10 Outrageous Menstrual Facts That’ll Freak You Out
Posted by: Kate Torgovnick
Filed in:
entertainment
2:30PM, Tuesday November 10th 2009
I remember sitting in sex ed class in 1990 as my 7th grade teacher (of course, a guy) played a film strip about menstruation. It was way outdated—from the early ‘70s at best— and it showed us girls in the class how to hook a pad into the metal belt you supposedly had to wear during your period. Only, those metal belts had gone the way of the dinosaur at least 15 years before. I knew this because I’d already started my period and had never once seen one of these terrifying belts. It was embarrassing, but I raised my hand and decided to tell the class how pads really worked—that you simply stick them into your underwear. I remember thinking if 20 years before my time women had to wear a metal belt to greet Aunt Flow, what was it like having your period, say, 100 years ago?
Authors Elissa Stein and Susan Kim must have wondered this too, because they’ve written a whole book—in bookstores today—on the subject. It’s called FLOW: The Cultural Story Of Menstruation and it details all the ludicrous beliefs about women’s periods from ancient times through the present. I asked Elissa and Susan to tell us the ten strangest facts they learned researching this book. Did you know that Lysol was originally a douche? Or that in Biblical times, women had to do an animal sacrifice after their period? Read on for more fascinating period beliefs.
- Lysol—that neon-yellow disinfectant that was scary enough when your mom scrubbed the toilet with it—was marketed as a douche from the 1920s until the early 1960s. Zeroing in on female fears about vaginal funk, the ads also hinted to “married women” that Lysol could kill sperm. Solving neither bad smell nor unwanted pregnancies, douching with Lysol instead caused rampant internal scalding and vaginal infections.
- Hysteria, the biggest false diagnosis in medical history, was blamed for mood swings and crankiness in women from Ancient Greece until the 1950s, when PMS took its place. For centuries, treatment for hysteria was manual stimulation to orgasm, or “hysterical paroxysm.” The vibrator, invented in the late 19th century, became a staple in doctors’ offices and was soon widely available in women’s magazines and the Sears Roebuck catalog.
- The Ancient Greeks, believing that menstruation was the body’s way of getting rid of diseased blood, came up with bloodletting. It supposedly mimicked a woman’s period and was prescribed for all illnesses for centuries, causing unbelievable harm. George Washington probably died from the-almost seven soda cans’ worth of blood drained from him in the name of medicine.
- Vicarious menstruation is a rare and truly weird physical condition in which monthly bleeding occurs not only from the uterus, but from other parts of the body. Women have reported blood issuing harmlessly from the nose, arms, lungs, breasts, gastrointestinal tract, mouth, bladder, eyes and ears every month, only to taper off after a few days.
- In order to symbolically cleanse herself after her period, the Bible required animal sacrifices. Not that the woman didn’t have choices; she could opt for either two turtles or two young pigeons.
- At the turn of last century, girls were discouraged from higher education because it was thought her blood would be diverted to her brain. This could permanently damage her reproductive system and eventually cause her to bear defective, sickly children. Dr. Edward H. Clark wrote in Sex in Education, “higher education would cause a woman’s uterus to atrophy.”
- In 1971, members of a feminist reproductive health self-help group came up with a do-it-yourself “menstrual extraction kit.” Consisting of a pump and some tubing, the kit allowed women to get together in the privacy of their homes, hop up on the kitchen table, and suction out their periods (or the fetus from any unwanted pregnancy).
- Ancient superstitions about menstrual blood include: it can make seeds infertile, kill insects, kill flowers, kill grass, cause fruit to fall off trees, dull razors, drive dogs mad, make a horse miscarry. As recently as the 1920s, menstruating women were barred from certain churches, Mexican silver mines, and Vietnamese opium labs.
KaffirBlack Southern African women were forbidden from drinking milk during their periods, since it would cause the cow it came from to die. - Famous axe murderess Lizzie Borden may very well have killed her parents when suffering from a menstruation-triggered bout of epilepsy of the temporal lobe.
- Premarin is a synthetic estrogen product extracted from pregnant mares’ urine, or “PMU.” Since more than nine million women in the United States take it, 50,000 horses are kept pregnant as continuously as possible on more than 500 “PMU farms” in North America to keep the labs stocked with enough urine to meet the increasing demand.
