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Original poster

Mooncup

50 replies

Poppity · 18/05/2009 15:16

Does anyone use one of these?
Are they any good?
Do you get leakage?
How do you clean them?
Can you feel them when they are in?
Is removing them tricky- I mean, do you get splashes?!

Thanks!

OP posts:

PlumBumMum · 18/05/2009 16:08

This is my second month using one and I think its brilliant(I even bought the wrong size and its been fine),
did leak on first night of really heavy flow(TMI) but was fine during the day because I emptied it often, can't feel it at all,
and I don't know if its a coincedence but haven't had any migraines or that totally life being drained right out of me feeling

SOLOisMeredithGrey · 18/05/2009 16:09

Has anyone ever dropped it into the loo accidentally before? that'd be my worry...public loo, no way to sterilise before reinsertion ~ bloody nightmare!

PlumBumMum · 18/05/2009 16:09

BTW theyre in a small box on the bottom shelf in any boots I've been in, easy to miss!

RoseOfTheOrient · 18/05/2009 16:10

all of the above - also, my period has got noticeably shorter since I started using my mooncup. Its kind of heavier the first couple of days (and I use a pad just to be on the safe side for those days...) but then its over by day 5. Used to go on for a few more days after that.
I heart my mooncup

alicecrail · 18/05/2009 16:14

I have asked before on a mooncup thread but nobody was sure, Can you horseride with one in? And also, how do you know what size to get?

foofi · 18/05/2009 16:16

Alice - I don't do horseriding, but I have heard cyclists say you should cut the stem right off, so I suppose it's fairly similar with horses!
There really isn't much difference between the sizes. I bought the smaller one first and now have both, but can use either.

PlumBumMum · 18/05/2009 16:17

Alice if youve had ababy or over 30, get an A, I knew this and somehow came home with a B, but I've been okay so far,
can't see why you wouldn't be able to horseride with one in, I think they're brilliant if you have a spare £20 and hate pads I would highly recommend one,
(and your not to funny about poping it in and out)

alicecrail · 18/05/2009 16:19

What if you are under 30, had a cs and have a very strong pelvic floor (not bragging, nurse couldn't get a coil in, sorry tmi )

PlumBumMum · 18/05/2009 16:21

Then get a B, and you would def have to cut the stem right off I think

alicecrail · 18/05/2009 16:29

Isn't the stem there to pull it out?

foofi · 18/05/2009 16:32

Yes, but there are obviously some very clever people out there who can manage without it .

MmeLindt · 18/05/2009 16:40

I have cut the stem right off, although I did it in stages.

Don't see why you should not be able to horseride with one in.

Solo
I dropped mine into the loo, thankfully at home though so I just sterilised it before using it again.

I use the microwave sterilising bags for mine.

PlumBumMum · 18/05/2009 19:01

I've left very little stem on mine, tried it with stem but it was uncomfortable,
thats what I mean't about not being to prudish about popping it in and out,
I know many of my friends I wouldn't even mention it to as they would be disgusted!

ampster · 18/05/2009 19:15

Yeah, I chopped the stem off mine. Left it on at first and thought mooncup was horrible and I hated it. Then hacked the whole thing off and all the irritation was gone.

It's super easy to get out, you just squeeze it with your fingers and sort of twist and pull. It comes out upright as another poster said, and then you just pour the blood away.

It's weird because even though you're getting more up close and personal with your period blood than usual, somehow it makes your period much easier to forget about and deal with. I guess you're not changing so often, and it's somehow less traumatic than dragging that bloody tampon out of your body.

(Not traumatic exactly! Just a hassle, iyswim.)

Wallace · 18/05/2009 19:31

Eaxctly what Habbi said. It really is brilliant.

I also find my period is shorter. It doesn't seem to drag on so long at the end like it did with tampons - it just stops.

Interesting about the pot plants. I have been wondering if I should collect the blood from mine because it does seem to stay in the loo when I flush. Should have a special pot plant in the bathroom (if so, is there a type which would thrive on menstrual blood?) or should I just share the blood around all the plants. Or use it in the veg garden?

Original poster

Poppity · 18/05/2009 20:47

Wow!! Thanks for all the answers, I'm definitely going to order one (they have them here whoever was looking).

