The Most Fun You can Have while Having your Period

One of the hardest and saddest things about infertility is the way it makes us apt to loathe our own bodies. In particular, having one's period (I now refuse to refer to it as "AF") can become especially traumatising. For some, the event itself is especially painful in the physical sense. For others, the hurt comes from what it symbolises: another failed cycle; or worse- a loss of a much wanted pregnancy.

For me, over the last two years, my period has been the enemy. Apart from that one month and I wanted it to start, so I could in turn get on with the bombardment of hormone altering medication a la IVF. But that doesn't really count. Normally, having my period was the thing I didn't want to happen, over and over again: always totally out of my control, always a disappointment.

So, last month I was reading blogs (as you do) and came across an interesting item over at Pickled Eggs. Or at least I think it was there; please whomp me if not. Said item is a Mooncup, a reusable menstrual cup made out of special non-allergic squishy silicone rubber. It works like a tampon, only it's far groovier- kind of like a little funnel in which to catch all the, ah, goop. It has the advantages of being environmentally friendly, convenient, easy to use.

Best of all, no more worrying about disposal or frantically ferreting through the bathroom cabinets or handbag in search of the last remaining stray tampons because you forgot to buy another box the last time you were shopping.

Having perused the website, I ordered one without hesitation. And my, I am so glad I did. All of a sudden I was acutally excited to have my period so I could test my new mooncuppieness. My little parcel arrived quickly, discreetly packaged. Those nice folks over at the mooncup factory even put it in a small fabric pouch with sweet pink ribbons. Oh, the cuteness! Who knew a sanitary product could be so dainty, so delightful?

I should probably insert a caveat here about, ah, insertion; namely that if you are at all squeamish about poking around the inside of your cooter, then this is not the product for you. But then, I realise I am talking largely to a bunch of infertile women, for whom regular cooter prodding is basically de rigeur. You'll be fine. You just fold it in two and shove it in. Well, perhaps shove is the wrong word- I leave it to you to decide what force to apply to the process.

There's a sort of small rubber stem thing for pulling it out again. However, unless your vagina is the length of the Channel tunnel, it is recommended that you trim the stem a bit, since otherwise it can get a bit pinchy. I love how in the instructions, they tell you to make sure you have removed the mooncup before doing the stem trimming. Ah yes, a key point, since otherwise- *shudder*. I personally found it took a couple of adjustments to the stem before I felt comfy- in fact, I removed most of the stem altogether, leaving more of a...bud.

Having received my little cup of moonhygiene, I then sat down to wait for my period to arrive. And waited, and waited and waited. At one point I actually had to get out the calendar and count the days since the last cycle, since for the first time in over two years, I had forgotten to write down "CD1" in big letters in my diary. I admit I had a brief moment of contemplating the delicious irony of not being able to use my new toy- what if I were, in fact, pregnant? That is, until I remembered that if one is not utilising ART, one usually has to have sex to conceive, and I should be so lucky in that department.

Never mind. Who cares about sex? Who cares about babies? I have a mooncup and am not afraid to use it, damnit! Eventually, my period did begin, sending me skipping and twirling to the bathroom cupboard like a skipping thing.

And so begins a new era of feminine hygiene. I heart my mooncup.

Now, in the interests of balanced mooncup reportage, I will say it can be a little fiddly taking it out sometimes- I think there is a sort of twisting technique that I have not completely mastered. If you are in a hurry, or don't get the angle quite right, removal can end up being a tad uncomfortable. And again, with the caveats- if you are remotely squeamish about the by-products of your menstrual cycle, then the mooncup would not be your cup of tea, because what you do once you take it out is basically tip the contents of the funnel down the drain. Give it a rinse with some hot tap water, and away you go. No muss, no fuss, far less changes than an ordinary tampon, and apart from one point when I think I had it place incorrectly, little or no leaking.

I bet you're all thinking, "Ah, but Mare, you live in the UK, and most of us live...everywhere else. How can we possibly partake of the delights of the mooncup for ourselves?" Well, fear not, intrepid little Internets, for a mere additonal one pound sterling to the normal price, the nice people in mooncup land will deliver your very own little fabric pouch with the goods to just about anywhere. (Including places that I confess I have never heard of: where the hell are the Cocos (Keeling) Islands*?) They are even all geared up to charge it to your own currency, be that ngultrums, togrogs, or gold cordobas.

I recommend it wholeheartedly. Because after all, if you have to have a period, you might as well have something as nice as the mooncup to lessen the blow.

*Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka. There. Now you know.

Comments

[Pamplemousse]

Mare, you are just the bravest. Despite all the cooter pokings that I have had, I still shy away from delving in you know where haha! Ugh,I don't even like tampons.

[jlp]

For those in the U.S. or Canada, you might try the Diva Cup: www.divacup.com. I love mine, but then, I'm not sqeamish in the least.

[ms pickled eggs]

It was indeed me who mentioned the mooncup. Glad it met with your approval! I've had a practise session of erm, 'fitting' it, but am still waiting for my flipping period to arrive.

For those who are interested in trying a cup, the Divacup looks the same as the Mooncup and both are made from silicone, but the Keeper is made from rubber so obviously not suitable for those with a latex allergy.

[J]

They can also be found at Whole Foods here in the US (check the make-up/shampoo/etc. aisle). I may have to try one myself after such a glowing review!

[sara]

I have a question...does anyone know if it would work on a septated vagina? Would I have to order two? I haven't had the septum removed (afraid to go under the knife). I'm not afraid of my cooter at all, so this seems like a great idea, but I don't want to buy two for naught.