Thanks for sharing, Elissa and Susan!
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
equnsuocha
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:41 pm: [report]
Lysol, as a douche, really? Really?
averdin
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:41 pm: [report]
in the bible times, women had to sacrifice TURTLEDOVES. not turtles or pigeons.
bumbler
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:43 pm: [report]
Ack I hate to bring this up again after the Roma/gypsy conversation but kaffir is a very offensive term on par with the n-word in America. Usually it is a slur for the Xhosa people of South Africa.
msu.umich
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:47 pm: [report]
@bumbler - yeah, I thought the same.
riensept
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:49 pm: [report]
After I gave birth to my son, at the hospital, and this was 11 years ago, they gave me one of those belts and those diaper things. I looked at the lady and said “what the hell am I supposed to do with this?” Apparently, that’s what the hospital supplied. I promptly made my husband go out and get my some regular pads. Those things are huge, uncomfortable and just plain hideous. No wonder periods are called a curse, because women were cursed to wear those things. Thank goodness we now have thins and tampons.
bumbler
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:50 pm: [report]
@msu Yeah I’m not trying to be nit-picky or blame people who just honestly did not know just trying to spread a little info. I still inwardly cringe when I hear out-dated colonial terms like kaffir or hottentot.
Simcha Whitehill
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:53 pm: [report]
WOW, just WOW
Amelia McDonell-Parry
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:55 pm: [report]
Thanks for pointing that out you guys! I’m going to make the change in the story—we truly didn’t realize the significance.
lea322
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 02:55 pm: [report]
@bumbler: I wish hottentot wasn’t such a fun word to say, though!
cattgirl813
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:04 pm: [report]
Here’s a story that should’ve been in the book:
I was 13, my sister was seven. We were with my mom on an errand one day when Aunt Flo came for her monthly visit with me. Mom got a pad out of the vending machine in the public restroom and came into my stall to help me put it on. My sister was standing on the other side. When I opened the box, out came a big, bulky pad and two small safety pins.
“What am I supposed to do with them,” I asked my mom as I looked for the adhesive strip.
“You’ll have to pin this on,” she told me, and showed me how to pin the pad to my panties. When we came out of the stall, my sister’s eyes were as wide as as saucers.
“You pinned it on?” she asked me. I nodded.
“You pinned it on you?” she asked, looking down.
My mom fought to stifle a laugh as we told her we pinned the pad to my underwear.
“Oh,” she said. “Since I didn’t hear you scream or anything, I thought you were really tough and I didn’t want my period for a long time.”
bumbler
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:11 pm: [report]
@Amelia Thanks! I know it’s impossible for anyone to know the subtle nuances of every term in every language. The only reason I know is from taking South African history courses in college.
@lea I know it is a funny word that I wish was associated with something else. On the plus side hottentot was used to describe Khoisan people who are either from the San nation or the Khoi Khoi. Khoi Khoi is pretty fun too.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:17 pm: [report]
@bumbler: I’m bringing porch monkey back.
(Don’t blame me, blame the movie I’m quoting.)
equnsuocha
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:24 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse - Can I get a Mooby Malt with that?
BlueVibe
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:27 pm: [report]
Mmm—methinks we need some fact-checking. According to [the admittedly fallible] Wikipedia, and some other stuff I’m finding online, the Lysol douche was diluted to 1% or 2%, and the health risks were more along the lines of bacterial imbalance, not rampant chemical burns (if it had caused burns, which are serious now and would frequently have been fatal in the pre-antibiotic era, why would it have been marketed so for forty years?). Pretty much the same risk as today’s douches. I don’t even think today’s Lysol was the same formula as early Lysol.
(For comparison, think chlorine bleach, which can be added to drinking water to kill bacteria, and can be drunk if it’s diluted enough. Not that you want to do that very often.)
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:27 pm: [report]
@equnsuocha: Egg O’Mooby Muffins before 11 AM only. I’ll hold the flies and urine just for you.
equnsuocha
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:39 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: Do I get the donkey show with that or is that extra? Tee Hee
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:45 pm: [report]
Hey, f*cko, we like to call it inter-species erotica.
