I’ve only tried Instead, not the Diva Cup, and I’m actually a huge fan of Instead. My restrooms at work are much like my bathroom at home (a sink and toilet in a small locked room, no stalls, no row of sinks, a decent-sized trash can) so that’s not a big issue. Once you get over the slight “Ick” factor of having to get it so close to the cervix while you’re having a decent flow, it’s actually pretty easy. The first one of each period, for me, is always harder to insert than the rest.
Do any of you have the issue of “subconscious discomfort” that I brought up? I bought a DivaCup because of a Doper thread about it around a year ago, put the thing in, and hated the feeling so much that I took it out twenty minutes later. I was more comfortable with Instead, but I was still thinking about it being there all the time. I couldn’t fall asleep with it in.
I’m sort of worried about losing sensitivity in there, too. The DivaCup exerts some real pressure.
I had the Keeper. Like pokey, I had a tramautizing accident with it and forever swore off all menstrual cups.
I like short, easy bathroom visits, not long drawn-out affairs full of stress and worry. I was never able to insert the thing without contorting my body and sweating out my hairdo. It was difficult to remove without spilling, so I’d be all panicky when the time came to take it out. They say wait till you get home, but if it’s leaking gallons, you can’t wait. Yeah, you can wear a pad as backup but a pad is designed to catch droplets at a time. But when a cup leaks, it POURS. A pad just can’t handle it all.
Plus, I don’t like sticking my fingers up in my vaginer. I like my tampons with applicators, for the same reason.
I had read about these before and promptly forgot that they existed.
Me too (the first part, but excited about that last sentence). Thank you for reminding me that I wanted to try one!
I’m making plans to try one of the cups next cycle.
Well, look at it this way, Auto (if you’re still reading): How else are we going to find this stuff out? Besides, it’s reasonably anonymous here, so no need to be embarassed.
I’m still wimping out with Instead. This period is almost over and I haven’t gotten around to trying it out. I’m such a weenie. Honestly, though, I don’t think I’m going to. I know my body well enough to know that it’d be very uncomfortable to try to get one out if I managed to insert it properly. Not painful, but it might hurt a little.
I personally love the Instead. I do find that if I’ll be away from home for a long period (ha!) and am unable to deal with it, I have to use a backup plan, but otherwise I have no problems with it. I change it in the shower or VERY carefully at home to avoid messes. Tampons make me cramp, but Instead never does. I find them more reliable than tampons and obviously much cleaner and nicer than pads. No mess, no leaks, no nothing.
My experience was zackly what DianaG’s was. Bought it to avoid messy sex, but my partner could fee it (as in, “What the hell is THAT?”). We opted for messy sex instead.
(For you Diva Cup afficianados, how does it handle really, really heavy flow with clots? TMI, sorry…)
Like a pro. The clots just kind of come glorping out when I remove my cup. I find it fascinating, but then I’m gross like that.
Usually my second day flow is so heavy I have to dump the thing every 3-4 hours or I’d be re-enacting the parting of the Red Sea in my pants. But it’s still a huge improvement over my tampon days, when I’d soak a super-plus tampon AND back-up pad in about an hour.
For those of you wavering about trying out the DivaCup, they have a money-back guarantee. I absolutely adore mine and I like it even more when these threads come up, 'cause it allows me to show off my sig.
This from the guy who likes to tell us what he’s stuck up his butt FOR FUN. :dubious: It’s not like we have much of a choice, and it’s sure not any fun. The more we talk about it, the more we can help each other make it less-not-fun.
Actually we do have a choice, some of us. I got fucking fed up with the cramps, and opted for seasonale, no more cramps for months on end. I have opted to bleed 2 times a year. All I have in the bathroom now is my cute little diva cup in the cute little purple bag it came in. No pads, no tampons, no rit stain remover.
Well, yeah, I said “not . . . much of a choice.” We still have to deal with it at some point, even just to decide whether to stop it. (I’ve tried going straight through on BC pills a few times, when Party Week would have been really inconvenient, and I got double cramps the next time. So I won’t be going on Seasonale anytime soon.)
Believe me, I have gotten labor quality cramps since I had my tubes tied 20 years ago, and I get them when I do my allowed periods now. I just happen to love being able to pinpoint exactly when I am going to cramp and bleed out. [PCOS sufferer]
Personally, i wish I could have talked my gyn into yanking the fucking uterus out instead of just tying the tubes. You would nnot believe how fucking hard it was finding a gyn willing to tie the tubes of a never married 22 year old. They had trouble wrapping their tiny prejudiced minds around my total lack of any maternal instinct, lack of desire for sproggage at all and hatred of the effects of pregnancy [the fetus dies, my kidneys shut down and my blood pressure goes through the roof and I spend about 3 months in hospital getting fixed. Meh.] but the one I found was the best gyn I ever had. I have absolutely no idea why a gay man would become a gyn <boggle> but I am seriously thankful for him. I just wish I wasnt one of the tiny percent of women whos cramps get exponentially worse when my tubes got tied.
I haven’t read the whole thread so don’t know if its been mentioned yet. I loved the first box I bought. The “cup” part was made of a soft silicone type material that had some substance to it. I would use one for the whole period cleaning it carefully after emptying each time…then throw it away when period was over. The last box I purchased feel like they’re made from saran wrap. I compared with one of the older ones and the quaility sucks. It makes me mad because the manufactorer prob. figured out that people were getting too much use out of them. As for how well they work, old ones great, new ones, ok . I’m always afraid when removing, I will puncture it with my finger nails then have a real mess on my hands! and on my clothes,the toilett, the floor…
I agree, I don’t like the way they’ve changed the material either. And I reuse the same one for the day and a half I need one (since I deal with it in the shower, I just rinse it out and reuse), so it takes at least a year or so to go through a box (for me). But the few times I’ve been caught unprepared and needed to use a tampon, emergency-style, I’ve been more convinced that Instead is the way to go for me. Though that’s interesting that one can’t use one with an IUD - I’ll have to switch to one of the other cups if I decide to go that route, I guess. For now, I’m perfectly happy with my pill that keeps my skin clear and my uterus cramp-free and 36 hour periods.
