ecstaticI got my Diva Cup in July, before camp... I'm a camp counselor at a conservation school.. environmental education summer camp for teens. And we do a lot of water safety and canoeing stuff, which I usually skip out on, because I outright refuse to use tampons, being that they're all bleachey and dryouty, and I ALWAYS manage to get my period midway through camp (one week session). So! I got a Diva Cup because I was so interested in the idea of never having to buy packages of pads, and it's sustainable! I remember hearing a statistic of an average tonnage thrown out of feminine hygiene products per year.. and it really threw me back. It's such a minor thing that we all complain about and yet contributing so much towards! Ridiculous.
So, hence buying the Diva Cup. I didn't test it out or anything before bringing it with me to camp... which I really should have. It's actually kind of a funny story, and I live to tell the tale! So I get my period.. shit. Of course. Run to bathroom. Fidget with this thing for at least 45 minutes and almost in tears because we had a program to attend and it was rushy and I was freaking out and so an and so forth.. I finally get it in. I read numerous times that it was IMPOSSIBLE for this thing to get lost. But I was still coming down from my hysteria, so it wasn't hard to get back when I found that I had gotten it in, but now I couldn't find the damn thing. So I go to the kitchen and tell the assistant director: I lost something. We have this rule at camp.. you lose something, you have to sing for it after dinner. She gets all excited, chipper, "oh, someone's going to have to siiiinnnggg...!" Then I say, I don't think so. It's not something you're going to find. So I tell her what happened, and she's never even HEARD of a menstrual cup, so she doesn't know what the hell to tell me. Luckily, someone was around that has a good friend that is a doctor. She gives me some instructions over the phone on how to get it out but says it's probably fine. Nope, I wanted it OUT. So I got it out after a little while and bit of pain.
Needless to say, this prevented me from ever wanting to try it again. It's been sitting in a drawer for awhile. But then I came across you guys!! You all definitely cleared some stuff up, and I've finally got it, I think! It feels slightly off, but I'm pretty sure it's in my head because the first time was so distressing. Will see! But thank you all sooo much! And kudos if you actually got through this whole post. :)