Annika Harris
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 03:58 pm: [report]
I actually had to use one of those belts when I was having a biopsy the early part of this century. I had to call my mom to help me put it on because I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me.
My aunt told me once about a time when she was wearing a belt and didn’t realize the pad had come undone and was hanging below her skirt like a tail. I don’t know how she didn’t realize since the pads were way thick back then, but it was totally embarrassing nonetheless.
JenM
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 04:25 pm: [report]
Umm I think Lizzie Borden was acquitted… so she’s no more a murderer than OJ…
develange
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 04:46 pm: [report]
Poor perpetually pregnant horses :(
Funny that the fear of period blood still exists. I wonder if mine would kill any crops.
The good news is that I can miss work for five days! Since all the blood is leaving my head.
sophiafaith
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 04:47 pm: [report]
menstrual blood was used against us for so many centuries as an excuse to hate and control women. ain’t science and progress grand? reminds me of an old comedy skit by Kids In The HAll - I’ll see if I can find a link to it somewhere, FREAKIN hilarious!
River
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 05:50 pm: [report]
Here’s another myth: In some African communities (and possibly many ancient ones), there is an association between the act of producing metal and the sacred feminine. The furnaces used for the act of smelting (separating the metal from the ores) are shaped with female genitalia and breasts, so that the iron ‘bloom’ is birthed via the furnace. The only stipulation is that menstruating women are not allowed to go to the furnace woman’s side despite the fact ‘she’ should be surrounded by womenfolk during the birth of the metal. The best part is that this mimics the ritual surrounding actual childbirth; where menstruating women are also considered detrimental in the birthing process.
So interesting! :D
Lilypie
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 06:11 pm: [report]
Oh Jesus, the belt. I was 14 when I got my first period and my mom was not prepared. It was either her ginormous tampons or the belted pads that were gathering dust in the back of the linen closet. I cried and cried thinking I was doomed to the belt for the rest of my reproductive life. Thank God she went and bought me something with wings and adhesive the next day.
Yet another lesson learned from my childhood: if I ever have a daughter, I’ll have a supply of age appropriate period supplies in advance of her needing them!
dudette
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 06:15 pm: [report]
sometimes i wish i could suck out my period…haha do they still have stuff like that around and is it safe. Whenever I have my period i feel like it just festers. Whether you use tampon or pad, you are still surrounded by the same blood for hours at a time. How great would it be if it wasn’t a slow flow, but similar to peeing.
Sorry to gross anyone out, but thats the beauty of anonymity.
lemniskate67
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 06:27 pm: [report]
I have a very old bottle of lysol with douching dilution directions. It still amazes me. The mindset - dirty nasty women with their dirty nasty parts, must be disinfected….
equnsuocha
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 06:28 pm: [report]
Get the Instead cup if you want a horrible incident.
That thing looks like a diaphragm and clicks, yes clicks, into place over your cervix and under your pubic bone. When I first saw them I was all SWEET!
1. They last 12 hours
2. You can have sex with them in
3. they aren’t like a tampon so they dont make cramps worse.
4. You can have sex with them in
So I figured I would try them. So in it goes and at about hour 4 on a heavy day I am in MGM Grand with my BFF and my ex husbands BFF and his wife. I decided to go to the restroom before getting my car form valet and figured I should check. So I get in the stall and my pants are all the way down so I can get my leg up to hook this thing with my short fingers and pull it straight out like the instructions told me. Yeah straight out is a lie, I tipped it and there was a mess the likes of which have not been seen since Exxon Valdez!!! Thank god my BFF was there to help me and tried to clean my pants which were destroyed. She then tried to convince me I could get to my car in my halter top if I just pulled it down enough since we were in vegas and all. I then remembered I was in valet and would have to wait for my car to be brought around, outside with a gagillion people. Needless to say I ended up walking out of there in a pair of Clearance sale $10 lime green/gold lame spandex pants. Awesome!
They are now kept for the midcycle nookie if needed. Placed in right before and removed right after. yeah technology sure is grand!
melissaann
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 06:53 pm: [report]
Those PMU farms are actually extremely cruel, if anyone is interested in animal rights they should google the subject.
basner1
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 07:16 pm: [report]
In reference to the incomplete paragraph in #10, just what does Premarin DO?
