irritating tampons

[jesuistonpere.livejournal.com]

i looked through all the tags and couldn't find the info i was looking for, so i will post with my problem.
in the past few months i've somehow found myself a boyfriend, which spurred me into taking HBC (alesse).
with my earlier periods, i usually used a combination of pads and tampons. since i moved in with my boyfriend though, i've started to use tampons all the time, including night time. mostly because pads tend to irritate me/i don't like them much anyway. it seems like they're all made of gross plastic and the thought of them gives me SHIVERS. but also to be kind to the person i'm sharing a bed with. i did a bit of research about leaving tampons in overnight, and felt fine with it.

so my period ended a day or two ago, and i used tampons exclusively. now, however, i am extremely irritated. i thought it was just on the outside, but i tried to have sex today and it was unbearable. afterwards there was a bit of bleeding too, and i could tell it was real blood, not period-type blood.

i'm convinced it's the tampons, as i can't think of anything else to cause it. i just did a bit of research about tampons and such, and it all said that pulling out a dry tampon will irritate the vaginal walls. this makes a whole lot of sense, because since i've been on HBC my periods have been weiiird. one or two days of sporadic bleeding, a day or two of heavy, and then a few more days of really light, annoying bleeding. so, for those light days, i was inserting and removing a (light!) tampon.

so i'm wondering if there's anything i can do to help this along so that i feel better? i think i'm definitely going to invest in a divacup, i've been wanting to buy one anyways for environmental/cost reasons, but if pads and tampons are going to be so terrible to me, this just seals the deal.

Comments

[kelsietrpt.livejournal.com]

Hey!

a). I adore your icon.
b). Diva Cup=Awesome
c). Definitely try to avoid sex for a couple of days (it sounds like you wouldn't want to have sex anyway! Ouch!!)
d). The vagina is pretty good at healing itself rather quickly, but if you want to help soothe it and perhaps heal faster, you could try some vitamin E ointment or, my personal favorite, calendula salve (available from most health food stores and places of that nature). It's safe for use inside your vag and it really, really feels good on irritated skin.

Good luck!

-Kelsie

[happychildless.livejournal.com]

I second the cup suggestion. I so wish I knew about it sooner. It takes getting used to, but in the end, far more comfortable, especially on light days. Check out the lj community menstrual_cups.

[vronwe.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I hate tampons. One thing that helped when I used them was masturbating a lot. The wetter I am, the less irritating the tampon is. So my advice to you is to masturbate a ton while the tampon is in and buy your DivaCup ASAP! Good luck!

[ibringtherage.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what the best advice is for your current situation, but I am very excited about another cup convert :) good luck in the meantime!

[snowmentality.livejournal.com]

Possibly use some lube with them? Maybe they wouldn't be so irritating then? I've never tried it and don't know how it would affect absorption. But maybe throw a little Astroglide on there?

I'm another happy Divacup user, so I can definitely recommend that. :) It is so worth it, both for environmental reasons and pure convenience.

[oopsiedaisies7.livejournal.com]

Ahh tampons dried me out a ton and just felt all-around icky for me.

I definitely fifth the cup recommendation =)

[yahm.livejournal.com]

I'm saving up money for my own cup. :) Tampons and pads seriously suck.

However, at night, I use a blood towel. Just a great big orange towel that is used exclusively for putting between my legs at night while I'm on my period. In the morning, I wash out the blood w/water and soap and when my period is done, I throw it in the washing machine. I used it even when my ex-bf was in bed w/me. He wouldn't touch it, but as long as I wore pj pants, he still spooned with me. I don't know if that's something you're comfy with, but I just find it helps with all the dry-ness that comes w/wearing tampons.

[nakedfaery.livejournal.com]

First things first: intense icon love!

Secondly, try a brand of tampons called Natracare. They're organic all cotton tampons, I had a lot less problems with these when I was using tampons still.

If you're going to buy a menstrual cup, I'd say you've answered your own question! :-D I seriously cannot sing the praises of thse enough. I personally loathed the Divacup, but I'm totally in love with my MooncupUK and Lunette.