AIBU... to ask you about what you use for your period? Desperate!

[bluesbaby]

Really close to running out of my stash of Always silk collection unscented pads.

Seems it's now discontinued and everything is scented! WTF has everyone else started using now, instead? :(

I'm lucky to have a pretty light flow, but still need a proper pad rather than a panty liner. Struggling to find anything for normal flow, without wings, unscented.

I really don't want to make the same mistake - I bought a scented pack (it was marked unscented... but odor neutralising... very misleading... I don't trust any of these pads marked "odor neutralising" now...) and had to throw it out straight away, the smell was sick. I know that sounds dramatic, but the smell was... something else.

I use a moon cup and reusable pad

Always Infinity

Tumpy. I have tried a couple and have settled on Charlie Banana. I get mine from Earthwise Girls or direct from Charlie Banana. They are so comfy.
I put mine in the normal wash at 40 and they come out spotless.

Reusable pads here too.

After a sub from my asda delivery for some scented pads, I ending up with the worst case of thrush known to man. I got a very good friend to make me some csp to try and I've never looked back.

Do they ever fill to the brim, so you have to really carefully get it out, like a full glass of wine? How do you wash it, don't your worry that there might be some bacteria left to grow on it?

Mine has, overnight on day 3. I remove it while I am sitting in the toilet in case of any spills, then tip it down the loo or sink and give it a good wash with hot water. You're supposed to use soap too, but if I am reinserting it straight away, or somewhere I can't wash it out, water does the job. Some people use bottled water in public toilets (and a wet wipe for fingers!).

I can sadly only use mine overnight now, since having children as it hangs too low (not a problem in bed overnight, but the morning the prolapse and moon cup have sunk perfectly into place! I miss my mooncup during the day, it was so much easier.

So now I use it overnight, empty and wash it in soap in the morning, put it in the Wilko travel microwave steriliser (perfect size!) just before reinserting it again at night. When the week of torment is done, it gets washed in soap and water and stored in its little drawstring bag.

I'm with you op about the scented stuff, though it may not be necessary to sniff all the packets if you figure out their hidden clues: 'fresh' means it stinks, for example. I think the body form orange packet is odourless and wingless, very similar to the old always one you described.

Do you have to soak the washable so or wash them by hand. Surely you don't just put them in the washing machine?

Meluna menstrual cup and cheap pantyliner. I switched to cups about 10 years ago and never looked back, even if you just look at the cost effectiveness of them, I have 2 and within a year they have already paid for themselves. And meluna cups come in lots of different colours

That just sounds so gross - probably should just get over myself though. Tmi - but what about the clots?

I soak my washable pads on very heavy days (in an old ice cream tub) but most of them just stay folded up in the laundry basket. When I wash them I put the pads in on their own for a cold rinse first then wash with everything else as normal with bio. They always come out clean with no stains.
I like imse vimse pads, they are fairly cheap and they are long (so no leaks) but not bulky.

Those with leaky cups, I've recently figurered out that mine wasn't leaking because I missed my cervix fairly frequently. It was getting wedged in a half open shape on one side of the cervix instead of opened out and surrounding it.

The solution for me was to be more careful and check it is full you open, not just shoving it in and hoping for the best. There is sometimes some squelchy furtling about involved, but no leaks, even when I'm really heavy.

Re fullness, yes, if you're heavy heavy then they can fill right up, hence cloth pad insurance. Emptying when full to the brim can be messy in my experience, but it gets better as you get the knack. I did used to spatter the bathroom, clothes and self a fair bit, but not now.

Bear in mind that this is horror movie perimenopausal flow though, so no the something most women would be dealing with. For that reason I wouldn't use it if out of range for a loo with adjacent basin on heavyweight days.

Was leaking

Mooncup here too. They are brilliant, environmentally friendly and save you money.

I can't work out how to get my mooncup in
I use cloth pads. I love them, they are so comfy and I actually get excited about using them because of the pretty patterns
I also make my own cloth pads and have given some to friends.
I hate tampons now-think I'll try the natracare ones if I really have to for swimming etc.

PS I just wash my pads with normal laundry but give them a pre rinse in the bath or shower.

I discovered cloth pads earlier in the year and thought they sounded grim, but really they aren't. I make my own using PUL (the waterproof lining on washable nappies) so no leaks if I have a heavy day and use bamboo fleece for the middle. I did purchase some as well from Precious Stars Pads (she has a YouTube channel as well explaining loads of things, she's young but don't let this put you off) and they are fabulous.

I won't go back to sanitary towels or tampons now, the cloth pads are so comfortable.

Mooncup for me, too - it's amazing (I've had one for over 10 years now).

Morrisons own brand pads for overnight backup on day 2/3. Totally unscented, and pretty cheap.

I used to use bodyform. I only used tampons when absolutely necessary as I found them dry and hard to insert. Applicator was impossible. I then found out about reusable products when DS2 was in washable nappies. Since then, in 2 years since using them I've only used a disposable tampon once when caught out by an early period on race day while away from home, and it felt much more intrusive than the mooncup.

I've not noticed any clotting on reusable products. I get much less pain than I used to and carry on with life pretty much normally now. I can't attribute it directly to the change in products as it may be connected to changes since having children.

The mooncup folds into a C shape then opens up. Being silicon it glides in much better than the dry absorbant material of a tampon. It took a few cycles to adjust to it comfortably. On heavy days, it is worth pulling out over a toilet.

Cloth pads smell less than the disposables as there's no sweatiness. If I've used the mooncup too, I just put them in the washer. If they've had heavier use, I'll store them in a plastic tub and pre-rinse on cold before the main wash. Less icky than emptying the bin! I use the Cheeky Mama range. Combined with close fitting pants, they stay in position well.

I'm totally converted!