Something all people with a uterus (esp ftm) should know exists!

I still don't know how I feel about it. I was just waiting for the day I a) get to the gender clinic and they prescribe me t or b) when I get to the gender clinic and decide I want to start taking t. But that's a whole lot of time between now and then I still have to deal with menstruation. :icon_sad: so maybe...maybe I might give it some further consideration. I spoke to my GP about contraceptive pill so I don't have it but I am already taking a load of meds for depression and anxiety and knowing what my body has to go through in the future, I am reluctant to put any more pills inside me.

I did actually read about these cup things before I knew I was trans because I got such bad cramps and I heard they helped.

There are 2 things that put me off. Firstly, how I fit it inside me because I can only just fit a regular tampon in there. Secondly, won't it cause MASSIVE dysphoria? I can say now I am not up for being penetrated by anything sex or otherwise. I never have and never will. It makes me feel sick to think I have that part which men want to :***:. I do use tampons but only because it's unbearable seeing and feeling the blood. Sorry if that is too graphic!

P.S I have to say I am rather offended by the word c*** I don't think I would be if I didn't have one but unfortunately I do and it makes me squirm.

 

I've been thinking about this some more...I can't believe I'm actually considering but I have a couple of questions.

How do you deal with removing it and reinserting it if using public bathrooms? Especially if you're ftm, can't use the women's loos but don't pass as a man and have difficulties finding a gender neutral toilet?

How do you fit it in if you can only fit a regular tampon in? Is it even possible or do you have to break your...ugh I can't say it. seriously dysphoric:eek:

 

Maybe it's because I'm not particularly dysphoric about my bits (for me it's more my secondary characteristics), or because I think tamps are gross and wasteful, but I'm considering this kinda seriously now. I actually feel like I've learned quite a bit more about these in the past few days. The only thing I'm nervous about is the learning curve, and removal. But the fact that you only need to change it twice a day has me ecstatic, because I often forget about my tampons and leave them in for too long. I'm surprised I don't have TSS or whatever by now.

 

Can't be too much freakier than taking my shirt off...that's always uncomfortable for me.

 

Not all of us use tampons lol. Quite frankly, when I'm not "in the mood", there's no way in hell that I can get a finger and a thumb up there. Honestly, doing all that sounds gross. Even if I did have periods, I'd be sticking to pads. I really don't like sticking things up there. Never have.

 

I am still a bit put off because of my dysphoria about my female bits but then getting cramps also gives me dysphoria because it reminds me that I have a uterus which shouldn't be there. I would be prepared to try it out and see because the benefits could outweigh the dysphoria of using pads and tampons but I can only fit one finger in there so I don't think I would be able to fit the cup in, never mind remove it. What do you think?

 

Wait why are tampons gross what are you guys doing sniffing them?

 

Chemicals? Where? In the poon? Well of course it's not going to absorb clots and what not.

 

Yeah, also I started getting infections after I switched solely to tampons, probably from the chemicals, forgetting to change them frequently, or from them absorbing things that aren't blood, which only makes the whole situation 10x worse because then I need to shove even more stuff up there. If I can shove less stuff up there less frequently, all the better. Plus the cups are made of medical grade silicone, so they're not particularly unsanitary.

I'll admit I had no idea how you were supposed to use a cup prior to this thread, and once I realised it was supposed to fit up there I was just as confused and wigged out as all the other guys that posted here. They look so big in the pictures. :icon_eek:

 

So after doing a little searching myself, it seems the internet has struck again with its ability to tell you the FDA is really being paid under the table so Tampon and Pad manufactures can put chemicals into your body for profit.

So this extremely absorbent material they use, such as Rayon, is going to potentially harm you? Another "official" site says they use chemicals deadly enough that a tablespoon will kill everyone on the planet (I had to regain my breath after laughing hysterically, it turns out, some places really do give out degrees in BS).

Oh and my personal favorite find: some chemicals make you bleed more. Okay, someone doesn't know how a uterus works. Because there is a set amount of blood in there. You are constantly making a lining as youre going through your period.

I also couldn't help but notice that all the sites I found were enviro-freak orientated (people who are all "save the planet, yo") and chemicals-are-bad-okay. And I'm not saying there is a hidden agenda here, but there is. Landfills are filling to the brim with feminine hygiene products. But you know what else is?

Diapers.

Now, to quote my best friend "Pads are just diapers for teenagers", let's get into something a bit more risky. The children. No one is going to dissect the black-magic that is diapers? The super absorbent huggies surely use 100% safe plastics and chemicals, I'm sure. Sarcasm.

They don't. They don't put scent chemicals in there, but god knows it ain't just cotton covering baby Timmy's back side, now is it?

So why is no one defending the kids? Oh, because no mother (or father) is going to use a reusable shit stain diaper. And these same parents aren't going to befoul their washing machines with the unholy atrocities that come out the back sides of their newly born angel.

That's because sanitary napkins are a lot safer than smearing fecal matter all over your washing machine and then putting it back on your kid.

Then why is menstrual blood different? It's not, it has bacteria, it's gross, it comes in lovely shades of red, hell, it even gives you nice slimy dark red earthworms to remind you of what pain and gagging on sight is. It seems a lot more disgusting to have a cup of these germs splashing around down there, constantly touching your cervix. Even more gross is having a bloody piece of fabric against your cooch for a whole week, because I don't care what the Lowes employee said, unless your washing machine has little robot arms on the inside, there is going to be blood in that reusable pad. And then you are going to have those same germs on the ring in your washer and it's going to get on your turtleneck and your socks and suddenly you are literally IN your period.

So, if you can, remember the internet is a vast wasteland. Also remember that the Tampon industry is not going to kill you, and they are not going to fill you up with chemicals under the nose of the FDA because that's how people get sued.

In the end, every method is going to have a little blood on it's hands.

 

It's because you're spreading false information designed to scare people. I looked up the same thing as Charlie, and quite honestly, I'm going to trust the FDA a great deal more than some random "green" website. If there was truly an issue with tampons, considering how commonly they're used, don't you think the FDA would raise a stink? They've done it for much less commonly used items. If tampons/pads gave you infections, then you were doing something seriously wrong. I.e not changing them enough. I've had periods off and on since I was 13, I'm currently 25 and a half. During that time period I've also have several month long periods. Yay for fucked up hormones. Also during that time period I've used pads and a combination of pads/tampons. Infection amount? Zero.

I..What? Menstrual blood is not what a fetus would be sitting in. They're sitting in embryonic fluid which is generally clearish to slightly yellow and well...Slimy. Women don't have their period when they're pregnant. That's..The entire point of a period: to flush out an unfertilized egg. If a woman is having bleeding when she's pregnant, then that indicates that there is something severely wrong. The same goes for the fact if a woman is bleeding longer than 5-7 days during her period. It indicates there is something hormonally or physically wrong with her that needs to be checked out by a doctor.

The fact that you were shoving a tampon up against your cervix is probably why you were getting infections: you were putting it in wrong. Like the mooncup, they're only supposed to sit in the lower part of the vagina.