Diva Cup and cloth pads = lighter flow?? Is this possible??

[*Devon*]

I have heard tell that eschewing tampons and sposie pads can make a difference in your flow, but I didn't really believe it until I started using a Diva Cup and cloth pads and my last two cycles have lasted 2 days. Is this possible? Can it be? :

[soygurl]

I haven't noticed a difference, but a LOT of women in my cup group have noticed a difference, and I've heard from a lot that it happens with cloth too.
Totaly normal and in all likelyhood you are NOT imagining it!

~Kelsie

[Wolfmeis]

I have used the Diva Cup now for well over a year and I have noticed a considerably lighter flow.

[JoyJoy1975]

Really and here I am worried I bought enough of them. New user here switching over have to come back to this and tell you what the diffrence is for me. I heard that too I was wondering if thats true. So cool I will check back here for sure. Thanks for your honest replies.

[Pandora114]

hmm would using cloth make the Lochia phase shorter PP as well??

[mommaduck]

Originally Posted by Pandora114

hmm would using cloth make the Lochia phase shorter PP as well??

Mine was actually longer with cloth...but I personally think that is skewed as I had an overly large placenta (leaving a larger "wound" to heal). So I don't know unless someone can answer for the placenta...

Give me about a year and I'll be able to give an answer on the AF question.

[Sumaiyah]

Since using cloth, I have noticed a difference. My flow is much much lighter and is one day shorter. After having my son, my girly parts became ultra sensitive and I made the mistake of using an Always and I was bending over in pain. After my cloth had dried, I put it on and the pain immediately went away.....strange.

hmm would using cloth make the Lochia phase shorter PP as well??

My lochia was soo much lighter than my regular AF. I am not sure if it was due to my cloth or my drinking of Stinging Nettle infusion for whole of my 9th month of pregnancy. Stinging Nettle is very high in vitaim K, which just happens to be the vitamin that helps with blood clotting. Either way, I was happy.

Sumaiyah

[Cullens_Girl]

My flow is lighter but AF is is the same length of time for me (7 days)

I used gerber diapers for PP bleeding - and I have to say I bled pretty constantly for 6 weeks. And at 8 weeks I was still wearing a pad.

[**guest**]

Funny...I just posted a brand new Diva Cup for sale on the Trading Post. I use cloth pads.
Haven't noticed a difference in my flow yet.

[Ruthla]

I haven't noticed any changes, but my flow was never super-heavy to begin with. Before getting my divacup, I used pads and the VERY occasional tampon- a box of 20 would literally last me over a year.

[Alkenny]

I went from 'changing a super tampon every hour and still running down my leg for 7 days straight' to 'dumping the Diva Cup 3 times the first day and only twice the next 2 days (and it not being full, just dumping to be regular about it-3 days total'. So yes, remarkable difference for the better.

[nikirj]

I think it is tough to tell because it is hard to gauge how much a tampon, etc, will absorb.

I do know that I've had periods that were heinous while using a keeper, but most of them were sail-through, just like before I figured everything out.

For me the main perk is the cleanliness factor. The keeper, plus on tough days an unbacked pad, is so much cleaner and more comfortable than tampons and plasticy pads.

I've noticed that I spot less at the end of a period if I've used the keeper and cloth pads. Like the end of a period is more defined; I'll empty blood from the keeper one go-round and later that day will remove it to find nothing, and the period is over. No day of spotting at the end. But I don't think that I bleed less overall.

[EnviroBecca]

My periods became shorter (4 days instead of 6) when I started using the Keeper, but my impression is that it's the same amount of flow coming out faster due to being encouraged by the slight suction rather than blocked by a tampon.

[ankh]

The first few months using the Diva cup, I had to use a pad with it for the first 2 days, now I don't. Mine has definately become better

[Three~Little~Birds]

Wow - this is so interesting! Does anyone know why it would be shorter/lighter with cloth/diva cup?

[soygurl]

Originally Posted by mamatotwo

Wow - this is so interesting! Does anyone know why it would be shorter/lighter with cloth/diva cup?

I think when it comes to cloth, is has probably has something to do with the lack of chemicals that are in disposables. With a cup I think it might also be because of a lack of "blockage" that tampons might cause. I don't' I'm explaining very well though, so maybe someone else can do a better job (or share other ideas!).

~Kelsie

[zaner'smama]

Originally Posted by nikirj

I've noticed that I spot less at the end of a period if I've used the keeper and cloth pads. Like the end of a period is more defined; I'll empty blood from the keeper one go-round and later that day will remove it to find nothing, and the period is over. No day of spotting at the end. But I don't think that I bleed less overall.

