This thread needs some love! So, let's talk all things menstrual cups, and learning how to use tampons. Tagging @inthewoods23@jlbaker08@chgilmore to get this party started!
Aight SO Learning to use a tampon. My mom told me I wasn't allowed when I first got AF and said I had to wait at least a year. I go to my dad's, probably a month or two after I started my cycles. My step mom sees that I am going through "too many" panty liners and pads (no one taught me the difference) and ambushes me over breakfast to explain that I should just be using tampons and then proceeds to go over in graphic detail WITH MY DAD RIGHT THERE how to use them. As an adult, I am all for both parents being involved with this and am hazing MH with this info now, but at the time, I was mortified. Then I told my mom and she got mad at me for using them and then proceeded to give me the OK to use them but made me use the OB ones without applicators.
I haven’t chimed in on the dailies today, but have been reading. Wild day at work.
BUT... I gotta say I never understood the whole wait to use tampons thing, I got my period in the summer after 8th grade. Was home, my mom was at work, I called her. She was like tampons are in the cabinet, you’ll figure it out!
@anniemarie887 they say the same with contacts instead of glasses! Idk is the idea that glasses and/or pads easier to handle than something that gets inserted inside or placed on your eyeball? Maybe that's the whole reasoning for waiting?
I'm sure wearing pads first helps you understand your flow better. Like you won't know you need to change your tampon early unless you start leaking.
For anyone interested in using a cup or figuring out which one they should buy, go to putacupinit.com! They have a quiz that will give you a few options based on your needs. It's even good for those who already use a cup but aren't liking the one they have. I use the Saalt brand cup. You can find them at Target! For every cup you buy they provide feminine products to girls in Africa, so that's pretty cool.
*TW* History:
Me: 33 DH: 35 | Together since 2007 | Married July 2016
TTC #1 since 7.2017 Dx: low morph (1%), ANA positive, low decidualization score, high TSH and testosterone, histone antibodies
IUI #1-3| all BFN IVF #1 | 6.11.19 | 24R, 17M, 15F, 6B, PGT-A tested - 5 normal, 3 girls & 2 boys FET #1 | 9.10.19 | BFN "I know you, but we've never met. I'm with you, but I don't know your name" RPL, Receptiva, & ERA testing | all normal/negative, recommended going on gluten and dairy free diet for next FET FET #2 | 3.31.20 | Opted to cancelled due to pandemic, continued diet and tried naturally over the summer 2nd Opinion with another RE | 8.20.20 | Not immune to measles (received 1 dose); SA results similar to 2 years ago; decided to move forward with FET #2 redo at start of next cycle Surprise natural BFP! | 9.22.20 | MC 10.23.20 at 8 weeks TTCAL naturally | starting 11.22.20 Initial consultation with Reproductive Immunologist | 9.14.21 Decidualization score biopsy | 10.1.21 | abnormal - low score of 1; endometrial scratch recommended and progesterone supplementation Saline sono | 10.15.21 | normal Bloodwork | 10.21.21 | high TSH, high testosterone, positive for anti-nuclear antibodies and histone antibodies BFP! | 11.3.21 | EDD 7.14.22 | biopsy provided same effect as endometrial scratch; added supplemental progesterone and estrogen, prednisone, levothyroxine, and MTX to maintain pregnancy DS born 7.19.22 after induction
My best friend tried to teach me how to use tampons so that I could go swimming at church camp, but I couldn’t do it. Then my mom tried to explain to me and I couldn’t do it. I thought it was like contact lenses and you had to get the hang of it and I just couldn’t figure out the trick. Then I went to my first gyno appointment in my 20s (I hadn’t had sex so my mom never made me go when I was younger) and it turns out I had an issue and needed to have surgery! I can’t believe how long I suffered through using only pads. I don’t know if there is a still a stigma for teen girls that going to the gyno means you’re having sex but hopefully not because clearly there are other reasons to go.
@bows22 I always thought age 15/16, or when you're sexually active, whichever came first. 🤷 That is wild that it took that long, but glad the doctor was able to help you out!
omg it took me forever to figure out tampons like I was 11 in the bathroom for hours lol I’m interested in the cups but I’m a little squeemish about the idea. Also today I learned you don’t flush tampons .... like why has no one told me 😱
@bows22 I think you usually go the OB at 15/16 I remember being horrified and the first time I ever went to the OB sober I was like 24 haha I still hate it.
My besties said they were horrified that their mom set up their first gyno appointments when she was out of town. Their dad had to take them. And since they were under 18 he had to STAY IN THE EXAM ROOM WITH THEM while it all went down. Can you imagine?!? The horror.
