How much did your last period cost?

[MrsCipo]

Out of interest, what did your last period cost you in monetary terms? Including san pro, pain killers, time off work, ruined clothes and anything else you had to pay for? I had a conversation about period poverty the other day, but those involved have reusable san pro, not particularly heavy periods, etc, so didn't really 'get it'. I thought a cross section sample from a lot more women would be a bit more representative. Also wondering what other costs, in addition to those above, have been missed out

I have heavy and long periods, but it's only been around a year that I've mainly started used reusable towels which maybe cost £10 altogether as I made my own using a guide online.So the last time didn't cost me much- I already had the powder for washing etc.

I have however used the always ones when travelling though.

About a pound for supermarket pads

Not crazy heavy so haven’t ruined clothes for a while but my bed sheets have a few stains from when they were heavy

I tend to not take painkillers at all and don’t take time off work or rearrange my days to fit an off day

I’m all for free sanitary protection

Less than £1. Buy my tampons from Aldi so use half a pack if that. No underwear ruined and no need for painkillers.

Around £5-£7.50 per month. I have endometriosis and tent to have heavy periods and have to buy thick pads for days 2-4, days 1 and 5 I could get away with normal pads.

purple
Try eartheise girls. They do mixed bundles u can buy one try out which one u like best then go for a full set

Earth wise girls

I use more loo roll, but as I buy in bulk it wasn’t really much different, I always buy the towels/pad when they are on offer so I still have left from last time. Same with pills, I have a stock but that’s only my ocd for being prepared, I’ve only ever taken painkillers for period pains once in my 16 years of periods. Maybe I do a bit more washing but other wise nothing quite obvious

About 95p

Less than 80p for a box of own brand tampons from Wilko. I didn't use the whole box either as my periods are very light and only last 3 days. I've never had a period pain or a headache. I'm lucky.

Aldi/lidl pads or home bargains, always have left over from previous month. Less than £1 I reckon but only have one heavy day and then a few light ones.

Nothing.
I Use period pants.
Oh but am mega insanely grumpy around that time. So it costs me in my relationships I guess.

£0.

It was 23 months ago. I used a moon cup I've had 6 years. No painkillers, no ruined clothes, no time off work. It was my first period in almost 3 years. I doubt I'll have another for many, many years as well. So my periods are super super cheap! I've probably only had 15 in my life.

About 90p or maybe a bit less.

It used to cost a little bit more when I had really heavy periods - probably in the region of about £3 or £4, so roughly £1 per week.

Nothing as I have a mooncup. All women should be given them free - they are brilliant for women and for the environment.

Maybe about £7.50. I have heavy periods for a week at a time and use both tampax and sanitary towels.

@ChickLitLover

I found it cheapest to get my reusable pads from ebay. I get the bamboo charcoal ones in the biggest sizes.

cottontree-c has some advertised as '5X Asenappy Reusable Menstrual Pads Cloth Charcoal Bamboo Sanitary Panty Liners'. They are 4 layers and reasonably good absorbency. They cost £7.89 for 5 with free postage.

There are many pads available at low costs which come from Singapore/China and take longer to arrive.

The XL heavy duty pads that were the best for me are from a Chinese seller that is no longer on ebay. They took a long time to arrive - 8 weeks or so.

If you look up menstrual pads on ebay - there are plenty to choose from. I found the bamboo, charcoal ones most suitable for me.

fzeroinestore from Hong Kong also sells some good reusable pads on ebay. 6 for just under £9. These look the closest to the ones I find the best that came from the seller that dissappeared.

I wear the pads with leak-proof tight fitting period pants to keep them in position better.

I use csp bought over a year ago now so doubt they're still paying themselves off lol.

Other than that a morning in bed on day 1 but I don't work so just a social loss

Most of my CSP/ moon cup were bought 5+ years ago ready for my cycles restarting after DS2. There was a notable initial outlay, but they will have long since paid for themselves assuming a couple of quid each month for a pack of something like bodyform.

So real costs, a cold rinse in the washer prior to a normal wash load and a few pence towards a couple of ibuprofens for day 1.

My periods are much easier since having DCs. They used to be heavier and I used to have prescription painkillers so I appreciate that many women will have higher costs than mine even after taking CSP into account. I didn't write clothing off, but I often had leakage on to bedsheets generating extra laundry work in my youth as I had a nasty habit of starting in the night and a very irregular cycle.

don’t know anyone who does miss work because of a period.
I used to have to have time off uni sometimes because of unbearable period pains. And I've known two close friends who have missed work for it.

I have missed about 5 days of work over 30 years or so, but I know others who have had to miss time most months.

You wouldn't necessarily know women have missed work for periods. I just reported an upset stomach or bad headache - which was mostly true, but the cause was menstrual rather than viral or something.

Reusable pads so 50p in Washing powder. About £1 on painkillers. But I also lost two days of work and a bit more of my sanity due to the pain and mood swings

I used to have to have time off uni sometimes because of unbearable period pains.

Looking back on 30 years of periods, I seem to remember it being particularly awful for lots of women when they are in their teens and early 20s. I used to have to have the odd day off school and needed a mefenamic acid prescription. I even had a D&C as a teenager (I don’t think this happens nowadays?)

A friend of mine had such bad periods she once passed out on a national express coach and an ambulance was called by other passengers. She ended up in a hospital halfway between her start point and her destination and it was a massive palaver getting her home.
This was the 90s and while I do think some doctors take menstrual issues more seriously nowadays (and can offer various forms of contraception that can lessen symptoms), I don’t think things have changed so significantly that their aren’t still women struggling with really dreadful periods now.

Girls at the beginning and women at the end of their reproductive lives are perhaps disproportionately affected, so I suppose if you are in the middle of that time frame, you are less likely to know women who are having a tough enough time to need a day off?
Or perhaps it’s just not practical for women in the workplace to disclose their menstrual struggles? We know that some employers are hesitant to recruit and promote women due to maternity rights, why invite further scrutiny/discrimination relating to one’s reproductive system if you can avoid it?

Or perhaps it’s just not practical for women in the workplace to disclose their menstrual struggles?
Yes, I think there is still shame and maybe prejudice around it, unfortunately. At least one person on here has said they would give their reason for illness at work as headaches or stomach pains rather than saying period-related pain per se.

I definitely remember my periods being much more debilitating around the ages of maybe 17 to 25 ish. I have a vivid memory of being stuck in a lecture at university and writhing in pain and thinking I was going to pass out, and my friend sitting next to me being quite worried about me. That's 25 years ago and I'm sure at the time I told her is was 'cramps'. I definitely was brought up to believe that periods were, not shameful, but you just pretended they didn't exist. I had four much older sisters and it was so well hidden in our house that when my own period came for the first time, I hadn't a clue what it was. I'm so determined not to have my daughter feel the same.