November23
Since I had no submissions for Tank Top Tuesday this week I’ve decided to do a different sort of post all together. If you’d rather not read about lady bits and business, then please come back here tomorrow for your regularly scheduled program & topics. Thank you!
If you don’t mind reading about lady bits & business, then you’re in for a treat! Ha-ha!
About three years ago I had happened upon an ad for the Diva Cup in my BUST magazine. Along side it in the ad were sea sponges and reusable cloth pads. I thought that was just a bit too crunch-hippie-granola for my taste (oh how tastes change). But I decided to do a bit of research to see exactly what this Diva Cup business was all about.
At first I did the typical search engine searches and really only found a couple of vague reviews and product information. At the time I was also a vegatarian and loved the post punk kitchen‘s forums for all things food and veg related. But after some random digging, I found a thread specifically about Menstrual Cups! (There is even a LiveJournal community for it.) Suddenly I was reading comment after comment of ladies who used these cups. Crazy, right?
Well, not exactly. You see, Menstrual cups, while a larger initial investment (around $30 I believe), end up saving you thousands of dollars! Also a great reducer of much icky waste products heading for our landfills. As a loyal tampon user, I saw no reason to switch until I realized just how much waste my period was creating. Yikes! Not exactly what I want to think about, but a reality none the less. So I kept reading reviews, experiences, instructions, troubles, jokes…you name it!
I had decided to take the plunge! I headed to my local Whole Foods market (Ugh! I don’t shop there now for a heck of a lot of reasons), I had heard they sold them there, and grabbed my very own Diva Cup! Now, I was 29 at the time and thus went with the larger cup. I had read all about the issue with the stem and how nearly all ladies who buy their cut the stems off completely. And since you couldn’t return it if the stem was removed entirely (I believe you can trim it a bit and still return it- not at the store but to the company itself) I headed home and tried to give it a go as is.
Um, NO! Ha-ha! Thinking back I have to laugh at all of my many failed and stubborn attempts to make my Diva Cup work for me. Bad idea! You can imagine the soreness I had to live with after so much struggling. After I finally relented, I then had to use a tampon. OW! No good. But I suffered, ashamed of myself, and waited until my next period. And then the next and the next. I did so much research on insertion techniques it is not even funny.
Then after a few months (I had nearly given up, to be honest) I decided to give it another shot. After a some personal relaxation techniques (heh) and a shower, I tried it again…and I did it! It worked! It was comfortable! It didn’t leak! I actually couldn’t feel it at all! And, best of all? No waste, no emergency trips to the store, no wondering if there’s a stain on my ass…It was fabulous! I even, finally, placed the Diva Cup pin on my purse! (It came with this cute daily pinback that simply said “Diva” on it.)
Now? I’ve been using my Diva Cup successfully and happily every since! Fairy tale? Nah, it’s just a matter of understanding my own anatomy and figuring out what works best for me. You see, prior to this endeavor, I wasn’t exactly friends with my vagina. I mean, she was alright I guess, but we were mere aquaintances rather than besties.
I cannot tell you the immense difference it has made in my life. On those rare days when I am having a super heavy flow, I actually feel it before it leaks! I know when it’s full! I can feel it. It’s kinda neat, actually. Hard to describe, but I just do. And now I also know more about my own vagina. I take very good care of my little cuppy and have a little drawstring satchel for it and even bought the Diva Wash for it (although, not necessary at all). The hard thing is getting so excited about this major life change and not exactly being able to talk about it. Another fabulous thing about it is that I can go to a concert or work or a hike or whatever and not have to empty out at all! I empty it in the morning when I wake up and at night before bed. Now some people will say that you needn’t remove it to have a bowel movement, but I just prefer it. So I will occasionally empty it more often as needed for this additional activity. But I’ve never had it shift or slip or anything like that. And since it’s in me, I don’t have to wear special underwear or worry about wearing certain pants or skirts. Awesome!
And the best part? One Diva Cup should last about Ten Years!!! Fuck Yeah!!! So if you think about how much you spend on pads or tampons in a year and multiply that by ten years? Yeah, it pays for itself so fast! I can honestly tell you that most ladies find no problem what so ever with insertion after the first attempt or two. Somehow that wasn’t the case for me. There are a ton of resources out there now and you can even find neat diagrams of different folding styles for insertion, too. There are other cups with different names and some are made of different materials, too.
I guess what I’m saying is that it is so awesome and great and I just want every woman to know about it! Because I had never heard of it before and to think of all of those years I spent worrying and stressing and oh that awful last day when you’re tampons come out sorta dry. EW! That is the worst feeling! Ugh! No more! I can’t say that I love or enjoymy period, but it’s certainly not as much of a burden as it used to be. It makes me sad when women give fifteen BS excuses why they won’t try it. But I know it’s a scary thing to change what is currently working for you. It’s a very private decision to make. But I don’t care how heavy your flow, it can take it! Pads and tampons actually make it look like there’s a ton of blood coming out of you, but after using the cup and seeing with your own eyes specifically how much is coming out? It’s not that much! Teaspoons! Ha!
What do you think? Have you tried a menstrual cup? Worried about it? Tell me all about it!
=0)
**If you’d like to submit a photo of yourself exercising your right to bare arms for the next Tank Top Tuesday post (doesn’t have to be in a tank top) email it here: notblueatall@notblueatall.com
***If you’d like to submit your own TMI Tuesday story to be posted here, please email it here: notblueatall@notblueatall.com
