Can I just say... (TMI warning)

[sweet2ndchance]

That cups are amazing! I've wondered about them for a long time but Catwoman's thread on tampons and heavy metals was the push I needed to give them a try. Now I wish I had tried them sooner! Before I couldn't go all night with an ultra absorbency tampon. It would leak and I would wake up in the middle of the night and have to take a shower to clean up the mess. This happened at least once or twice every month.

I'm just finishing up my first cycle using a cup and not even a single leak! I could go all night even on my heavy days! I was even less crampy than normal which was a surprise for me because I'm usually out of commission at least one day of my cycle because it hurts so bad. Instead, I've been on a mad full house decluttering spree my entire cycle, lol! Putting it in and taking it out took some getting used to but even so it was by far less messy than dealing with tampons and applicators for me.

I also bought period underwear but I feel like I really didn't get to put them to the test because the cup never leaked for me. They are comfortable enough though and I will wear them for now. But the cups I bought are the best $15 I've spent in a while. 

Just wanted to share, lol! 😉 

[Halftime Hope]

It might of historical interest to those who love cups nowadays, that women in the early 60s had access to cups. They were highly regarded in some expat communities, as they were widely appreciated for being a reusable product that didn't have to be stocked in large quantities when a woman planned to be in remote locations across the globe for years at a time.

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

The Daintette was patented in 1932. It and the Foldene, both made of natural rubber, were sold at home parties. Production for both halted during WWII due to the natural rubber shortages. Menstrual cups began to appear again in the 1950s….and yes, they were especially popular in the expat circles.

 

ETA: the first medical silicone cup emerged around 2003–super awesome for all of those who had developed latex allergies!!

Edited July 28 by prairiewindmomma

[Halftime Hope]

People might find this interesting:  http://www.mum.org/CupTaset.htm

I thought it interesting since so many people have heard of the Oreck vacuum company.  😄 

[MercyA]

I've also read that tampons can cause cervical irritation. I imagine a cup would cause less of that?

[KungFuPanda]

I’ve only used a silicone Diva. I purchased it at the crunchy independent health food store. I love the security of not running out of supplies. I wanna say I bought it in 2010ish long before you could get everything on Amazon and before Target stocked them. 

Edited July 28 by KungFuPanda

[sweet2ndchance]

1 minute ago, MercyA said:

I've also read that tampons can cause cervical irritation. I imagine a cup would cause less of that?

I've read the same thing.

I also read that cervical irritation can cause cramps and that's why for some people cups cause less cramping. 😉 

[sweet2ndchance]

2 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I’ve only used a silicone Diva. I purchased it at the crunchy independent health food store. I love the security of not running out of supplies. I wanna say I bought it in 2010ish long before you could get everything on Amazon and before Target stocked them. 

I want to say around 2010 was when I first heard of the cup, probably the Diva cup. I ended up buying them on Amazon. Much cheaper than I've seen Diva Cups sell for though I admit I haven't looked at Diva Cups in a while. I think they sell them at our local Walmart for about $35 for 1 cup. The brand I bought is called Ecoblossom and I got two for about $15.

I know our septic man will be happy. He told me neither tampons nor the disposable applicators should be flushed on a septic system but that if I must flush the tampon, he understands. So I always bought the plastic applicators so that I wouldn't forget to not flush them. Now I don't have to worry about it at all! 😄

[KungFuPanda]

I think the odds are incredibly high that I learned about the cup here. It could’ve been friends, but the hive is a likely source. 

[KungFuPanda]

3 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said:

I want to say around 2010 was when I first heard of the cup, probably the Diva cup. I ended up buying them on Amazon. Much cheaper than I've seen Diva Cups sell for though I admit I haven't looked at Diva Cups in a while. I think they sell them at our local Walmart for about $35 for 1 cup. The brand I bought is called Ecoblossom and I got two for about $15.

I know our septic man will be happy. He told me neither tampons nor the disposable applicators should be flushed on a septic system but that if I must flush the tampon, he understands. So I always bought the plastic applicators so that I wouldn't forget to not flush them. Now I don't have to worry about it at all! 😄

I learned not to flush on a Cub Scout tour of the wastewater treatment plant that has me traumatized to this day. It was very educational and very disgusting. 

[prairiewindmomma]

27 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I've also read that tampons can cause cervical irritation. I imagine a cup would cause less of that?

For me, the rayon blend in a lot of commercial tampons is an issue, I dont have cramping with organic 100% cotton tampons. I stick mostly to my silicon disc, so glad the options have continued to expand! 

Edited July 28 by prairiewindmomma

[Halftime Hope]

14 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think the odds are incredibly high that I learned about the cup here. It could’ve been friends, but the hive is a likely source. 

Aside from knowing about them due to that early 60s thing I mentioned -- and no, I'm not in my mid-90s ( 😉 ) -- the Hive is the only place IRL, I've ever heard cups discussed, not even in very progressive midwifery circles or LLL.  

