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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask about your opinion on moon cups?

109 replies

Arachnophobic · 14/10/2011 16:36

this honestly isn't a thread about a thread....so no flaming please.

But as part of a thread earlier moon cups were mentioned.

Now, I am all for being Eco-friendly where possible, and we do recycle. I am no Arthur Fowler but we did grow a few tomatoes and courgettes this year.

But moon cups - REALLY? I just cannot go so far.

So MN panel......what am I missing here? What are your views?

OP posts:
Geordieminx · 14/10/2011 20:15

I have no idea how I eventually got it out, but Christ I will never be putting it back up my virginal fanjo. Ended up very sore and majorly Blush. Only ever had one c/s so don't know whether that has anything to do with it Wink

MmeLindor. · 14/10/2011 20:17

ooooh, it has been ages since we had a good mooncup thread.

I love mine. Have been using for several years (on my second one now) and would never go back to tampons.

I have lighter, easier periods. Empty once a day and forget I have my period.

WakeMeUpWhenSeptemberEnds · 14/10/2011 20:19

Very happy with mine. Give it a go OP and let us know how you get on.

springydaffs · 14/10/2011 20:23

They are marvellous and like another poster on here, I'd tell the world (or the world's wife) if I could. Tranformed my life.

My sorrow is that Aunt Flo has disappeared for ever now and I am gutted that I didn't discover the mooncup years before. It took me a few months to get used to it - and there were a few sweaty panics in the loo when I couldn't get the blasted thing out or in - but oh my goodness it was worth it.

to get it out you bear down, that's all. Although I have had two children I found the larger size too big and it leaked. I got the smaller size and all well from then on.

notevenamOoOooOoooosie · 14/10/2011 20:25

Love mine, can forget it's there, it's definitely paid for itself and never changed it in public. If stuck, the little holes need cleaning, and you need to squeeze it slightly to break the seal, NOT tug!

BerryLellow · 14/10/2011 20:27

Don't really understand the 'rank, rank, rank' attitude, it's just blood. It's not like holding a shit in your hands or anything.

Mooncups are just fantastic, for all the reasons above. Takes a bit of adjusting to, and the first few times of removing mine I didn't do brilliantly (threw it across bathroom accidentally!) but it really is easy. And the whole cubicle thing, you take a bottle of water in with you for rinsing purposes. But i've never had to do an emergency change tbh.

HATED tampons with a passion, oh god the squeak of a not quite used one when you remove Towels, well, they have their place but I always think they are bit smelly.

Spuddybean · 14/10/2011 20:34

the thought of them makes me heave. Although i do have heavy periods and can't even use lilets/tampons without an applicator without looking like a scene from a horror film (public loos are horribly unpleasant and i have had bad experiences in trendy pubs with communal loos/washing facilities)

i once did an event promoting nursing and was placed between stands offering instant chlamydia testing, menopause 'gel', and mooncups were opposite. i spent 3 days watching women giving insertion demonstrations.

TBH i can only go so far with 'natural' and 'eco' before my 'for godsake people we have progress for a reason' response kicks in.

Whyriskit · 14/10/2011 20:36

Berry - And as many of us are mothers, we understand the rankness of actually holding someone else's shit in our hands.

kittycatlove · 14/10/2011 20:37

I have had mine for 3 years -cost £20 it has paid for itself several times over.
I would never go back to shoving bleached chemical laden tampons up there-so much cleaner and enviromentally friendly and also love the fact Im not paying the wages of the twat who invented " Have a happy period"Angry

schroeder · 14/10/2011 21:03

They seem like a great idea, but I have never got on with tampons, so wouldn't dare try them.

I always use reusable pads and panty liners though and they are brilliant. And have saved me £s especially as I made them myself.

torshihunter · 14/10/2011 21:03

Whats not to like? Saves money, health benefits ( re thrush and toxic shock syndrome ), easy to use - comes with lots of helpful guidance notes on insertion and removal. Practice makes perfect! comfortable to use on heavy and low flow days.
It cant get stuck if you relax, squeeze muscles and pinch to break the seal. i wish i had plucked up the courage years earlier to try it. Would never go back to tampons or towels. and i trust my mooncup enough to wear white linen trousers on heavy days.