@BusinessWife@daisy0322 It must have just been my backwards small town because it was literally like you only go to the gyno for BC. When I had my first boyfriend my mom asked me if I needed to go and I said no and that was that until I realized after college that you were supposed to go annually.
related: my favorite period horror story was the weekend OF MY FIRST EVER PERIOD going to my dad's house (clearly there's a pattern here lol) and having changed my pad in my bedroom because I was too self conscious to do it in the bathroom so the used pad was just hanging out in my old underwear on the floor (I hadn't had the chance to go throw it out yet and it had leaked and also I was 11) and then MY DAD COMES IN and immediately notices and so we have a very short and awkward conversation about growing up that I don't remember. what I do remember was how he couldn't stop staring at the pad. *shudders*
I’ve got 5 nieces and they def recommend going at 16 now, but if you’re not sexually active or have a concern they don’t do a pelvic exam until 18 (at least in our area).
ETA: I remember in college a handful of girls who had never been and kind of looking down on those who had like we were promiscuous. And I was like hey ding dongs, how would you know if you had cancer or something wrong? Like not everything to do with your vagina is sexual or std related.
Thursday morning random... I decided to start moonlighting as an adjunct for an online program and I love it, however, I'm still new to the college and course so grading has proven difficult. All of the content was uploaded for me, for continuity's sake so I didn't create any of the assignments. I don't have "keys" to grade with, making it really hard to tell what the person who created them was looking for. Obviously I know what the answers should be, it's just hard to determine what level of detail was intended. Sometimes I feel like I'm grading too hard, but technically it's a weed-out course so somewhere between 30-50% won't be successful in the course.
Late to the tampon chat but my mom stuck 2 tampons in by mistake when she was like 17? My dad had to help her get them out (mortifying, honestly) they were together for 2 years and were kids haha. Anyway she had a bad infection and lost half of one ovary. *tw* she ended up having me after 13 years of trying and then my brother 3 years after me *end tw*. But she was adamant that I steer clear of tampons. So I really didn't start using them until maybe late late high school. My best friend at the time showed me how. I actually don't even use them much now. I use the organic pads and just suffer for 5 days. LOL.
A different random thought: does anyone follow astrology/horoscopes here? Any aquarians? This is supposed to be our emerald year it happens like once every 15 years and I have yet to FEEL like it is giving me any good juju. I am waiting! We are supposed to get endless lucky breaks. My OB appointment/results went smoothly so maybe that was the start?
@boymama2018 I half-heartedly follow astrology. A coworker/friend of mine is very into astrology and likes to tell me what's going on in my sign at any given point, which I find fun! I'm a Gemini sun, Sagittarius moon, and Libra rising. Interestingly, MH is a Sag sun and Gemini moon, so we're perfectly inverted & matched.
@beakay8 thats so fun that you get readings from your friend and that you and your S/O are so well matched. Meant to be! I love reading my horoscope. It did say that it would take a few months early in the year to start feeling my good fortune. I would think we are about there by now lol.
@boymama2018 yeah, I think a few is 3-4, so May is definitely the start of possibilities then??
Yeah, my coworker asked me and another coworker/friend about our natal charts, and we did them on the fly together, and me and my other coworker/friend are born 10 years, 10 days apart and have almost identical charts, and the astrology coworker was like "this is so rare that y'all are friends and like met each other but also basically explains why you two are so much the same." I don't really understand much beyond the big stuff most people know or hear about astrology but my astrology coworker can do the whole chart interpretation at any time and it's so interesting to hear it when she does.
Re: Weekly Randoms w/o 4.26
This thread needs some love! So, let's talk all things menstrual cups, and learning how to use tampons. Tagging @inthewoods23 @jlbaker08 @chgilmore to get this party started!
TTC #1 since 02/2020
2009 | Dx PCOS; likely a misdiagnosis
07/14/20 | Dx Hashimoto's Thyroditis
07/21/20 | 1st RE appointment
07/2120 - 08/20/20 | so much testing; no signs of PCOS
08/20/20 | Dx Unexplained; AMA
09/08/20 | IUI #1 Clomid + Trigger + Prometrium | BFN
09/30/20 | Urology consult; more testing required
10/2020 | Clomid + OPK + TI + Prometrium | BFN
10/26/2020 | Starting 2nd IUI cycle, with Letrazole and with a new RE / different clinic
11/03/2020 | New Dx "poor egg quality"; IUI cancelled in favor of Trigger + TI + Prometrium | BFN
11/26/2020 | Combo IUI (Clomid + Menopur) + Trigger + Prometrium | BFN
12/20/2020 | Combo IUI (Clomid + Gonal-F) + Trigger | IUI Cancelled due to thin lining; TI only | BFN
01/14/2021 | Combo IUI (Letrazole + Menopur) + Trigger | BFN
02/06/2021 | Switched to a new RE (TEW) ; trying naturally until we complete additional testing
03/14/2021 | Hybrid Double IUI, with Zymot (Letrazole, Gonal-F) + Trigger + Endometrin | Ovulated 4 mature eggs but still a BFN ☹️
04/07/2021 | Natural cycle while we regroup | BFN
04/09/2021 | Employer announces fertility benefits starting 05/01/2021! | Search for a new doctor who accepts insurance
05/10/2021 | New RE consult & plan for IVF
05/13/2021 | Mid-luteal IVF cycle #1 interrupted; had to get cancer genetic screening done to make sure I didn't have the same SDHA gene mutation as MH.
