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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Tampax

153 replies

Pamdoo · 02/09/2018 06:11

It's getting harder and harder to find the paper applicator ones? They seem to be promoting the plastic ones. I can't abide them as I find them really uncomfortable to put in and I can never get them in properly. You also get less in a box. Also I'm convince they aren't as good. Surely the plastic ones are not as good for the environment? Is it just me that prefers the cardboard standard ones?! I bleed like mad and the plastic ones don't cut it (except for my vagina when it slices me on the way in)

OP posts:
Gwenhwyfar · 03/09/2018 09:16

Can't do the moon cup either. The stem is uncomfortable, but there's no way I'm cutting it off as I need it to take the thing out. I know you're not supposed to use it to take it out, but I have trouble doing it the 'right' way and I really can't face the prospect of having to go to the doctor to get it out.

GhostCurry · 03/09/2018 10:48

Regarding cleaning them out at work. For your first month or two, if you are worried or don’t have cubicles with sinks at work, I would recommend using tampons for the first 2 days until you get used to the cup. By then, your flow is probably much slower and you can get away with changing it right before you leave for work, and then when you get home.

I think people really worry about the “how do I change it when I’m out and about?” thing. What they don’t understand is just how much less frequently you need to deal with it at all when you’re using a cup. Tampons and pads are waaaay fiddlier.

GhostCurry · 03/09/2018 10:51

I cut the stem off completely and then turn it inside out. Absolutely no hard edges anywhere.
As for needing a doctor to get it out - I can’t even imagine a scenario in which that would happen. But as people have said on here, everyone is different. Maybe I have a short vaginal canal or something - a mooncup is much too sizeable to get “lost” and my pelvic floor muscles are not that tight that I’d have to fight them to release the cup!

GhostCurry · 03/09/2018 10:52

Sorry that comment was to Gwenhwyfar!

NotTheFordType · 03/09/2018 11:57

I have a low cervix and short fingers, but have never had any difficulty getting a mooncup out.

Beppy can be a different story, especially if you've had one in since 6am and had a lot of sex since then Grin

FilledSoda · 03/09/2018 12:01

anyone know why Tampax minis are becoming impossible to find ?

JacquesHammer · 03/09/2018 12:15

@NotTheFordType - I'm quite interested in Beppy - how does it "work" during sex - can it be felt?!

NotTheFordType · 03/09/2018 12:27

No, I've never had a guy say he felt it, unlike mooncup or flex.

JacquesHammer · 03/09/2018 12:58

Thank you for replying Smile

Sarahandduck18 · 03/09/2018 18:58

Don’t people have nail brushes at home?

Gwenhwyfar · 03/09/2018 19:03

"As for needing a doctor to get it out - I can’t even imagine a scenario in which that would happen."

After 10 minutes panicking in the bathroom you might start imagining it.

Sparklingbrook · 03/09/2018 19:04

I have never found tampons fiddly. Especially cardboard applicator ones. Very quick, clean and easy and no need for nailbrushes. Grin

Sparklingbrook · 03/09/2018 19:05

I can totally imagine that scenario Gwenhwyfar I would be sweating for sure.

AlexaAmbidextra · 03/09/2018 20:38

Ffs. The number of people on here who have difficulty understanding that different people prefer different things. 🙄

MipMipMip · 03/09/2018 22:03

I agree about the lack of tampax minis. Given the advice is to use the smallest possible for your flow shops not stocking a light option for the last day is a health matter. And then it doesn't get filled and is abrasive to pull out 《shudder 》

Pamdoo · 03/09/2018 22:28

Ffs. The number of people on here who have difficulty understanding that different people prefer different things. 🙄 this.

Don’t people have nail brushes at home? well no as we don't need them because we use applicators, which we don't all use so we can keep our nails clean...

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straightjeans · 04/09/2018 21:36

The largest menstrual cup that I know of is the Merula XL which holds 50ml. I have a Super Jennie in large which is 41ml. My flow isn't heavy, more of a medium. But I always get the biggest ones so I only have to dump the cup twice a day.

ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 04/09/2018 21:48

The Aldi ones (Florette) have cardboard tubes, are much the same as tampax regular and are 67p for 20. I'm converted.

Ijumpedtheshark · 04/09/2018 21:52

A mooncup changed my life! I believe the suction created and my pulling to try to get it out dislodged my coil and now I have a three year old son! Sticking to Tampax from now on.

ChocolateWombat · 08/09/2018 21:11

Lil lets do a limited range of cardboard applicator tampons, but I have never been able to find them in shops, only seen them on the Lil lets website. Does anyone know where you can get them?

Disappointed too that Tampax no longer do the 48 packs of cardboard applicators. I suspect they are just waiting for everyone over 35 to reach the menopause and will stop supplying cardboard applicator ones altogether. The trouble is that teenagers learn with the plastic applicators, because they probably are a bit smoother for a beginner to use.....but then they stick with them and imagine cardboard ones would be really awful to use....but for environmental reasons it would really be better....but us oldies using the cardboard aren't their target market as we've only got a few years left if buying them.

JustDanceAddict · 08/09/2018 21:14

I can’t use any applicator type ones. In the US it’s virtually impossible to get non-applicator - only from a large chemist!

Zeldaaa · 08/09/2018 21:41

Not sure If anyone mentioned already but there was a kickstarter for a reusable tampon applicator. It’s called dame / d and those who pledged (me included) will be receiving it in the next month or so. I’m pretty excited about it as a way to cut down on plastic waste from my regular tampons.

mzterry · 09/09/2018 03:43

Tesco's do boxes of 20 super tampax online.

I fancied a mooncup, but I have a backwards titling cervix, and applicators are just easier: none of that odd positioning thing I feel with non-applicator tampons, the twisting about internally and it feels like it's inserted sideways: I thought I was the only person ever this happened to: now I know, it's not just me! I hate pads: feels like an unsecure nappy, to me. I've always thought plastic applicators should be banned: everyone throws them down the loo, it's really bad for the environment, but seeing that younger women often start out using such make me reconsider my stance...

CremeDeSudo · 09/09/2018 04:18

I bought 2x boxes of cardboard applicator ones in Tesco earlier this week..I got own brand ones but they had loads there, branded and non branded!

redexpat · 09/09/2018 07:25

I am 37 and have never once been able to get a tampon in that has an applicator.

I prefer lillets because they are pointier and slimmer, but am also the user of a mooncup now.

Something I dont understand: why are we bashing each other for filling landfill when we are not the ones in charge of waste disposal?