& Beyond

Hey Cuties!

Last spring I went to on a press trip with Tampax and Always, and it literally changed my life. While I was there I learned SO MUCH about periods, products and feminine health and started making some shopping changes as a result. Now, nearly a year later my periods have done a complete 180* and my body is thanking me!

So before I tell you how things have changed, I’ll share where I started. Growing up I always had the WORST periods. My periods were so heavy. I became crazy clingy with the biggest super plus tampons I could find, and spent most periods changing them on the hour every hour using a back up pad underneath … even setting alarms in the night to wake up every few hours or so to change. It – was – AWFUL. When I started working with Tampax and Always they asked me to review a few products, one of them being the Infinity pad. They claimed it’s revolutionary technology absorbed moisture without the resulting feeling of wetness. Although I didn’t doubt the product did what they said, I never thought it would work for me. I’m the exception, not the rule, when it comes to flow (as you now know) and I NEVER thought I would be able to get through a cycle with pads. But because I really wanted to review the product, I decided I would try to use 80% always infinity product for 3 cycles in a row so I could compare the results… and here’s what I found.

NOT WET – first their claim of the ability to absorb moisture without feeling damp was totally true. I have never experienced a pad that kept me dry and protected the way Always Infinity did. The pad uses a flex foam technology instead of what you’ll find in your traditional pad and it works like nothing I’ve ever tried and I never thought I would be saying this about PADS.

LIGHTER – As I mentioned before my periods have always been on the heavier side, something I had been embarrassed about growing up. I used super plus tampons from Kotex and would always get made fun of when someone asked to borrow one and saw the size I was using. Kids are mean lol. This was another reason I never thought I could switch to pads, but after my 3rd cycle I noticed I was using way less product, I went from changing my always infinity pad every 2.5 hours (which was still actually better than the 1.5 change rate I averaged with tampons) to switching it out ever 4-5 hours… meaning my flow was drastically reduced by almost double. I also saw a reduction in my average cycle. My periods went from 5-7 days to 3-5 days… so YAY! To be clear, a reduced period flow is not a claim that Always Infinity has in association with its product, its just something that happen for me and another girlfriend I got to switch has similar results.

PAIN FREE – When my flow decreased, my cramps subsided heavily as well. I went from unbearable pain that usually resulted a day and a half of me working from bed and bonding with my heating pad, to having medium pain on the first days of my period and rarely any cramps on the remaining days. Again, not something that these pads claim to do, just something that worked for me. I think switching to pads really helped balance out some of these previous period problems, all while allowing me to live leak free and happy … even during my period.

UTI’s – Another thing I’ve always been prone too were increased UTI’s or Blatter infection and yeast infections. My mom and grandma all had the same issue so I assume its somewhat hereditary. After I survived my period I would be awarded with the great gift of a UTI – and if you’ve ever had one you know that it is NOT FUN. About 1 of every 3 of my UTI’s would turn into a yeast infection, and since I’m allergic to most over the counter yeast medications (think monistat) I would often end my period with not one, but two trips to my doctor. It became so common she would prescribe me medication over the phone to prevent visits. But since I got and treated them so often I eventually became immune to the prescribed medication preventing it from working! I eventually stopped taking medication and started trying to treat and prevent them naturally. I would drink 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar every day (its disgusting), take probiotics, drink a glass of cranberry juice daily (the unsweetened, disgusting kind – also gross) and would start or end the day with plain yogurt (you guessed it, nasty!!). I had to suffer through these things daily just to prevent my UTI’s, and even though it helped I still had to double or triple up on the routine when I got one every other month. All this to say that when I went to Tampax / Always HQ I learned about the good and bad bacteria that lives inside you and how excessive tampon use can rob you of some of the good stuff, leaving you more susceptible to UTIs and less likely to fight them off. Thats why probiotics and yogurt work, because they aim to replenish some of the good bacteria you need to combat a UTI. So me, with my hourly tampon use over 5-7 day periods I was absorbing the crap out of my “good stuff” and leaving myself no chance when it came to infection. Honestly, that was the main reason I wanted to give pads a whirl was to tackle my UTI issue. Now, since the switch I made nearly a year ago, I have yet to have ONE UTI … I don’t know if you realize how HUGE that is for me but to put it in perspective, I think this is the first year since I started my period around age 13 that I’ve gone without an infection.

SWITCH IT UP – so if you’re against trying pads and will remain team tampon forever, I get it. But its really important to not wear a tampon non stop throughout your whole cycle, so I suggest at least trying a pad at night or when you’re at home. As I mentioned, tampons are crazy absorbent which is great for obvious reasons, but they can also absorb some of the “good” in there that your body needs, especially during your cycle. I think restoring some of the good bacteria my body needs is one of the main reasons my periods have become so much better.

So what do you say, will you stay team tampon or switch things up with pads? I hope this article helped you learn a little bit or inspired you to try something new this month to power up your periods.

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