Embarrassing question for my fellow hockey playing ladies
Throwaway account because, as mentioned in the title, it's a bit of an embarrassing question, but guys, what are we doing about our periods on the ice? I just started playing earlier this year, and so far, I've been lucky enough that my beer league games have only fallen on "bad" days a couple of times, and I've just told my team that I don't feel well and found a substitute goalie. But I don't want to have to keep doing that forever! The unfortunate catch here is that I can't use tampons, menstrual cups, etc (anything internal) for medical reasons, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with using period panties or something similar during a game? Any specific brands you recommend? Or am I doomed to keep calling out of beer league every time they schedule a game during the worst part of my period?
Update: Thanks everyone for your advice! My concern was not about pain management, although I do appreciate those tips as well, but mostly because I am terrified of getting blood on my gear, and of anyone in the locker room noticing. I was afraid that the adhesive on a pad might not stick with all the movement and sweat, but it looks like a lot of you haven't had that problem. To the person who said that this needs to be normalized within women's sports, you are so right and I wish that I didn't feel so embarrassed about it. Thanks again to all of you