Jam Sponge

[ailbhe]

I got my Jam Sponges about a week before my period, so that was handy. I've been using them for two days, I think. My brain goes a bit, between sleep deprivation and hormones, so counting time is difficult.

So far, I'm really pleased. My bases for comparison are:

External: sanitary towels/napkins. I've used mainstream disposable lockaway-core super-thin ones, natural unbleached disposable ones, and washable organic cotton ones. The last kind if my favourite, and the first seems to actually make my period less comfortable. Perhaps I homeopathically absorb the ebil chemicals in the lockaway core?

Internal: Tampons, mooncup. Tampons never ever worked for me. They hurt, they were rejected by my body, I never, ever, ever got on so that I couldn't feel it or even so that it wasn't uncomfortable, which the instructions and packets all say one should. I have used them but reluctantly and uncomfortably. I have no idea whether they made my periods feel worse, because I gave up on them very early on and looked back on them with loathing. The mooncup was much better, but it didn't play nicely with my rectocele (large, severe, not the mooncup's fault at all) so although I *could* use it for swimming, and walking to the pool, I preferred to use it as briefly as possible and swap for sanitary towels as soon as possible after getting out of the pool.

Sponges: So far, so delightful. Basic idea is that there are two, one for lighter and one for heavier flows. They arrive dry, but to use them one wets them, scrunches them, and inserts them in the vagina, where they expand to fill the available space, form a plug, and soak up the blood. To remove them, one waits until it feels fullish and inclined to slide out, and then pulls it out with one's clean fingers, rinses under the tap, scrunches up and reinserts (or swaps for a clean one and bags up for later washing, if no rinsing is possible).

The smaller one works best for me, which doesn't surprise me. They are not uncomfortable with the internal injuries at all; the larger one is a bit uncomfortable in that it's inclined to get shoved out by my body if I do certain things, but the smaller one is fine. They last ages compared to towels/pads - two to four hours in the day, and using overnight, I only leaked in the morning after I got upright and coughed; if I hadn't coughed I think everything would have stayed internal. Anyway the leak was minimal.

I really like not having anything extra in my underwear; it's very novel for me, because I gave up on tampons AGES ago, but going a whole day with a period and not sitting on scrunched up sanitary towel is very nice.

It's distinctly weird for me to be touching Those Bits of my body, but I have a feeling it's going to be good for me in the long run. I've had a sort of hate-hate relationship with them since the injuries, with a very few bouts of positivity; it just takes one serious reminder to throw me back into hating it all. The sponges are unusable unless I'm willing to touch my own genitals, though, so if that's a problem for you, you won't want to use them.

Also, it means handling my menstrual blood more than I ever have before. Much more than with the mooncup. It gets on my fingers when I rinse the sponges out, I see it running down the drain (diluted by lots of water, which makes it look like a LOT of blood), it's just more there than I'm used to. That's ok though. It's interesting to see the different types and colours, and all the many different kinds of mucus that goes with it. Very weird to have this much data, and I don't know what it all means, but it might be useful one day.

So, positives: comfortable, re-usable, making me get in touch with my own body. Negatives: had to buy from weirdo moon-waffle website, might be awkward to use outside the house, leaked slightly in the morning after a whole night.

Comments

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

Just ordered some. I'll let you know!

[cherade9.livejournal.com]

Very interesting, thanks! I use a mooncup which has been a revelation. Sponges sound like worth an experiment. I always hated towels, no matter what kind. It takes me back to being 8 and leaking on my clothes in the playground.

[nakedfaery.livejournal.com]

I started my period early too (I was 9) and as my parents were so poor, I had to wear those super thick straight pads that cost about 20p a packet. I hated P.E and by the time I was at senior school I'd get notes from my mum to excuse me every month. I could never ever get tampons to even go in until I was about 18 and they felt horrid. Discovering cups and washable pads was fabulous.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you found something that works for you!

I always felt like I must be a freak because I can't deal with tampons either - sooo uncomfortable! So I am comforted to know I'm not the only one. I use cloth pads when I'm around the house and super-thin disposables when I'm out and about and not going home any time soon. :)

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Hm! I've been a fan of o.b. tampons since the very beginning (I don't like the smallest sizes, they're annoying to me) but I've been wanting to do something more ecologically responsible. I'm out and about a *lot* and am wary of issues with various reusable cups. OTOH, (bad greenie, bad!) I bought a pack of Instead disposables, and found them pleasant.

Gah. One of my favorite parts of being pregnant was not worrying about menstruation.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Oh, and YAY for finding something that's (so far) a more pleasant experience for you, Ailbhe! (I'm especially happy for you that you have weird-but-okay going on.

[nakedfaery.livejournal.com]

I might try them. The sea pearls sponges I tried were really uncomfortable, even the smallest size wouldn't go in pre Sebastian. Now I've birthed vaginally it might be easier. I don't want to use a cup because of my bladder prolapse so I'll give these a go. Thank you for the honest and clear review.

[piqueen.livejournal.com]

Really interesting - thanks for sharing. I too struggle with tampons and use them only for water based activities. I am tempted by a sponge but I spend so little time at home I am not sure if they would work for me.

[sidheag.livejournal.com]

Very interesting, thank you! I've wondered what these were like. Might try them.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

As I think I mentioned elsewhere, I use a Mooncup and it actually improves my minor rectocele - everything functions much better with it holding things in place, to the extent that I've considered using it all month. It's comfortable enough...

[ailbhe]

I think the sponges may have a similar effect for me, though obviously the chunk of sphincter missing complicates things.

[ailbhe]

OH GOD IN HEAVEN it does indeed slide the rectocele almost completely back into place. Which means it has a serious effect on my continence, since things are now in a straight line rather than with a sort of... u-bend effect. DAMN IT ALL TO HELL AND BACK.

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

AMAZING. Excellent!

[ailbhe]

No. No, not excellent. It turns out that the rectocele trapping things was one thing that made me continent, because of the sphincter having bits missing (the rectocele goes the full length, "ending" at the gap in the sphincter). So now I have to decide whether lack of pain or lack of incontinence is the thing to aim for.

Re:

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Aw, crap. That is not a fair choice to have to make.

Re:

[radegund.livejournal.com]

Argh! Not fair!

[cat63.livejournal.com]

Good to hear you've found something that works and is comfortable. I used to think I was odd because I never got on with tampons, but reading the comments I can see I'm not alone by a long way.

[annifa.livejournal.com]

Thanks for writing about it. I think I'll have to put some energy into my periods now and how to deal with them more positively. (Not allowed to take the pill now). Which website did you use? x

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

So glad they're working for you! Fwiw, my period seemed lighter and less painful with cloth pads or a cup than with mainstream pads or tampons, too. With mainstream stuff, I used to need a pad and a tampon; now I can manage with either a cup or a pad, although I find a cup the most comfortable. (Currently a Fleurcup, in case anyone else is interested - I find it leaks less than the Mooncup did.)