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

£0..been a few months as pregnant but used my mooncup, for months before that it cost the same. I don't get any pains that warrant pain killers. Once the mooncups in you don't really know you have a period until it's time to empty, clean and use again

I now have reusable pads, but before - maybe £2? Sanpro less than £1 per pack in home bargains, savers etc, then about 30p on some ibuprofen. Periods don’t have to be expensive (if you have extremely heavy periods which ruin clothes etc then see your GP).

I just don't understand period poverty. I'm sorry but a 10 pack of towels from asda (light or heavy flow) are 54p a packet. Even if you need 4 packets, that's just £2.16. Painkillers are 30p.

What is the problem exactly??

Also, mooncup users, does your mooncup ever overflow? Want to use one, but worried my flow on first day is too heavy as whole period seems to be expelled in 24 hours. I know they say you only actually lose a very small amount of blood, but doesn't look that way 😬

A couple of quid for a box of lilets tampons.

However my outlay fir the reusable pads I use was probably around 60/70 quid.

But here's the important part.

I use a good cheap ish bus service. I live walking distance from town. I have access to 2 lidls and 2 aldi's 2 Tesco's a sainsbury and a waitrose and an asda and a morrisons.

If I had to rely on the expensive branded pads from the local shop thay was a 4 pound bus trip away plus try and get cream from the chemist each month when the only option available was scented and gave me a rash..it would be a different story.

Approx £2 for Sanpro. Didn't need painkillers or anything else. I have heavy periods, sometimes painful, but generally I still don't spend much more than that. If I take a painkiller, its from a pack I keep for headaches or anything else anyway, so it would be mere pence of the total cost of the pack.

Tbh I don't understand where some of the high figures given in news about this comes from. We were poor when I was growing up, very poor, if underwear (or outer wear) got stained you soaked it in salt water (removes the blood) then washed as normal. We didn't buy new. Might sound gross to some but that's what we had to do.

Around £2

Couple of pounds for tampons and sanitary towels. No pain relief needed.

I use washable pads that I've had for about six years, so my monthly costs would be however much a short rinse cycle costs plus a few ibuprofen. Reusables don't work out for everyone though, and although they save a lot of money in the long run, the initial outlay can be too expensive for many.

@Jumpingforgin I used one for ten years and it never did.

I genuinely don't understand the huge figures that some people bandy around for period products

just over £2 for 9 extreme flow pads. 9 won't quite last a day. My periods last 7 days. Heavy every day.

I am told I am at the edge of "normal" (so no hysterectomy) and because I have a heart condition cannot have hormonal "help" to reduce flow - roll on the menopause (55 and counting)

Body form day £1
Body form night £1
Period lasts around 5 days, no pain relief and these pads will cover the first few days of my next period in 2 months (I'm on the pill).

@jumpinforgin My first few times using it I checked it regularly (every 3-4 hours in case or wore a pad just in case). It didn't ake long for me to realise my heavy first two days weren't really that much blood and a couple of changes a day were enough. After that I tend to put in in morning take out and night and check in the middle of the day.

£0.70p

Mooncup - had for years so zero
Night time pads - only need for 2 nights but i buy organic ones online so quite pricey. Sorry don't know exact amount.
Painkillers for hormone headache - probably 50 p.
Spatone for iron loss - over the month about £5
Prescription for tranexamic acid - prob works out at £3.50 per month.

Approx £10.

Probably about 10p. I have a moon cup which has lasted me at least 10 years.

No painkillers or extra laundry.

I use a moon cup plus period pants. So there is a cost upfront (especially for the period pants, which are expensive) but no monthly cost.

Jumpingforgin I sometimes overflow (hence the period pants above), but then I also sometimes found that when I used to use tampons.

Nothing as I use reusable pads, and just pop them in with my normal wash.
However it cost me at least £10 per pad when I started, and I had to buy lots as I'm heavy.
I did find that most pain went when I switched. No idea why at all! And I found that reusable is far more absorbent so I actually didnt need as many as I thought.

Before I had ablation I had really heavy periods and would need three packs of pads. Had to be always nothing else coped with flow so probably about £9.

I’d need to wash towels and bedding more frequently so some cost related to that and the the vanish stain remover.

It drives me to distraction when people claim that a period costs only pennies for all women.

I've never had overflow but I regularly bail out at least four almost full cups on the first day.

Think it's also worth remembering that even without the initial outlay of reusables there is still as far as kids go a bit of an outlay with a school "period kit"

I purchased a pencil case, wet bag, pain killers, spare pants, waterwipes and obviously the towels. Not hugely expensive but you cant just shove a packet of 70p towels in a school bag and be done with it

Maybe £3? I like the Always silk pads, and then a couple of tampons and a couple of ibuprofens on day 1.

Mooncup basically free at this point. Painkillers maybe £7 (strong ones).
Pants liner things maybe 20p
Lost productivity/joy = uncountable 🙁

£0. I’m on my second moon cup which is now about eight years old. I have incredibly light periods so can’t relate to the problem of ruined clothes or extra pads. I also don’t need painkillers.

I feel for young women who genuinely can’t afford pads or tampons (and I’m guessing that the cheap pads are horrible). I do think we need to normalise and provide free moon cups though - there’s no need for disposable San pro. And some period math activists do themselves no favours by adding in the cost of chocolate etc - it’s not here but I see it on Twitter a lot.

£0
I use a moon cup and I do wear a pad for the first couple of days too just incase there are any leaks (there never have been unless I have put it in in a rush and it's not positioned properly so the pads are more of a precaution), but I get the pads with my Boots advantage points so they don't cost anything and I am only using 1 per day anyway.
@Jumpingforgin you can actually tell when it is getting full and it's kind of a weird heavy feeling. Hard to explain as you can't feel them when they are in, but once you are used to it you can definitely feel if it is getting full.