In the throes of a hangover yesterday, I found myself with yet another thing to worry about: the start of my period.

There were years and years when my period meant nothing more than having to go out and buy some tampax or pads each month - I experienced absolutely no symptoms whatsoever as far as I can tell. As I've chronicled here on E4W in the past, I switched to all natural products about 5 years ago now, using primarily cloth pads and occasionally sea sponges. The switch to au naturel only served to improve my period - both in physicality and mindset. I felt good, I looked forward to it, it reminded me each month of the power of being a woman. It was a welcome surprise.

The last year or so my period has been increasingly changing once again - and the more I wonder about it, the more convinced I am it has to do with a combination of my own body and the way I treat it, as well as my slow progression back to commercial menstrual products. I've gotten increasingly lazy about using my cloth pads, often forgoing them to instead use commercial ones at the beginning of my period. Right around this time I started to experience cramping, bloatedness, and depression either prior to or during my period.

The worst of it came last month in the throes of Vagina Monologues madness. First convinced I was simply experiencing the payback of stress attacking my body, I was nauseous, could hardly eat, dizzy constantly and exhausted. Then came my period. By the next day I couldn't get off the couch for fear of throwing up. I lost a few pounds that week from lack of eating due to nauseau, and never in my life have I felt so ill during my period.

Today is not quite so bad, but I had an enjoyable weekend full of vagina love on Friday night with many vagina-friendly feminists and activists at a celebration bash. Still, I am nauseous, and I wonder if it is my body telling me that I'm doing something wrong. Our bodies are only as good to us as we are to them, and I have not been good to my body - taking on too much often times, not exercising, stressed, and only moderately eating healthy. I know from experience that when I get stressed, it manifests itself in my body in various ways. So why would it be any different with out periods?

Additionally, commercial menstrual products are full of chemicals that simply are not good for our bodies. I felt the best ever in my life when I was au natural and taking care of myself. Perhaps this is a warning that I'm on that downward path again.

What about you? Are you a fan of cloth pads or commercial ones? Ever tried a sea sponge or a Keeper? Got any tried and true menstrual remedies? Discuss!!

In sisterhood, Leisha

Comments (8)

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carly said:

Hey you... Sorry to hear about all of your struggles. Thanks to an article you wrote, in fact, I've been using nothing but cloth pads (Lunapads rock!) and I've felt so much better ever since. I don't have a heavy flow necessarily, though, and so I can only speak on the fact that they work well with light periods. Also, I used to suffer from mind-numbing cramping... I've heard that a castor oil pack (made from a cloth lightly soaked in castor oil, put on a sheet of plastic wrap and then on to your skin) with a heating pad on top can work wonders for that. (Word of caution: castor oil will leave stains on your bedding and clothing so protect it with old towels, etc.) As for nausea - and even depression - I'm a fan of homeopathic remedies... I'm not sure what you have up there in Canada, but here they're readily available at natural food and vitamin stores.

March 16, 2008 | url

Bern said:

Leisha, i can see that being hit with the period would just be a matter to top things off. I well have to say that i am a commercial girl..tampax all the way. To be honest for starters I have not heard much nor ever seen and of the natural things that you can use. Not so sure I would be fine with the cloth pads, and never heard of the sponge. remedies...definitely the heating pad...lay in bed, cozy blanket, sometimes my cat lays on my belly (lol..for real)..advil migraine relief can work good...

March 16, 2008

sarah said:

I am totally going to find out what a sea sponge is. Ever since I had children, I can't really do the tampax thing - it's just not comfy. I do find as I get beautifully older that the pre menstrual thing is more a mood/hormonal thing than a cramp thing for me and the first thing I have to do when I start feeling upset or down - I can't really pin it down with one word - is identify it and then not be hard on myself (and others around me). I'm also going to find out about cloth pads - I feel so in the dark about this.

March 17, 2008 | url

Leisha Sagan said:

Hi Sarah, Here's a link to the article I referenced above about menstruation - it talks much more in detail about alternative menstrual products including sea sponges, cloth pads, diva cups and keepers. There's also the option of buying organic pads and tampons to avoid the mass of chemicals found in commercial products. There are also some links at the bottom of the article to places on the web to buy great alternative menstrual products - my favorite is Lunapads!! Good luck!! Oh - and yesterday, on a whim I grabbed some fabric, sewed up the ends, and filled it with rice and dry lentils and some herbal teabags to make a heatpack - it took me all of 10 minutes to make with stuff I already had on hand and was soooo amazing to my cramping uterus!! http://empowerment4women.com/content/view/1960/50/

