What do you do with your period on the trail?

[skooch]

OMG! Thanks ladies for introducing me to the diva cup. I bought mine at my local healthfood store 2 months ago and haven't used anything else since. You'd think at my age things would be slowing down or at least irregular but not so. This product even gets me through my heavyest days. To the new users, just check it often until you get use to it. I feel so much better about getting out on the trail for a few months. I thought I'd have to take zero days because of my period.

[VTK8]

I haven't done a long-distance hike yet (NOBO 2011!) but I was a guide for a therapeutic wilderness program for a year and a half, during which time I spent 16 or so days a month living in the woods. Invariably (because it was actually what worked best for me and my life outside the woods) I was on my period for 7 of those 16 days. The first time was nerve-wracking. After that...it was no big deal! Here's what I like to do:

I keep all my supplies in the smallest stuff sack I could find (and I picked one that's BRIGHT RED!). Supplies include a quart-sized Ziploc full of tampons, another of pads, a third of wet wipes, and two empty ones for trash. I didn't really need so many supplies but it was nice to have extras on hand in case a coworker had an emergency need for some. Never had a problem with odor, even on really hot days--maybe it was just overpowered by the stench of students and guides! I also had a travel size bottle of hand sani.

I preferred to use a tampon with a pad as a liner, to protect from leakage just in case I didn't get as many bathroom breaks as I'd like. At night, I used a pad only to help prevent the overdrying that I understand can create good conditions for Toxic Shock Syndrome. I was able to keep myself clean using the wet wipes. All trash went into the trash zippie and back into my hygeine bag. It really was no big deal. One of my coworkers used a Diva cup and loved it--I've always been too lazy to try it out.

Also, a woman wrote a book about backcountry hygeine, called "How to **** in the Woods." There's a whole chapter on femenine hygeine.

Good luck!

[Del Q]

I decided to grow a penis and eliminate that dilemma.

How many will you have?

Zip locs are very handy

[Chillfactor]

I'm sorry ladies, but this is a silly question. If you intend to hike over 2000 miles encountering miserable weather, suffering aches and pains, and worrying about water, you should be able to deal with a few weeks of your period.
Luckily for me I don't have that worry now, but I would be embarrassed to ask such a question. I believe you can get a shot that will limit your period to once in 9 months, depropravera I think.
Just deal with it and pack the tampons or whatever out.

[skooch]

would love to have that shot of depo but not it's not recommended for everyone and the GYN's wont budge on that. I did snarfed BC pills from my grown daughters and took them to delay my period while vacationing and hiking the Napai Coast on Kauai last year. This was not months on end though. can't get the RX due to age.
As you mentioned the trail has a lot more challenges to worry about. I don't thing finding solutions is wussing out.
peace

[Fog Horn]

I'm sorry ladies, but this is a silly question. If you intend to hike over 2000 miles encountering miserable weather, suffering aches and pains, and worrying about water, you should be able to deal with a few weeks of your period.
Luckily for me I don't have that worry now, but I would be embarrassed to ask such a question. I believe you can get a shot that will limit your period to once in 9 months, depropravera I think.
Just deal with it and pack the tampons or whatever out.

That's really jaded. Obviously there are other options out there (like the diva cup) but most of us would never have known about this until we read this thread.

A coworker has a saying "life is better when you don't have to pee".

This hike and all of its rewards and hardships will be better if you don't have to worry about not being prepared right for your period. Its more than "just deal with it" or shoot your body full of hormones that change the bio-mechanics of your fertility cycle.

No one should feel embarrassed for either asking this question, follow on questions, or answering to their techniques. just my two cents.

[ashleigh22]

That's really jaded. Obviously there are other options out there (like the diva cup) but most of us would never have known about this until we read this thread.

A coworker has a saying "life is better when you don't have to pee".

This hike and all of its rewards and hardships will be better if you don't have to worry about not being prepared right for your period. Its more than "just deal with it" or shoot your body full of hormones that change the bio-mechanics of your fertility cycle.

No one should feel embarrassed for either asking this question, follow on questions, or answering to their techniques. just my two cents.

