Heylo!
I got my period two days ago and (after several months of trying and failing) I managed to insert my Mooncup! The sense of euphoria was amazing. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the calming words of you all here so thankyou.
I've removed it 3 times now, with the last time hurting significantly less than the other times. There is still moments of panic when I think I can't get it but now I know I can get it out. I presume it will get easier/less painful with practise?

To my questions: sorry if these have been asked before.

~ I know it's okay to go swimming with a cup in, but does that also apply to sea/river water? I'm probably just paranoid but I'm scared the salt/dirt etc. in the water will affect it somehow?

~ My flow is variable but on my lighter days, taking the cup out after 8 hours leaves only a minimal amount of blood. - Not even past the second ridge at the base of the cup. Would I be able to leave it in for longer on those lighter days? (eg. 24 hours or so?) I'm a little scared it might ride to high for me to reach or something worse. Apparently you can't get TSS with a cup but there are still warnings on the packaging?

~ The stem does hurt throughout the day when standing/sitting (but thankfully for my sleeping habit not when lying down). It's not unbearable and it's more of discomfort than real pain. Am I right to wait until the end of my cycle to trim it down?

~ One last thing, with my light flow, most of the 'stuff' in there seems to be this mucus-y yellow substance. Is that normal discharge?

Thankyou so much for being awesome with this sort of stuff. You're all amazing.