Hello to everyone in this community! I've gone from knowing nothing about menstrual cups to owning two and loving them in just over a cycle and I owe it all to the openness, honesty and frankness of the people who post here and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart :)

But I am pissed! Why has it taken so long to find out about menstrual cups? Oh! I feel like my life and my attitude to my period could have been so different had I known about these sooner. Melodramatic? Maybe...

Brief history: I'm 42 years old from Oz with 2 kids, had great periods before kids, short 4-5 days, lightish, longish cycle 35-40 days. After 1st child - hideous! Felt like I could spend the first 2-3 days just sitting on the loo, 25-28 day cycle, 6-8 days duration, cramps, fatigue. It shocked me. I felt sorry for myself and anyone else whose periods ruled their lives the way mine did for these years. They settled down after 2nd child, not so heavy but still at 27-28 days, but then a sensitivity to tampons and pads set in and the whole process was hell for 4 years. The accompanying rash would heal up about a week before the next one would start which lead me to begrudgingly researching cloth .. But then a whole new world has opened up! Looking at cloth lead to discovering cups .. :)

I now own a juju cup and a sckoon, both size 2 or large. On the advice given to others from members here I didn't cut the stem until I'd given it a go but the stem on the sckoon went on day 3 and I suspect the juju will be gone soon too. "Bearing down" brings the cup that seems impossible to reach, well into reach for easy removal. No leaks with either, but I would recommend to any first timer to try inserting AND especially removal in the shower. Just makes it so much easier, removes any worries about mess completely and because you can make sure you are nice and clean it helps detect leaks too. I suspect doing that and reading a lot on the web (on this site in particular) cut my learning curve down dramatically.

I think the sckoon cup came out a winner for me. Softness good, size and shape good, popped open well with basic c or u fold. Difficult though if I tried anything fancy, and the "twist" on insertion was good too. But as I said the stem went pretty quickly, the ridges were just too pronounced. Juju cup I had to use labia fold as other larger folds seemed to "slap" the inside of me and I could feel it more, perhaps from it being a firmer silicon? Stem was less noticeable than sckoon but will get rid of it before next cycle for sure.

Looking at getting a ruby cup for use on heavy days (day 2&3) for next cycle as the extra 4ml may give me more time and flexibility in my day. Does anyone else mix up the use of cups for different days / conditions in their cycle?

Thanks again everyone xx