06/10/2021 | Aygestin priming IVF cycle #1; opted to Cx after 9 days of stims since only 5-6/12 follicles responded
07/26/2021 | Attempt #2 at IVF cycle #1 (mid-luteal start): 8 retrieved, 8 MII, 6 fert (1 PN3), 3 Day 5 & 6 blasts: 3AA, 3AA, 6AB; 3 euploid
08/09/2021 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC | Shockingly, a BFP! EDD: 5/25/202 | CP at 4w4d
09/23/2021 | IVF cycle #2 (mid-luteal start): 14 retrieved, 13 MII, 11 fert, 5 Day 5 & 6 blasts: 2 x 3AA, 2 x 3AB, 3BB; 2 euploid
11/12/2021 | IVF cycle #3 (mid-luteal start): cancelled due to ovaries being on vacation
12/20/2021 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC + Pregmune Immunology Testing; BFN
01/22/2022 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC + understanding uncovered immunological issues; BFN
02/18/2022 | Mock transfer cycle! ERA, ReceptivaDx, EMMA/ALICE; start Prednisone to address NK activity
03/16/2022 | Final, "Hail Mary" super-ovulation + TI cycle before FET; BFP! EDD: 12/21/2022 | MMC 05/08/2022
05/20/2022 | D&C; recovering...
06/21/2022 | Trying naturally until October 2022
07/21/2022 | BFP! EDD 04/02/2023
Learning to use a tampon. My mom told me I wasn't allowed when I first got AF and said I had to wait at least a year. I go to my dad's, probably a month or two after I started my cycles. My step mom sees that I am going through "too many" panty liners and pads (no one taught me the difference) and ambushes me over breakfast to explain that I should just be using tampons and then proceeds to go over in graphic detail WITH MY DAD RIGHT THERE how to use them. As an adult, I am all for both parents being involved with this and am hazing MH with this info now, but at the time, I was mortified. Then I told my mom and she got mad at me for using them and then proceeded to give me the OK to use them but made me use the OB ones without applicators.
I'm sure wearing pads first helps you understand your flow better. Like you won't know you need to change your tampon early unless you start leaking.
For anyone interested in using a cup or figuring out which one they should buy, go to putacupinit.com! They have a quiz that will give you a few options based on your needs. It's even good for those who already use a cup but aren't liking the one they have. I use the Saalt brand cup. You can find them at Target! For every cup you buy they provide feminine products to girls in Africa, so that's pretty cool.
TTC #1 since 7.2017
Dx: low morph (1%), ANA positive, low decidualization score, high TSH and testosterone, histone antibodies
IUI #1-3 | all BFN
IVF #1 | 6.11.19 | 24R, 17M, 15F, 6B, PGT-A tested - 5 normal, 3 girls & 2 boys
FET #1 | 9.10.19 | BFN "I know you, but we've never met. I'm with you, but I don't know your name"
RPL, Receptiva, & ERA testing | all normal/negative, recommended going on gluten and dairy free diet for next FET
FET #2 | 3.31.20 | Opted to cancelled due to pandemic, continued diet and tried naturally over the summer
2nd Opinion with another RE | 8.20.20 | Not immune to measles (received 1 dose); SA results similar to 2 years ago; decided to move forward with FET #2 redo at start of next cycle
Surprise natural BFP! | 9.22.20 | MC 10.23.20 at 8 weeks
TTCAL naturally | starting 11.22.20
Initial consultation with Reproductive Immunologist | 9.14.21
Decidualization score biopsy | 10.1.21 | abnormal - low score of 1; endometrial scratch recommended and progesterone supplementation
Saline sono | 10.15.21 | normal
Bloodwork | 10.21.21 | high TSH, high testosterone, positive for anti-nuclear antibodies and histone antibodies
BFP! | 11.3.21 | EDD 7.14.22
DS born 7.19.22 after induction
@bows22 I think you usually go the OB at 15/16 I remember being horrified and the first time I ever went to the OB sober I was like 24 haha I still hate it.
