Don't Be Afraid To Ask

I meet many women online who are new to the idea of menstrual cups, and they want to "check things out" before they decide to purchase one. Anyone can post and reply int his thread, but I hope it will serve as a great little spot for those of you who are doign a little research first . If you have quesitons, go a head an ask. Myself, or one of the other members can help you out.

Which brand would you recommend of an eleven year old?

I think Naturcup makes tiny, teen cup sizes.
This said, I'm not sure I'd give a cup to an eleven year old... When I was eleven, I clearly wasn't ready to insert anything into my vagina. Does she want to try one ? How about buying her some cool cloth pads with the cup and letting her decide what she wants to use now ? Even if she doesn't try the cup, it would still be here and good for use in a few years

That's what I was thinking, but she insists she's ready for a cup, so I think I'll buy her one in addition to cloth pads. But do you know if Naturcup is available in the U.S. yet?

Naturcup will be launched in April 2010, that was the last word I got from their website. Not sure if they will be available in the USA. I asked them about it and they said they "hope so". But Meluna also makes smaller teen-size ones. Their small is A LOT smaller than other brands.

The other thing is, age shoudl be considered when choosing a cup, but also flow.. Even young girls can have a heavy flow, so if she does, it might be better to try working with a regular small from many of the other brands. If a cup is too small, it will not hold very much, and she would have to constantly be emptying it with a regular-to-heavy flow.

But if her flow is realy light, then I would say try either small Meluna, small lunette, or small Yuuki. Small Ladycup too. But since ladycup and meluna are a bit slippery in removal, remind her to keep tissue in her hand as she removes it, to re-dry her fingers a few times. The dryer they are with a slippery brand, the better grip you have and the easier removal is.

Hope that helps,

M

Thanks Melissa, I didn't know Naturcup wasn't launched yet...
Ladybug, this young girl is very brave ! I wish her the best with her cup !

MPower were going to release a teen size but I never heard any more back from them

I'm so happy to have found this website! I've been interested in getting a cup for a while, but I do have some questions, at the risk of sounding completely ridiculous...

I was particularly concerned about the risk of overflow. The cups seem rather small (although I can't say I've measured my bleeding before), and I was wondering if overflows were very common.

Also, is it very common for cups to slip out? Every so often, I feel a tampon begin to slip out of me, and I have to adjust it in a bathroom...I'm just concerned that a cup slipping out would be much messier.

And, one more question.... How many cups would you recommend a person own? Is one cup good for one period (5 days), or is it best to switch cups for cleaning?

Thanks!!

As long as you get the correct size for your your stage of life and flow level, and as long as you empty your cup after a reasonable amount time, overflows are pretty rare.

I would suggest saving the first day you use a cup for a day when you are going to be mostly at home. Just remove it every few hours, and check to see about how long it takes you to fill it up. Preferably do this on a heavy day, because those are the days you will most need to know about in matters of time. After spending one of yoru heaviest days with a cup, you will be pretty well versed on when you would need to remove it.

Most women are quite surprised at how little blood they actually lose. The average woman loses about 1/4 of a kitchen measuring cup, during the entire week! Women with heavier flows will probably be closer to 1/3 or 1/2. Cups hold more thn most tampons, and even some pads! But using tampons and pads can really mess up our perception on how heavy our flow is, because they fill up so fast. Also, especially with pads, they do create the false feeling of losing a lot more than you actually are. I honestly was convinced I was losing tons and tons of blood... When after trying a cup, I realized I only lost just over 1/3 a kitchen measuring cup the whole time.

I have also met a few women with certain medical conditions that cause them to fill a cup in 1 hour or even less... But those are kind of rare. I would say if you have a light flow, you can probably go 8 to 12 hours before having to empty it. Average to heavy would be 3 to 6 hours. Anything mroe frequent than 3 hours, and your flow could be considered VERY heavy.

Slipping out? I've never met anyone who's had their cup slip out (as in lose suctin and totally fall out). Because their is a suction holding it in place. However, women with a short vagina, aka, low cervix, may feel the bottom of a cup sticking out a bit. This usually means that brand is too long. Trying a shorter cup would be ideal.

How many should a person own? Honestly, you can own as few or as many as you like. I always say, even if you owned one of each brand and color, you would still spend less money and create less waste over the course of your life, than you would using disposables the entire time. But on the flip side, one cup all by itself works just as grreat as two or more. You just rinse it every time you remove it, or in public restrooms, you can keep bottled water in your purse to rinse int he stall, or just wet a hand-drying paper towel before you go in the stall to wipe it out after emptying, and give it a regulas wash after you get home.

Some women end up owning more than one brand, because they perhaps didn't like the first one they tried and are searching for their "Goldielocks" cup, or maybe they just wanted to own more than one. Some women do it because they have "cup fever" and like to collect them. Me, I have many because I do the reviews and all, and there may be a touch of cup fever involved, lol. But I also know plenty of women who are realy into the economic and environmental aspect of only having one. I suppose it just depends how you feel

Thanks for your quick response!! You've really helped me with my decision in converting!

Glad I could help

Hi
I have tried a mooncup and had a really bad experience (7 hours to remove and still sore 4 days later), but like the idea of cups still. Is it easier to remove a hard or soft cup (and conversly fit in??) would a solid stem/ball stem help? Also which had the smallest rim
(not sure if this is the right place to post)

Berry

Personally, I think its more about the rim, weather or not its easy to remove. And the grip rings. Ball stems are comfortable to wear, and they are easier than a ring stem or no stem at all (in terms of a meluna, again in my personal opinion, but others may feel differently ). But honestly, I think traditional stems, round or flat, are the easiest.

Cups with more defined rims can be more uncomfortable to insert or remove for some people, and the suction can also be harder to break. But other people like them because they often seem to form a better seal for someone who leaks with less defined-rim brands.

There are plenty of cups with less defines rims though. Yuuki, Lunette, Divacup, Ladycup. Even Shecup and Miacup (slightly more rim than the others, but they are pretty soft). Yuuki and Lunette have nice grip rings, and they're not too long, or too stiff (or too soft, lol). And they hold abotu the same amount as each other. So those tend to be my personal favs. But again, others may feel differently

Hope that helps,

M

Ladybug wrote:Which brand would you recommend of an eleven year old?

hello, the smallest meluna (thay have S, M and L size) is the first that crossed my mind, because it is really tiny (i think smallest of them all), and she could choose to have the ball/ring or stem, so consider this one as well.
but i think the best would be to see all the comparisions and maybe let her choose?