Okay so you may have been a bit confused on the title, but I'm having a little issue about my err  period. So In November I will be travelling to Georgia for a JROTC Raiders competition *see here for brief example "
We will be doing all that + more and it will involved mud and water. Maybe you can see where I'm going now. My " . " happens around the time of the competition and I'm wondering what exactly I should do, I'm not comfortable with man-pons and I don't think they would be an option seeing as we will be out from 7am to 5pm.

tl;dr
I will be getting really muddy and wet, will I be safe using pads. or is there some way to delay my " . " naturally

I use menstrual cups instead of the other stuff. They can stay in for 12 hours and you don't have anything hanging out or getting in the way of your life. No nasty menstrual smell, no blood, no hassle.

It's an insertable thing, but it's not as scary as it looks (I was absolutely terrified when I first tried them...which was...this past Thursday). Google "Instead Menstrual Cups" and see if they look like a plausible alternative for you.

Birth control may help you to delay your P but that's chock full of female hormones. Which I won't touch with a 10ft pole.

Birth control can stop you from having one if you just skip the sugar pill and keep taking the other ones, but it's something I won't touch with a 10' pole either, after trying it before.  If you can find something like Aiden is suggesting that has a longer life-span (12 hrs. as opposed to around 8.) I think that would be your best bet.  I wish there was a better way, but I've not found one yet so I've just skipped activities of that nature for quite some time now.

Yeah birth control is DEFINITELY NOT an option lol.

For the cups can you only buy them online? Also can you move around alot with it?

I'd say if you can manage the cup you can manage tampons, which require dramatically less interaction with those parts (if you use an applicator type) and don't require any practice to use.

And yes, they are an option, even if you're out for 10 hours straight. They're going to let you pee several times in those 10 hours. It only takes an extra 15-20 seconds to replace the tampon. They come in waterproof wrappers so you can just stick a few in one of your pockets. (If you're worried about what to do with the used ones or the applicators if you have to go outside, just take a sturdy zip-lock bag. But you probably won't have to go outside.)

I did 5 years in the Navy and never once had a problem dealing with this sort of thing. Obviously genital dysphoria creates an extra complication, but if you can get around that, the logistical problems aren't nearly as bad as they would seem. Military schedules, especially the most rigid and demanding ones, revolve entirely around eating and pissing and making sure everyone gets to do both often enough that nobody could possibly need a special exception made for them.

Quote from: Aiden James on September 22, 2010, 05:09:33 PM
I use menstrual cups instead of the other stuff. They can stay in for 12 hours and you don't have anything hanging out or getting in the way of your life. No nasty menstrual smell, no blood, no hassle.

thats a really good idea.

and when you do need to change them, you can just do it in the bathroom, dump it out, wash it and put it back in.

Don't know if it's true or not, I have read of someone using a menstrual cup that somehow got misaligned and created a suction that did some pretty bad damage to their insides.  It made me leery of using them, which is why I stick with tampons when the need arises.

Quote from: kyril on September 22, 2010, 06:05:41 PM
I'd say if you can manage the cup you can manage tampons, which require dramatically less interaction with those parts (if you use an applicator type) and don't require any practice to use.

And yes, they are an option, even if you're out for 10 hours straight. They're going to let you pee several times in those 10 hours. It only takes an extra 15-20 seconds to replace the tampon. They come in waterproof wrappers so you can just stick a few in one of your pockets. (If you're worried about what to do with the used ones or the applicators if you have to go outside, just take a sturdy zip-lock bag. But you probably won't have to go outside.)

I did 5 years in the Navy and never once had a problem dealing with this sort of thing. Obviously genital dysphoria creates an extra complication, but if you can get around that, the logistical problems aren't nearly as bad as they would seem. Military schedules, especially the most rigid and demanding ones, revolve entirely around eating and pissing and making sure everyone gets to do both often enough that nobody could possibly need a special exception made for them.

That is reassuring. There was never an issue where you had to swim or something and the manpon got wet? I read some real horror stories online about that

Don't believe the horror stories. I swim with them all the time. In fact, if you google "swim with tampon," you'll find that it's actually the recommended swimming solution on reputable sites.

You can tuck the string inside if you can handle doing that, if it bothers you. The string's the only part that gets seriously wet when swimming, and only if it hangs outside. A very small amount of water may get inside, but not enough to notice. It takes pressure to get water in there - that's why swimming doesn't cause internal pH disturbances and yeast infections the way douching can.

Quote from: kyril on September 22, 2010, 08:55:01 PM
Don't believe the horror stories. I swim with them all the time. In fact, if you google "swim with tampon," you'll find that it's actually the recommended swimming solution on reputable sites.

Wow.  That's one of the reasons I've not been swimming in years...

So I had a big long reply all typed up and my laptop just deleted it. Poo. 

You can buy the cups at Walgreens, CVS or Walmart.

