We Have Groupage!

[NashVegas]

And now, the REAL reason I requested this group:


If there are any DU guys lurking, this would be a good time to bail.












Okay, you've been warned.






I wanted to see who else is using menstrual cups and compare notes. And didn't want to see what Matcom would add to the conversation!

[lukasahero]

1. Ok, I'll bite

what the heck are menstrual cups?

I can certainly see why you wanted a place to ask such questions. I'm hoping to get into women's health issues here myself, without it degenerating into a "she said boobies" snicker snicker kind of thing. :-)

[NashVegas]

2. Alternatives

to tampons.

There're a few different kinds, both reusable (The Keeper, and others) and disposable (Instead), which some women do cleanse and re-use. I use the latter.

They're a little messier - okay, a lot messier - than changing Playtex/Tampax, so you don't really want use them if your only option on heavy days is a public bathroom. And I'm not an expert inserter, so sometimes there's an early leak. But what I do like, a LOT, is not ever having that "I'm carrying a dead mouse around," feeling.

http://www.softcup.com/

[lukasahero]

3. Well I'll be

Sounds like an interesting alternative. Although I have to admit, after reading the instructions, I don't think I have the coordination to use them.

Perhaps you'll inspire some women here to give them a try and then you all can compare notes.

[Pithlet]

4. I hated it.

I tried Instead. Everything was fine, until I had a sudden "eruption". Without going into too many details, it was quite a mess, and I wasn't at home.

[NashVegas]

6. Ouch

Eruptions aren't good.

[XanaDUer]

8. Are they like diaphragms?

Putting them in, I mean.

I looked at them in the store and was almost tempted, but then just got the good old pads.

[Longhorn]

9. Yes, very similar.

I tried them when they first came out and didn't like them due to the mess, IIRC.

I'll be glad when this is over! :) I think I'm ready for the next phase!

[XanaDUer]

10. Yeah, not to be too gross

but, on heavy days, I could see removal being sort of, um, a problem.

[Longhorn]

11. Unfortunately, all of mine

seem to be "heavy days." I've given up on everything but overnight maxipads, though I use the thin kind. Even with tampons, I have to wear a pad so why bother with the tampon?

No wonder my blood count is always so low, I can't donate blood!

[XanaDUer]

12. Ever see the resuable menstrual pads?

http://www.gladrags.com/

I almost bought these, but cleanup is probably a pain in the butt.

[Beaverhausen]

5. Not me- but nice to be here in this group

[politicat]

7. Have used instead.... C+? Nice idea, questionable execution.

Kind of like Fedex, right?

I've never used one on a heavy day; the concept of eruption was brought home on a light day. I may be shaped funny, or something, though.

I reused mine (antibacterial soap, then the dishwasher with no dish detergent as an autoclave) and found that they tended to get a warp that seemed to help.

They can be useful if you're not squeamish about sex during period; they have a tendency to hit internal happy girly bits.

They also make cleanup much easier during same.

These days, I use them rarely. I am getting longer and longer between cycles, and lighter, (please let this be perimenopause at 29...) so tampons do the trick, and the dead mouse is not a concept I've had to deal with.

[DemBones DemBones]

13. Well, I tried them when they first came on the market,

which seems to me to have been about 1970-71. I tried them once. Removal was like a do-it-yourself hysterectomy. VERY unpleasant.

Not long afterwards there was much talk about menstrual extraction -- go to the doctor and have your period removed. Seemed like a good idea if you could a) find a doctor who did them and b) afford the monthly expense.

"If you believe, we put a man on the moon" . . . and women are still stuck with poor choices for this need.

:shrug: