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Post by Stealth on Jul 30, 2023 12:27:45 GMT 10
There's a good market out there for reusable products. Pads do quite well, because they can be made with bamboo cloth which is extremely soft. I have a stash of them laid aside, but they're not my preference because even the smaller/thinner types are quite bulky. They also don't 'breathe' very well, which means you're more inclined to have mild discomfort in warmer weather. I won't go any further into it, but it's probably not hard to imagine 😅. Absolutely I would wear them happily if I had no disposable products though. I've worn them in the past and they come a close second to disposable products.
I honestly think that a more economical way of going about it would be to buy a bunch of reusables on ebay from a small business. They average about $4-$5 each at a starting point, so dropping enough to buy a cycle's worth (because you'll need to have clean ones when you're soaking and cleaning the other ones) isn't exactly cheap. I'd suggest around three in the right absorbency level for each day and then 1-2 for overnight. If you average $5 per, you're looking at about $125 for enough to get you through an average cycle. You'd probably consider buying some spares so that you have them to have spares in your bag, car or other stash spots that you might need them when unexpected.
So it is definitely a more expensive option but when you consider the cost of buying the materials and then a sewing machine and a pattern (because getting patterning wrong is a nightmare, you're better off having a pattern that's already been made and tested) it's probably going to cost more than that anyway. If you already have a machine, it's still going to cost a decent amount in materials because you'd have to buy waterproof backing, several layers of an absorptive cloth such as bamboo fibre etc, your top 'soft' layer, and then the pop clips and installer so that you can close them. You could debate the value of having those things in your stash so that you could make new ones if needed but in my opinion it's cheaper and probably far more time effective to just outlay the cash to buy probably two cycles worth and have them in storage.
I think I have a total of about 20 reusable pads in storage and I probably should get more to have on hand for friends and family who find they need them. Worst case scenario, I have them available myself if required.
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Post by Stealth on Jul 30, 2023 12:54:32 GMT 10
Adding on to this post more female health tips for our lads who want to help the ladies in their midst!
Another thing that is worth stocking up on is pain relief options specifically for women because so many of us need it for anywhere between three and seven days a month. Every month. EVERY. MONTH. Those pain options should be available in excess of your medical supply for emergencies, not just assuming you can use what you have for both. You'll chew through those supplies very quickly if you have even one lass in the house that needs them. I've had some youtube videos of young guys using a TENs machine to stimulate period cramps or labour and the results are hilarious from the female point of view. I use a TENs machine to counter my cramps in conjunction with painkillers. It doesn't work on its own, but it does help to I guess distract your body from the pain point. A little bit.
There were a few young lasses who tested the levels and compared them to their cramps, and then gave the guys a go. The guys were all extremely uncomfortable by level five on a machine that goes up to 20. The thing I found both amusing and sad was that when one lass got up to twenty and was still smiling and didn't seem to be in even a little bit of discomfort. The guy that tried the machine right before her was sitting there with his mouth open in awe. Something along the lines of "I couldn't even tolerate level 10, you're at level 20 and still smiling?!!" and she said something that struck me as so prescient but somehow so unknown to literally half the world's population.
"Yes, we have to. We have to go into the office, get our work done, stand in line for coffee, chat around the water cooler, make plans for the weekends... We have to do all of that with a smile on our faces in case someone walks past us and says 'cheer up love, give us a smile' and we break down from the pain and snap at them and then get called the office b!tch and miss out on promotions because we're not approachable". That same bunch of those same guys at the end of the video said that they will be more understanding in the future and be more aware of why their female compatriots might seem 'weepy' or 'emotional' because if they had to live with that pain and were expected to act normally, they couldn't do it either. I'm sure they could, just as we can. Because if you don't have a choice there's no other option.
So the point of that whole waffle apart from having a giggle at the reactions of the guys was, store up pain relief options. Wheat bags or lupin bags are sometimes helpful if you have a microwave but a few oldschool hot water bottles will fill the gap if you don't because it's a SHTF situation. Wheat/lupin bags tend to be better because they conform to the shape of the body and retain heat longer. I tend to find lupin bags don't smell when heated the way wheat bags do. It's also generally a gentler heat, although most women will be aware that it's easy to burn the skin anyway in an effort to reduce the pain. Yep, some women have it so bad that the pain of burning skin isn't as bad as the cramps, and you don't realise that you're burning yourself. THAT's fun!