I'm so pleased everyone likes them, I was hoping they were going to be an improvement on juice removing tampons or bloody nappies!! Although Solo, I think I may carry the odd tampon for just such an eventuality....and a small sealed plastic bag!

So, can you sterilise it all the normal ways then? (milton, boiling, steam)
MmeLindt what are the microwave bags then?at ignorance.

OP posts:

Original poster

Poppity · 19/05/2009 09:57

I ordered one from here anyone who's interested. It was £15 ish and free post, so quite a bit less than Boots etc.

OP posts:

twinmam · 19/05/2009 11:01

Anyone got any tips to stop leakage? Have been using mine for 2 months now and loving it (def agree with the whole periods being less traumatic and less painful thing) but am still having a bit of leakage tho I did with tampons too. Have def got the right size, ie the bigger one as over 30 and I don't think my pelvic floor is too bad plus I had a C-sec but you never know.... Am I putting it in wrong or something? I do have quite a heavy flow but I just change it more frequently and it's not overflowing, just leaking a bit

PlumBumMum · 19/05/2009 11:21

I found I have to pop mine in abit higher than recomended and then do a few pelvic floor squeezes and it finds its own place, this is my 2nd month too and it leaked on the first night but I had a really heavy flow(and not as bad if I had been wearing a night pad), TMI warning but I found if you know where your cervix is and make sure the mooncup is sitting snug around it there are no leaks

ampster · 19/05/2009 13:15

i haven't had any leakage at all - agree with previous poster re: it finding its own place after a couple of squeezes! i haven't sterilised it though, the booklet i got with mine said it wasn't really necessary. hope am doing the right thing, but surely a good rinse is all you need?

MinnieMummy · 19/05/2009 13:23

I am getting nighttime leakage on heaviest day - not because it's full up but it seems to migrate upwards during the night and ends up too high. Anything I can do to stop this other than inserting it as low as possible to start with??

IrritableGrizzly · 19/05/2009 14:44

I'm on my second month of using it, and I really really want to like it, but I'm finding I get quite a lot of leaks too. It was okay the first day or so, but after that my flow gets quite heavy and the mooncup was leaking even though it wasn't full, not even a quarter full. In the end I had to start using a pad as well, which seemed to defeat the object, and I felt a bit annoyed that I couldn't manage the thing. I don't want to give up with it, but don't want to be constantly leaking either.

Also, when it's leaking it's a revoltingly messy affair to remove it - fingers covered in blood. Not nice at all.

Original poster

Poppity · 19/05/2009 20:43

I hope mine doesn't leak...I've sent for it now.
I guess we are all slightly different shapes, perhaps that's why some have had leaks, some great success?

Anyone had leaks and managed to rectify the problem?

OP posts:

letswiggle · 19/05/2009 22:55

love mine for all the reasons above. Lasts about 3x longer than a super tampon on heavy days. I carry wipes in handbag anyway, and use them to avoid traffice accident situations. So great that you always have it with you so never get caught out. Oh, and I've never sterilised it, just wash thoroughly with soap - maybe I will, but if it looks and smells perfectly clean it can't be growing colonies on blood remnants. It would prob make more sense to sterilise at the beginning of your period than the end.

CCJD · 20/05/2009 20:09

I have been using a mooncup for about 5 years - the same one which cost me around £20 - I've not bought a pad or tampon since - how much has that saved me????they clean well and I boil mine after each period to keep it clean.
I'm always surprised how little these are advertised as they have been a saving grace for me. I reached that age (over 30) and all of a sudden I would get thrush every period - some days too light for a tampon (oh the pain of trying to drag out a lightly used tampon!!)
Mooncups are great - no absorbing what you need to keep natural balance, can be used no matter how light (even if you havnt started yet but don't want to get caught out) and so much cheaper!!!
Took me a couple of months to get used to but havnt ever had leaking - on really heAvy days I empty it every couple of hours but the beauty with these is that because there is no absorbtion issues you can empty it whenever it suits you - so right before you go into a meeting no matter how little time has passed since you last emptied it.
I'm not a tree hugger and think these are great.

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