Kai (kuradi8) wrote in menstrual_cups,
Kai
kuradi8
menstrual_cups

Four Cups and Insteads

Many of you have heard my tale (repeatedly) already.  Here it is again in its entirety followed by a review of my cups.

"Just sit right down and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip..."

The stigma of (UGH!) *taking my purse* to the ladies room has haunted me since Jr High.  I have always hated how it announces that I need its contents.  "Attention everyone!  I'm going to change my tampon now!"  And it's so hard to smuggle a tampon with its tell-tale shape and crinkly noise.  Less than a year ago, after literally decades of tampons, my wishes for "something better" finally came true.  I was shopping for herbal hair dye online and noticed a Diva Cup advertised in the SALE column in the margin.  "What the heck is that?"  Needless to say, I was THRILLED to discover that such a product existed.  I researched Menstrual Cups immediately and "Wow!  There are even more brands?"  If cups have been around for 70+ years, where had they been hiding for all the years I've wished for them?  I'm still excited about them.  I tell everyone whose ear I can bend -- even guy friends for their wives, girlfriends, daughters, etc.  And even though it seems trivial to most of you, I can finally go in and out of the ladies room EMPTY HANDED!  Insert me doing my happy dance here.

These are the cups I've used and my impressions of them:

Large Diva (46x57, 25ml) - This was my first cup and I bought it because it was the least expensive option.  I didn't have much success with it for the first couple of cycles.  I didn't figure it out until I was able to get my next cup to pop and seal first.  "Oh, so that's what it's supposed to do!"  Enlarging the anti-suction holes helped a little.  But it still leaked.  A couple of cycles later, I learned about shortening the cup by wearing it flipped inside out.  That cured the leaking problem.  But inside out, without a stem to "anchor" it in place, I'm paranoid that it could somersault inside of me, especially because my outside job is a very active one with a lot of walking, bending, lunging, straddling, etc.  And that's an environment in which I don't have the luxury of dashing to a bathroom at the first sign of trouble.  The Diva is a hard cup to master.  I think I might finally have -- but I still don't trust it fully.  I will probably give it away to my friend's daughter.

Small Lunette (41x47, 19ml) - Because the Diva was too long, I went to the other extreme.  I loved how short the small Lunette was (apparently my cervix drops really low), that it had a decent capacity and how easy it was to pop open and seal, but it proved to be too narrow for me.  It was fine at my desk job but if I was active (like at my outside job), it felt like it was being pushed out, like it was "crowning."  It didn't leak while I was upright or sitting but when I would lie down, I could feel it shift -- and then it leaked like it wasn't there at all overnight.  Bummer.  I sold it to someone who it fits better -- and eventually got a large Lunette to replace it.

Instead Softcups - Less than 9 bucks for a box of 24 at my Target.  I use one per cycle, not single use.  Love them!  But overall, they're messier to use than cups.  My hand looks like I've left a murder scene after emptying one -- versus just a little blood on my fingertips with a cup.  And they need a blip shield for residual blood that gets on the other side of the vagina during a change.  I keep one stashed in my purse in case of a no-cup emergency or to share with friends with whom alternative products come up.  "Have you ever seen one of these?  Want one to try?"  Unlike with the cups, I had instant success with them.  Until I rode my motorcycle.  Sitting splayed, straddling the saddle, my mass centered on the Instead and squished whatever was in there out.  DARN!  Love them otherwise.  Sitting, walking, sleeping -- anything but motorcycling.

Large UK Mooncup (46x50, 13ml) - I bought it second hand, on a whim, only because it was cheap and no one else wanted it at the last seconds of an ebay auction.  I really didn't think that I would like it as much as I do.  It is by far the easiest to use and the most comfortable of my cups.  But I just wish it held more -- only 13ml to the holes -- which I very unscientifically equate to a "regular" tampon.  That's OK.  I got a large Lunette for my heavy day.  This does the rest.

Large Lunette (46x52, 25ml) - When I first researched cups, I "knew in my heart" that this would be the RIGHT cup for me.  But I second guessed myself and bought the others first.  I don't know if it was intuition or a self-fulfilling prophesy but I seem to have been right.  I love its high capacity for my heavy day, for overnight, for my outside job and for motorcycling.  It is easy to use and easy to trust.  If I could only have one cup, this would be it.  Whether small or large, I like Lunettes.  I think they're intelligently designed.  They get my double-thumbs-up recommendation.

There was a gal putting together a bulk Lunette order a week or two ago.  http://community.livejournal.com/menstrual_cups/1252658.html  If you want one but missed the boat on that, then Sarah-May at http://stores.ebay.com/Lunette-Cups has good prices and she is VERY helpful.


Tags: brand comparisons
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