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Mooncup

Written by Annette (AnnetteandBen) on the 27 August 2007

Mooncup

I ordered my mooncup direct from the manufacturer. It arrived very quickly, I think it was 2 days. Coincidentally it was the same morning as something else arrived – what timing!

I just had enough time to read through the instructions and boil the mooncup before getting that tampon failing feeling!

At first I was worried about it's size. At the time of purchase I was 2 months away from my 29th birthday but I decided the larger size would be OK rather than buy another mooncup in a year or so. Mooncup recommends the larger size for woman aged 30+ and those who have had a vaginal birth, of which I fell into neither category.

With much trepidation inserted it. Well, after the first hour of moving about I thought it was time to go back to the loo, cut half the stem off and see how much had been collected. Oh my gosh did it hurt the first time pulling out, I hadn’t realised the suction that would be created. Comfort wise, the mooncup was much better with the stem cut shorter. I eventually got used to inserting and removing the mooncup, although I did find myself gritting my teeth for the first few removals and then wondering why I did as I discovered the ‘knack’ after the first 3 days of usage.

I slept through the first night until I needed a wee around 5am and happened to empty it. I was more curious to see how much it had collected rather than having that feeling of leaking or a full up tampon. Before Mooncup I would have had to get up at least once or twice in the night due to disposable tampon and towel failure.

The next day was day 2 of my cycle, very heavy and with that uncomfortable feeling it would be a day where I would normally curl up, hide, even sit on a folded up bath towel on the sofa, just in case the extra large tampon and night sanitary towel should fail. Personal past worst record for this happening is just 10 minutes and a change of clothes.

Having already filled the mooncup in just 3 hours first thing in the morning, I went out shopping for the dreaded food shop. At the checkout I suspected I had filled it again, but felt confident enough with the addition of a new washable towel, to wait until I got home and put away half the shopping before emptying the mooncup again.

Later I had to go out for an afternoon at a huge shopping mall followed by dinner. I was worried at first about ‘washing v wiping while no basin handy’. Its recommended to wash out the mooncup with hot water and soap every time you take it out. However, after the one and only trip to the toilet it was fine just wiping it out.

I can’t now imagine life without my mooncup. I wondered what to do with all those unused boxes of tampons and packets of towels. I had also discovered I could make my own washable cloth san pro towels. I ended up giving a whole carrier bag of tampons to my sister and saving the disposable towels for hospital or out and about / holiday use.

Strangely enough, I found it harder to tell my husband about my change in san pro than the thought of using the mooncup. Now will need to keep my undies on in bed to give him the ‘not tonight’ signal!

In retrospect I feel guilty about the harm I have done to the environment through the use of tampons and towels and feel I should have tried the mooncup sooner.

During my first cycle of using the mooncup, I was amazed at how it takes some of the pain and uncomfortable feelings away. As a result I have been so much more positive and happy about managing my periods. A very strange feeling for someone to whom the whole bleeding thing means still not pregnant after years of trying including menstrual problems, hormone tablets and IVF treatments.

Did I mention I love my mooncup?

The Mooncup Website


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