I don’t mind having my period. It’s weird to say this now because ever since I started getting my period, I only remember it as a stressful time.
Before using a menstrual cup
At first, when I was younger (and only used menstrual pads) I was completely paranoid of leaking. It happened to some girls and I was terrified of that happening to me, kids can be mean.
I had leaks but managed to be lucky enough for them not to be noticed by other people. I would realize beforehand, and would promptly hide it.
Everyone used to tie their sweatshirt around their butt when I was in school, it was such a great trick to use without being different from the other kids.
Eventually came high school and I became very good friends with a girl that used tampons. My mom never used tampons so I never received much advice regarding them. I was scared of trying them out. What would happen if they got forever lost in my vagina?
This girl gave me all the tips about using tampons, she also recommended her favorite tampon brand (which eventually became mine as well) and using tampons ended up not being scary at all.
And I really enjoyed not feeling the flow going down, it was always one of the worst things about having my period. Of course, now that I was using tampons, I had a thread dangling everytime I went to pee and sometimes I’d pee on it but oh well I was fairly content with the change.
Nothing changed much after that, I spent all the following years in a mix of disposable menstrual pads and tampons but it was such a bother.
That sensation of the tampon falling down when it’s full, peeing into the thread, thinking about the logistics of changing the tampon, afraid that I couldn’t change it and leave it for more than the recommended time, run into the store to buy menstrual pads in the beginning of my period because I didn’t have any at my house.
I’m not going to say it’s the worst thing ever, it isn’t. There was just this constant reminder, this constant worry in my head, it doesn’t help that I’m just someone who overthinks everything, this being one of them.
And then, I bought a menstrual cup. And it changed me.
Why did I decide to buy a menstrual cup?
I started to consider buying a menstruation cup when I became more informed about the amount of chemicals required to make a disposable tampons and pads, and some of them could be absorbed by my vagina.
Plus, it was such a huge amount of waste.
At that time, I was more concerned with my health but once you start to do the math on how many menstrual pads and tampons you will use up in your lifetime, it’ll be hard to ignore, all of this waste will all go the landfill as it’s not recycled. I started to weigh the pros and cons of using a menstrual cup.
In the end, I convinced myself, 5 years ago, to buy a menstrual cup. It did take some convincing, they’re not cheap but it’s an investment I’m glad I made.
In case you’re curious, I bought a Lunette, I found it a very good quality and perfect for a beginner like myself.
After getting used to inserting the cup (this is one of the things that you need to figure out on your own and can be tricky as a beginner user) using a menstruation cup feels like freedom.
You actually forget it’s in there, you forget your period. You go by your day and it just feels like a regular day not a period day (ignoring the fact that I’m eating a ridiculous amount of chocolate).
I’ve forgotten it in a way that, a couple of times, only when I actually laid down to sleep I remembered that I need to take it off.
I never had this experience with tampons, while they were comfortable, it was hard to forget that they were there.
Also that horrible feeling of a full tampon that seems that a tampon is slipping out of your vagina, doesn’t happen when you have your menstrual cup. The menstrual cup always stays in place, you’ll only notice it’s full once it starts leaking.
My periods are no longer stressful. They exist, I accept them and they don’t consume my mind. I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago.
Plus, I’m not absorbing chemicals that are bad for my health and I’m reducing my impact by not purchasing single use pads and tampons.
I still have a couple from my times pre-menstrual cup and will occasionally use them if I’m doing a having a long term flight as I don’t like to travel for so many hours with my cup.
If you’re on a fence and can afford it, try it out. It’ll change the way you see your period. I’d recommend you to start using it in a high flow day, this will provide lubrication for the first times that you’re more clueless on how to properly insert the cup.
Let me know if you decide to take the plunge and how did it go. I’d love to know.