@daisy0322 going to OB after fertility treatments is like:
TTC #1 since 02/2020
2009 | Dx PCOS; likely a misdiagnosis
07/14/20 | Dx Hashimoto's Thyroditis
07/21/20 | 1st RE appointment
07/2120 - 08/20/20 | so much testing; no signs of PCOS
08/20/20 | Dx Unexplained; AMA
09/08/20 | IUI #1 Clomid + Trigger + Prometrium | BFN
09/30/20 | Urology consult; more testing required
10/2020 | Clomid + OPK + TI + Prometrium | BFN
10/26/2020 | Starting 2nd IUI cycle, with Letrazole and with a new RE / different clinic
11/03/2020 | New Dx "poor egg quality"; IUI cancelled in favor of Trigger + TI + Prometrium | BFN
11/26/2020 | Combo IUI (Clomid + Menopur) + Trigger + Prometrium | BFN
12/20/2020 | Combo IUI (Clomid + Gonal-F) + Trigger | IUI Cancelled due to thin lining; TI only | BFN
01/14/2021 | Combo IUI (Letrazole + Menopur) + Trigger | BFN
02/06/2021 | Switched to a new RE (TEW) ; trying naturally until we complete additional testing
03/14/2021 | Hybrid Double IUI, with Zymot (Letrazole, Gonal-F) + Trigger + Endometrin | Ovulated 4 mature eggs but still a BFN ☹️
04/07/2021 | Natural cycle while we regroup | BFN
04/09/2021 | Employer announces fertility benefits starting 05/01/2021! | Search for a new doctor who accepts insurance
05/10/2021 | New RE consult & plan for IVF
05/13/2021 | Mid-luteal IVF cycle #1 interrupted; had to get cancer genetic screening done to make sure I didn't have the same SDHA gene mutation as MH.
06/10/2021 | Aygestin priming IVF cycle #1; opted to Cx after 9 days of stims since only 5-6/12 follicles responded
07/26/2021 | Attempt #2 at IVF cycle #1 (mid-luteal start): 8 retrieved, 8 MII, 6 fert (1 PN3), 3 Day 5 & 6 blasts: 3AA, 3AA, 6AB; 3 euploid
08/09/2021 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC | Shockingly, a BFP! EDD: 5/25/202 | CP at 4w4d
09/23/2021 | IVF cycle #2 (mid-luteal start): 14 retrieved, 13 MII, 11 fert, 5 Day 5 & 6 blasts: 2 x 3AA, 2 x 3AB, 3BB; 2 euploid
11/12/2021 | IVF cycle #3 (mid-luteal start): cancelled due to ovaries being on vacation
12/20/2021 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC + Pregmune Immunology Testing; BFN
01/22/2022 | Rest cycle / unmedicated TTC + understanding uncovered immunological issues; BFN
02/18/2022 | Mock transfer cycle! ERA, ReceptivaDx, EMMA/ALICE; start Prednisone to address NK activity
03/16/2022 | Final, "Hail Mary" super-ovulation + TI cycle before FET; BFP! EDD: 12/21/2022 | MMC 05/08/2022
05/20/2022 | D&C; recovering...
06/21/2022 | Trying naturally until October 2022
07/21/2022 | BFP! EDD 04/02/2023
related: my favorite period horror story was the weekend OF MY FIRST EVER PERIOD going to my dad's house (clearly there's a pattern here lol) and having changed my pad in my bedroom because I was too self conscious to do it in the bathroom so the used pad was just hanging out in my old underwear on the floor (I hadn't had the chance to go throw it out yet and it had leaked and also I was 11) and then MY DAD COMES IN and immediately notices and so we have a very short and awkward conversation about growing up that I don't remember. what I do remember was how he couldn't stop staring at the pad. *shudders*
edited for grammar
A different random thought: does anyone follow astrology/horoscopes here? Any aquarians? This is supposed to be our emerald year it happens like once every 15 years and I have yet to FEEL like it is giving me any good juju. I am waiting! We are supposed to get endless lucky breaks. My OB appointment/results went smoothly so maybe that was the start?
Yeah, my coworker asked me and another coworker/friend about our natal charts, and we did them on the fly together, and me and my other coworker/friend are born 10 years, 10 days apart and have almost identical charts, and the astrology coworker was like "this is so rare that y'all are friends and like met each other but also basically explains why you two are so much the same." I don't really understand much beyond the big stuff most people know or hear about astrology but my astrology coworker can do the whole chart interpretation at any time and it's so interesting to hear it when she does.