# Problems with tampons..



## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Just wondering if anyone else has problems with using tampons?Sometimes (and this is intermittent) I find wearing them can be extremely painful and when I need to pee - it stings like hell.Its not that I'm not putting them in fully I am....just after a few hours they suddenly start to irritate my bladder and cause me pain...I also find I go through super plus tampons within about 3-4 hours - when most people are supposed to be able to wear them for upto 8 hours..anyone else have similar experience? or any advice?


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## rain (May 5, 2003)

Hi Clair...Well I have problems also using tampons...in fact I can't wear them hardly at all. My problem is that when I have a tampon inserted...correctly I may add







... that it feels like I have a stick in me all the way up into my upper stomach







GAWD!!!! Talk about pain





















But once in a great while when my period isn't quite so heavy, like towards the end, I sometimes try a teen- slim- fit tampon. And even then I can only wear it just for a few hours...by the way I'm not a teen I'm 49 yrs old.Also just FYI...no one should be wearing a tampon for more than a few hours at a time anyway...let alone 8 hours







Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you.rain


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## Isis5244 (May 4, 2003)

Hi Clair,I often find tampons uncomfortable when my flow isn't bright red anymore. When it gets very dark in color it also irritates me inside and out, anyplace it touches my skin. Tampons make that worse so I usually switch to pads when that happens and use disposable wipes, they're pretty soothing. Not sure if that's what you're describing, but I thought I'd give it a shot.Don't worry about the super plus tampons. My periods have always been heavy, and there are usually one or two days when I need to wear two at a time with an overnight pad, and change at least the tampons every hour. There's a lot of variation from one woman to the next, you sound very normal.


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## christywisty (Mar 12, 2002)

I've never been able to use tampons. I bleed too heavily, and as I recall, they were too uncomfortable despite putting them all the way in. I have endometriosis, though, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.


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## Jleigh (Dec 8, 2000)

I can't wear them either! They cause me pain and I'm not real sure but I think having a tipped uterus may have something to do with it. My sister, mother, niece and daughter have tipped uterus' also and wearing tampons are uncomfortable for them as well.Jleigh


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

I can't wear tampons very often either. I get bad menstrual cramps, and it seems like wearing a tampon when I'm cramping just makes the pain worse. And even though they are inserted properly, my body actually pushes at them so they get to the point where they are no longer comfortable and I have to adjust the position if I want to continue wearing them. I think my body just thinks it's a great big clot







After the cramping and clotting is over, often the flow is light enough that the tampon is too dry when I try to remove it. So I have maybe a day where my flow is heavy enough for tampons but I'm not cramping. I usually just wear my always ultra-thin maxis. Sometimes I wish I didn't have so much trouble with tampons!I don't do so well with going to the bathroom while I'm wearing a tampon. I think I just pee too much. And of course my IBS-D is worse when I'm on my period, which is another reason to not wear tampons.


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

You don't know what a relief it is to know I'm not alone with this problem  its not something you can exactly really go around asking







I have very heavy periods and go through sanitary products like they are going out of fashion...I often get the feeling that my body is pushing them out too....especially when I have to pee and I can feel them shifting position and becoming uncomfortable and eventually painful...I thought perhaps it was me that I was tensing my pelvic muscles too much...but it sure is reassuring to know that other IBS sufferers get similar problems and that I'm not a freak!







I switch between using tampons and pads (when tampon wearing gets too painful) but I have to admit I dont like wearing towels because I hate the sehsation of constant 'dripping'.Gosh being a woman can be a pain sometimes


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

HiI have lots of these problems like my body pushing the tampon out. I also find that when my cervix is low it is hard to even get them in. Does anybody ever find that they can leak past a new clean tampon that has only just been inserted? As for peeing I often have to take a tampon out in order to go - it wont come out otherwise or the flow is very slow. I'd appreciate knowing if anyone else suffers from these problems.


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## deirdre1958 (Jul 24, 2002)

I think you and I have a lot of the same issues! My bladder is irritable even on good days, much less during my period. Sometimes I have to take the tampon out to be able to pee. If I pee, then take it out, I find I can pee more, so I think it presses on stuff in there. I also often have the things leak right after I put them in, and have to start all over again. The supers are a bit hefty to handle, I prefer the slim versions, and the junior size tampons don't bother me at all, though they aren't of much use at the beginning. I don't wear one at night, and if I am hanging out at home, I just use a pad. I figure it is healthier just to let if flow out naturally when I can.Marie


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

Do you know Marie, when i read your posts it's like reading about my own issues. I don't wear tampons at home, only when I go out cos I hate the feelings of towels and worry about odours. I know what you mean about it feeling healthier to go natural. If u do find any 'cures' for all out problems then do let me know! I'm feeling really down at the moment as I seem to feeling unwell all the time without any 'good times' at all.


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

StedwellYour not alone there







I also find I can hardly pee with the tampon in - I sit there for ages trying to squeeze a drop out and nothing comes despite a full bladder so in the end I revert to taking it out to go to the loo.Marie - I can't really use the slimline ones because my flow is too heavy and I'd be taking it out not long after putting them in.Hadn't realised that other women were having same problem, I wonder if its related to IBS sometimes...as I often get an irritable bladder as well as a result of my digestive system playing up.


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## deirdre1958 (Jul 24, 2002)

Stedwell, if you ever want to talk more, or need more support at any given moment, email me montagnerosse###yahoo.comMarie


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks MarieIt is good to know that there are other people to talk to who understand how you feel and it takes the burden off your family as well!


