Ever use a 'Menstrual Cup?' I do!! Mine is called 'Mooncup.' I save so so much money now. I don't have to buy tampons, pads, etc... I only have to buy panty liners to wear for the occasional mishaps. Sometimes I buy heavy night pads if my period abnormally heavy for a month. But other than that, the days of buying tampons and pads every single month are OVER!! I have been using my mooncup for 4 months now, and I absolutely love it. I have already saved at least 40$. The mooncup only cost me 30$ no shipping and handling!! There is a trick to only spending 30$ and no shipping and handling so follow this: Google (or yahoo) mooncup. You will see the places that sell general stuff, like Amazon, that sell mooncup. Skip these places. You will see the mooncup website for US. Even though you're (I am) from US, skip this site. DO NOT buy the mooncup from the US mooncup site because it costs more AND you have to pay shipping and handling. You will see the 'Mooncup Menstrual Cup|Home' site. This is based in UK. THEY DELIVER TO US with NO shipping and handling!! If you go through the UK mooncup site, you pay a TOTAL of 30$ to get your mooncup. For those of you who don't know what a menstrual cup is, let me briefly explain. It is a silicone (I'm pretty sure...) egg shaped, soft cup that sits right inside you. It doesn't go up to your cervix, like the 'softcups' you may have seen in the tampon and pad isle. So yes, if you have a tilted uterus (like I do) you can wear a menstrual cup like mooncup! It collects fluid from your period, it doesn't 'soak it up' like a tampon. It holds more than a super plus tampon, and can be work for 12 hours without leaking! It is so convenient. There is no chance of toxic shock syndrome (yey!), it is safe and healthy for your body, and it actually is good for our environment because it eliminates a lot of monthly waste. It saves you unlimited amount of money b/c it comes with a very long guarantee (I believe it is 10 years)! I will never go back to using tampons or pads. All woman should be using a mooncup instead. You all should definitely check it out. You will absolutely love it!
This may be a gross question to ask here but how do you clean it, especially if you are out? I know you say it can last 12 hours but I doubt that's always true on heavy days (you say there is the occasional mishap) and it must be awkward to have to try to use at work for that reason. Am I missing something?
Oh no it's totally not gross, all you do is dump it in the toilet. If you are in a public bathroom, you just use toilet paper and clean it out. If you are at home, or in a private bathroom you just rinse it with water. It said in the pamphlet it comes with, along in the website, that our bodies naturally disinfect it. I thought that was really cool! It also said that some woman feel better washing it out with soap and water, but you really don't need to do that. Our bodies clean it better than any soap or disinfectant could. As far as the 12 hour and work situation, it really does work. The mishaps happen if you are having a really heavy period and don't know it yet. Like, in the beginning before you realize how your body wants to treat you this month! And in the pamphlet manual it says you should definitely try it out before your period to test. I followed the directions exactly, and everything works perfect. On heavy days it last about 7 or 8 hours, for me anyways. It really is a great find, and it may a bit gross. But once you use it, you realize it is actually cleaner and better than tampons and pads.
I had never heard of this before, it's amazing what inventions that people can come up with. I have to tell my daughter about this one and I am sure she will be glad that someone came up with this idea. If it's easy to use she will be proud of it and I wish that they had one when I was a teenager myself and growed into adulthood. I was so heavy and never wanted to stay any place for a long period of time because of that and pads and tampaxs. This is amazing.
Wow, thanks for sharing this. I've never heard of this before. Kind of awkward questions, though. How do you use it? Is it like a tampon which you insert inside you? And how do you prevent the blood from spilling out when you remove it?
I don't have a period anymore now that I'm on IUD (best investment I've ever made) but I'll have to tell my girlfriends about this!
I'm a huge menstrual cup fan. Once I got my DivaCup I never ever ever went back to pads/tampons. Although, I will admit that there is a steep learning curve to get it right and not 1) make a mess and 2) keep things clean and quick and easy. But as for money-saving aspect: How much of a savings is it really if you replace the cup every year as the product company suggests? My DivaCup was right around the 40$ mark in Canada. I guess that's still quite a bit of savings when you consider the price of say tampons for a year. But I stretch my dollar by keeping my DivaCup until it's starting to wear or stops working.
I've never heard of mooncup before. I have the same concerns as some of the posters here too...the cleanliness. After seeing how you describe the dumping process and rinsing, I may stick to tampons. I don't think I'm up for testing out the learning curb process and I'm one of those people with a heavier cycle normally. I don't know. How long as this product been on the market? Any side effects?
I love my Diva Cup! Your post is spot on. I feel a little shameful that I've had the same cup for almost 8 years. I've also had a child since my purchase and I have not noticed a difference in the fit or feel. I boil mine after every cycle, so that brings me peace of mind. Another advantage to menstrual cups is that they do not dry you out the way some tampons can.
They should also be sterilized between uses. DivaCup is silicone and should be boiled to sterilize. I don't have a reusable cup...still making my mind up about that. Softcup makes disposable ones that can be used up to 12 hours. I found a pack of 14 for $5 so it was really cheap. Maybe you can start out with those and once you get used to it, try out the reusable ones. The process of dumping it out is not as gross as it seems. It's really not so different from wearing tampons. I don't know of any side effects off the top of my head. Unlike tampons, they don't cause toxic shock. You just have to make sure the silicone is not compromised. Don't store it in plastic because the bag will sweat and cause bacteria. Sterilize it regularly. They've been around for a while, they just aren't very popular.
Wow, I can't believe I've never heard of this. I'm not sure I want to try it though. I just can't imagine having to dump something when I am in a public restroom or at someone's house. However, I am all about saving money, so I won't completely rule it out.
