Crimson Tide

[illylay]

The way my schedule's going it looks as though I may be either in PMS mode or menstruating the week of the event (I fluctuate between a 21 day and 28 day schedule). I thought I'd see if any ladies had some insight on what I might do to make the experience smoother and avoid wigging out should Aunty Flo decide to come along...

[AntiM]

I've been either PMSing or flowing every year. First off hygeine, since you cannot put pads or tampons in the potty you have to figure out a carry system to accomodate clean and used sanitary items. A make-up bag with two ziplocs and some wipes is good, just remember you can't drop the wipes in the potty either. I've also heard pringles cans are good totes. I have a lovely hubby who is willing to use our garden mister on me, less water than a shower, but sufficient for cleaning up that delicate area.

There is a thread "For women only" which addresses this, I think it will come up on a search. All sorts of suggestions, from yoga and mediatation, to staying hydrated, and kava and other herbs. Women on birth control often rearrange their pills. You are most definitely not alone!

Welcome to the red flood, we bloody well rule!

Anti M

[JezebelinHell]

Just something I heard (but have never tried). A tablespoon of hot mustard powder added to a tub of hot water and soaked in is supposed to bring on your cycle. If you're due to start bleeding sometime AROUND BM time, try doing that about a week before you leave. It might work...

[Juju]

my mama always suggested slamming your lower back against a wall to "bring it down early"

I've mensed on the playa 2 out of 3 years so far, might actually be able to make it home this year without a bloody mess.

tampons, ziplocs, and wipes are your best friends. I keep a spray bottle with a mild body wash solution to take with me to the potties for freshening up, and it's not so bad.

remember to supplement your diet with lots of ibuprofen, chocolate and red wine.

[Icepack]

The way my schedule's going it looks as though I may be either in PMS mode or menstruating the week of the event (I fluctuate between a 21 day and 28 day schedule). I thought I'd see if any ladies had some insight on what I might do to make the experience smoother and avoid wigging out should Aunty Flo decide to come along...

I thought I was going to have mine the week of Burning Man, but now I think it's going to hit the day I get home. So I started the "for women only" thread. It's been dead for a while, but I got some good posts on it. There is also another thread going from some women who want to do a camp for women who are bleeding. They are looking for a structure. You can check out the thread and find out more about their camp.

I went out and spent $100 on a little portapotty because I was having nightmares about standing in line at the portapotty corner with blood running down my legs. I wanted to make sure I had access to a toilet when I needed one without waiting in line. I realize I'm probably the only freak at Burning Man who would do that, but I'd be in an RV if I could afford it if I was going to bleeding that week.

Advice: drink lots of water, avoid caffine, avoid alcohol, bring extra panties and extra supplies etc. Be good to yourself. Take vitamins, drink tea, relax....

You would think 1 in 4 women would be bleeding during Burning Man, but when you factor in that some women are post-menapausal, and some are still girls, and some are pregnant, and some are on birth control pills and skipping their period that week (which is what I did last year) I suppose that brings the numbers down a bit. Maybe 1 woman out of every 10 will be bleeding. Still, let's see... 30,000 people. 15,000 women. That's at least 1,500 bleeding women. Maybe the census people have better numbers. I'm just completely guessing. Odds are that most camps will have someone in the same situation as you, and you two can drink tea together, bitch at men, and share the bottle of ibprophren.

[serendipity]

just so yah know... if you're due to bleed sometime in the next week, no amount of mustard powder or slamming your back into a wall will speed things up and bring it on before you hit the playa. i know a little about female biology and through the course of my studies, this was a misconception i had corrected too. you can't make your period come any faster in the second half of your cycle. once you've ovulated, your period will come at a precise time, always the same precise time for each woman. you can definately affect your period with stress, travel, herbs etc. in the pre-ovulation phase (called the follicular phase of your ovarian cycle).

[PurpleKoosh]

just so yah know... if you're due to bleed sometime in the next week, no amount of mustard powder or slamming your back into a wall will speed things up and bring it on before you hit the playa. i know a little about female biology and through the course of my studies, this was a misconception i had corrected too. you can't make your period come any faster in the second half of your cycle. once you've ovulated, your period will come at a precise time, always the same precise time for each woman. you can definately affect your period with stress, travel, herbs etc. in the pre-ovulation phase (called the follicular phase of your ovarian cycle).

