Need convincing...

Menstrual cups are a product that I want to love. I've considered giving mama cloth a go, but I hate the feeling of anything but the thinnest of pantiliners--I much prefer tampons, and I'm very particular about them. When my favorite brand went applicator-free several years ago, I had to try a bunch of different brands to find a new favorite because I just could not get the hang of inserting it.

At the same time, I don't really 'enjoy' using tampons either, particularly because my flow is unpredictable, and if I put in a higher absorbency after a lower one leaked, it's likely to slow down and by the time I think I need to change one out again, it's still dry and horrid coming out.

I work at home, so I'm not so concerned about how to rinse it in a public bathroom, though I was glad to read all the tips about soapy papertowels just in case. Maybe I am just squeamish because I've never even been able to find my cervix and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get thumb and forefinger up in there to pull it back out.

I'm 30, post one cesarean birth, but I suspect a small cup in any brand is going to be fit me best. I'm just hesitant to quit the devil I know. Does anyone know what shops or brands offer return guarantees? My big thing is I don't want to shell out $20-40 and get stuck with something I'm not comfortable using...like the box of 'Instead' I tried several years ago.

I don't know how much help I'll be - I'm brand new to this menstrual cup thing (but I already love it) and will try to answer some of your questions.

As to the guarantee offered with cups - I am not 100% sure about that. The ones that show that they offer a guarantee on their websites that I have noticed are The Keeper/Mooncup, and Miacup. Miacup's guarantee is 6 months (I believe), and Keeper/Mooncup is only 3 months - and only if you haven't cut off over half of the stem. Some other companies might be willing to exchange your cup for a different size, if that seems to be the case, but that's just something I've read elsewhere - not on the manufacturer's sites, so no promises on that. You would want to contact the manufacturer directly to ask about size exchanges, etc. Most companies take returns on unused cups (fleurcup, meluna, ladycup I think). Also a big thing to know is that the companies will usually only honor these terms if you bought the cup directly from them - not through one of their vendors.

I hate pads, and don't like tampons. I too had trouble saturating them enough, and then getting them out (and getting them ALL out without leaving tufts of fiber behind) was quite the task in itself. I found those Instead cups a year or two ago, and wanted to love them, I was really excited about it, but they just did not work well for me at all. They were uncomfortable, they leaked, and they kept trying to pop out. They felt continually uncomfortable for me, and I worried about them all the time, and after only "using" three of the six in the box, I gave up on them.

I think it would be good to see if you can't try to find your cervix first (while you're on your period) - because I think that is where some of the biggest problems with cups stems from. For the most part, if your cervix is "normal" you could probably wear just about any cup you choose. But if it is pretty high you might have a hard time reaching a shorter cup, or if it is low, it might be very uncomfortable to have a cup that's too long (it could actually stick out!). My cervix never gets all that high, but between periods it does go up quite a bit further than when I'm on my period. I did not realize that it would move around so much! I practiced with my cup before my period, and it fit perfectly, but as soon as my period came - it lowered like 3"! My "perfect fitting" cup no longer fit so perfectly. It still worked - but was much tougher to get in, and the stem which I previously hadn't felt at all now had to go. I could feel the whole cup more, but it wasn't uncomfortable, just more of an awareness of it. In the end I realized I'd be happier with a shorter cup, even though the one I had worked just fine (no leaks, popped open fine, more than enough capacity, etc.). One website you might want to check out in regards to your cervix is www.beautifulcervix.com - someone else posted it somewhere (sorry I don't remember who initially posted the link, or on which message boards I saw it), and I thought it was really interesting to see just what it looks like and it might help you picture more what you're probing around for in there.

Hopefully part of this is some help to you. I myself was really surprised at how easy the cup was for me to use - even with my cervix getting in the way. I was afraid that one wrong move could leave me with a really bad spill, but I wore it during my Turbo Kickboxing class, and even with all of the different kicks, squats, lunges, and lying on my back doing leg lifts and crunches, and it didn't leak at all. I never even spilled during removal - my fingers stayed clean!