:
I just had my second pp period (didn't return until 14 months, woo woo!). With both cycles I used the keeper, and this last one is the shortest I've ever had without being on birth control. It was 6 days, and before it wasn't unusual for me to go 9 -- I have a monster of a flow.: It is still very heavy, but shorter is great. And I don't miss spotting at the end!
~Betsy

[Drummer's Wife]

Since I switched to cloth pads my periods have been a few days shorter, so much lighter and little to no cramping when before I had horrid cramps and super heavy flow.

Not sure it it's all related to the pads but it is a huge difference. Though I am comparing my recent periods to those before my last pregnancy. Maybe having babies changes all this as well but regardless I am so happy

[EnviroBecca]

I'm not sure what it is with pads, but somewhere I read that a menstrual cup creates a mild negative pressure that helps to pull the flow out. That also explains why I have less cramping using a cup than with any other method: the uterus doesn't have to work as hard to get the flow out.

When I changed from using disposable pads most of the time to using tampons all day long, when I was 14, my periods increased from 5 to 6 days, and I started to see more and larger clots. At the time I thought it was just that I was making thicker linings as I matured. Now I wonder if it might have been because the tampons blocked the flow, encouraging clots to form, which further blocked it.

It's strange: I loved tampons once I became adept at using them; I thought it was so cool to be able to "take control" of the flow and not have to feel that yucky dripping sensation. I was totally satisfied with my feminine hygiene method, and when I first heard about cloth pads, I thought, "That may be better for the environment, but I don't like pads." It wasn't until (a) Kotex stopped making their stick-applicator tampons, and I couldn't find any others I liked as well, and (b) my environmental sensitivity reached the point that watching the bathroom wastebasket fill with menstrual debris made me feel queasy, that I began wondering about other options and did a Websearch for "reusable tampons" and found the Keeper. Once I had my Keeper, I lost interest in tampons so completely that I STILL HAVE THE SAME BOX FROM 1997, HALF FULL! It blew my mind how many of the discomforts I'd assumed were inherent to menstruation actually were linked to disposable products! I still thought I didn't like pads, until I won a free cloth pad (by submitting my cramp-relief tip to a Website) and thought I might as well try it...and found that that yucky dripping sensation isn't nearly so noticeable with a pad that isn't engineered to suck every bit of moisture out of your genitals! Now, when I think back to my menstruation experiences as a teenager, I feel sorry for myself!

[mamasgirls]

Originally Posted by EnviroBecca

I'm not sure what it is with pads, but somewhere I read that a menstrual cup creates a mild negative pressure that helps to pull the flow out. That also explains why I have less cramping using a cup than with any other method: the uterus doesn't have to work as hard to get the flow out.

When I changed from using disposable pads most of the time to using tampons all day long, when I was 14, my periods increased from 5 to 6 days, and I started to see more and larger clots. At the time I thought it was just that I was making thicker linings as I matured. Now I wonder if it might have been because the tampons blocked the flow, encouraging clots to form, which further blocked it.

It's strange: I loved tampons once I became adept at using them; I thought it was so cool to be able to "take control" of the flow and not have to feel that yucky dripping sensation. I was totally satisfied with my feminine hygiene method, and when I first heard about cloth pads, I thought, "That may be better for the environment, but I don't like pads." It wasn't until (a) Kotex stopped making their stick-applicator tampons, and I couldn't find any others I liked as well, and (b) my environmental sensitivity reached the point that watching the bathroom wastebasket fill with menstrual debris made me feel queasy, that I began wondering about other options and did a Websearch for "reusable tampons" and found the Keeper. Once I had my Keeper, I lost interest in tampons so completely that I STILL HAVE THE SAME BOX FROM 1997, HALF FULL! It blew my mind how many of the discomforts I'd assumed were inherent to menstruation actually were linked to disposable products! I still thought I didn't like pads, until I won a free cloth pad (by submitting my cramp-relief tip to a Website) and thought I might as well try it...and found that that yucky dripping sensation isn't nearly so noticeable with a pad that isn't engineered to suck every bit of moisture out of your genitals! Now, when I think back to my menstruation experiences as a teenager, I feel sorry for myself!

This is very interesting! Thanks for sharing! I just received my Diva in the mail- I am very excited to try it with my upcoming cycle. I am also one that can't stand the dripping sensation and have been using tampons constantly for the first couple days of my cycle for many years. Then on my 3rd or 4th day I always have cramping and clotting and do not wear tampons- I am now wondering if that cramping/clotting has been due to the tampon use- I have assumed it is just how I am! I have only been having AF for a few months since my dd was born over 2 years ago- and really over the last 5 years it has been minimal. I finally got to the point recently where I was going to invest all in cloth pads, or try the Diva/Keeper. I decided to go with the Diva b/c I am still worried about the first couple days of heavy flow with pads only. I am so excited to try it and also wonder if this will alleviate that awful 3rd or 4th day of my cycle which is so miserable.

Anyway- I have enjoyed reading all the responses to this thread- it really gives me hope that there is something better than what I have been doing!