Depends on the person, I suppose. I am more likely to get a little menstrual fluid on my fingertips than with a tampon, but I don’t need to reach inside the vaginal opening at all with my Keeper. I just bear down and the bottom is exposed far enough for me to pinch and remove whilst my fingers remain external. I tried the internal removal method my first time and it failed miserably.
I tried the DivaCup and have problems similar to those Dangerosa described. It’s not for everyone. I just wanted to point that out, since I myself felt like a freak when everyone else seemed to love it and I just couldn’t use it.
I love the DivaCup, but it can leak if it’s full. On my worst days I still have to empty it out 2-3 times a day. Then again, I have weird periods - I think if you have an average amount of flow, you won’t have that problem.
I feel the exact same way about The Keeper, and I’d add “no odour” to this list. I’m glad that feminine hygiene products are accepted in Toronto’s Green Bin program, but not putting out any waste at all feels even better. I tried to convert my sisters and friends but they find the concept gross.
As far as I can tell, my daughter is quite happy with her Diva cup, which she got at the recommendation of her cousin. I don’t think she had any trouble adjusting to using it, and she likes the idea of being a bit more “green”. I doubt she’ll go back to tampons, even though both the girls got their Diva cups just after I got the extra-large industrial size box of the tampons they both used to use. Oh, well. Somehow I don’t think the resale shop will take those. 
I use the diva cup, and generally like it. My period is a little odd - very heavy for the first 3 days, then very light for another two. I love the Diva for the first three days - while I have to change it every couple of hours, I never have to worry about whether I’ve packed enough tampons to work or school or whatever. For the last two days, I actually prefer tampons, as it is easier to feel when they need to be changed. YMMV of course.
also: the Diva cup does get discolored (so does the keeper), but leaving it in the sun (i put mine on the windowsill in my shower), will bleach it back to white.
As will soaking it in hydrogen peroxide overnight. I do that every few months and it comes out looking like new.
You could get a gift certificate for Lunapads All Products – Aisle which sells both the Divacup as well as the reusable lunapads if she would be more comfortable with those. That way she could make her own choice about size, etc.
I think it would be a kind of tacky idea though, like buying someone deodorant. However, I did buy my dad “stick” deodorant when I was a kid when he had been a previous “roll-on” user and he ended up liking it a lot better. A convert!
How is the Keeper different than the DivaCup? Anyone tried both?
Because I used the former and didn’t like it. It was a pain to get in and out, especially without significant spillage. And when it would leak, it would LEAK. I’m talking, one moment you’re fine and the next moment there’s a major crime scene in your pants!
I really wanted to like it, but after a couple of tragic episodes I decided to stick with tampons.
As far as gift ideas go, I think this is a great gift. But maybe present it to her discreetly if she doesn’t have a big sense of humor. My sister once gave me a bunch of adult diapers for Christmas and I still laugh about it.
I’ve tried the DivaCup and the Mooncup. The DivaCup is made of softer silicon than the Mooncup, which leads to my having a bit more difficulty getting the thing to unfold after insertion. I haven’t tried the Keeper, though.
That said, yeah, one would need to be pretty comfortable with fishing around one’s innards to use one of these.
I also ordered both online.
**thirdwarning **-- you could always call the local women’s shelter and ask if they want the unused tampons. That generally tends to be an item on their ‘want’ lists, IME.
I’m curious about this, because it’s a sentiment I’ve heard often, but I can’t get over the fact that I’ll still have cramps. I’d get one if it really meant that I wouldn’t notice having my period, but to me, the annoyance of having to change pads or tampons is really minor compared to the pain of cramps. Do people who feel this way happen to not get cramps? Or is it a case of once you stop using them, you realize how much a pain pads and tampons are?
I don’t know about anyone else, but after I got (and started using) my MoonCup, my cramps lessened like anything, to the point that instead of having to pop ibuprofen and anti-cramp medication like sweeties for a week, I can get away with having to use a lot less medication to function, and generally just for the day or two before I start and the first day or so. So for me, not only did I have the benefit of not having to deal with pads/tampons anymore, but my cramps lessened too. Win all round!
That sounds seriously awesome. Physiologically, I have no idea why it would happen, though. Maybe I’ve been misinterpreting the message all this time, and cramps are really my body’s way of protesting the presence of a pad in my underwear?
