I first discovered them at a Pagan festival I went to, where I saw them on sale. I was curious, and asked the lady about them, who produced a rather large, rather squishy object that looked...quite frankly much too scary to be sticking all up in my business. I was dubious, but the thought of them stuck in my mind.
I suppose I'll start with why I liked the idea. I grew up with an ex-military father, and two big brothers. Needless to say, pain was weakness, and bleeding from the vagina was just plain gross, so going out to buy tampons was a chore. I was always easily embarassed by feminine-y things, so I didn't like to say where I was going, and if I didn't like the look of the person on the tills at the shop I'd just turn right around again. I got by, but it was annoying to say the least. Hence why I began to like the idea of the mooncup.
I did my research online, thought about it, decided I didn't like the idea, then started looking at it again. Eventually, when walking round town one day, I saw them at a Boots. I bit the bullet and bought one. Perhaps one of the best ideas I've made thus far in my life.
I'll begin with the gross and not so great, then get onto the good later.
To begin with, it was difficult. The first time I put it in, I got nervous, I tensed up, and I couldn't get it out. It got slippery because I hadn't cut the stem and it had started to leak. I got scared. I left it for a while, read some posts, and eventually relaxed enough to get it out. My vagina felt a little achey, and it was kind of messy, what with having spilt a good portion of the contents on the loo seat. Still, I cleaned up, cut the stem down a bit more, and off I went. After that, I learnt to just relax. It got easier each time, and after using it for a few months, it was easy as pie. And I really like pie.
Also, the goop. It's a little gross. Also a lot fascinating. I tend to pour the contents of the cup down the sink. I can reach it while sitting on the loo, and it means less handling it while it hovers over the deep dark depths of the u-bend, which makes me a little nervous (I've only dropped it down there once- touch wood). It's a lot easier to wash the goop out than I'd expected. All the little hidey-holes make it seem like it'd take forever to get all the goop out, but it takes a second or so, and I'm fine with that. The suction holes are the only awkward part, but I've discovered that pinching them with a thumb nail tends to do the trick. I'm not squeamish,which I'm glad of, because I feel like this could really be a lot more difficult if I were.
Finally, for the gross stuff, the mornings. I'd hoped that this would stop that gods-awful first-thing-gush, but I was wrong. Oh so wrong. That little waddle to the bathroom, at least on the heavy days, is still a regular occurrence. I've found it definitely helps though, if I roll around a bit before I get up. I'm not sure why, but slowly changing lying position seems to give the blood a chance to move from it's hiding spots, and mostly back into the cup. Still, the heavy days will always provide me with a bit of a jog.
Now to the good.
I never run out of tampons, because I never need to own any. And there's never that moment where you drop your bag and everything falls out in front of all those really attractive guys at the coffee shop. I do not miss that moment.
I'm a lot less paranoid about leaking. I used to be terrified that it would happen, constantly, and now, I know that I could probably bear to wait an hour or so. I don't have to rush to the bathroom every hour to check, and I don't have to take my bag with me that lets everyone know what I'm doing.
That rustling sound in the cubicles is non-existent (though the squelchy noises can sound...interesting). It feels a lot more discrete, and a lot comfier. I don't have to wriggle around to get my pad in a comfortable position, no errant hair sticking to anything, no *ahem* sweatiness, and I don't have to worry about a string sticking out.
I love my mooncup, and I will never look back. I couldn't give it any more praise.