My Cloth Pad Experience

 While writing my recommended products page, I started thinking about my journey with cloth pads. It's a story I share relatively often because, although it's personal, it's really helped a lot of other women. So I decided to share it here for all of you!

I've dealt with a lot of health issues over my lifetime, but I didn't realize they were actual health issues until I was in my later college years. I had horrible, horrible stomachaches as a child, and quite often - I'd say around 75% of the time after eating, I got very bloated and felt horribly sick. It was so bad as a kid that I remember looking around at other people and wondering what it was like to not have a stomachache all the time. But I had always felt that way, so I never even complained about it to my parents. I thought that was just life for me.

As I got older, I started getting horrible, horrible migraines. I didn't even recognize them as migraines, I just knew I got headaches all the time - like 4 or 5 days out of the week, I'd have a terrible headache most of the day. This started somewhere in upper elementary school, probably a year or two after I started my period.

My period, which I started the summer before third grade (yes, you read that right) was absolute torture. It was so horrible, my mom had to teach me how to use tampons in fifth grade. I was bleeding through super sized pads in a matter of hours, meaning I had to change them at school three or four times. By the time I was in seventh grade, I was using super tampons and a pad to get through the day. 

In sixth grade, my mom, desperate to help me find a solution to my horrific bleeding, put me on birth control. I tried 5 different brands of pill before settling on Seasonique as a sophomore in high school. It was the first pill that effectively kept me from having breakthrough bleeding on my off weeks, it actually reduced my flow, and, as an added bonus, it reduced my periods to only 4 times a year instead of monthly.

However, I still had horrific stomachaches, debilitating migraines, and cramps so bad that I felt like I was about to pee my pants (but I wasn't - they were just awful cramps) - but not only on or near my period. I had migraines weekly still. In high school, I occasionally skipped class because of migraines, and in college, I skipped a lot of classes due to migraines. I still managed good grades, but I missed a lot beacuse my head freakin' hurt.

In my senior year of college, my mom started talking to a nurse who worked in her building and just happened to mention my migraines. That nurse sold Young Living, and she sold my mom a bottle of Stress Away and a bottle of M-Grain, instructing my mom to have me use the M-Grain if I felt a migraine coming on, and the Stress Away if I currently had one.

Those oils were nothing short of complete and total magic. Within six months of using them religiously, my migraines went from 4 or 5 days a week or once or twice a week. I quit skipping class, I was much more functional at work, and I was a lot less miserable. It also took me about five years to get through those two bottles - so it was a worthy purchase.

The year after I graduated from college, my mom and I talked (she was an MA who worked with midwives) and decided I should get an IUD. At first, I really liked having an IUD, but after 6 months, I was horrified at suddenly having terrible acne (which I had never had, even in high school). I talked about it to my provider, who nonchalantly told me that yes, acne is a well known yet not official symptom of the hormonal IUD. I was very angry she hadn't told me - if I had known, I never would've gotten the IUD in the first place. So I had it taken out.

Once it was out, I was single, so I decided to be off birth control for a while to let my body reset. 

This was the beginning of my grand awakening.

After a couple months being hormone-free, I felt completely different. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but it was as if I suddenly felt like myself, yet I hadn't realized I wasn't myself. 

Sometime during these first few months, a company that made 100% organic cotton pads and tampons started advertising to me on Facebook. Since I was having regular periods - and they had picked up in volume, of course - I decided to splurge and try them out. In the advertisement, the creator of the company talked about how the chemicals in regular pads and tampons can causes rashes and headaches. I wasn't sure of the truth behind that statement, but seeing as I was struggling with both of those things (every time I had a period, I got horrible rashes - I just assumed it was because I had sensitive skin that was being robbed of air during that time) I decided to try it out.

My first period with those organic cotton pads and tampons, I barely had any rash at all. It was still there, but it was nothing like the red, angry lumps and painful crotch area I used to have just the month before. At this point, my headaches were mostly under control using the oils, but I thought the pads might have made a small difference, too. Even if they didn't, the reduction in rash was enough to convince me to keep buying them.