March 17, 2008

Kendall said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: ALL HAIL THE MOTHERFUCKING DIVA CUP!!! I wish I'd found this amazing, Christ-like invention when I first got my period. Since getting my Diva Cup, here are the wonderful things that have happened in my vastly-improved life: -My monthly post-period yeast infections are completely non-existent. I haven't had a yeast infection since I started using the cup. Healthy vaginal secretions are no longer being sucked up by that little cotton devil, and smelly bacteria isn't accumulating because the cup collects, not absorbs. -Oral sex on my period is five million times more enjoyable (for both of us). Less messy, less smelly (that's not vagina shame talking - we all know that tampons cause mad crotch rot), less obtrusive, no fighting a string. -I am not spending shittons of money on tampons and pads. It paid for itself in, like, 5 months, and it lasts for 10 years. I got my Diva Cup 4 years ago, and I have saved approx. 300 dollars in that time alone. -I have not ruined ONE, SINGLE PAIR OF UNDERPANTS with spillage. It forms a watertight seal with the walls of your vagina. This little miracle has to be positively overflowing for it to leak even a little bit. Hell, I went SWIMMING IN A WHITE BATHING SUIT on my heaviest day. No lie. -I have the smug, liberal satisfaction of knowing I'm not contributing to the millions of disposable "sanitary products" that are destroying the environment and that my money is not going to misogynistic, woman-hating companies that profit off of vagina shame. -Having a rather heavy, 9 day period, I'm no longer running to the bathroom every 3 goddamn hours to change my SuperMaxiMonsterTruckSized tampon, since the Diva Cup holds so much you could eat cereal out of it. -If I think I'm getting my period or if I'm not sure if it's finished, I can pop that little bitch in without worrying about the dreaded non-saturated "dry removal" of a tampon (which is actually dangerous and causes infections). -I don't have to take a stock supply of tampons in my pockets, purse, or travel bag everywhere I go. -I can wear it safely for 12 hours (and honestly way more) and know I'm not going to get TSS. -I can sterilize it in boiling water, but it can be cleaned perfectly fine with warm water and a little mild soap every few days. -Comfort. You know that "ewwww my saturated tampon is slipping out and it's hurting when I walk!" feeling? Well, I don't! -You have to touch your pussy to put it in (and yeah, that's a fucking bonus for me). -Again, the tampon industry is mad evil and hates women - with the Diva Cup, I'm no longer supporting it. Check it: http://www.spotsite.org/village.html Seriously, I love this thing so much I've bought it for all my friends for Christmas. I'd sell my family members for my Diva Cup. It's better than everything all around: health, money, environment, convenience, satisfaction, politics, sex etc. Some people are squeemish about how they would clean it if they have to empty it in public. It's simple really: just dump it in the toilet and wipe the outside with toilet paper. Your vagina won't mind a less-than-thorough cleaning - there's already blood in there anyway. It can be a little messy but, um, your hands are washable. I rarely have to dump mine in a public bathroom anyway (it holds a TON) and I typically just dump and wash every time I take a shower. If you're super hung up on touching your vagina or seeing your own blood, then you suck and don't deserve something as awesome as the Diva Cup anyway. There are no excuses-it's the best thing ever. I'm going to get a tattoo of it on my face, that's how much it rules. If you've heard of the Keeper, this is the same thing except it's made out of medical-grade silicone instead of rubber, which has many advantages (and if you know anything about sex toys, this is no news to you): you can boil silicone to sterilize it and it's non-porous (unlike rubber/latex) so it doesn't harbor bacteria. Also, many people are allergic to rubber, but the Diva Cup is allergy free. FYI: You can get 'em at some Whole Foods and it's cheaper than ordering online. Seriously, the Diva Cup people don't pay me - this thing has just been life altering and I believe it in with religious-like conviction. I have brand loyalty to very few things but this is one of them. Do yourself a favor and just look into it: www.divacup.com

March 17, 2008 | url

AGR said:

As far as I know, nausea is very common during periods. I know at least a couple in my family who have this symptom. There are a few (lucky?) who have periods that come and go like breeze. For me, it has always been full of cramps, and now after having a child, its more - extreme fatigue, back-aches, head-aches and all the previleges(!) of PMS and post-MS!!! It was the same back when I'd time to exercise. Its the hormones, and I hate the pre-, during and post-, but once its over, I am back to my usual great self and try my best not to think about it. And so I do spend as less time as possible for the kind of products I use.

February 10, 2009

S said:

I am seconding Kendall's enthusiasm for the DivaCup. Seriously y'all, this thing is AMAZING. I got my period New Year's Eve and was all bummed, and then I remembered I had just purchased a DivaCup from the fancy grocery store. At first I was nervous to try it for the first time on New Year's Eve, "Oh man, this better work because I am going to be out dancing all night and if it starts to leak or whatever I will be thoroughly pissed." OK, you know when you're out on the town, and you're on your period, and you have to navigate a super long line for the nasty bathroom with no toilet paper and try to drunkenly change a tampon? Well NO MORE. I popped the DivaCup in, danced and drank until 5am and didn't give it a second thought. I actually FORGOT I was on my period! No more wearing a tampon with a pad in case the tampon leaks. No more needing heavy tampons, regular tampons, overnight pads, and pantiliners to navigate your cycle. No more needing to remember to stock your bathroom, purse, office, car, and boyfriend's apartment with tampons every month. No more waking up to your period at 2am and realizing you're out of feminine products and having to cram toilet paper in your underwear until you can get to Walgreens. No more trashcans filled with lovely red biowaste-soaked products (yay environment!) NO MORE SCRATCHY CLOTH-LIKE SUBSTANCES ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR VAGINA.... ...and seriously, there's no better argument than that.

February 17, 2009

jenna said:

I have found using tampons only added to my discomfort during my cycles. Through my research for something new I found winalite it is a sanitary pad free of chemicals and synthetic materials. It also has something called an anion strip embedded in every pad it is antibacterial and helps with moods, cramps, irritability, just to name a few. You can go to freesanitarynapkins.com/ and try for yourself its free you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

June 01, 2009 | url

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