For the last few days, my low back and belly have ached with more intensity than I can remember feeling since my last labor. In a way, the pain harkens back to the raging period lead-ups of my teens and early twenties. That overwhelming, all-consuming, cloud of discomfort that I would only stand a chance of getting out in front of with 800mg ibuprofen and a flesh-melting bath. However, unlike both those tsunamis of sensation, where there was the imminent breaking of the tidal wave of discomfort and release into the next thing- be it a born baby or the start of a new cycle- this time there is just a vague uncertainty of cramps followed by… nothing. I mean,...
Hello! We are Melissa and Andrea from Menstrual Flux. We are ecstatic to provide a more sustainable menstrual product option to those in need, thanks to The June Cup’s donation of 50 menstrual cups. We are a small mom-and-pop nonprofit that was founded in Houston, Texas in 2017. Our founder, Melissa (aka “Tampon Fairy”), was inspired to start Menstrual Flux based on her own personal story of facing period poverty while dealing with housing instability. Melissa’s experiences led her to fight period poverty by providing menstrual products to menstruators in need. Melissa and Andrea met in 2019 when Andrea reached out to Menstrual Flux to become a sponsor for the National Period Day Rally in Austin, Texas. Andrea became more...
Like a lot of menstruators, my “time of the month” isn’t my favorite. Unlike a lot of menstruators, I lose an abnormally large amount of blood during my period, which makes it difficult to manage in a myriad of ways. Medically, it’s called menorrhagia, but personally, I call it a pain in the ass. Menorrhagia is “menstrual periods with abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding,” but how do you really define that? For me, it’s soaking through super absorbency tampons every other hour, doubling up on pads and having debilitating cramps. See other symptoms here. This means I go through a lot of products and often times leak on my underwear and sheets, so I’m always eager to find other menstrual...
We've always shared a passion for humans right and for sustainable choices in our daily lives. When we both made the switch to menstrual cups, we thought we about donating a handful of cups to a local women’s shelter. Soon after we dove head-first into expanding this platform and collecting donations to purchase more. We just recently donated 23 cups to the Women’s Help Center in Johnstown, PA and are looking to donate next in Pittsburgh, PA.
Lindsay Selan and Amanda Rhine became best friends in high school, Amanda is a senior attending Clarion University, and Lindsay is a senior attending the University of Pittsburgh.
When I feel my insides cramping and contorting to signify the coming of my menstruation, it’s easy to groan. My periods can be hard and uncomfortable and I wasn’t exactly raised to know what my period means outside of my fertility and the societal stigma associated with it. The older I get, the more I learn (thank God). Now I know my period represents much more than a week of bleeding and discomfort. It marks one phase in a continual cycle that every human is, or has been, a part of. I love thinking about my own cycle as it relates to the seasons. I have my very own personal, sometimes visceral, spring, summer, fall and winter. No matter how...