Does that hold true for women on hormonal birth control? 'cause I stopped taking my pills a week early last month to reset my cycle, and it worked the way I expected it to. But I know that menstruation is supposed to start 14 days after ovulation....

[Icepack]

just so yah know... if you're due to bleed sometime in the next week, no amount of mustard powder or slamming your back into a wall will speed things up and bring it on before you hit the playa. i know a little about female biology and through the course of my studies, this was a misconception i had corrected too. you can't make your period come any faster in the second half of your cycle. once you've ovulated, your period will come at a precise time, always the same precise time for each woman. you can definately affect your period with stress, travel, herbs etc. in the pre-ovulation phase (called the follicular phase of your ovarian cycle).

Does that hold true for women on hormonal birth control? 'cause I stopped taking my pills a week early last month to reset my cycle, and it worked the way I expected it to. But I know that menstruation is supposed to start 14 days after ovulation....

When you are on the pill you don't ovulate. The birth control pills trick your body into thinking you are already pregnant so you don't ovulate (release an egg) and this is how you avoid getting pregnant for real. When you hit the week of sugar pills or whatever, you're stopping the extra hormone supply and your body resets itself. maybe like a miscarriage? it releases all the stuff it was building up thinking you were pregnant. Then you start your next pack of pills, and the body thinks you are pregnant again and shuts off the ovulation part of your cycle all over again. You'd have to read the information that comes with your pill pack because I've forgotten the details.

My doctor did tell me that occasionally (like once/year) it is okay to skip those sugar pills and just go on to the next pack. This prevents your period from starting, and you skip a month of bleeding. Of course this offsets when you'll get your next period, but for a once/year vacation, it can help your plans. Seems a safer way to reset your cycle than quitting your pills a week early to try to speed up when your period will come.

[PurpleKoosh]

When you are on the pill you don't ovulate. The birth control pills trick your body into thinking you are already pregnant so you don't ovulate (release an egg) and this is how you avoid getting pregnant for real.

Ya know, I knew that, really. I'm just braindead from helping my beloved shop and pack today.

My doctor did tell me that occasionally (like once/year) it is okay to skip those sugar pills and just go on to the next pack. This prevents your period from starting, and you skip a month of bleeding. Of course this offsets when you'll get your next period, but for a once/year vacation, it can help your plans. Seems a safer way to reset your cycle than quitting your pills a week early to try to speed up when your period will come.

If I'd left my schedule alone, I'd've been bleeding on the playa. If I'd skipped the placebo week, I would've been premenstrual - which would have been just as messy, only in a more metaphorical way. So I went for what was behind Door #3, and I'll be done bleeding by the time I hit the desert. Everyone wins.

[diane o'thirst]

I just finished mine yesterday...*whew!*

I don't take anything. And with my lack of organization, I'd probably flub the Pill anyway, so I've never taken it. I'm going into pre-menopause, so the monthlies are rather sleepy for me. Just on the Playa, it's a pain in the neck to deal with the extra leave-no-trace logistics.

Some good news, though. Seventh Generation makes sanitary pads and tampons made of 100% cotton, which is burnable. Whole Foods and Wild Oats carry them.

[JezebelinHell]

Although the smell of burning mentrual blood may be among the top ten worst aromas on the planet...right behind New Jersey...

[sheenaqotj]

This is an old thread, so I may cross-post elsewhere. I don't represent the company that sells these in any way, but found them incredibly useful on the playa, so would like said company to stay in business.



It's a really light, small box that fit easily in my day pack and contained 50 lightweight-but-sturdy, compressible bags, which is many more than I could fit small ziploc bags in the same amount of space. I had a separate compartment I used for garbage. I did disinfect my day pack thoroughly after I got back as well, even though I was really careful with it.

Since they're basically designed for disposal, they worked amazingly well and I could fit in a baby wipe or two as well. I probably could've used multiple bags if I needed to, but never felt the need.

I still used a larger ziploc bag to collect a few of these back at camp because I felt better about doing that, but these felt secure enough with a double-knot that trips to the john on the far side of the playa made me worry about the trash in my bag.

[AntiM]

I managed not to flow on the playa, but I was spotting and cramping all week. So much fun. Sex helped, but then there's that clean up logistics thing. Huzzah for garden sprayers. I did start a few days after I got home ... scary period, very heavy. I really, really hate this pre-menopausal shit. I was always super-light before.

