The Menstrual Cup

Let's talk about menstrual cups.

Yes, menstrual cups.

What are menstrual cups? How do you use them?

These were my exact questions when I first heard about them.

Let me tell you...I am SO glad I heard about them. These little cups have literally changed my life! It sounds so dramatic but I kid you not, it is an absolute game changer.

Now we as women all know that when "Aunt Flo" visits us every month, we inwardly (or outwardly) groan. Well, I do anyway.

Ever since I started my period, I experience severe cramps, headaches, nausea and zits...all at once. Joy.

I have always been a pad wearer and never tried tampons. My mum never used them and she never taught us how to use them so yeah, I never used them.

Being a pad wearer was ick. I hated it. It was messy, it looked gross, it smells and I felt like I was wearing a diaper every single time I wore it. Even when I bought the "Ultra Thin" varieties, I still felt really uncomfortable. But because I didn't know how to use a tampon (and quite frankly, I didn't want to use one because I got scared of the toxic shock syndrome horror stories that I have heard), I just suffered through each month with my diaper.

That is, until I came across the menstrual cup.

I first heard about it last year when I was watching Candace Cameron Bure's Instastories about her experience with the menstrual cup. She spoke of how her symptoms dramatically reduced or went away all together since using a cup, how she can do all activities and not worry about it coming out and how she won't go back to using a tampon ever again. After watching her story, I was very curious so I Googled all things regarding the menstrual cup. To my surprise, menstrual cups have been in existence since the 1930s! There are lots of companies around the world that supply menstrual cups and lots of reviews on people's experience of their use of them.

I was like a sponge, I was soaking up everything I was reading. Menstrual cups come in all shapes and sizes, they all have different features and the best part is that they are reusable. According to websites dedicated to supplying menstrual cups, you can use one for 10 years and only then will you have to replace it (provided that you follow the care directions carefully). After reading this, I thought about how much I spend a month on my pads and I was actually shocked that I spend at least $12 per month on my pads. That's $144 a year! Now, menstrual cups aren't cheap - they are on the pricier side BUT it pays itself off after a few months and you only have to change it every 10 years! It was a no brainer for me.

Coincidentally, the following day, a YouTube influencer that I follow called "Shaaanxo" posted a video of her experience with a menstrual cup. I thought to myself "Awesome! I wonder what she's going to say." And like Candace, she was all praises for the menstrual cup and she also said that she will never go back.

That was it. I was convinced so I immediately researched what brand of cup I want to buy and ordered it straight away.

Once it arrived and my cycle had started, I prepared the cup for insertion. That is, I boiled some water in a small saucepan that I specifically bought for my cup (you don't want using a saucepan that you use for food - that's just ick) and once the water was boiling I put my cup in for 5 mins to sterilize it. While I was doing that, I went on YouTube to find videos on how to insert the cup. I found that there are different "folds" that you can do to insert the cup and the idea is that when you have inserted it into your vagina you should be able to pop it open and it will create a seal so that all your blood gets collected in the cup. After some time, you will need to remove the cup and discard the blood and then clean it and re-insert it into your vagina. I watched a few videos on how to do this but the best one I found was from Sarah Tran. The way she described how to insert and remove the cup was so simple and to me, it made my experience a lot better. I will leave the link to her videos here:

How to insert the cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voqd8e8aaBs

Updated how to insert the cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-4hv3HEIkg

How to remove the cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ER80bNu_eM

Now, it takes quite a bit of getting used to to insert and remove the cup and to be honest, I thought that my cup was stuck inside me and I kinda freaked out but then remembered the advice from Sarah's video and tried again and it worked!

I won't bore you with all the details on how to insert and remove the cups. Just watch the above videos and all the information will be there.

However, I will list below my experience with the cup:

* Once inserted correctly, I could not feel the cup inside...AT ALL. It was like nothing was in there!

* I wore a liner just in case I had some spotting but there was practically none!

* I was able to do anything and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I was able to exercise, go on walks, pick up my kids, etc.

* I don't smell anymore! Since the blood doesn't hit oxygen, the smell doesn't exist.

* The symptoms that I always had during my cycle stopped or drastically reduced like most of the reviews I have read! I did not cramp anymore, my headaches weren't so bad and I wasn't nauseous anymore. The only symptom that remained were my zits...but I guess you can't have it all haha.

* Insertion and removal does take a couple of cycles to get used to but once you get the hang of it, it is so quick and easy.

As most cup users say, I will never go back. I highly recommend using a cup - it will change your life for the better.

Do it, you will thank me.

Talk soon xo

Love,

B

#loveb #loveb19 #mumblogger #mumandlifestyleblogger #menstrualcup #gamechanger #itchangedmylife #highlyrecommend #menstrualcycle #period #pads #tampons