An insight into my first menstrual cup experience – Hoping I can help others to take a chance a try one 🙂

My period isn’t your typical period. I have had quite a lot of various types of surgery so before I speak about my experiences using menstrual cups, I’ll give you a bit of background info on me. If you read my post on contraception and how it has affected my cycle, you’ll already know it has been a mixed up, bumpy ride… What I didn’t elaborate on in that post was after I had my tubes tied, I obviously no longer needed hormonal contraception – Yaaayyyy!

PLEASE NOTE:

This post is quite detailed. If you are squeamish regarding periods, blood and bodily functions – this post isn’t for you.

This positive result, of course had a negative side too. I ended up having to deal with a flood. The bleeding I suffered was… Well, it was horrific. When on, I could bleed through clothing quite easily. It was nothing but downright mortification. I expressed my concerns to my gynae and was prescribed medication to lighten my flow. They didn’t do much if I’m honest – I was prescribed three months of them and after the first month, I knew my body was having none of it. He referred me to have a thermal ablation, which he performed himself. This basically meant the entire lining of my womb was burnt off (If you are interested in me blogging this comment below). As a result my periods are more like the ending throughout, which given the nature of the moon cup can be a bit erm, icky. They are however so much lighter. Well bar day 3 which seems to be my heaviest. Overall though, the thermal ablation has really transformed my life.

First things first, apologies. This post should really have been published a month ago however I really felt I really to test my Lunette cup again and given this is a post about menstrual cups, I can only really ‘test’ out my cup once of month. By the way, I am not complaining – I know what it feels like to be an irregular bleeder. I went through hell when I had the Implanon (bar) in.

Menstrual Cup : Moon Cup

Started on day 3 of period (Only just bought it – couldn’t wait till next cycle)

Day three: Opted to insert and remove in the shower a few times first time. Used C shape to insert and let it ping into pace. Needed to trim stim as it kept catching on entrance – cut off first ring. No leaks; quite comfortable to wear – though slightly more crampy than I usually would be.

Day four: woke up expecting cup to be full it was however just blood stained and had normal, stringy menstrual blood attached. Expected a gush of blood when I peed, backlog of blood hidden away, but nothing. Washed cup out and re inserted. Decided to wear it out and about with no towel on today. Brave or just stupid – we soon shall see. Again, I am suffering with crampy sensations and still dunno if it’s down to cup or just my cycle.

Day five : woke up to some flow in the cup. No cramping so I think my insides are starting to accept the new inhabitant. Ventured into town again with no leaks and so far, I am feeling rather epic and rather stupid I didn’t try it sooner.

Certain things I do dislike regarding to menstrual cup – there are certain grooves which in the morning are hard to wash out because it’s been left in it overnight.

Notes: I also notice I am sleeping sooo much better. Towels irritated me and as well as that I usually fidget in bed so when you share a bed with someone,the worry of destroying their leg when I cuddled into them affected my sleep too but I have literally hopped in and panned out. So I have no idea if it’s my subconscious or what but extra, uninterrupted sleep is a huge bonus in my eyes 😁

Day six: why exactly did I use towels? I have quite a lot going on at the minute sorting out outfits for an occasion coming up. Another day out and about and no issues. No leaks, no cramps… To be honest it feels like no period. Again this morning nothing in the cup except blood stained water. I do think I’m nearing towards to end of my period and I will continue this post into next month. I left cup in for rest of the day and removed it in the shower that evening. All that was in the cup was again watery discharge – just normal me. Again, this interests me. I find it pretty interesting and amazing how my insides works.

Notes: I am pretty amazed at how little I lose. I expected overflowing accidents or something out of a murder scene and these are some of the reasons I was put off using my cup so if you have similar worries -it really isn’t like that. It is quite a pleasant experience. Pleasant and periods usually don’t go in the same sentence for me so this really has been rather life changing.

Notes: I think I will apply a little lube to mine next time though – I think when it pings into place and trying to adjust internally can be a little draggy so I feel it might help. I do also find the mooncup is slightly hard so I am keen to try other brands too. So if this a company reading this and you are interested in me reviewing a cup for you – get in touch here.

