Who has heard of a mooncup?, Warning! Potentially a girls only topic. Options

[Rykan]

I knew about the Luxury Tax - which sucks.  I've always maintained that sanitary products should be free anyway seeing as it's not something that us girlies have a choice in. 

There's a TAX!?

Toilet paper also falls under the luxary tax. I swear, men make these lists.

On toilet paper TOO!? Wtf!?

Blergh, well in that case I'll just use it as a conversation starter at dinner parties.

I would so love to go to one of the dinner parties you go to

That made me laugh so much

Seconded XD

It does seem rather icky and impractical. I am SO glad the pill I'm on at the moment stops me menstrating. I do have the odd weird period every 8 months or so, but it's wonderful not having to worry about these things ^.^ (for anyone interested, the pill I'm on is called Cerazette <3 ).

Why.
Did.
I.
LOOK!?!?!


ARGH! My mind has been pillaged!

I don't have any mind bleech for you, so here's some fluff to clean your mind with ^^

[snooodlysnoosnoo...]

*bump*

I was just browsing the Vegetarian society website and it made me gigglesnort to find out that mooncups are approved by them.

I just had a mental image or someone eating one

Anyway... I guess /spam

[WeeJ]

Can't help thinking using this thing would be completly gross. I have a horrid image of removing a beaker full of ick from your private parts...

[Kitty]

But is it worse than removing a wad of cotton from your private parts?

[WeeJ]

Well, it's just as gross, but at least it's soaked into the cotton. This would be a cup full of menstrual gunge

[gothictheysay]

For me though, if I pull out a tampon the wrong way or if there's not enough liquid = PAIN. so I think this would be easier for me in that respect.

[WeeJ]

lol, I can still remember my mom yelling through the bathroom door, giving me instructions on how to insert a tampon. Some things you never forget

[Phyllis]

haha....I never even attempted a tampon until I was at least in my 20's. I was terrified of them.

I have been pondering a mooncup. I think I am finally getting over my fear that such products could get lost in there somehow (totally irrational, but this is why I have never had a diaphragm).

I wonder, though. Kisah recommended the rubber one. I am thinking that would not be such a great idea for me. That particular substance tends to make me break out when left up against my skin too long. Perhaps I will give the silicone one a whirl when I move over to the UK. I will have a lot of time on my hands because I won't be legally allowed to work over there until around April of next year (not even volunteering...grr). And since I'll probably have nowhere else to go...I could test it without fear in the privacy of my own home. Hmmmm

Also,

Toilet paper also falls under the luxary tax. I swear, men make these lists.

I remember seriously having to explain to some boy in IRC why women use more toilet paper than men when that comment was originally posted. I can't remember who it was, though...

[Mata]

I have a image of a comedy builder scenario there: 'left a bit! Right a bit! Left a bit! Alright, let her rip!'

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

*bump*

NOOOOOOOO!! This thread should die! *hides in corner, shaking with fear*

[kisah]

I've taken the Cerzette route myself. Period free and that pretty much kicks any other option's butt. I was really excited about my mooncup but it made me really itchy after a few months...

Maybe I should have taken it out once in awhile.

j/k

[snooodlysnoosnoo...]

I remember seriously having to explain to some boy in IRC why women use more toilet paper than men when that comment was originally posted. I can't remember who it was, though...

We had to explain to Dan at greenbelt why we had to take toilet paper with us to the porta-loos!

Ahh, poor naieve Dan

[Phyllis]

I've taken the Cerzette route myself. Period free and that pretty much kicks any other option's butt.

Hmm...intriguing. I am terrified to try any type of hormonal birth control again. Well, I literally can't try ones like the pill or patch, but the doctor said that I could try stuff like Depo Provera. I'm just not certain I want to. It'd be awesome to not have a period, but my last experience with hormonal birth control was just so horrible that I'm a bit scared of all that stuff now...even the kind that doesn't have blood clots as a possible side effect, cause I'm afraid it'll make me moody or cause weight gain.

Oh well. The search for both the perfect contraception and the perfect menstrual product continues for me!

[{Gothic Angel}]

You and the rest of the female population of the world, dear The perfect contraception would be "No, you have the baby!"

[Saratina]

lol, I can still remember my mom yelling through the bathroom door, giving me instructions on how to insert a tampon. Some things you never forget

no kidding, dude. worst three hours of my life.


also, a quote that seems to fit with this thread somehow:

"A tax on toilet paper might make people use less of it. That's not necessarily a good thing." - Gov. Jeb Bush

[Phyllis]

You and the rest of the female population of the world, dear The perfect contraception would be "No, you have the baby!"