ScaredyDog · 14/10/2011 21:03

I don't fancy one myself but can see why some like them - but WTF with people emptying blood/washing them into a sink? That's just outrageous, sorry. Really pisses me off when I read about it.

FGS, take a bottle of water and rinse it down the toilet, not in the fucking sink where people wash their hands!

ChasingSquirrels · 14/10/2011 21:06

I'm totally converted, I thought I had lost mine last week (after 4+ years) and ordered another one because the thought of not having it when my next period started was not good (I have since found it, so now have a unopened one as well)

BeyondLimitsOfTheLivingDead · 14/10/2011 21:06

Pregnant atm, but another thread convinced me the other day that I'll be using them in future :)

BerryLellow · 14/10/2011 21:07

ffs, it's not shit.

Why are people so uptight about blood?

cilldara · 14/10/2011 21:10

I love my mooncup.

In terms of ickiness I think the string of a tampon wins hands down.

Takes a while to get used to but oh, so worth it. Clean, economical and really comfortable.

Original poster
Arachnophobic · 14/10/2011 21:15

This has genuinely been an education, I just associated the moon cup with earth mumma/lentil weaving but having read the posts I may have been convinced, the lack of TSS is a real advantage. And I do get pissed off with the cost of the alternatives.

So I will get on eBay the case and look into buying one Grin

OP posts:
VanillaRooibos · 14/10/2011 21:16

OP - I think YABU...and other posters who seem to find their own menstrual blood somehow 'icky' or 'disgusting'. It is your own body and completely normal and natural.

VanillaRooibos · 14/10/2011 21:17

Oh...maybe I cross posted Blush

Cwm · 14/10/2011 21:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BeBe98 · 14/10/2011 21:38

I have a meluna - little ball on the end of mine - no stem and they do them will loops as well so you can choose. Apparently a bit stiffer than a mooncup but I love it!

Did take some getting used to and on my heaviest days I still have to change about every hour and a half but my periods are a nightmare. Tampons are literally useless and I could often change a pad, leave the bathroom, sit down at my desk and have to go change again! Improved the quality of my life on the first two days of my period no end!

Carry a small bottle of water in my bag for public loos and now it's quicker and easier than messing about with pads.

Joolyjoolyjoo · 14/10/2011 21:49

I converted a couple of years ago, because after having 3 children I found tampons leaked, and the thought of sitting in a blood-filled nappy makes me feel gross- each to their own.

I love mine! Change it morning and night in my own bathroom, doesn't leak, practically forget it is there. I have to confess, it was nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with convenience, but if it helps the environment too, well I guess that is a bonus (and makes up for the fact that I am v. bad at recycling Blush)

I wouldn't go back. For those that think it's "icky", having had 3 children I am pretty familiar with my body and don't have a problem with the insertion/ removal. One of the most depressing things about childbirth for me was those awful maternity pads afterwards and the feeling of them slowly peeling away from my nether regions when I stood up- uck uck uck.

merrymonsters · 14/10/2011 21:50

It took a few months to get used to it, but I wouldn't go back to tampons. I wish I'd started using one sooner.

kittycatlove · 14/10/2011 22:03

I dont get why so many people think it is "Icky" - the blood stays in the cup until you tip it away.
Urgh the reminder about the tampon string - had forgotten that joy. One thing that might not have been mentioned is how dry tampons and Sanitary towels make me feel - awful,dry and itchy . I also use washable sanpro at night-very soft and comfy.

carabos · 14/10/2011 22:09

To those upthread with heavy periods, you don't have to put with it. As someone else said, we have progress. If you are having to change your protection hourly, then you will be anaemic and that's potentially more serious than you might think.
Consider the mirena coil ( not for me but many many women swear by it). Consider the endometrial ablation (had that and it stopped the worst of the flooding). If you have completed your family, this can be a godsend. Don't think you have to put up with it.
The moon cup might be a super little gadget, but heavy bleeding is very bad for you and a plastic bucket cup really isn't the answer.