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

extra long overnight pads, and a couple of pair of "period panties" that you don't mind getting stained. :) Then sleep as you wish!

[neko-san.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I had forgotten about the evil blood flowing down your butt-crack thing. (It's been a long time since I've worn pads.) I remember trying overnight pads, and even and extra pad at my butt, but I still leaked no matter what.

I used to sleep with tampons; I guess my period is light because I could wear the minimum absorbency ones for 8-12 hours. I figured that, if i slept from 4-10 hours a night, put in a fresh tampon right before falling asleep, and changed it first thing when i woke up, it wouldn't be a problem as far as TSS or leaking.

I've been using Instead cups practically since they came on the market. Again, I can wear one for 12 hours easily without leaks, and now I don't have any restrictions whatsoever about what's "safe" to do on my period. I will say that it took me at least six cycles to figure out how to insert them without having them leak unexpectedly. From what I understand, the reusable cups also have a learning curve. But I absolutely love Insteads; it's almost like not having my period (except for twice a day, when I change out the cup).

[incendiaryfs.livejournal.com]

Lunapads makes a "period panty" that has absorbent material sewn right in, so it's as if your whole underpants are a pad, and nothing can leak out. You can probably make some yourself if you're crafty.

http://www.lunapads.com/products/lunapanties/

If you're interested in more info about alternative menstrual products, I wrote a zine about them posted here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/incendiaryfs/204904.html