A TENs machine can be helpful in conjunction with other options like regular painkillers. Ibuprofen is the most common for cramping but you may find she'll need something stronger if you're providing something for a woman with baaaaaad cramps. Massage on the lower back can help some ladies, some find it the worst form of torture to be touched when they're in that much pain. I find a theragun aggressively dug into my lower back is the only thing that will help to reduce the back muscles contorting in response to the front muscles going into overdrive. But I do know some women can't handle any kind of opposite-pressure therapy and can't imagine anything worse. My TENs is a small enough machine that my small camping solar charger can charge it up in full sun but it does need replacement contact pads. Those can be hard to source and will degrade over time, so I would suggest it as a long term, non-rotational set and forget option. They're useful for a lot of people for all sorts of pain though so I'd rotate them regardless because they'd be used by all members of the family.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Jul 30, 2023 13:58:15 GMT 10
I think my work wife must have her period for 29 days every month.
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Post by Stealth on Jul 30, 2023 14:49:52 GMT 10
Sounds like the common denominator is your presence. Perhaps it's not her hormones, but your behaviour? It's hard work keeping men from accidentally killing themselves on the reg, it makes most of us pretty ornery after a while bwahahahhaa!
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Jul 30, 2023 15:17:32 GMT 10
You might be onto something. I’m a bit of a handful. Untamed.
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Post by SA Hunter on Aug 9, 2023 19:51:31 GMT 10
I think my work wife must have her period for 29 days every month. Is that all? You got off easy!!!
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Post by spinifex on Aug 9, 2023 20:14:40 GMT 10
Hysterectomy. Every woman I know who has had one says its been the best thing ever. Makes a big difference to quality of life. Having one before children makes even more sense. The monetary and mental health savings ould be huge!
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Post by Stealth on Aug 10, 2023 10:07:04 GMT 10
In fairness, that's a VERY macro view. It's only fairly recently that medical science has started to acknowledge that a hysterectomy can have enormous complications on the female hormonal system which can throw your entire body out of whack. It's a bit like saying "You've stubbed your toe, best we amputate from the knee". But of course when the comparison is taking a hormonal pill that causes weight gain, depressive disorders, anxiety, headaches/migraines, general body aches and heaps more side effects all day every day for your entire sexually active life... and all in the vast majority of women who take the pill... I guess that it WOULD seem like a panacea.
The pill is a horrible thing for most women. We just learned very early on to sit down and shut up about it, because no one cares. Not to sound salty (maybe a little haha) but medical science is traditionally based around the male body and it's requirements for what can be considered to be health. Women are only just now being acknowledged as a 'separate animal'. Great leaps and strides are happening, and it's a great thing! But we're still having 'highly educated doctors' get on social media and saying "if you hold hot water bottles on your abdomen too long, it'll cause a burn".
It's simply not possible to roll your eyes hard enough at that one 🤣.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Aug 10, 2023 10:33:52 GMT 10
In truth there’s no need for women to take a contraceptive after entering marriage or a long term relationship, because it’s a well proven fact that they become no longer sexually active once that happens.
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Post by spinifex on Aug 10, 2023 20:31:56 GMT 10
In fairness, that's a VERY macro view. It's only fairly recently that medical science has started to acknowledge that a hysterectomy can have enormous complications on the female hormonal system which can throw your entire body out of whack. It's a bit like saying "You've stubbed your toe, best we amputate from the knee". But of course when the comparison is taking a hormonal pill that causes weight gain, depressive disorders, anxiety, headaches/migraines, general body aches and heaps more side effects all day every day for your entire sexually active life... and all in the vast majority of women who take the pill... I guess that it WOULD seem like a panacea. The pill is a horrible thing for most women. We just learned very early on to sit down and shut up about it, because no one cares. Not to sound salty (maybe a little haha) but medical science is traditionally based around the male body and it's requirements for what can be considered to be health. Women are only just now being acknowledged as a 'separate animal'. Great leaps and strides are happening, and it's a great thing! But we're still having 'highly educated doctors' get on social media and saying "if you hold hot water bottles on your abdomen too long, it'll cause a burn". It's simply not possible to roll your eyes hard enough at that one 🤣. You have one yourself and get back to me. I restate: EVERY woman I know who has had the proceedure (n=6) claims its made a huge improvement to their life. Its not MY opinion ... its theirs. I'm not sure how many retained their ovaries ... I know some did. Perhaps they all did. But ... the medical profession does tend to put pressure on to remove them too to prevent ovarian cancer. Now THAT I find a flawed concept.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Aug 11, 2023 8:22:33 GMT 10
The male snip also can come with issues. There are two basic procedures, open and closed. Open leaves the tubes open to drain, closed sews them up. Mine was an open procedure and apart from a bit of pain for a few days after, its all been good. And that was over 20 years ago.