They were, however, quite a bit more expensive than your standard Tampax. so I got curious and started doing more research. I couldn't really find evidence of their claims about headaches and other health issues, but I found a decent amount supporting the rash problem. After being convinced about the organic cotton stuff, I finally became more open to cloth pads. 

Cloth pads (and period undies) had a relatively high start up cost, but I quickly did the match and figured out they'd pay for themselves after a few months, and then I'd start saving money. So I splurged and ordered a set of LunaPads (now called Aisle). I ordered three pairs of briefs, a pair of boxer briefs for sleeping, and their starter set of pads.

One period with cloth and I was a complete convert. I had absolutely NO rash whatsoever. I'd been off birth control for about six months at that point and not only had I not gotten a rash, but my headaches were down to once or twice a month. 

Ever since, I've used period undies and cloth pads. My favorite brand for day wear is Knix - they are expensive, yes, but the absorbency is great and they're so comfortable (especially their postpartum ones). They are also very thin, which means no panty lines, and you can wear them in form fitting dresses without a giant cloth pad showing. For sleeping, I still use the 4 pairs of cotton LundaPads undies I bought six years ago. On heavier flow days (and after I gave birth), I use the period panties with an overnight cloth pad. It's big and bulky and you wouldn't believe how much my husband makes fun of me, but I don't have to worry about buying pads or tampons and all my old symptoms are gone. I still get migraines occasionally, but nowadays I can usually figure out why I'm having one - I'm dehydrated, ate too much sugar, I'm sick, I'm pregnant (oh boy, I had some bad ones with baby #1). 

When I switched over to cloth, I quit using tampons entirely. At the time, I was new to reusable period products, and I was totally grossed out by menstrual cups. The idea of sticking my fingers inside of my bloody vagina and pulling out a menstrual cup - and then having to wash it - was just too much. I wasn't ready. But after I met my now-husband, I found that the weeks I was on my period were frustratingly sex-free. 

This time, through an advertisement on Instagram, I discovered a new product - Flex. Flex is a menstrual "disc," which is basically just a disposable menstrual cup, albeit with a slightly different shape. What sold me on these was the mess-free sex aspect. So I ordered some.

It took me a while to learn how to put them in right, so for the first few periods, I wore the Flex disc with a pair of Knix panties to catch any overflow. I loved being able to wear it for 12 hours - so literally all day and then another one all night. Not only did I not have to worry about changing a pad, but I could go pee without a tampon slipping out, and I didn't have to worry about peeing on the string! And, as a bonus, once I really got good at putting it in - I could actually have mess-free period sex.

After I had my first kid, Flex came out with a menstrual cup, too. It was thoughtfully designed to have the ease of pulling out a tampon, and a design that uses the silicone string to break the seal as you pull it out, meaning you don't spill it everywhere (gross). You can check it out here. I ordered the cup to try it when I period returned... but I only had one period, and then I didn't have the next one, because I was pregnant! So I still haven't used it, but I look forward to trying it (or at least as much as you can look forward to your next period...). You can't have sex with it in, so I still have Flex discs, but it's great because it's reusable (the discs are not). So the discs - great for when your period falls on your anniversary, or a birthday, or a weekend getaway. The cup and the cloth pads and panties? Great for every other time!

I hope my story helps you find some solutions, or at least get some new ideas. I didn't make the switch for eco-friendly purposes, but it is nice to know that I'm not longer filling the landfill with my bloody tampons. It's an added bonus - the real benefit is the fact I'm no longer having horrific cramps, painful rashes, and wicked migraines. 

What about my stomaches? I don't have those anymore, either - but that wasn't a period-problem, it was a diet problem. How did I solve it? Eating ketogenic. More on that later!

Wondering about cloth diapers? I have sensitive skin, and so does my husband, so we automatically assumed our kids would, too. Knowing what a major difference cloth pads made for me, I assumed they'd do the same for my son. They did, but that's another post!