Menstrual Cups Revisited!

Hello lovely readers,

I feel like I have been neglectful of both this blog and you guys so I thought I would do another visit to the world of the menstrual cup. I have now been using menstrual cups for 5 months so feel I can now comfortably discuss the pros and cons of their usage, and help anyone trying to make the leap.
I reviewed the Divacup here when I first started to use it, and alot has changed! I also discussed the Femmecup here previously. After going through 5 cycles with these ladies, I now feel like I can give a really honest opinion on them.
So here goes! The Femmecup was, and still is, my favourite cup.The softer medical grade silicone is so comfortable I can just put it in and quite literally forget I have it in for the whole day, until it starts to leak. This is where the love ends, it is quite a small capacity cup at around 15ml so I fill it up in just a few hours on my heaviest day. It is my favourite cup, but only on my lightest days, and I cannot wear it at night.
The Divacup however is on the other end of the spectrum. It is much harder cup, its made from the same medical grade silicone but it is thicker, and a firmer rim. At first I found it very uncomfortable and hard to get in the right place. I found the firmer ring harder to get to "pop" open once in place and just had a terrible few cycles trying to get it right. Until yesterday. Yesterday it all changed with a Eureka! moment. It suddenly just seems to "work". I got it in, kept it in while I was out for 4 hours, and then returned home to a half full cup. Emptied it, and back in it went, no problem. I even slept with it in, which is a first for me in the 4 months since I have had it. The Divacup is a larger capacity, and a longer cup which is why many women have trouble with it fitting in the right place as throughout the cycle your cervix will move up and down.

As far as the cons go to menstrual cup usage ladies, I can honestly say I don't think there are any. I find it cleaner and fresher. You know that uncomfortable feeling in the morning when you wake up with that "wet" feeling on your period? You don't get that. You know that funky smell you get with pads? You don't get that. You know the wet urine soaked string that you have with tampons, you guessed it. You don't get that either. What you do get is a small cup which needs to be emptied into a toilet or sink and rinsed then put back in. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it.

If you are shorter inside I would not recommend the Divacup at all, but if you are a lady with a heavier period it is definitely the one, of the two I have, that I would recommend. If capacity is not an issue then for comfort I would definitely go with the Femmecup.

So there we have it ladies, if you are still unsure about menstrual cups I would definitely make that leap, I did and I am not looking back. Head over to the Facebook group Menstrual Cuppers for advice as they are a great bunch of ladies. Also, if you would like to read more about cups there is a great blog over at Bunnie's Choice which discusses them further with pictures of fold methods etc.

So what do you think ladies? Do you use Cups? Have you? Will you? Let me know in the comments :)

DivaCup Review!

So as any of my regular readers know by now, I am a monthly user of the Femmecup. The Femmecup menstrual cup served me pretty well for the last few months apart from when on my heaviest day. Many of you told me that you use the Divacup as it has a higher capacity, so I wrote to the guys over at www.divacup.com and requested a sample. They graciously accepted my offer to review it for them and so that brings us to today. First off, let me state, I was not paid for this review. I received a cup to trial and give my honest opinion on it for you, my readers, so let's get down to it.

As I am already a menstrual cup user I am already familiar with the different folds and techniques that come with being totally comfortable with your *ahem* inner lady workings. The cup itself is fairly similar to the Femmecup in the fact that it has a small stem and is roughly the same shape. It is bigger, and it has a firmer rim than the Femmecup. If you want to have a look at the Femmecup review I did a little while ago feel free to head over here to check that out.

Here is how the product looks in the packaging: 

And upon opening the box there is a pleasant surprise, a lovely little satin bag to keep it in and a small lapel badge to proudly wear stating what I already know, that I am a Diva!

The Divacup itself has a capacity of 30ml which is actually more than large enough, most women only lose 30-40ml throughout their whole monthly period! What makes the Divacup more convenient to use is that the company state it can be left in for up to 12 hours at a time, meaning you only have to change it once in the morning and once before bed. Gone are the days of having to change a tampon every few hours ladies.