Alles
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 07:49 pm: [report]
@bumbler
@msu.mich
Actually you’re both wrong. Kafir is the Arabic word for infidel, which properly conjugated for a female infidel is Kafiri.
TMYK,
Alles
msu.umich
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 08:05 pm: [report]
@Amelia - no worries! Its not a term that a lot of folks are familiar with (unless you had a mad crush on Mel Gibson back in the day and memorized every nuance of Lethal Weapon 2).
Numbers 1, 4 - OH. MY. GOD.
Number 7 - I swear I saw that in an adult toy store, and, brother, it wuddn’t meant for menstruation!
@melissaann - SO RIGHT. They are incredibly cruel, and rarely discussed because the origin of Premarin is not nearly as sensational as the origin of KFC’s bucket o’chicken.
develange
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 08:24 pm: [report]
@ dudette - hah, I’ve often thought about that. Shooting it out in one go seems to make more sense. Seriously, dripping for days? Gross and seemingly unnecessary. Agh, the sh*t we women must deal with.
It would also be nice if we laid eggs. Creepy, yes, but seems so much less messy and painful than childbirth.
impoddity
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 08:42 pm: [report]
I wonder what it would have been like to be diagnosed with hysteria and having it “treated” in a Dr’s office?
It makes me wonder how frequently women cried “Hysteria” and if healthcare would cover such an expense. :rofl:
alphamale11
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:02 pm: [report]
The good old days. The belts weren’t metal they were thin elastic bands with metal clips front and rear that dangeled down. The pads came in junior, supers and a medium size. Sorta like the users. Brothers were forever being drafted into running to the store to buy a box when someone else forgot. Occassionaly they would forget and buy supers for little sister, called riding the log.
Until the late 60’s the level of education in female matters was almost non existent. Hygine was as mysterious as sorcery. Coca Cola was post cotius contraceptic.
Coat hangers, quinine water, and the vaccum device were for home abortions. The chance of death was preferable to unmarried pregnacy.
Vibrators were very popular for home use but it wasn’t uncommon for doctors to administer the treatment, either at their office or when making house calls.
Remember children, you were not the first ones to discover deception for certain purposes.
LadieBug
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:13 pm: [report]
I love it how my guy friends say that they don’t trust people that can bleed for 5 days and not die… The only thing I respond with is “Thanks”...
Seriously, how should I respond to that??
msu.umich
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:21 pm: [report]
@LadieBug - tell them your Marvel comic is debuting this spring.
LadieBug
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:27 pm: [report]
@msu.umich - I TOTALLY will… I just told them at least they don’t have to deal with it… Lucky a-holes. And I tell my best guy friend to suck it up if his mom asks him to bring her a chocolate bar.
Women gotta stick together.
TokenMale
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 09:42 pm: [report]
@ Ladie Bug: I’d say that I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of something that bleeds for 5 days and doesn’t die. Then glare.
NaomiK
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 10:34 pm: [report]
I was talking to one of my photographer buddies about wanting to photograph deer camps during rifle season. She told me that she has gone with her dad and brothers fairly often because (supposedly) the smell of menstrual blood attracts bucks and makes the hunt more successful.
I had a friend who’s mom (this was when I lived in the south many years ago) believed every old wives’ tale about having your period. The only two I remember are eating sour foods cause cramps and you’re not supposed to take a bath when you’re on the rag. My friend actually believed it. I thought she was crazy.
LadieBug
wrote on November 10 2009 @ 10:52 pm: [report]
@TokenMale - come one, we’re not all THAT bad… Are we? And yes, I do realize this is a loaded question…
HHT75
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 12:29 am: [report]
Fact checking is indeed needed.
Vicarious menstruation is a rare and truly weird physical condition in which monthly bleeding occurs not only from the uterus, but from other parts of the body. Women have reported blood issuing harmlessly from the nose, arms, lungs, breasts, gastrointestinal tract, mouth, bladder, eyes and ears every month, only to taper off after a few days.
