Mooncup

[Chinchilla]

OK, so it took me a while to get over the squeemishness of thinking about this, but I am considering buying a mooncup. I am fed up with tampons and pads, and, after using millions of disposable nappies, have been thinking lately about being more eco-friendly.

So...what do users think? I have seen the site, and read the blurb, but I want real opinions, bad as well as good. £27 is a lot to invest if I only use it once. If it is as good as people seems to think, I'm surprised that I only heard about it lately.

Lol george!

Mine seems to slip down all the time more towards comming to the end of my period is that happening to others?It slips right down and I can feel the stem all the time and then it becomes sore.I have cut the stem down as much as possible.

Okay, managed to break the seal properly this time, but I still find it really uncomfortable (bordering on painful) getting it out again (as if the lip is too big and inflexible) - is this just an "improve with practise" type thing?

what's wrong with tampons!!

I find tampons quite uncomfortable most times (in that they seem to dry me out and I get far worse cramps as a result). Also I worry when flow is low about toxic shock. I hate towels though too.

I hate having to carry half a ton of stuff around with me "just in case". And I hate worrying if the damn things are going to flush properly when I'm visiting someone else's house.

I just thought these mooncups seemed a neat solution... was just hoping for some reassurance that it's worth perservering past the initial teething troubles!

Are you on your period now GeorginaA because the cup is easier to put in and remove when you are on.

yes I am happycat - started today. I think probably am a bit nervous so am a bit tense as a result

Am cheating now and using a tampon ... will give it another try tomorrow.

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Mine too has arrived and I've tried it out. But only once. Getting it in was no problem. It was comfortable ...wasn't aware of it at all. Removal was very different!! Initially I couldn't reach it. Found it, grappled, yanked, gave up, had visions of visiting Casualty, paniced, grappled a bit more, tried using KY as beginning to get sore, finally grabbed hold of it, hooray! Yanked it in delight and out it came. As you can imagine I was VERY sore! My period has now finished so I'm going nowhere near it. However I'm not giving up. I will try next month. This time I will reread instructions before I remove it, I will try to be more relaxed and confident. Any hints??

I found a good tip about how to relax while looking on the internet. Apparently if you focus on making sure the muscles in your jaw relax then your vaginal wall muscles also relax - don't know how true it is but seemed to work

Second removal for me was much easier than the first but was still rather uncomfortable - at least I can see improvement though! I'm a bit sore as well from the first removal, so am giving up until next month when I'll be a bit wiser and a healed up, lol.

I too had the "oh my god I'm going to spend the afternoon in A&E" panic, but it was alright in the end Which adds more confidence for next time and as a result I'll probably be more relaxed.

GeorginaA -
Good to know I'm not the only one.
No doubt we''ll be able to compare notes next month.

Try wiggling it from side to side a bit as you're pulling it out.

It does get easier, honest!!

Why are tampons more disgusting than loo paper? They hardly cost me anything! (Only 4 periods a year as on the pill -joy!) - and very much worth every penny (lot cheaper than my wine habit). Also tss is incredibly rare and pretty much nonexistent if you change tampons reasonably regularly. Oh, well. I'll go away now. This is your thread!!

Loo paper is designed to break up - tampons don't.

Embarrassing moment confession time:

We'd been living in our rented property in Oz for about 4 weeks when I noticed that the waste water was coming back up through the drain and swishing towards the swimming pool (fortunately huge lip on it so not going into the pool).

We called the agent who arranged for a plumber to come round and he arranged for someone to come round and clear the drain.

It turned out that the drain had actually collapsed halfway down the garden because of tree roots but in finding out they pulled all this white stuff that looked like white cotton rags and was twisted round the wire drain cleaner thing.

'What's that?' I asked.

'Tampons' replied the drain cleaner.

Thank goodness the blood had washed away......

Aloha - I think different methods suit different people.And while I infinitely prefer tampons to towels, I still prefer my mooncup. And I'm not a total hippy I have used disposable nappies and wipes for two years (on DS that is ). I'm also on the pill but find that if I take two packets in a row I start bleeding about half way through the second packet and this will last until a few days after the end of the packet. So I don't have your good fortune in this respect - nto sure if it is the brand of pill.

Also I am hoping to persuade DH to try for a baby soon so will (unfortunately!) have to come off the pill which will mean I will have at least one heavy period which would mean wearing a tampon and towel in bed - much rather the mooncup. But for me the real convenience is that I've got one little cup in the bathroom cabinet instead of packs of various sized tampons. Once its in at the beginning of my period I don't have to worry about carrying anything around with me etc.

For those of you really struggling to remove it (and I can't believe I'm writing this...) try to remove it after a bowel movement as this might have encouraged it into a more accessible position!

I'm still using mine and will continue to do so. I find I need a pantyliner to be on the safe side as I do get leaks. Also, for the first couple of days of a period mine gets really full! (OK, too much information.) Mine slips down sometimes, maybe I need to do some pelvic floor exercises! I find that tampons can slip too.

Big thank you to whoever started the whole mooncup thing on mumsnet (bloss?), I think they're a great idea.

To anyone who is thinking of buying one, if you've had a baby then you have dealt with much messier and ickier things than using a mooncup - give it a try.

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beetroot, sometimes if the cup hasn't opened out completely you can leak a bit. Also it depends how much blood is in you vaginal passage before inserting the cup. As I lose in clots, sometimes one has escaped ( e.g while having a shower, as I always take it out and have a good spray with the shower head!) before I put the cup in, and then it tends to slide down the outside of the cup as a leak. Sometimes you need to wiggle it about a bit to make sure it is open.

Sometimes I leak just because of the amount of flow, I can empty a full cup 3-4 times in a morning on the 1st two days, so much for doctors saying you only lose 1-2 ozs a cycle!

Yes I have and I'm due to go again soon when I can find the time! I have a fibroid the size of a tennis ball, but don't think they'll do anything about it as I must be getting menopausal soom. Sometimes I miss a period but make up for it the following month!

I am completely intrigued by all of this ...should I buy now? Have asked my friends if they've heard about them - "No". where did you all hear about the mooncup?