I have read a lot on message boards that the cup helps with cramps, although this clearly wasn’t true in Dangerosa’s case, so YMMV. The explanation I read, which may or may not be physiologically sound, is that the tampon absorbs your natural internal moisture along with the menstrual fluid, which can irritate the membranes which - I guess - can cause cramps. I dunno, I’m lucky enough not to get cramps often, but there seem to be plenty of women who have felt it improved things.
Personally, I just find I feel better down there without all the disposable stuff in and around my delicate parts.
RE: lizardling - the flexibility of the silicone is one of the things I was wondering about with the DivaCup. I like the Moon Cup because it inserts really easily and pops open with no effort - pretty much a no-brainer. Keep in mind that before this I would only use tampons with applicators, because I never felt I could get the non-applicator ones in the right place. So I am wondering if regular DivaCup users find the softness of the silicone to be a bonus, or do you find it difficult to get a seal going?
Monstro, I’m not sure if the Moon Cup (U.S.) is any different from The Keeper except for the material (silicone vs. latex) but I’ve never had a problem with leaks. I have really light periods though, so there’s been no threat of spillage, and I find insertion and removal to be really easy :shrug: I’ve never tried the DivaCup though, so I’m curious how people feel about them both.
Sonnenstrahl, honestly I never had that big problem with tampons or pads - I just thought of them as a fact of life - but the cup is a complete revelation. I put it in and nobody knows I am having my period. I can change at the gym without worrying about my string hanging out. I can sleep naked and my boyfriend is none the wiser (of course we have to have a talk if he gets frisky, but still…). I only need to think about having my period twice a day, otherwise it has absolutely no impact on my life. Even if cramps don’t allow you that level of bliss, at least you don’t have to haul a purse full of supplies to the restroom every three hours.
Like Nan Sequitur, I liked Instead when I first tried them 10 years ago, and I had a brief period (heh) of using them again a few years back. But I find the cup just vastly superior. Maybe 1 in 4 or 5 times the Instead would slip and spill, which was awful, and so for safety I always ended up wearing a pad anyway. That - plus the single-use and resulting non-biodegradable plastic waste - meant there wasn’t much benefit to them over tampons. Unless mess-free period sex is a huge priority for you (which is the only clear advantage of the Instead), the cup should have all of the same benefits with none of the drawbacks.
Bizarre. Are these women OK with tampons, sex, and childbirth? I find it odd that any woman would find them gross, but be OK with the other things mentioned.
I absolutely love my Diva Cup and would have loved getting one as a gift. I hated the Insteads; they leaked and never worked for me.
I did notice my cramps lessened, but the bigger part is that I never realized what a pain in the ass my period is.
Now when I hear women desperately begging for tampons, rushing home for emergencies or not wanting to stay out overnight because of their period I feel a little confused. It’s like this huge mess of “bother” was just lifted from my shoulder.
I keep going back and forth on whether I should go back and buy another Mooncup, since the Divacup lack of firmness has been giving me fits. I pretty much have to go spelunking for an extended period to get it to open up in the right place. 
Part of the reason I bought the Divacup was because I wanted a few more lunapads for liners (I bleed like a pig) and they had a nice package deal, so.
So what is the benefit to a Diva Cup that you don’t get from a tampon? I see that it’s probably comfier than a pad (but tampons are, too). Is it basically changing it less often? Because I don’t change my tampon all that often. I mean, I leave it in the full eight hours, mostly (and, uh…sometimes more…) so I’m not really changing it all that often. I only find myself needing to change more often on the first day but that’s the “Shining” day.
For me the benefits are:
Travel. I just pack the Diva Cup. I never have to worry about ho many tampons/pads to bring, or even worse -being stuck with nothing.
I can place it in before I’m due.
I personally found tampons to be uncomfortable & drying.
Tampons need to go in the trash, and this is actually pretty gross to me (especially with the cat I have now…he steals stuff from the trash).
As an addition to above, I know some tampons claim the are flushable. I found out the hard ($4000 later pipe replacement) way that they are not.
Cheaper in the long run, no more tampons to buy.
I hated pulling tampons out and finding a little corner soiled, the rest of the tampon clean, and I still had a leak!
I guess that is a good point. Plus even with the tampons, on the first day and the last few, I need to revert back to pads (when it’s super heavy or super light and I don’t want anything up there). I’ve never had a tampon leak, but I’d be afraid of the whole cup…caving in or falling out or something. Does it stay wedged in firmly? For reals?