Let’s chat over coffee about a moon cup…

Let’s chat over coffee about a moon cup…

This is a bit of a private topic and it’s not the sort of thing that women openly talk about, yet it’s so natural, something that most of us deal with and if you’re thinking about trying one,  you’ve probably got all the same questions I had.

So, if you’re considering a moon cup, this is for you. If you find it a bit squirmish, don’t read any further. 😉

I wanted to talk to you about my experience with changing from tampons over to a moon cup.

Have you tried one?

Do you even know what one is or are you like I was, contemplating it but there’s just a few too many  unanswered questions that you can’t quite bring yourself to go there?

Well, question no more… I’m going to share allll the details. 

It was late last year that I saw a feature on the news about a lady who got Toxic Shock Syndrome and nearly died from leaving a tampon in for too long and I thought, OMG, that’s me, at times I left mine in for hours at the end of my period.

I also thought, because I was using organic tampons, I wasn’t prone to TSS and it was safer but it wasn’t necessarily the case.

So, it made me wonder about the moon cup. I’d heard lots of people talk about them but the thought of them actually didn’t appeal until now. For those of you who don’t know, a moon cup is a silicone menstrual cup designed by women to be a convenient, safe and eco-friendly alternative to tampons and sanitary pads.

So, I started to explore. I asked friends who used them, asked in my private Facebook group and virtually everyone raved. So, I was like, ok, I need to give this a go. This process took me about 6 months, that’s how much I sat on the fence about it!

I didn’t research brands, I literally just decided one day when we were out that I was going to buy one so I just went to a chemist and got it – I’d procrastinated too long. Of the brand I bought, there were two options, one if you’ve had kids, or one if not. Simple.

I watched a couple of videos on YouTube on how to insert it (there are a couple of different ways you can fold it but the most recommended was in half) so it appeared pretty simple and I’d been recommended to try it in the shower first.

It just so happened that I got my period on the same day we were going out for dinner. So, I thought, oh, I’ll just try it in the shower before we go, then take it out and use a tampon to go out to dinner.

So, I inserted it and it fitted like a glove, I was super stoked, but then I tried to take it out, and I was like, OMG, I can’t get it out… it was suctioned so tight that no matter how hard I tried, it was stuck! I was in a dilemma…

As soon as I got out of the shower, I jumped into my closed Facebook group and asked how to remove it? We were running late for our dinner date so I had to just leave it in, hoping like heck it didn’t leak.

On the way to where we were going, I was reading comments from my fabulous ladies, telling me you just push down like you’re having a baby (but not that hard) and it will break the seal and then you can use your thumb and first finger to pull it out (although it has the small stem in the photo, you can’t pull that as you need to break the suction first). It was such a hoot! The night was uneventful, I didn’t even notice it was there and as soon as I got home, tried their advice and voila, perfect, it worked and I easily removed it.

I’m now into month 5 of using it. Initially I thought, although, I loved the convenience, I found it quite messy having to rinse it out each time but to be honest, now it doesn’t even both me. The pros of using it incredibly out way the cons and like so many other people say, I wouldn’t ever go back.

So, to explain, each time, you just tip the contents down the toilet and then give it a quick rinse and insert it again. If you’re caught out and you don’t have somewhere to rinse it, you can just wipe it with toilet paper but the beauty is that it lasts so much longer than tampons, you can go 6-8 hours without emptying it (see below).

Then when I’m not using it, I sterilise it and store it in this little pouch it came with.

Here are my takeaways about why I’d recommend giving it a go…

1. Although it’s an initial outlay ($60-$70), some websites say you should replace them each year, others say they could last 10 years so you don’t have the ongoing monthly costs of sanitary pads or tampons
2. I don’t get the stomach pain and back pain I used to get when I was using tampons – I’m not sure why this is but my periods are definitely less painful (this is a huge win!)
3. My flow is less (another huge win!), I used to go through an organic super tampon in two hours, but with this, in the initial first couple of days, I might empty it very 4-5 hours but in the later part of my period, I can go 7-8 hours, it’s brilliant!
4. You can exercise, swim, sleep and it never leaks (I have heard of some that do leak though so I think I have been extremely lucky. Also, I’ve heard it has something to do with the shape of your uterus so it might be worth doing a bit of research or just be like me, giving it a go)
5. It’s so much better for your body because you’re not inserting any nasty chemicals (that some tampons can be loaded with)
6. It’s so much better on the environment as you’re not flushing anything down the toilet or throwing anything out
7. When you go away, you only need to take a small pouch with you, not like a box of tampons or packet of pads
8. Now I know the benefit and ease, when my girls are old enough and ready, I’ll be able to encourage them to use one too, knowing it’s better for their body and the environment

So, there you have it, my take on a moon cup. I think they’re a genius invention and I really believe the government could be subsidising these for those women who can’t afford to buy sanitary pads and tampons because there aren’t any ongoing costs – hopefully it is something they’re already looking into or doing.

If you’d like to see a video of me showing the moon cup in person, and how to fold it etc, come on over and join my private Facebook group if you haven’t already called Healthy Eating Made Easy for Busy Mums, and then watch this video. I know I’m all about food and healthy eating but I also share what’s going on in my life too which is hopefully helpful to you.

Note: Please understand this is my experience on the moon cup and what works for me, it is not a health professionals’ opinion. I haven’t given any recommendations of brands as you’ll need to do your own research and there are different sizes you can get. I think I just got lucky that mine fitted so well first go but I have heard that some women have had to try a couple of different ones to find one that fits comfortably. But in saying that, they’ve still said that they wouldn’t go back to tampons or pads as they’re a game changer. Good luck!

If you’ve found this helpful, or you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I’ll reply within 24 hours.