That said, and to her great credit, my midwife was the one that helped me find a silicone BC item that the ob/gyn said wasn't in existence.

Edited July 29 by Halftime Hope

[YaelAldrich]

19 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

It might of historical interest to those who love cups nowadays, that women in the early 60s had access to cups. They were highly regarded in some expat communities, as they were widely appreciated for being a reusable product that didn't have to be stocked in large quantities when a woman planned to be in remote locations across the globe for years at a time.

 

 

I got one a long time ago because I was moving again to Japan and tampons were hard to get and expensive. I love using one but I'm getting tired of that monthly visitor! 

Edited July 29 by YaelAldrich

[prairiewindmomma]

(Married) relatives had them very early on because of living abroad in places where disposable products werent commercially available. Cups were preferable to having to wear a belt and handwash cloth pads. 
 

Anyone remember wearing or seeing sanitary belts? 

[mommyoffive]

21 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

People might find this interesting:  http://www.mum.org/CupTaset.htm

I thought it interesting since so many people have heard of the Oreck vacuum company.  😄 

I find that interesting.  I sure wish I would have been educated on them.  I scared to try them only because some people have some stories about the suction, the crime scene mess, and the like.   But I still just want to try them to see if cups or discs are better than the mainstream options.

[Kareni]

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Anyone remember wearing or seeing sanitary belts? 

I do.

Regards,

Kareni

[kbutton]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I find that interesting.  I sure wish I would have been educated on them.  I scared to try them only because some people have some stories about the suction, the crime scene mess, and the like.   But I still just want to try them to see if cups or discs are better than the mainstream options.

I am a cup flunkie. I don’t care for tampons either. I felt more crampy with a cup, and neither product worked after having kids. I am somewhere on the hypermobility spectrum, and I had some serious internal stitched after my first birth. I assume those things make it a bad fit for me.

I’m super jealous they work for others, but perimenopause in all its glory was daunting enough that I couldn’t really imagine experimenting further.

I learned about cups from cloth diapering sites.

I think I might remember my Mom having belted pads, but she had an early hysterectomy, and I do remember marketing materials referencing “beltless” supplies before I had any idea what any of this stuff was for. I assume that was all at a time when you could get either one or belts were newly gone.

[sweet2ndchance]

4 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I find that interesting.  I sure wish I would have been educated on them.  I scared to try them only because some people have some stories about the suction, the crime scene mess, and the like.   But I still just want to try them to see if cups or discs are better than the mainstream options.

I heard about the crime scene mess too but in the end I figured it couldn't be any worse than the crime scene messes I was dealing with when tampons leaked for me. I also read that some people that worry about the mess remove them in the shower. I ended up doing it over the toilet and unless you want to look and see how much is in the cup, it can all be emptied in the toilet without a mess. I had IUDs for years and years so I was used to checking the strings. Pulling out a cup is actually less invasive than that.

If you are thinking about giving cups or discs a try, I highly recommend it. The two pack of cups I got are no more expensive than two boxes of tampons. I also looked into the June Cup.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, kbutton said:

I am a cup flunkie. I don’t care for tampons either. I felt more crampy with a cup, and neither product worked after having kids. I am somewhere on the hypermobility spectrum, and I had some serious internal stitched after my first birth. I assume those things make it a bad fit for me.

I’m super jealous they work for others, but perimenopause in all its glory was daunting enough that I couldn’t really imagine experimenting further.

I learned about cups from cloth diapering sites.

I think I might remember my Mom having belted pads, but she had an early hysterectomy, and I do remember marketing materials referencing “beltless” supplies before I had any idea what any of this stuff was for. I assume that was all at a time when you could get either one or belts were newly gone.

Funny you say that.  I have noticed having issues with tampons after having kids and don't hear a lot of talk about it.  So it is good to hear it it does happen.  I wonder if discs are a better option in that case? 

[prairiewindmomma]

I tried the Diva, Sofft, and other cups and could never get them to work with my body. The large pixie disc (and the disc holder bowl) have been what work for me. I fill the disc holder with water and take it into the bathroom with me at home—no murder scene messes, iykwim. 

Edited July 30 by prairiewindmomma

[kbutton]

26 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Funny you say that.  I have noticed having issues with tampons after having kids and don't hear a lot of talk about it.  So it is good to hear it it does happen.  I wonder if discs are a better option in that case? 

Me too! I am (I hope) at the tail end of things, so I haven’t pursued trying one.

[KidsHappen]

8 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

(Married) relatives had them very early on because of living abroad in places where disposable products werent commercially available. Cups were preferable to having to wear a belt and handwash cloth pads. 
 

Anyone remember wearing or seeing sanitary belts? 

I used a belt when I first started. Adhesive pads came along not too long after that. 

[cintinative]

17 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

 

Anyone remember wearing or seeing sanitary belts? 

When I first got my period my mom broke out a package (she had a hysterectomy when I was about four).  I refused to use them.  😃