Agreed. From this thread, I have just found out about the DivaCup and have been looking into it for my future hikes. Thanks, ladies!

[hpark]

wont work for everyone.. but...

6.5 years ago started using one after having some issues with 3 weeks of straight bleeding. Doctor suggested since i wasnt planning on having kids anytime soon. they last for 5 years, have a light hormone and pretty much eliminate any flow. just got my second one placed earlier this year. very small piece of flexible plastic. no periods, no pads, no worries, no problems.

just a thought.

I love my Mirena!! I haven't had a period in almost 2 years. This is my 2nd Mirena. I had my first one removed after a few years so I could get pregnant again.

[fanlynne]

Is there any kind of birth control that works. My problem is that mine are very irregular and I think that the trail will probably screw them up even more

[VTK8]

Is there any kind of birth control that works. My problem is that mine are very irregular and I think that the trail will probably screw them up even more

That could be a great question for your doctor! And if you're uninsured (as I've been for most of my adult life) there are usually community resources that offer affordable (often on a sliding scale based on income) gynecological care--Planned Parenthood has been a great resource for me in every state I've lived, and I know they're not the only game in town.

[lanecohen]

tested out birth control for thru hike use only (Lo Seasonique) and it was awful. Tried the Diva Cup (for the second time, first time was a bust) and fell in LOVE. For real, y'all. If you had "boot-to-your-cervix" esq experience the first time, I urge you to push your fears aside and try it once more. For me it was life changing.

Cannot wait to see y'all out there!

[Wombat Farm]

Very easy to deal with....pack them up and out after use. To elliminate "smell" in the ziploc bag I put a very small amount (don't want to carry too much) of cornstarch or preferably baking soda to absorb some of the smells.

[AmyJanette]

Well, ladies...i started a thruhike in April of this year, and I am back home because of my period. My brand of birth control was discontinued just before I left and my doctor was on holidays so his replacement prescribed me a different brand which unbeknownst to me had a totally different hormone level in it. Two weeks after I got on the trail, my period started (April 27th, the day of the insane tornadoes in the south), and it didn't stop until after I came home in JUNE!!! I dealt with it as best I could on the trail, but without any access in the mountains to the proper foods and not knowing the system well enough in the States (I am from Canada, where you just go to any ER and get what you need without a fuss or being charged an arm and a leg for care), I had to deal with it as best I could until I finally decided that it was time to go home.

When I got home, I was severely anemic from being on my period for six weeks straight and not being able to eat the right foods. My time on the trail became more of a chore than an adventure, and I was having to take half hour breaks every half hour because I was so exhausted I couldn't continue. By the end I was doing lower mileage than I had in the beginning, even after I got my trail legs. I started spending two or three days a week in towns, trying to get enough high iron food into me to take care of the anemia, and got some iron supplements, but I was still totally exhausted on the trail, and it eventually led me to make a decision that I am still bitter over - coming home.

So my advice to any woman about to attempt a thruhike of the trail is to MAKE ABSOLUTE CERTAIN that you have the right method of birth control to stop/control your periods, and that you have been on it long enough to know how your body will react. I was fine for the first three weeks of getting my period on the trail - I used pads and didn't have a problem, just packed them out with my other trash - but by the fourth week, I was tired all the time, and dragging my heels, and by the sixth week I was so disheartened and totally exhausted all the time that I had trouble even going down the mountains, let alone up them. It's easy enough for people to say suck it up, deal with it, but when you are not using the right method to deal with your period, it has devastating physical effects. I lost twenty pounds in the two months I was on the trail (mind you, I had a lot to lose in the first place) but it didn't cause amenorrhea and the weight loss combined with the continual periods left me completely worn out by the time I returned home.

It was very devastating and very frustrating to have put so much time, effort, and money into my hike, and then have to give it up because of my period. So my advice is to make certain that you get the right birth control method in place before you worry about disposing of the waste products from it, and then worry about how you will deal with it on the trail.