Sorry, that was pure venting. Ovulating at 53? Note to reproductive system: stop that!

I did post a nice note on the side of the portos asking the ladies to take their tampons and applicators back to camp after I spotted some in the potties. Right near the hand sanitizer station. I think it helped, one woman thanked me for instructing her as a virgin (interesting) and I took the sign home. Maybe I'll do some more for next year too.

[Bob]

Theme camp!

[AntiM]

It is a rite of passage. But do you just wan to isolate the menstrurating women? LOL.

[C.f.M.]

Big red tent.

Menstruation was the first thought I had, when I heard the theme. Thought I'd reenact the shower scene from Carrie.

It's not really a "rite" of passage, however. It's simple biology.

The misc. rites various cultures have to celebrate a girl's first menses would apply. I have many books on the subject...

[AntiM]

Mom got me a kit from Kotex well before I menstruated (1964 or so). The booklet scared me to pieces and the belt for the napkins was complicated. However, we were in Paris when I actually started and we had no idea how to ask for pads and a belt in the pharmacy. They were behind the counter and not on the shelves! No tampons for a little virgin, LOL. Things have changed a lot since then; including wonderful modern adhesives.

I think I'll have a party once I get through menopause, you betcha.

[theCryptofishist]

I would have counted early menopause as one of the rare compensations of the accident, but my reproductive system is still plugging away...
hmpf!

[Bling]

This is an old thread, so I may cross-post elsewhere. I don't represent the company that sells these in any way, but found them incredibly useful on the playa, so would like said company to stay in business.



It's a really light, small box that fit easily in my day pack and contained 50 lightweight-but-sturdy, compressible bags, which is many more than I could fit small ziploc bags in the same amount of space. I had a separate compartment I used for garbage. I did disinfect my day pack thoroughly after I got back as well, even though I was really careful with it.

Since they're basically designed for disposal, they worked amazingly well and I could fit in a baby wipe or two as well. I probably could've used multiple bags if I needed to, but never felt the need.

I still used a larger ziploc bag to collect a few of these back at camp because I felt better about doing that, but these felt secure enough with a double-knot that trips to the john on the far side of the playa made me worry about the trash in my bag.

Awesome idea! I ordered some today.

[C.f.M.]

Does it matter if the bags are biodegradeable, if the contents aren't?

OB, burn them. All you have to deal with is the plastic wrapping. Which you could remove.

[Isotopia]

You girls should just create a thread of your own so you can talk about your 'moon sickness' without the guys having to read about it.

I mean, who really wants to read about having to deal with Satan's little cotton fingers (Tampons) while on the playa.

[Isotopia]

Better yet, instead of an RV just tote your own personal menstrual shack to the playa.

Problem solved

[theCryptofishist]

You girls should just create a thread of your own so you can talk about your 'moon sickness' without the guys having to read about it.

I mean, who really wants to read about having to deal with Satan's little cotton fingers (Tampons) while on the playa.

Um, what do you think this is? Maybe you thought it would be about college football?

[AntiM]

You girls should just create a thread of your own so you can talk about your 'moon sickness' without the guys having to read about it.

I mean, who really wants to read about having to deal with Satan's little cotton fingers (Tampons) while on the playa.

*gives Iso "the finger"*

[Isotopia]

hee

[oneeyeddick]

When I first read "Crimson Tide' I thought it was about the russians(apokiliptika) invading burning man.

I've been duped again !!!

[LostinReno]

When I first read "Crimson Tide' I thought it was about the russians(apokiliptika) invading burning man.

I've been duped again !!!

I was relieved it was about riding the red pony and not Alabama!

[Elorrum]

Hmm, never had any ritual to celebrate the end of that. (No sweat lodge please.) Not having a period doesn't really make up for the other discomforts, and I honestly never thought I would say that. but after a couple of years, it's all good.

[AntiM]

Hmm, never had any ritual to celebrate the end of that. (No sweat lodge please.) Not having a period doesn't really make up for the other discomforts, and I honestly never thought I would say that. but after a couple of years, it's all good.

I think many women in the past didn't make it all the way to menopause, hence no rituals.

I've had a taste of the other discomforts when I was on Tamoxifen. Now that I'm off it, my own estrogen is raging. Yikes. I'll be happy when i get through it all.

[Elorrum]

I think Crones were respected perhaps because they were rare then.

Crones Rock!!!