I have yet to meet a woman who looks forward to her monthly gift and relish in it once auntie pays her visit. I personally hate that week (yes, a whole week, sigh) out of the month when white is the last thing I'd wear, and I walk around checking out my behind for leaks like a paranoid crack head looking for the police.
What I hate most about this thing called menses, are the pads, tampons, bulky diaper looking butts and frequent trips to the bathroom. Not to mention how expensive female hygiene products are. So, I started looking around. After seeing an ad in Mothering magazine about cloth pads, my curiosity about environmentally friendly menstrual products sparked. I found some interesting ones and wrote a post about the cloth pads, P.I.M.P (Party in my pants). Then some friends of mine on Facebook started telling me that they use a Diva Cup. A Diva cup is a menstrual cup that catches the flow which is then emptied, washed and re-inserted. I must say, the thought of such a device freaked me out at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I really liked the idea. I always preferred tampons over pads because of the bulky diaper look but still ended up using a liner even with the tampon because tampons just suck that way.
I figured that for just 25$, if it didn't work out, me and the diva cup that is, I'd just toss it. I bought it, and I tried it out. I'd read many reviews about it that said it was amazing but that it did take some practice and many cycles for them to really get accustomed to it. Well, you know what, the FIRST time I tried it out, I had the first menstrual epiphany ever of my young life.
Then it came time to wait on dear auntie to come round to actually use it. 6 days late, she showed as usual and for the first time ever, I was psyched. Ladies, it's awesome. I recommend it. It is more than worth the effort and initial anxiety. You can sleep with it, swim with it, everything, and because of the seal that it creates, there's no leaking, no back-up pads.
Finally a happy period...
What about you? Have you ever used a menstrual cup?
For more info on the Diva Cup and its use
Great post! I personally don't like the diva cup....but that's me. I do know a lot of people who love it!
ReplyDeleteJust an fyi - "menarche" is the onset of a woman's very first period of her life.... thereafter it is called menses. :)
unfortunately you cannot use the diva cup with the paraguard or any other IUD, which is the case for me :(
ReplyDeleteThanks Steffie <3
ReplyDeleteJayme, really? I had no idea! Why is it exactly it can't be used with IUDs? Because unlike some disposable cups which sit on the cervix, the diva cup actually isn't supposed to (and if inserted correctly doesn't ride up) all the way to the cervix. The stem sits about half inch (no more!) inside right by the opening of the vulva. I'm gonna look it up! Interesting!
I found out about the Diva not too long ago - it's a grate product!
ReplyDeleteNow i'm looking around for a new one - can i buy it in Aruba or i can only order online?