And for what it's worth, if i had known about the diva cup before I left, I would definitely have used it - 5-7 days worth of used pads may not seem like a heavy burden to pack out, but when you are carrying every ounce on your back up mile high mountains every day, it would be well worth the time to get used to something you can empty on the trail.

And someone asked about outhouses on the trail. Pretty much all the shelters I was at had moldering privies, and you hit at least one a day, and usually start out from a shelter and then end up at one, sometimes passing one on the trail, depending on your mileage. Moldering privies are outhouses built on top of the ground to hurry along the decomposing process. At one shelter in the Smokies, there was a sign on the door - pack out everything but TP and your bodily wastes or the volunteers have to dig it out of the waste - this includes used pads, tampons, applicators, and yes, wet wipes. I wouldn't want to have to fish through to pick that stuff out of other people's poo, so I don't imagine the volunteers enjoy it that much either.

If anyone has any questions about what it was like on the trail, feel free to ask...I was out there for two months, and for six weeks of that two months, I had to deal with my period...I'm practically an expert!

[GlitterHiker]

Thank you for sharing your story; great advice. I'm glad you made it home safely - anemia is serious.

[MaggieMaeFlower]

I have a few questions for the DivaCup users. I hiked half of the AT last year and used the OB tampons. Since returning home I started using a DivaCup and love it! According to their website it is recommended to wash it with the Diva Wash and then boil once a month, which I do when I'm home but what about on the trail. Do you carry the Diva Wash with you, or what other product do you use to wash it?

[obscura]

Just wash it out with some soap and water. You might get a little discoloration, but it doesn't effect the use of it at all.

[MaggieMaeFlower]

I am more worried about the stuff I can't see. I don't know how that silicone is with bacteria. But It's good to hear soap and water worked for someone. Thanks

[RockyRoo]

[QUOTE=walkinthewoods;1038265]Hey guys! I just signed up to this forum today, and I'm so glad there's posts with information like this

I recently went to the Smokies and got really inspired to thru hike the AT. I'm not sure when I'll go, but I'm still excited about it! I've been reading some books (just on camping and "surviving" mostly) but noticed that they're all written by men, and probably not on-purpose geared more toward men. I'm not into feminism, but I kept wondering, hey, what do girls have in their pack lists, how do they deal with their periods, and do you just let leg and armpit hair grow wild (mine grows ridiculously fast, i have to shave every day. but of course youd let it grow out on the trail I guess) and so on. I know it's all little stuff, but I'm just so curious!

Like bras -how many would you bring/ how often would you rinse em on the trail?
[/QUOTE

As for the general discussion about periods and the AT- i'm currently on my thru. What works for me, is b.c pills and skip the placebo. It was recommended by my doc, but also advised not to continue that method after the hike. It's been great so far, no spotting or anything.
Plus, I never expected how dirty my fingers (esp. under the nails) would get! There aren't enough water sources on the trail to keep your nails clean. Dealing with products w/ dietary fingers?? Yuck!!

Hair- I'm letting my husband grow out his beard, so long as he doesn't say anything about myt leg/pits. I usually let them grow out and then shave in town. A lot of women hike the AT and understand!!

Underwear - I'm surviving on three pairs of knickers and bras. You usually get to a town every few days, so if you aren't adverse to wearing the same pair for about 2 days and maybe 1or 2 nights, you can usually have 2 undies/bras to be washed and 1 clean pair to change into.

[PennyPincher]

Just started using the Diva cup about 3 months ago. I still have leakage on my heaviest days. For about the first 3 days I use a pad as backup. I usually end up using 4 per cycle. Any ideas? Usually the second night the flow is so heavy that I would have to wake up and empty the cup in the middle of the night to avoid problems. And I have the larger size.

[Demeter]

I've used diva for years until I wore it out and it cracked, switched to Moon Cup; same idea, but a little more flexible and comfortable, IMHO.

They won't work if your flow is too heavy. Since my flow has lightened over last few years, I now have no leakage and don't need a pad anymore.

I'm shamed to say that I sometimes forget about it, it's so comfortable. I've never had issue with infection, and, often don't wash but once daily with soap and water. I occasionally use dilute Hydrogen Peroxide to disinfect.