Thicker than Water (a menstrual cup post)

This post is not for the faint of heart. It is about a blood bank for your cervix. Consider yourself warned. I have crossed over into the world of menstrual cup, a land unknown to many. It is a silicone cup that you insert during your period to collect blood, in lieu of a tampon or pad. This month was my first round with it, so I am still learning.

Here’s how it works: you order it online (unless you have a great hippie pediatrician), sanitize it in boiling water, figure out which insertion technique works best, and leave it in up to 12 hours (officially, or longer, unofficially). Then remove, rinse, and replace. You can sleep, work all day, and be physically active without removing it. Don’t go camping; bears smell blood. Is it messy? A little. You have to pour out your blood/lining/unused eggs into the toilet, which I find interesting but many find gross. You also get blood on your fingers when inserting, but that happens sometimes anyway. It’s not like now I have to wash my hands, which I never did before. There are different brands and after much research, I went with Fleurcup. Bottom line: I want something French inside me. Or; it’s French, that’s how you know it’s good. I haven’t tried any others but this one is working for me.  There are many brands and the popular American brand is Diva Cup. People also like the Lunette but it is a little smaller than I wanted. There are typically two different sizes and they are simply based on your age and whether or not you have given birth. Pretty simple. See below for resources.

Think this is gross? I really don’t care. I think everything period-related is equally gross. It’s your body, it’s natural, deal with it.

Benefits:

-Save money. A menstrual cup costs about $20-$30 and can last up to 20 years. I spend about $10 a month on disposable products, so in two months I have recouped the investment. In ten years, I have saved over $1000.

-It loves the environment. I am not throwing out dirty paper products that have been bleached with chemicals and scented with fragrance.

-More productivity (maybe your boss will foot the bill). You don’t have to go to the bathroom every hour on heavy days (is that just me? I fear I have shared too much).

-No dry scraping if you remove it too early. It is not absorbing everything.

-No string hanging out. Which also means you can wear it with lingerie, but why sexy nightwear when 1994 made such awesome sweat pants?

-You don’t feel anything.

-They have not been associated with TSS.

-You get to pick your own color. I don’t know why that matters, but it does.

-They have been around since the 1930s and are popular in Europe. They are more advanced than we are in a hygiene area?

Awkward:

-You see your blood and lining.

-Your fingers get messy.

-There is a 2-3 cycle learning curve and it can be tricky figuring out how to insert/remove.

Tips:

-Squirt bottle. If you have given birth, they give you these free squirt bottles that probably have a medical name. They are a great help for rinsing out fluids.

-You should not feel the cup. If you do, trim the stem. I trimmed the stem completely off.

-Don’t put it in and out too often. Just trust that it’s in there, doing its job.

-If you do need to empty it when you’re out, just keep some toilet wipes or a water bottle with you. Or use the handicap stall.

Next up: reusable pads?

Resources:

A blog dedicated to menstrual cups

Size comparison chart, by brand

Overall comparison chart, based on one person’s experience

Another comparison chart

Fleurcup Review

Menstrual Cups on Amazon