Yeah, it’s caused by Endometriosis, which occurs in about 5-10% of the population and isn’t “rare” or “truly weird”—it’s called a disease. It is definitely not really something to freak out or be outraged about, unless you’re a pathophobic…
exgirlfriendmaterial
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 02:54 am: [report]
@Amelia - Thanks for responding to Bumbler’s comments, but I think you should completely remove the k-word, not just cross it out.
Reading it, even crossed out, gave me quite a shock. (In fact, I thought the article was making an even more offensive statement along the lines of, “oh, now we have to use this PC term but you all know what we really mean.”)
It’s a pretty awful word to read. And I puzzled over the strike-through for a few minutes before I went down to the comments—it wasn’t until I read your comment that I realized you were sincerely trying to redact it.
emeraldpimpernel
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 03:16 am: [report]
The part about premarin is total crap. I live in the city its made in, the only place in the world its made. I have worked for the company that makes it and for some of the farmers who supply the plant. The horses are the best treated animals on any farm and the factory ensures that they comply with strict care rules. All the horses have to do is eat all the food they want, drink all the water they want, live in a warm barn and pee in a cup. There are not 50,000 horses and its impossible to keep the continuously pregnant
ac1234
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 03:18 am: [report]
So, I went to college with the author of this article, and I refuse to believe she (1) doesn’t already know most of the facts in this article and couldn’t therefore make the presentation of these hackneyed bits of trivia more interesting and (2) doesn’t know that “kaffir” is racist, and shouldn’t just have a line crossed through it, but should be deleted entirely.
Very disappointing.
Kaybie
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 03:43 am: [report]
Thanks bumbler for noting this. Yes that is a VERY offensive word and I don’t feel like striking it out is good enough. I almost choked just seeing it on the page. Would you do the same with the N word, or with a gay slur?
UGH, not cool frisky, not cool
Rose
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 06:59 am: [report]
I’ve heard the crazy folk tale that if you makes preserves or jam during your period, they won’t set up properly. How does jam know you have your period?
kray417
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 10:09 am: [report]
Depo Provera, one shot every 3 months, no period. Tah Dah!
foozlesprite
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 02:46 pm: [report]
I used to use store-bought pads but I bleed pretty heavily sometimes and sometimes they just weren’t enough. I switched to LunaPads, which are reusable cotton pads that you just toss in the laundry. They work great for catching leaks, clean up well, come in a variety of sizes (including a tampon-like replacement called the DivaCup), and can come in a variety of pretty colors (not that anyone but you is really going to appreciate THAT!) I like them a lot because they don’t pose the risk of toxic shock syndrome and they help keep plastic out of landfills. Plus, they’re really much more comfy
Sorry to sound like a testimonial here but I didn’t know they existed for the longest time, I figured I’d share here. Seemed like an appropriate spot
rokgdss4
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 03:25 pm: [report]
To those who are claiming that the Premarin production isn’t a terrible practice, I ask what you think happens to all the BABIES who are born as a result of the pregnancies? They are truly the ones who suffer from the entire industry. Think right to the slaughterhouse. It is disgusting that their lives are simply a means to a trivial drug. Anyone arguing that the industry has no problems is either sick or just naive.
spark
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 07:38 pm: [report]
i agree with foozle. i didn’t know about cloth for the longest time, and what little i did know, i thought cloth was for ultra hippies, which i am not! but i bought several pads after i saw how cute and functional they looked. and i have to say, i LOVE them. some are bulky, but many are not.
cali_candy
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 09:20 pm: [report]
Not to be nit-picky, but premarin is NOT synthetic; synthetic would mean man-made, i.e. by chemists and therefore the horses wouldn’t be needed. Premarin is several estrogen-like compounds isolated from mare urine, and I guess they believe or have proof somehow that making the man-made compounds separately and mixing them together doesn’t give the same effect as the one obtained naturally from the urine. Or it’s likely that it’s more expensive to do it that way and to increase their profit margins, they exploit the mommy horses.
msu.umich
wrote on November 11 2009 @ 09:33 pm: [report]
@HHT75 - I’m by no means an expert on the subject, so of course correct me if you know about this, but I didn’t think endometriosis caused spontaneous bleeding from the mouth, eyes or ears…??
emeraldpimpernel
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 02:35 am: [report]
To rokgdss4
What happens to the babies is that they are generally raised in feedlots just the way cows or chickens or pigs are. Then they are sold and many are slaughtered for food for humans and animals just like cows or chickens or pigs. Because duh they are farm animals what do you think happens to the horses when they no longer have to pee in a cup?
