Help! Moon Cup Removal (not for the faint of heart)

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, I don't touch anything with anything in a public restroom, if I can avoid it. From the looks of the wall behind the flusher, I'm not the only one who uses a foot.

However, I am frequently in public restrooms with small children, and sometimes they are boys. Sometimes they are 8 years old. Sometimes the mother in the stall is screaming at the 8-year-old boy not to move to where she can't see his feet! Sometimes the 8-year-old boy is embarrassed enough.

I can't imagine what a mother like that would say if I came out of the stall with bloody hands, and a Diva Cup and rinsed it in the sink. And besides, how do you get your pants up enough to come out without putting it down? I have enough trouble with pads. I don't use tampons if I can help it.

Thanks for the enlightening discussion.

Karen

[kermit]

I am considering trying one of these. Do you still wear a liner in case of spotting? How long can you really use one before emptying? My first two days are brutal, I think it could be really messy at work.

[Grog]

Unless your periods are EXTREMELY heavy (as in: changing super-absorbant pads every 90 minutes) you shouldn't have to empty the cup mid-day, thus the bathroom problem is moot...

[Jewell]

I think there's a irrational fear surrounding public restrooms. The first day of my period is super heavy and I end up emptying my keeper 3 times a day. If I do need to go into a public restroom, I empty the contents, take toilet paper and clean it out a bit, and clean the outside of the cup. If my fingers get red on them I wipe them off and go wash my hands. People don't spy on each other in the restroom.

I am considering trying one of these. Do you still wear a liner in case of spotting? How long can you really use one before emptying? My first two days are brutal, I think it could be really messy at work.

When I'm on my period I wear only black underpants. It only makes sense, even with tampons you can have leakage, its no different with the cup. Every women is different. As with tampons, some need slims, regulars, or supers. So just as with tampons, different women can leave in cups for different times. For me I know my first day is super heavy (see above). After my first period, I empty it in the morning and at night. If your worried about TSS, you don't have to be. None of the cups on the market (Moon Cup, Keeper, Diva) have been linked to TSS. The bacteria that cause TSS don't thrive in cup environments.

You really have to get to know yourself all over again. Remember when you first used tampons? It can be difficult, trying, but overall a good transition. Plus unlike tampons, the various cups wont: dry you out, make you poor, be full of pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, you wont make waste, less to carry in your bag, enlightening... etc.

[channlluv]

Are they suitable for large women? I'm about 120lbs overweight, and I have trouble wearing tampons because of my size. They just hurt. It's hard to get one to "sit" right and I usually end up pulling them out and just wearing big overnight pads all the time. My first two days are extremely heavy, then a light day, then a no day, then another light day and I'm done. Those first two days, though, I'm changing the very large pads every couple of hours. I sleep on a thick towel to protect my sheets from leaks.

Would these cups be suitable for me, do you think?

Thanks!

Roxy

[wackyjacky1]

channlluv, in my completely unmedical opinion, I don't see why it would be a problem for you to use a Diva cup or Moon cup. My experience with it has been exactly as what was described in other threads: there's a "learning curve" until you get used to it, just like there was with tampons. (Only I had been using tampons for so long that I forgot there was a time when I thought it was weird and icky, too! ) So be patient at first, wear a pad as a backup until you get the hang of it. I say give it a try. For me, it's been a 100% positive change.

[indigoiis]

I use the Instead cups, and re-use them about ten times. I will probably be moving over to the diva cup soon, but I still have a whole box of insteads to go through.

To answer the public restroom question, I came up with a really good solution. I pack a sandwich baggie with a torn strip of newspaper folded up inside. I bring a clean Instead cup with me to work, and when it's time to swap, I empty the first, dab with toilet paper, wrap in the newspaper, put in the plastic sandwich bag. This easily slips into my pocket or bag. I get home and wash and rinse both bag and cup and chuck the newsprint. Seems like a pain but it really isn't. Although I guess the rinsing and washing does have some carbon footprint, it's better than landfilling wrappers and pads and tampons (in my mind.)

Non-painful placement of the cup is easy once you find your "rim bone" as my oby/gyn likes to call it when she prescribed me with my first diaphram. It's up and in toward the belly button, and a properly fitting Instead cup (not sure about diva and moon) sits right on that ledge. Getting it out is easy - go up to the ledge, scrunch like you are doing an ab crunch, and get a finger between you and the rim. Easy peasey (and practice makes perfect.)

Using a gel may help you with this. Although, I have a funny story about a slippery diaphram that got away from me once... I think it might be too much information, though!

[emily_in_nc]

Unless your periods are EXTREMELY heavy (as in: changing super-absorbant pads every 90 minutes) you shouldn't have to empty the cup mid-day, thus the bathroom problem is moot...

I don't consider my periods "super" heavy, but I do have one day per cycle where I found that I had to change the Diva Cup once during the work day (10+ hours including my commute), In a public restroom, that was just too difficult. I had the problem others have mentioned of messy hands and no way to get my undies and pants back up and get to a sink without worrying about blood getting here and there. I tried taking a water bottle into the stall to wash off with, but that was too hard to remember and execute. I like the idea of the cup for environmental reasons, but one day a month, it just doesn't work for me for this reason -- I went back to tampons.

I personally am looking forward to menopause!

[malkin]

I personally am looking forward to menopause!

Amen, Sister!

[Misandal]

I second the Instead cup. With it, there's no tail, no suction, just a much easier way to deal with a period!

[planetluvver]

Wow!

I am so happy to hear that these cups have become so popular. I only have irregular periods now, every 3 months, 6 months or whatever. (I am 49) So I don't think I will invest in one of these.

There was a disposable cup I tried (Is it called Instead?) But it leaked for me whenever I changed posture.

I am so glad that there is that much less dioxin in the water, from all you lovely ladies using these cups.