Another great point to note is that it is recommended to change once a year, that means in total your yearly period allowance is around £21.99 a year! 

It is important when choosing a Divacup to choose the right size for you. If you are under 30 and have never had a baby then size 1 is the right one for you. If you are either over 30 or under 30 and have given birth either vaginally or by c-section then choose cup 2.

So far I have only had the chance to use the cup for a day or so, but I can say that it is comfortable and you genuinely can forget it is there. With tampons I was always told you cannot feel them if they are in right, but I always could, so this is a great plus for me. My biggest love with using the Divacup is the fact that you can leave it in all day. This means no more struggling in the ladies room with changing a tampon or even nasty uncomfortable pads. Just pop it in in the morning before you leave the house and you should be fine until you get home in the evening and empty it. I will update this post once I have used it for a few cycles but so far so good.

If you are thinking about using a menstrual cup and you feel that the Divacup is right for you then check out Divacup's handy Storefinder to find out where you can buy near you, or if you prefer, check out their E-tailer page for buying online.

Also, like them on Facebook and Twitter for more reviews by users and handy advice.

If you have any questions regarding this blog please feel free to comment below. Have you used the Divacup? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

*UPDATE* after using the divacup this cycle I can view confirm, I don't think it's for me. The cup itself is one of the long-standing in the market and it may just be too long for me. The end (trimmed off) sits very low, almost at the entrance which I find quite maddening when I am out of the house as it feels like it's falling out. I turned it inside out to shorten it, which  has helped slightly though. I also find it is much harder to get it to pop open inside, this is challenging xompaews to my softer femmecup. If anyone can recommend a high capacity, shorter cup please let me know. I have heard good things about the mooncup. 

Femmecup

First of all I would like to apologise to any family/friends/men or squeamish people reading this... This is your warning. Leave now if you do not want to read about my use of a menstrual product that collects bloods/fluids from my body...

All gone? Good. Lets continue...

These products are becoming increasingly popular with people who are sick of filling up landfills with tampons and pads full of their own fluids every single months and also people like me who hate using pads but have no choice because I find tampons so damn uncomfortable that my body just general rejects them...

I do alot of researching different products and reading reviews of products before purchasing and this product crept up a few times, I have been pretty intrigued by the prospect of something that can stay in your body for 12 hours at a time thus eliminating the need to change in a public restroom or leaking through onto your clothing.

Here is what it looks like, the femmecup. It retails as one of the cheapest reusable cups available at around £13 and will last for up to 10 years! Think of the money saved in those years by not having to buy disposable products!

Ok so here are my pro's:

Reusable (think of the environment, man)

Putting it in and forgetting about it for a minimum of 6 hours and maximum of 12 hours 

Can be used overnight

Has little measuring lines so you really get to know how much blood you lose a month

Are known to shorten cycles because the blood is less likely to clot inside your body

No odor as blood only smells once oxygenated

Con's:

The stem is shorter than most so makes it very difficult to grab and reach easily

You really do get to come to... ahem... know your body... and your cycle

I feel like I should put a small disclaimer here, the first time I used the product it felt fine, could hardly feel it in there. It sits much lower than a tampon so it is easier to insert and know its in the right place. However, and this is a big however, the first few times it is very challenging to get out. I'm talking one leg up on the bath with the other bent, bearing down and having flash backs of labouring my child before hearing an audible pop followed by giving birth to a slightly blood filled silicone cup...

After a few attempts its *APPARENTLY* easy to remove. I do have very short fingers and there was a moment of panic where I felt like packing my bags, leaving the country and starting afresh...

Would highly recommend though ;)

What are your experiences with the reusable cup of uterus fluid? Let me know in the comments!

*UPDATE* I have now inserted the cup 4 times over the day (not because I needed to but because I'm sort of fascinated...) and removed it 3 times. With each Insertion and removal it gets easier. I can now insert in a matter of a minute or so, and can remove in a few minutes. Something else to note is the strange feeling you get when the cup pops open once in position. Not painful or uncomfortable just strange. Like a small air punch to the cervix. I am NEVER going back to pads or tampons. Period. :P

Enjoy ;)