Cali-Candy, the synthetic hormones are cheaper but less effective but never the less due to the petacreeps many farmers have lost their incomes due to a decrease demand.
bogart4017
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 02:49 pm: [report]
To all the ladies who suffer from severe cramping and heavy flow over numerous days—-you have our deepest sympathy and if there is anything we can do please let us know. Seriously (especially over-40’s).
rockerchicka
wrote on November 12 2009 @ 03:07 pm: [report]
haha catgirl813 funny story, good thing those things arent being giving away now, well who knows,
but seriously in the past those things wat the heck was wrong wit people.
Kiki T
wrote on November 14 2009 @ 01:42 pm: [report]
one of my fave menstrual trivia factoids I know is in japan some girls say, “it’s flag day,” when they get theirs…if you don’t know, the japanese flag is all white with a red circle in the middle…and they say japanese people have no sense of humor. ha!
writergirl
wrote on November 14 2009 @ 02:37 pm: [report]
@HHT75—
I have endometriosis. It does not cause spontaneous bleeding from other orifices of the body. What it does do however, is cause bleeding internally on internal organs. Endometrial cells that are supposed to line the uterus escape and at the time of the woman’s period, they bleed as well. They attach to the outside of the uterus, bowel, urethra, kidneys, ovaries, bladder, stomach cavity and in some cases, have been found in the lungs.
alpikann
wrote on November 14 2009 @ 04:23 pm: [report]
@foozelsprite I am so using my divacup right now. I’ve tried the “instead” and it doesn’t compare to the divacup at all. The instead is way too shallow, the divacup is more bell shaped which is much more comfortable too. I love my lunapads too of course.
shannooonski
wrote on January 27 2010 @ 01:46 am: [report]
i love gladrags too! my mom and sisters think they are gross.. but they’re actually super comfy. just throw ‘em in the wash. and i feel better about creating less trash
k-bum
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 12:25 pm: [report]
@ kray417
depo provera is easier than periods yes but do you know the side effects?
do you have any idea how long it takes to become fertile again after using it?
i used it for three years and four years later i still dont have my fertility back. check your facts girl!!!
On High Demand
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 12:49 pm: [report]
Wow, It kinda of freaks me out that, 1, women use to douche with Lysol,very harsh, and not to mention, women had a kit to perform abortion on theirselves, Gosh, now that i think about it now, Us Women have it really good now and days!!!!
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 12:56 pm: [report]
@ rose HAHA!! “How does jam know you have your period” haha! geez Why didn’t people think of that kind of stuff?
I also don’t use pads or tampons unless I’m going to be out and about. They are too expensive. I just use rags from the house..they are comfy enough and are no big deal…My period is hugely heavy but is down to about 3 days total (from 5)because of my IUD, and is less bothersome now, even though it’s still really heavy.
@bogart…why the sympathy for the over 40 crowd??
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 01:02 pm: [report]
@onewriter: I think he was referring to having sex since orgasms temporarily relieve cramps. I’m assuming he’s over 40 years old or likes a woman who is at her sexual peak.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 01:10 pm: [report]
oh. thanks.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 01:37 pm: [report]
BTW…Scrmom…I’m totally averse to using anyone for sex to “get off” just for my benefit, and I certainly wouldn’t even ask my BF to give me an orgasm because of something as trivial as cramps…not that I LIKE them…:)
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:00 pm: [report]
@onewriter:
Well, I think bogart417 was just joking.
I have a little different view on this, because I think it’s fine to ask for sexual gratification from your significant other. As long as you have a mutually satisfying sex life together, a guy asking for a bj because [insert any reason] or a woman asking for a specific sexual favor because [insert any reason] is not inappropriate. I think it’s all part of a healthy sex life. However, if one partner doesn’t want to engage in that type of sexual exchange, then I think they have every right to refuse.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:02 pm: [report]
wow…I never looked at it like that before…EVER. Thanks for the insight. I will have to mull that over
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:19 pm: [report]
@onewriter: I’m not sure if you’re being sarcastic or not, but…thanks.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:20 pm: [report]
Heavens no! I never looked at it like that…it always just seemed selfish. You know?