Never let someone or something that threatens you get within ‘arms length’ of your position.
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Post by Stealth on Aug 13, 2023 10:46:19 GMT 10
You have one yourself and get back to me. I restate: EVERY woman I know who has had the proceedure (n=6) claims its made a huge improvement to their life. Its not MY opinion ... its theirs. I'm not sure how many retained their ovaries ... I know some did. Perhaps they all did. But ... the medical profession does tend to put pressure on to remove them too to prevent ovarian cancer. Now THAT I find a flawed concept. Oh I'm not disagreeing with you, just providing some context as to a probable reason why most women that you've spoken to have said it's a life saver. If you want extreme macro weirdness, my doctor recommended a hysto because (and I quote) "You're not having any more babies, right? Does your husband want more? Maybe you should just have it cut out". I have and had fibroids. They're a situation that something like 90% of women deal with and they go away naturally. For me, they didn't. So cut it all out. Sure. That's logical.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Aug 13, 2023 11:23:56 GMT 10
I got the snip 'cause the doc said that she couldn't have any more as she would possibly die in childbirth, and 5 was enough anyway !
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Aug 18, 2023 4:46:13 GMT 10
My experience with women after there hysterectomy has been they have at best a significant adjustment period afterwards to normalize body chemistry for each individual person.. Some having an easier adjustment than others... I don't make light of the process any woman has to go through...
However.. It seems once adjusted to the changes, many women seem to enjoy a ...new freedom of life... that can be quite an experience for them and there partners.... Just sayin... KnowwhatImean...
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Aug 18, 2023 7:48:59 GMT 10
What a woman goes through after having a hysterectomy is nothing compared to what a man goes through when his partner goes through menopause.
Especially if they have red hair.
I’d rather be a prisoner of the Taliban than go through that again.
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Post by Stealth on Aug 20, 2023 10:33:23 GMT 10
I haven't hit that stage of life yet, but after watching a friend really struggle with it, and her husband REALLY REALLY struggle with it, I'm not looking forward to menopause even a little bit. He has the patience of a saint, but in fairness recognises that she has very little control over her emotional responses at times, and she does recognise and apologise after she's had a whirlwind response to something lol.
The unfortunate situation is that a partial hysterectomy means that your endocrine system is unaffected (for the most part) because all the things that impact on your hormones are still there... But then you still have to deal with the end-state.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Mar 12, 2024 12:38:43 GMT 10
Adult Diapers.... Um... Being an old guy, my doctor has me scheduled for a colonoscopy... So..... It has been 10 years ago now and as I remember the procedure and recovery were not an issue... But the prep for the procedure can be ....traumatic.... as I remembered it.. Well, sure enough this time the prep is ..NOT.. any easier.. So.. With this in mind some kind of incontinent products can be quite convenient for the kind of ..issues.. associated with the prep for this procedure.. Hopefully this is the last one I will need for the rest of my life.. Just a bit of advise that I hope is useful to someone for something to keep on hand.. Have a good day..
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Post by Stealth on Mar 12, 2024 12:52:17 GMT 10
100%. I've had a few friends go for them over the last couple of years and I've always recommended that they get similar products in case of 'oops' moments. I can remember one off the top of my head who said that it was a very good suggestion. I suspect a few others agreed but no one was brave enough to say how they knew haha.
Good luck for the procedure, from what I hear it's not particularly pleasant to go through no matter what the outcome. Hoping to never have to experience it myself.
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Post by spinifex on Mar 12, 2024 17:31:59 GMT 10
Adult Diapers.... Um... Being an old guy, my doctor has me scheduled for a colonoscopy... So..... It has been 10 years ago now and as I remember the procedure and recovery were not an issue... But the prep for the procedure can be ....traumatic.... as I remembered it.. Well, sure enough this time the prep is ..NOT.. any easier.. So.. With this in mind some kind of incontinent products can be quite convenient for the kind of ..issues.. associated with the prep for this procedure.. Hopefully this is the last one I will need for the rest of my life.. Just a bit of advise that I hope is useful to someone for something to keep on hand.. Have a good day.. You know you can choose not to get this invasive procedure? Have you assessed what the risks and outcomes are in terms of level of false positive results and outcome of routine procedure versus waiting for symptoms at your age? I read a thorough researched journal article on the alleged benefits of routine mammogram in women and it clearly showed they cause more harm than good compared to competent self examination. The article went on to show many invasive procedures done for routine screening have no real benefit and cause significant angst and physical harm. The procedures are only worth having to confirm diagnosis based on other symptoms or direct genetic risk factors.
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