Its color, close to the old Tassaway (bottom of page), appeals more than The Keeper's dark brown, which many find repellent.
They can use it for 12 hours without changing; in other words, a long work day. One Instead employee told me she inserts and removes it in the shower before and after work to lessen the effects of spillage.
Women can use it during sexual intercourse because it sits next to the cervix rather than low in the vagina like The Keeper.
Women find it in many more stores than The Keeper. But you can buy both cups through home delivery.
Greetings,
In my effort to help a friend who is recovering from a severe bout of TSS I ran across your site. I am trying to find a support group for TSS survivors. Do you know of any such group? My friend is experiencing memory and attention problems and I would like to help her learn more about post TSS problems. She needs to learn more in order to better advocate for herself.
Any leads you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Ellen Ellis (SWEllis2@AOL.com)
Dear Mr. Finley,
I've been looking at your Web site and I'm very excited and intrigued by what you are doing. The museum sounds fascinating and I hope to visit it in the near future. Your Web site is one of the most extensive I've seen.
You might be interested to know about a delicious culinary invention of mine and one that I think would be a big hit in your new cafe. A few years ago some friends and I were trying to come up with interesting new food to revolt people with on Halloween. We put our heads together and came up with the delicious and tempting "Tampon Sandie." Each TS is a small shortbread cylinder with a two inch long piece of bakers string inserted before baking and a generous dollop of strawberry jam on top.
"Disgusting!" I hear you say. "Is this woman mad?" No. I am completely serious. These cookies have become a great hit at all my parties (and I have a lot of them), people ask for them by name, they are famed throughout the area. Once people get over their initial disgust they gingerly hold the cookie by the handy string and bite down on the crispy buttery sandie and savor the yummy strawberry jam. It's love at first bite. Honestly.
Keep up the good work, I like everything except your statement referring to the far-left lesbians - I know you are quoting someone else but I still found it kind of offensive. Sounds like you think that way yourself.
I went to the store to buy some "catching cups" [Instead menstrual cups] (as my husband calls them), and found none - at any store. And now, after reading the letters at this site, I am depressed to find that they no longer exist. [Not so; see the first item.]
How nice it was to have the option of Instead. I never used them on super-heavy days, but found that at the beginning and close to the end of my period, they were a Godsend. If I had known, I would have purchased a case of them!
Later, she sent me this:
I found tons of Instead at my local Target store. I guess it was just surplus, but I bought 48 of them!
I think The Keeper must be way better than Instead because I wear it for twelve hours and don't have that terrible blood smell. Maybe it's me. Also, you reuse it so you don't have to worry about bringing a bunch of products with you and it's good for the environment, not to mention your pocketbook. The Keeper is the best thing to happen to me. I am allergic to everything, even all-cotton tampons! Before The Keeper I would be up half the night in misery over pads and tampons. I don't even notice my period with the Keeper and it never leaks even when I go to the bathroom.
Your site is interesting.
I used Pursettes around 1979 when I was 16 or 17. I still used the little black plastic carrying case that I got from Pursettes with o.b. tampons until last year when I started using Instead.
I was very sorry to here that Instead may not be around much longer. [It's now back in operation; see above.] It is the best thing I have ever used. Except for the first couple days it's almost like not having a period. I am still finding them in Target and Walmart stores for the regular prices. I live in southern California. I hope someone keeps making them. I would really like a reusable one in the shape of Instead. [That really would be good.]
Dear Mr Finley,
Yes, like many others I thought you were a wacko at first!! My name is [. . . ], and I live in Ontario. You have a fascinating site.
My first period is a blur of being told to stop complaining, and above all never tell anyone or show anyone what was happening to me.
Unfortunately, I had a hormonal imbalance that caused very heavy bleeding, and so this wasn't possible, at least not to a fourteen year old. I even resorted to stopping eating, to decrease my body fat to the point where my cycles would stop. I did this for almost two years in high school. I wasn't accepted at home unless I was "pure." I don't blame my parents, they were only doing what they believed, but I don't think people realize a) what an impact this has on a child and b) what a lasting impact it has on the woman when she grows up. I was very moved to read Shirley Landis' account of feeling "forlorn and neglected" when she gets her period, I know exactly what that's like.
I find your site very intriguing, and I have a story to tell, if you would find it interesting, I would love to hear from you.
You're doing a courageous thing.
Just spent a few fascinated hours studying this site - my only quibble is that the multi-coloured fonts make the links hard to find!
Are you going to devote some space in the future to radio or TV adverts? [I wish I had some radio ads; I do have TV ads, but they would require long download times.] There can't be that many radio adverts, because I still clearly remember the only one I ever heard. It was in the late 70s on Radio Luxembourg (the English language pop music broadcasts in the evening - so attracting a teenaged, female audience). It was for Bodyform pads [called towels, the British term, in the song below], and featured a cheesy, male vocalist singing to a big-band accompaniment (like a bad Las Vegas cabaret) the following:
New Bodyform,
The towel that's shaped like you.
Let's you wear what you want to wear,
Do what you want to do.
[Etc...]
You never heard anything more cringe-making or embarrassing in your life. Thankfully, things have improved since. There are still odd things like not being able to show an unwrapped tampon in a TV ad, and the strange blue fluid they use to demonstrate the relative absorbency of pads.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
I'm glad I was able to find this site so easily. Years ago, I noticed an old wooden box that a neighbor had out with the trash. The box was well built, so I decided to keep it. For years I've wondered about the origin of the product "Cardui for Women," and now I know.
Thanks.
Irregular menses identify women at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which exists in 6-10% of women of reproductive age. PCOS is a major cause of infertility and is linked to diabetes.