You could find (ahem) "Feminine products" in little machines on the walls in ladies bathrooms.

WHEN did they stop doing that (except at truck stops!!???

OMG - yesterday I was in a desperate situation - was afraid to walk anywhere - and found 3 bathrooms that DIDN'T have those convenient machines. Argh!

Bathrooms built by men, I would think.

On the flip side - I am ALWAYS tickled when I am in a nice hotel, and they have baskets of such items in the public bathrooms for free.

Maybe the key is to scoop up hand fulls of the free ones, and have them loaded down in my purse for "such a day as yesterday!!!)

Thank God for an item I found floating around in the trunk of my car. There IS a God ladies!.

danita

Ah yes, the days when you put your dime in the slot and got a monstrous pad that felt like you had a pillow between your legs (envision the walk we did when wearing those things!!) I remember when I started my period at age 11 and wore those pads called "Confidets" that were about 6 inches deep hung on one of those little belts. That's what my Mom thought was best. We've come a long way, ladies! Danita, make sure you keep a good supply on you....wow, you found one in your trunk?? A lucky day for you! Thank God, I no longer require such things! Don't miss it at all!

Oh, Ladyjane,
Oh, do I remember those confidets pads and sure did feel like a pillow between your legs . Oh, and those belts and if you forget when you traveled , heavens you had to find a drugstore and hope you got a lady to wait on you. I too am thankful those days are gone and don't miss it at all. I also started a 11 and ended at 55 an then the menapause came . Ho, Hum LOL

Renee

I actually thought I was abnormal for many years because I couldn’t figure out where the tampon goes.

A beautiful Spanish girl attended the same girls boarding school I went to. We had a study hour, without supervision, and suddenly in the silent study hall the girl asked out loud, “Does anyone know how to use a tampon?” I was so happy to hear that most of us didn’t. But a couple of “cool” chicks knew the ropes, so to speak, and amidst hysterical giggling they inserted the Spanish girl’s tampon right there in the study hall. So much for biology in that hour!

hahahahaha! Too funny, Hannelore! The day I began that trip in life....I woke up to a messy situation in my jammies. I was delayed from getting to my 5th grade class. My Mom took me to school and held a whispering session with my teacher, Mrs. H. I felt so strange all day walking around with a giant pad. I just KNEW that everyone was staring and knew what was happening. I did whisper it to a couple of my close friends. For the rest of the time I was the object of adoration and envy becuase of my new "womanhood status." Can you even imagine????? I bet they didn't feel that way a few years later when they rolled around and groaned with cramps!

Well as far as I'm concerned, those good old days WEREN'T good. I am now a freedom rider and don't miss those ugly, uncomfortable nasty things. I looked forward all my life to menopause and NO MORE MONTHLY'S! Hoorah!!!

Did anyone use it as an excuse to get out of PE or gym class? Many of us did. Dysmennorhea was always an excuse to head off to the school infirmary to nap and catch up on the latest school gossip. And when anyone was "on", we would hint that "the red flag was up".

Oh yep. I remember those sanitary belts. When we lost ours, the nuns in school gave us safety pins!

After my hysterectomy, I used all my spare pads to dust with. Vengeance was sweet.

oh yeah i remeber when, I started for the first time, i was in 8th grade, and it was a saturday and i was in band and we were going to be in our first parade for halloween, i didnt feel to good that day but just thought it was nerves but i fainted before the parade started and the teacher called my dad and he came after me, by time i got home my wheat colored pants had a red seat in them, iam done with the periods now and dont miss it a bit either.

I also remember in 8th grade they had all the girls in the autoturm, to show them this film about that time of the month, the boys would go outside and try to peek under the shades on the windows to see what they were missing lol

I don't think I used a tampon until I was 20. Then, I didn't start my period until I was 14. They stopped KABOOM completely at 48 when I was in chemo. Can't say I miss them, nope, not at all.

I never needed to keep a calendar because the minute my period started, I'd be doubled over with cramps. I kept a collection of crappy underwear because sometimes I'd bleed over the pad and had to throw my panties out. Even when I wore a tampon, I occasionally had that problem.

Several years after I knew I was completely in menopause, I had two defining moments:
1. I threw ALL the junky underwear out and bought new ones
2. When the Laguna fires hit and many people lost their homes, I donated my last 5 boxes of sanitary pads to the shelters. (I always stocked up during sales.) I figured -- if there's anything worse than having your house burn down -- it's having your house burn down and then getting your period. The relief organizations were asking for donations of toothpaste, blankets and the like but never mentioned sanitary items. As a woman, though, I KNEW.