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## jo-jo (Aug 19, 2001)

The first two days are too heavy for me to wear tampons, even the super plus. The third day I wear the super plus, my period last 7, 8 days always. I tried a tampon the first day but i go thrue it in 1/2 hour, so i use pads.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

I can only wear tampons sometimes. Its touch and go weather i can get them in or not. SOmetimes they slip down a bit and it makes sitting down uncomfortable. When i am on the first day or 2 of my period i can't bear to put one on because i feel so sore and tender due to period pain anyway. Then my flow gets patchy and if i put one in then it often hurts to take out because its not full, but i can't leave it in any longer because it would be unhealthy. Four hours is about average. I don't like sleeping with them in. But i HATE 'dripping' feeling also. Its a nightmare being a woman.


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## Patty (Mar 18, 1999)

I flow very heavy for 7 full days. I MUST wear a tampon or I couldn't function outside of my home! I have to wear the super plus and change every 2 hrs for the first two days at least and the heavy absorbent pads. I can't even walk or lie around the house without a tampon or I'll mess up my bedding or clothing! When you're flowing so heavily how does only a pad take care of your needs??? And, please enlighten me --- what is a towel??? The only towel I know is the one I dry off with after a shower. I've seen a couple of you refer to a towel. Is it something new that you wear during your cycle???


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

Wow that's some flow Patty! When I was first getting periods they were pretty darn heavy (thank god for the pill!). I used the smaller tampons since I was new to them and didn't want to use the max size. I wore a pantyliner just in case.... and bled through that regular tampon in an hour or so!







I've found that my always ultrathin maxipads can hold an awful lot of flow. I had some HUGE "overnighter" pads that I used to wear overnight and when my flow and cramps were at their worst, back in the days before the pill and good pain meds... I was home in agony so I didn't worry too much about wearing a bulky pad to school.Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think when our friends in the UK say "towel", they are referring to a pad?


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## Patty (Mar 18, 1999)

Luna,I use the Stayfree Ultrathin maxi pads! Those things are great, even tho they look thin and feel thin, they hold an enormous amount!! I swear by them!I was on the bc pill for as long as I could until my blood pressure became uncontrollable and it helped tremendously with my flow. Glad you can take them.Thanks for enlightening me on the towel thingie!


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

Sorry, that was probably me with the 'towel' a quaint english term. However I have adopted American terms since posting on this board - even my family have noticed that I know say 'pee' instead of 'wee' and 'poop' instead of 'poo'!!


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## WhoaNellie1487 (May 5, 2003)

I can't even use tampons.. It's painful. I use pads all the way. I'm very comfortable with em...


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## RitaLucy (May 3, 2000)

Well here I am 43 and using tampons for the first time in my life. I had many female problems when I was younger and my Dr.'s didn't recommend the use of tampons. My 15 year old daughter turned me on to them. The way they make them now with the latest applicators they are much easier to use. I change mine every 2 hrs. and only wear them during the day. They say you should never sleep in them anyway especially if you have worn them all day... I guess we all need to be careful with the toxic shock issues...etc.


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## lbtweetie (Apr 9, 2002)

I am so glad I came here today. I have been home in the bed for two days bleeding so heavy (I call it hemmoraging. I put a towel (that you use to dry off with) under me when I sleep so that I don't leak. I do notice that I cramp a little more if I use tampons, but I cramp either way it goes. When I am working I am working I have to use tampons and pads to prevent leakage. Have any of you been diagnosed with any thing that makes your flow so heavy? I was diagnosed with Fibroids 2 years ago and I was supposed to have a partial hysterectomy and they went away before the surgery was supposed to take place. I have a feeling they come and go.


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## Isis5244 (May 4, 2003)

I've had fibroids for several years, many small ones. My periods have always been super heavy, but suddenly I started leaking through my pants in public. Once it happened on a date!! I was so totally mortified. I've never seen so much blood. I use a disposable square pad (intended for incontinance) under me in bed after soaking though to the mattress several times. When I start to put the tampon in a stream of blood actually comes out the plunger end of the applicator. Luckily I only have one or two days a month that are quite that heavy. I worry about becoming enemic but so far my iron levels have been just borderline. If this gets any worse I'd consider going back on the pill.


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

Wondering about tampon use and its problems.....does anybody find that when they use a tampon it sometimes reduces or even nearly stops the flow? I can be really heavy, put a tampon in and then it all stops! I find this often happens and then I have to use pads to allow things to start moving again so to speak.


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## Serenity (Feb 6, 2002)

Stedwell-- yes, I've had that happen before. Even with the slender ones. I don't really use them at all anymore, because I am one of those who finds they make my cramps worse.I'm glad I found this thread. Up until now I thought I was all alone with my tampon quirks, although my sister has the same problem with pain.


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## Stedwell (Jan 5, 2003)

It is reassuring to find that so many of these problems are shared by other women but we don't always realise because we dont talk about them. I had a chat with a close friend of mine about 'women's things' the other month and we were amazed by the things we had in common that we worried about. The sort of things that you would feel silly to ask your doctor about but think that you are the only one who it is happening to. That's why boards like this are so important so that we can ask the questions we couldn't ask others!


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## KarenP36 (May 24, 2001)

I feel SO much better after reading everyone's posts. I thought I was the only one! My sister's all make fun of me because I haven't worn one in many years. Not only feels icky when it's in, extremely painful taking it out! I too have a tipped uterus and wonder....


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