Reusable menstrual products - questions answered here!

[readingrainbow]

I have seen questions on cloth pads or menstrual cups pop up here and there, and thought it would be nice to have a central location for questions and answers.

I don't claim to know everything about cloth pads and such, but I have experience wearing them and making my own, so I'm happy to answer questions.

Well, I made a thread* but maybe I'll get a reply here. Are there reusables with poppered wings that aren't made of absorbent material? Or have a barrier between the main pad and the wings? I'm worried that the fluid will spread from the centre to the wings underneath, as fluid does, and from there, soak through to my trousers!

• www.mumsnet.com/Talk/ethical_living/2651182-Another-CSP-question?watched=1

Mine have a PUL backing (similar to washable nappies) so they definitely exist but mine are 7 years old and I can't remember where I got them from unfortunately.

how many did you buy before you found ones you like? I'd like to give a go but seems around £30 for 4-5 so that would only do me for about the first day! Guess they take least day to wash and dry and I'm nervous about spending a lot on stuff don't like.

Also I'm firmly in the wings are works of devil camp- can you cope with wingless? How "tight" are tight fitting pants have to be?

Also how soggy are they? We are all used to lock away core what's it's don't they feel wet?

I found this website recently when fighting with my meluna cup after it had sat in the cupboard for a year and the young woman who runs it seems to be really knowledgeable about reusable protection. Maybe send her an email or see if one of her 1000s of videos on her YouTube channel cover the leaking question? I think the pads she sells have a PUL layer in them so she might be able to help.

It's the non-waterproof top to the wings that worries me. Disposable pads have wings that are just plastic, so they can't absorb anything. I'm concerned that fluid could seep up from the wings on the trouser-facing side.

I understand your concern, but I don't think it's going to be an issue. I've never experienced it, anyway. :) If you change frequently and have enough absorbency in the pad, it shouldn't leak to the wings. The core will soak it up first.

It might be worth doing a test with some old fabric and sew a simple pad : a T-shirt for the top layer, and old towel for the absorbency, and a fleece blanket for the back. Trace around your favourite disposable to get the right size and shape, add about 2cm around the edges for seam allowance, and you'll be good to go.

I have pads I've made from old stuff lying around the house and they work great. I have wingless pads, too, and I think they need to be longer than winged pads to help keep them in place.

You can get wicking jersey for the fabric topper, which can help you feel dry. I bought fabric from a website called cuddle plush fabrics. I bought the KAM snaps kit from Amazon.

I still have leftover pads that I almost finished sewing but never got around to it. I'm happy to send one out to someone for a small amount if you want to try a pad. Not professional seamstress, but they work! :)

I SO want to love RUMPs... I have bought some cloth pads but by day 3 I was back to high street bog standard tampons because the pads slid all over the place making the whole thing v uncomfortable (even with close fitting pants) and leak likely! Also I was getting TERRIBLE cramps but really really oddly about 5 mins after putting a tampon in the cramps subsided to totally bearable. Weird.... I'd swapped to pads because I thought that they were supposed to help shorten your period and cause less cramps (have no idea how that is even meant to work but the girl of precious stars pads said so and she seems to be a guru of all things cycle related!!)...

On my heaviest days I still use tampons (have iud so don't really want to risk a cup), but I always double up tampon & pad. There are lots of different shapes and sizes and fabrics about so some of it is trial and error getting ones that work for you. Slightly plush tend to feel drier than jersey, but the jersey have nicer designs 😁 I love them. I used to get really sore bits using disposable pads, very rarely happens now!

I was thinking of trying sea sponges

Autumnsunshine

Would you be open to trying a menstrual cup?. Also anecdotally shortens periods and causes less cramps...

Yes would like to try a cup but there are so many to choose from that I don't know where to start!

Ooh, great timing for a thread! How long can you use a cup before needing to empty it? I'm really heavy for my first couple of days and sick to death of getting up 3 times a night to change tampons, would a cup help? Between ds and my period I average about 3 hours a night sleep for 5 nights every month.

I really want to change to reusable menstrual products and bought some light cloth pads to try - usually like to wear a liner with my tampons - but they seem to make me horribly warm and I just can't bear it. Is there a particular material that would be best?

I had moon cup I could finally get it in (folding it up) but impossible to get out without well trying pull an opened umbrella out of there! did try and squish it before removable but with it being full it just goes all over your hands- loo seat etc. Bad enough at home not sure what you do if then have to walk to sink.

I used to fill it 7 times in first 24h even though packaging said hold a full months worth! I think you can get away with it more because it's much tighter fit than tampon so less room for blood to come out. With tampin when it's full it just drains out.

You need to help a cup out sometimes by bearing down. I use Meluna cups and use the ones with a ring at the bottom. I also have pads from Honour Your Flow.

I have endometriosis and find my periods are far less painful with a cup in, plus I have to use a lil-let super plus on my first day and I find it hard to wee when that is in. It pushes on my bladder or scar tissue that pushes on my bladder so the cup is far better for me.

I have been using reusable pads for 10 years so have built up a collection but recently bought a large stash from Honour Your Flow as I knew what I needed. I just started with a few pads and used them alongside tampons until fully converting over.

I do still occasionally use lil-lets especially if I am out of the house when my period is heavy.

There are lots of cup comparison sites on YouTube that allow you to see the size in relation to someone's hand etc. I thought the mooncup would be too big for me so went Meluna.