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:27 pm: [report]
@onewriter: First of all, it shouldn’t be the norm of sexual activity between a couple. I could see it being selfish if it was consistently one-sided. But, otherwise, I just think it’s part of the whole sexual relationship.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:32 pm: [report]
xx thanks! I KNEW I paid attention to your posts for a reason…You and JSW are kewl!
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:35 pm: [report]
btw…I often ask him so I can work on HIM lol I hope that’s not selfish either, ‘cause I’m not stoppin’!!
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:37 pm: [report]
@onewriter: Aww…thank! I always read your and _jsw_’s comments, too. We’re all *ahem* relatively similar in age, but after his Reader Revealed, we know that _jsw_ is older.
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:42 pm: [report]
@onewriter: I’m right there with you in that respect. No, not selfish at all - mutually satisfying actually.
onewriter
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:48 pm: [report]
@scrmom hehehe yeah…drool…Damn! And I can’t be with him until Saturday! (sigh) Well, anytime you write on here, know that you have an attentive audience. hehe Time to run! Enjoy your day!
SCRMOM
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 02:54 pm: [report]
@onewriter: Thanks! Your new avatar picture (well, not that new but different from when I first joined) helps me spot your comments easier.
Ariandre
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 05:29 pm: [report]
TMI Alert
As to number 4- I have Vicarious menstruation and according to my doctor it isn’t because I have endometriosis. Unfortunately my doctor can’t tell me the exact reason why; she says I’m just weird.
LadieBug
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 08:07 pm: [report]
LMFAO!! Ariandre, now that`s a good doctor, to tell you that you`re weird…
Captain Planet
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 08:12 pm: [report]
I have Endometriosis and dont bleed out of anywhere. I was on Depo for a long time, took over a year to get my period back, but now i’m on Implaneon (or some such). Its a rod they put in my arm and it works for 3 years. I’m Flo free, and if i want to have babies before the 3 years is up, i get it removed, and within a few weeks i can have it back so i can work on having babies. and for under $100 a year, and never having to do anything (shots, pills, condoms) it is SO worth it
And it wont have any side effects that’ll make my endometriosis work, while Depo is what caused it
Taurwen
wrote on February 3 2010 @ 09:43 pm: [report]
Lizzie was never convicted, and if you look at the evidence… well I don’t think she did it.
onewriter
wrote on February 4 2010 @ 01:11 am: [report]
I KNEW there was something I forgot to say!! Thanks. Yes, the overwhelming lack of evidence of ANY kind sorta cleared her…except for the continual suspicion through the years.
symone
wrote on February 4 2010 @ 03:51 am: [report]
Douche with Lysol?? Pads that need BELTS?? Abortions at home machines?? Whaaa!?!? I am definitely a well-sheltered product of the 90’s.
Just to reiterate the comments about Depo-P: DONT GET IT.
I was on it for the better part of a year (my last shot was in August) and I have yet to see any menstrual anything other than an occasional cramp. I was told that any longer than two years on it, it will sap at your calcium stores, cause blood clots, and some other scary stuff. If you want long term BC, get an IUD.
angel001717
wrote on February 4 2010 @ 02:26 pm: [report]
sweet! i knew there was a reason the doctor/patient fantasy was so awesome. Its REAL. and hey, some doctors im sure took the hands-on approach. err, well, something-on approach anyway. i bet they found that the real thing worked much better
iamsamkeller
wrote on February 4 2010 @ 03:50 pm: [report]
Another factoid - The Kennedy curse is believed to come from a woman in Ireland sewing a vial of her menstrual blood in the pants of Patrick Kennedy when he came to America. She meant for it to be a lovespell.
Iammina
wrote on February 4 2010 @ 05:01 pm: [report]
Bless the woman (it had to be a woman)who invented the tampon and the birth control pill. This was an interesting article, I was unaware of these things, and now I am feeling a little bit hysterical. Maybe a cold water, Mr Clean douche will help.(I am joking I don’t believe in douching.