Tampon Question...

[pirogoeth.livejournal.com]

Hiya!

Before now, I've always only used pads for my period but this month I'd like to try tampons for the very first time and see how I like them. The thing is, I don't know how to insert them. Oh they have the nice little manual that has a picture guide but it didn't help very much. They say sitting on the toilet with your legs spread might be the easiest way or having one foot on the toilet seat or something...but I'm kind of a bigger girl and I'm not sure if it would be terribly easy for me to access my vagina enough to see what I'm doing. *Smacks her forehead, blushing*

Can anyone give me some advice on how they find it the easiest to insert a tampon? I'm sorry if this is asked often enough - I checked the memories but something isn't working for me and nothing'll show up, despite the 657 entries they claim to hold. x.o

Any help would be very much appreciated! :)

Comments

[nonethewiser.livejournal.com]

There's really only one place for them to go in, so don't worry too much about that. I'm not sure many of us can see what we're doing!

I agree with the putting your foot up on the side of the toilet part. Then feel your vagina, and find where the opening is. I'm assuming you're using an applicator -- so just slide it in right there, and push on the sliding part. Try to angle it toward the back of your body, and push it as far as you can (gently).

It will feel a little strange, at first, but if you can still feel it after a minute or two, or if it really bothers you, take it out, and try again later.

Good luck!

[pandoras-boxx.livejournal.com]

definatly take it out if you are uncomfortable or anything..but a WARNING: taking out a dry tampon can be very painful (at least for me, anyone else??) I usually have to sorta open myself up with my fingers to get it out without hurting myself. (when its dry, otherwise, it slides right out)

[withevrylite.livejournal.com]

The way I first did it was like this: I got on my bed, spread eagle, and just eased it in. You'll find the entrance, you can even put a mirror down there. Just take it easy, ease it in. Good luck!

[amiga500.livejournal.com]

That really is the best way to start.
And I found non-applicator tampons easier to use, but if you're squeamish about your girlparts (which should wear off in time), they may not be for you.

Oh, and when the packages say if you screw up your first try you should remove the tampon and try again, they're lying! It's totally okay to adjust a tampon with your finger. It's probably the best way to get them comfortable, and if you keep removing and reinserting tampons you'll just chafe yourself.

[alitaorg.livejournal.com]

lubrication and tampon thinness are the two things that will make the first try less painful. i remember the first time i tried a tampon it was my friend's super-extra, also known as "the missile" for its width. not the best idea for a petite virgin. i also went swimming then tried to take it out, and you can bet that between the chlorine and my not bleeding much, i was very, very dry.

so! i'd recommend trying the teensiest tampon you can find first. i think juniors are the smallest, yes? and while you're buying your tampons, get all the embarrassment over at once and buy k-y jelly while you're at it. (there are all sorts of lubricants and some are preferred over k-y by some members here, but k-y's the most popular and the easiest to find.) put just a little bit of k-y around the applicator - enough to make it slippery. then insert, and voila! also, don't remove it early the first time around. wait until either you start spotting blood or the 8-hour time limit is up. then it'll be moist with mentstrual blood and easier to remove. since removing was always the hardest part for me, i sit on the toilet, legs apart, and exhale as i slowly and steadily pull on the string. the exhalation helps to keep me relaxed.

i hope i didn't give tmi - my best friend was sweet enough to show me how to use a tampon the first time since my sexphobic mother refused to help, and i'd hate for you to have a bad experience.

[katarokkar.livejournal.com]

Playtex makes "Slimfits" which is what I used when I first started with tampons. They're maybe only 1/2" in width.

[appletrees.livejournal.com]

Well, you don't really need to see what you're doing... it's best to do it by feel anyway, I think. No matter your size, I would think it would be awkward to bend around so you could see! heh.

Anyway, try a low absorbency. Many brands have slim/junior sizes, those are easier to insert. I also find that plastic applicators, although more wasteful than cardboard, are most comfortable for beginners. I think the most comfortable I have found was Playtex Slimfits.

Also, remember to insert it at an angle, rather than straight towards your back. If you go slowly, you'll be able to feel the general direction of it.

[ex-tinker-be53.livejournal.com]

Well, when I FIRST put one in, I just sat on the bathroom floor and leaned back a little against the bathtub. I am a very small-vagina-d girl, and it didn't hurt that much so don't worry! Then you just put it in, try putting it in from the front and angling it towards your butt! But not TOO steep of an angle! Put it in, hold that little middle-part of the tampon, and shove the rest in. The instructions ALWAYS helped me, so maybe you can give them a closer look. Just be slow if it hurts or something, and TRY TO RELAX your vagina! That makes it tons easier :) Tell us how it turns out! :D

Don't shoot!

[fixx.livejournal.com]

I see a lot of good advice here. However there's one comment I have not yet seen.

While I agree that "inserterless" tampons do appear to be more popular with experienced users (and environmentalists), it was certainly my impression that the smooth plastic body of the "plastic applicator" variety is more popular with "new users" and with good reason. Even then, KY absolutely!

Some other things I've heard.
Vaginas are often more irritated/sensitive during periods, so the best time to "practice insertion" is not in fact during one's period. Less irritated, less messy, less pressure.

I agree angle is critical so inserting something even more rigid than a plastic applicator makes for a good trainer. I've heard that users with plastic vibrators/dildos had less difficulty with angle one.

The inventor in me would like to suggest that as common as digital cameras are, I would imagine someone could connect the output of their digital camera to a TV and use that as a sort of CCTV (beats a mirror)to gain an even better perspective.

If you are curious what other products and advice is available (and this has probably been posted here before, but I'm new here, please check out this link. Although the actual "museum of menstruation" (aka MUM) is not far from me in Maryland, I've never actually visited it. It isn't so much that Menstruation creeps me out, but there's something about a guy running it that makes me uneasy. :-)

Please see
http://www.mum.org/

I'm a guy, but I'm also an inventor (much of the reason I am here actually). In case anyone is interested, I've invented/am developing and have SUCCESSFULLY TESTED non-surgical DIY treatment for Endometriosis, but not being in the medical field I'm unsure how to go about marketing it.

[childishdreams.livejournal.com]

I usually squat while standing up, it is a better position for me, I tried standing up with one leg on the toilet and what not, but the squatting helped. I also used some k-y jelly at the end when I first started. I prefer the tampons without applicators, because I can get them in better, but the ones with applicators are pretty nice when you're first starting to use them.

[tenderbloodrose.livejournal.com]

Try using a mirror..and Playtex Slimfits..that's what I did when I first started using tampons, when I was 13. :)