[Lut C.]

How do you clean it between periods? Just some hot water doesn't seem like enough. Or is it?

In the dishwasher? ;-)

[Julianna]

Why, I have never heard of such! Thank you for the information and I may just head on over to Whole Foods and buy myself one/a pair/several?

[Anna H.]

Dudes, just be aware that you'll need to clean it really, really well. It's the same idea as the cervical cap, which I used until it gave me a nasty infection that lingered for months, despite numerous rounds of antibiotics. I can't remember exactly what I used to clean it (it was nine years ago that I stopped using birth control -- ha ha ha) but it was whatever the doctor recommended and it wasn't enough.

I hate to rain on the mooncup parade, but just wanted my friends in the computer to be careful! Otherwise, sounds like a lovely idea and catching all that menstrual goop would be fascinating, like a science experiment...

xxoo

[fisher queen]

Mooncups here, constipation over at Thalia's...there are no secrets in the blogisphere.

[Emily]

I can think of nothing worse than trying to rinse and reuse my mooncup in the office bathroom sink.

I suppose it may be a nice "weekend" solution, though.

[Amie]

Unless you have super heavy flows, you can wear it for up to 12 hours without emptying it. (diva cup user delurking here)

[wessel]

I'm glad you found a reason to look forward to your period! I used to be saddened by the arrival of it too, until I realized that there are worse things--like, it might not come at all anymore because I'm too old and menopausal. ACK! Now my period is like a straying lover whom I'm trying to woo into coming back to me . . .

As far as cleaning goes, a mild bleach solution will kill everything, so maybe give it a wash with that? Not every day necessarily, but between periods.

[cat]

They should use this lovely endorsement on their website. It is a glowing testimonial.

[Cecily]

I've heard when you are out in public and can't get to a sink you can just swipe it out with toilet paper and pop it back in.

I think infection is much less of a risk than with a cervical cap--it doesn't go as far into the vagina as the cervical cap does, doesn't use suction to stay up there, and is only in for a few days a month. Plus, blood is pretty acidic and kills most bacteria. Nice, no?

[jude]

Nice piece Mare, as usual. But this sounds totally disgusting! --not the inserting part, as you're right about infertiles and cooters, but when you pull that thing out, ewwwwwwwwww!

Um, yeah, maybe there's a gewd reason i dont have to change diapers ;)

[ms pickled eggs]

Shoving the mooncup into a tub of cold water and adding half a sterlising tablet (the kind used on baby bottles) and leaving it for up to 20 mins gives it a thorough clean. Otherwise you boil it a pan for (I think) five mins. Full instructions are given on the mooncup site or in the leaflet included in the packaging.

Apparently the silicone makes it difficult for bacteria to attach and grow which is why it can be worn for long periods (sorry) and why hot soapy water is sufficent to clean it during your cycle.

[Manuela]

Yay! For once I actually wrote about a topic before one of my fave Blogstars got to it!!

I'm a Diva Cup user and... let me say it REVOLUTIONIZED the way I deal with my period! Adore it! Love it! Can't IMAGINE how I lived without it... clean, tidy, and good for the planet AND your body...

Best thing since sliced bread.

[Molly]

They also sell those "Instead" cups here in drugstores. They're supposed to be disposed of, however, not used for long-term. I tried using them once and couldn't quite get a hang of it -- however, that was in the B.S. era (before sex), so perhaps I should try them again.

[Queenie]

For you US folks, I do *not* recommend the Instead cup Molly mentioned--tres messy! For some reason, they more or less explode when you try to remove them. Me and five friends all gave them a shot back in college, and all had the same problem. Yuck! But I've heard nothing but good about the Diva cups. Maybe I'll give them a try sometime.

[zhl]

Um, I'm just going to say no. But I'm glad it's worked for you. Now if they only made little mooncups for your tearducts, I'd reconsider. Of course, we'd be overflowing those mooncups all the time, but maybe they'd help during important meetings when you really couldn't afford to have tears streaming down your face.

But here's to anything that makes you happy that your period is here.

[April]

Last cycle, I had refused to buy more tampons - oh the folly! And decided to utilize the "instead" cups lurking under the cabinet. Not exactly foolproof, or maybe I'm just inept, but now I'm intrigued about the mooncup.

You are a wealth of information Mare.

[laura]

Thanks for the very, um, thorough, review. You are brave!

[ovagirl]

mooncups make me think of delicate little spongy apendages that grow from luminous funghi in the centre of dark spooky forests. Tiny red cheeked imps harvest them, boil them in Nappisan, and then post them to vaginas all over the world.
You had me at 'hello'. Will definitely look out for them.

[Lisa P.]

My RL friend J swears by her Diva Cup. I personally had a hard time with o.b. tampons, so I'm not sure that I'm the target market for this. Of course, this is before I got completely used to sticking my finger up my hoo-ha to check cervical position and cervical mucus and all the other horribly wonderful (wonderfully horrible? both seem wrong) things we check when we begin the journey of TTC. Now, I may just be comfortable enough to give it a try...

However the rinsing and all sounds a bit much for me. Perhaps not.

[nina]

Hmmm. My sister's been using it for a few months and absolutely loves it. She does a lot of travelling and finds it handy to just carry one thing with her instead a packet of tampons (or having to find a pharmacy on a sunday night in Kigali).
I am at war with all parts of my reproductive system. It has let me down thoroughly and doesn't deserve any new purchases at the moment.
nina