For me the cups are a miracle. As someone who's used pads and tampons too, I definitely prefer the cups. While they go in the same way as tampons (and do require some pushing with your finger) I can't feel it when I go about my day. I was always painfully aware of the cotton plug, but after the first 5 minutes of putting in a new cup I forget it's there. It locks in under your cervix in your pelvic bone - sounds scary but it's not that bad, all you do is push it in until you hit the back of your pelvic bone and once you stand up it'll adjust itself.  There's also no menstrual smell with it, I always experienced that nasty lady-musk when using tampons, it's totally gone with the cups.

The only time the cup leaks is when I'm using the bathroom - and the leaking is only due to bearing down, once I stand up it readjusts itself and no more leak! I've experienced tampons leaking and being rejected either because I didn't insert them far enough or because I was moving around too much that they just started to work their way out. Also, if you leave the tampon in for too long you may leak onto the string, which can get kind of gross. 

Also, remember that tampons can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome if left in more than 8 hours - while it's rare it is still a possibility. It's not an issue with the cups.

Disposal is similar to any other menstrual device - take it out, wrap it in TP, toss it, and put in a fresh one. The brand I use is 7.99 per box (which has a 7 day supply) - while it's more expensive than tampons (which are like 6.99 for 40) it's definitely worth it for me.

@jmaxley: From my experience with the cups I can't see how that could happen, but that may vary by brand. I use the Instead brand, which is a soft, flexible cup. There are a few other brands out there that are harder cups, so I could see the possibility of an issue arising with those.

Ugh, I struggle with the "red death"  . I've never used anything but pads...and on some days that gets a bit....risky. I just can't deal with that area  . Are there any alternatives to shoving something up there? Or birth control that isn't loaded with female hormones?

Quote from: Elijah on September 22, 2010, 06:08:08 PM
thats a really good idea.

and when you do need to change them, you can just do it in the bathroom, dump it out, wash it and put it back in.

They're not really made for multiple uses -- I'd recommend if you take it out, leave it out and avoid bacterial contamination on the 2nd round.

Quote from: Meepit on September 22, 2010, 11:49:50 PM
Ugh, I struggle with the "red death"  . I've never used anything but pads...and on some days that gets a bit....risky. I just can't deal with that area  . Are there any alternatives to shoving something up there? Or birth control that isn't loaded with female hormones?

T. Surgical sterilization. Insufficient bodyfat for menstruation (like below 9% I think?) Extreme amounts of stress. (A few times, when under really bad GID I got to skip some. Unfortunately, that made me happy enough to calm down so they came back ) Being post menopause. Pre-pubertal. These are the only circumstances I can think of and they are unfortunately all unhealthy (except T and surgery, but those are difficult to aquire.)

The body fat thing doesn't work for me anymore it did back in the day, but I think my body adjusted for it. And I'm PREEEETTY sure I'm below the 9% req  (under 100 lbs, 5' 6", no fat seriously  ). Meh thanks for the suggestions though  hopefully I'll be on T in no time.

Ha well they're not really suggestions, since they are generally bad. T and hysto might be suggestion, but of course only if you want it.

5'6" and 100 lbs? That is really light, I'm just about the same height and 115 and apparently skinny. You have to be really underweight then, and that alternative would eventually lead to osteoporosis since you need hormones.

Yeah sorry, "suggestions"*  . And yeah I have a ridiculous metabolism....runs in the family, my mum says it'll die down after my 20s  . I eat TONS it just comes out the other end mid-dinner  tmi? Hoping I'll gain weight on T, but everyone else says your metab. runs rampant after T  . People envy it, but I reaaaally need to gain weight  there's no way I can even put on muscle at this point  tried, I just end up even leaner/skinnier.

Edit: LOL forgot to address the osteoporosis thing. Probably doesn't help that I avoided milk for AGES because I was scared it'd make my chest grow  . Probably didn't help my height either  .

Quote from: Meepit on September 23, 2010, 01:06:26 AM
Edit: LOL forgot to address the osteoporosis thing. Probably doesn't help that I avoided milk for AGES because I was scared it'd make my chest grow  . Probably didn't help my height either  .

By the way, countries that consume more dairy have a higher number of cases of osteoporosis. Also, the proteins in milk cause the blood to become slightly acidic, so the kidneys will take calcium from the body (hmmm, don't bones have lots of calcium?) to keep the blood alkaline. I'm pretty sure this was in a surgeon generals report in the 1980s, and there have also been more recent studies on this. But, the USDA really likes making money from cow's milk, so I don't think it's well known. 

At 5'7" and 110 lbs. I'm underweight and I still have the darned things intermittently, so I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to starve them out of you.  Not saying that you were, just that I've heard it talked about in other places, and that it's not a good idea.

Other than that, just the things Silver mentioned.  Most of which are expensive or bad for your body.

How long did it take you guys to lose your periods once you started T?