Menstrual Cup : Lunette Cup

The lovely folks over at Lunette agreed to send me out a cup to try as a comparison <3

I have had a few leaks adjusting to the Lunette cup. The rim on the cup is slightly thinner in thickness, which is a good thing by the way, but I think that is why I leaked. It wasn’t anything major – no embarrassing incidents or anything like that but it did happened the first few days till I learned how to make the cup sit more comfortably for me. I find the Lunette cup so much more comfortable than my Moon cup. In fact, unless I lose my Lunette cup I really can’t see me using the Moon cup again.

You know when you think of inserting a silicone sex toy, you think water based lube don’t you? Why is that? The drag. Silicone sex toys, as awesome as they are can cause drag and lube is your friend. Well menstrual cups are made from silicone so it is only natural they would cause the same effect. I can’t say they all do as I’ve only tried two. But I can tell you my experiences find the Moon cup to be extremely draggy. The Lunette isn’t as firm as the Moon cup and therefore is a lot less draggy. It also is a lot more comfortable to wear. I experienced no cramping using it in comparison to the Moon cup which caused me to experience quite painful cramps.

The next month, I also had leaks the first day but we have learned to work together since and I have successfully mastered the art of removing, rinsing and reinserting in record time. I am quite impressed at how quickly my body has learned to love the Lunette cup.

This month was also the first time I actually had quite a lot of flow in cup – I will admit it felt rather exciting to see that it had collected so much. Yanno, I felt like an established menstrual cup user. I was out and about and I honestly forgot I had a menstrual cup in until while I was in the shower, I spotted the storage bag hanging on the hook near the sink.

I also have experienced none of the cramps I experienced using the moon cup while using the Lunette Cup. It really seems to be a lot more gentle on my body – less draggy, less bulky, softer and molds to my insides.

How I use the menstrual cup – fold, insertion, removal and how it feels.

The interwebs are literally full of so many varied methods of which fold to use to actually insert the cup. And in my opinion, that really has been covered so many times previously that I really don’t need to rabbit on which one to try. I personally recommend hopping into the shower and trying it out there. And yes, it might be messy but at least there’s no clean up !

I find the C fold works best for me – it’s super easy to get the shape. You literally bend it in two and the cup naturally forms into a C. I insert the cup and I let it ‘ping’ into place. I use my muscles to clench onto it and suck it up into place. I found with the Moon cup, I needed to cut some stem off but I haven’t needed to do this with the Lunette cup. It doesn’t cause me any discomfort whatsoever.

I guess if you haven’t had children and muscles haven’t been stretched it may be a little harder to remove the cup and for this reason, the Lunette cup may be more comfortable for you as you’ll have peace of mind of that longer stem. Personally, I don’t actually use the stem at all. I see FunFactory have made a new cup – completely stem free and I for one, am interested in trying it as the shape really intrigues me. But from a beginner point of view, I would 100% recommend the Lunette cup. The stem is soft enough not to cause any irritation.

To remove, I simply pinch the bottom of the cup, which has ridges on it for added grip and wait until I feel the suction release. Yes, I do hear a slurpy squishy noise at this point, that is normal. It does make me giggle though as it sounds like my vag is devouring the cup rather than letting it go.

The packaging of both explains it can be wiped and inserted, which if out and about is handy but I don’t feel clean unless I rinse it. And due to how different my flow is, I have managed to escape emptying it in public loos. I’m funny about using them anyway – the door handles bother me more than the actual toilet *shudders*… Sorry, I’m waffling – anyway, menstrual cups are suitable for long time wear so it’s easy to avoid emptying them publicly. However, it would be super easy to do so should you need to. I would personally recommend carrying wet wipes and using those.

And last but not least, I have never lost either of the menstrual cups while in place. It’s super easy to remove but it won’t dislodge in use either. So say you are sitting on the toilet mid pee and feel it move and stress, it’s gonna come out. You then vision needing to go ‘fishing’ for it – it is highly unlikely this will happen. I can’t say 100% it won’t as all bodies are different, but it hasn’t happened to me. I did have the fishing worries at first though.

I am happy to answer any questions regarding my experiences or if you feel I need to add something else to this post – please do get in contact 🙂

A huge thank you to Lunette for sending me a menstrual cup to try out so I could compare the two and if you are company reading this post and want me to test out a menstrual cup for you, please do get in touch here.

No affiliates have been used in this post.

You can read all about periods by clicking the banner below…. More about menstrual cups to personal experiences and basically other folks coping mechanisms! The Menstruation Matters is an awesome project for folks to find out more info all in one place.

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