No, it wouldn't be perfect, since we're trying to AVOID children! I would be just as upset if he ended up pregnant.

And well...most of the rest of the younger female population doesn't really need to worry about various contraceptive pills killing them or landing them in the hospital and then on anti-coagulants for a year.

I was reading up on it yesterday, and apparently there's not enough research that has been done on women with a tendency to clot to determine whether or not progesterone based hormonal birth control (like depo provera) will cause them to clot. Blergh. So as much as I envy kisah and her complete lack of periods...looks like I'm going to be investing in a mooncup anyway, because my periods won't be disappearing anytime soon.

Also...3 HOURS to put in a tampon? Holy crap. I would have given up and just used a pad after about 15 minutes.

[{Gothic Angel}]

I would be just as upset if he ended up pregnant.

I would imagine he would too, consdering the amount of stretching of various organs it would take to get a baby outta him

[Saratina]

Also...3 HOURS to put in a tampon? Holy crap. I would have given up and just used a pad after about 15 minutes.

I wasn't willing to give up swimming for the entire summer

[WeeJ]

You and the rest of the female population of the world, dear The perfect contraception would be "No, you have the baby!"

Well...there is talk about the male pill. I'd trust my partner with my life, but when it boils down to it, I wouldn't like it left in someone else hands. I'd be constantly worrying he'd forgot to take it...

[Phyllis]

Well...there is talk about the male pill. I'd trust my partner with my life, but when it boils down to it, I wouldn't like it left in someone else hands. I'd be constantly worrying he'd forgot to take it...

I would trust him with it, if it actually worked. However, Witless tells me that thus far it's been really decreasing the sex drive of the guys they're testing it on. So, that's a no.

[Mata]

Out of interest, the pill that prevents periods: does this mean that you keep hold of your eggs so the menopause happens later in life?

[snooodlysnoosnoo...]

Hmm, that's a good question.

They lower oestrogen levels so they prevent the womb from building up its lining so if an egg does get fertilised it won't have anywhere to embed itself so you don't get pregnant.
I'm not sure if it lowers the oestrogen level enough to stop oogenesis (or whatever it is) from occurring. Also, as far as I was aware the menopause happens when you stop producing the hormones, not when you run out of eggs!

Then again, I've never taken it so I'm probably not the best person to ask. That's just how I see it.

[Phyllis]

Also, as far as I was aware the menopause happens when you stop producing the hormones, not when you run out of eggs!

Yup, it is. Women have a squillion eggs. We'd need faaaar more periods to get rid of all of them. Menopause just sets in when our bodies stop producing the necessary hormones for those eggs to continue maturing and for the uterine lining to build up once per month. We don't have a set number of periods based on how many eggs we have.

I'm not entirely certain how the stuff that stops your period works. It doesn't do that for all women. Some still have spotting once a month. An unlucky few start menstruating ALL THE TIME. I have a friend who had her period for...hmm...6-8 weeks straight when she tried Depo. Needless to say, she's not still on it.

I do know that methods like that are progesterone based...but I really don't know exactly how they work. I just know about stuff like effectiveness and side effects and that kind of stuff.

[Daria]

Well, it just so happens that we have been learning this at the moment.

Most types of oral contraception contain a relatively high level of Oestrogen. Oestrogen inhibits FSH (folicle stimulating hormone), by the pituitary gland. Without FSH, no folicle (the thing that becomes the ovum) develops and ovulation does not occur, so contraception isn't possible. Some pills contain progesterone as well, which inhibits the production of LH (leutenising hormone) therefore reducing the likelyhood of ovulation. [The role of progesterone is much more complex in hormonal contraception than that of oestrogen]
During the days when the pill is not taken, levels of progesterone and oestrogen fall, and so the endometrium breaks down and produces a lighter than normal menstruation.
The Mini-pill only contains Progestin (which is chemically similar to progesterone and can mimic its actions) that also works by thickening the cervical mucus preventing sperm entry. Our biology teacher at this point likened it to trying to swim through a pool full of jelly (Jello).
The morning-after-pill just inhibits implantation of the ovum.

Well, who would have thought it? Biology A-level comes in useful for once!
(wel, that and the fact that I want to be a marine biologist...)

[Phyllis]

But we were talking about progesterone only methods, Daria. Like Depo Provera or Cerzette. Those usually stop the period from coming at all.