I <3 my Mooncup (NO BOYS ALLOWED)

**Guest** Guest

I mean it boys, you don't want to be here. To protect your eyes, I present Kittens:

EDIT: look, Kitten Slave is off in a corner crying and looking for a hot poker because he didn't head the warning sign. Unless you want to become VERY in tune with your feminine side, Boys, you REALLY don't want to be here Razz

/EDIT.

EDIT BY MOD: Just to clarify, this is a conversation about girly stuff like periods, tampons & their alternatives, and such like. Read at your own risk, boys. Razz

Who has one? Who loves it? Who's confused?

I just got mine and it's AWSOME, and something that seems to happen is that girls get one, love it, and insist on sharing the love and then it's TMI all round! Very Happy

It's a tampon substitute that collects everything instead of absorbing it. You empty it twice or 3 times a day, wipe it out and jam it back up there. But the thing is, you get one ($50 from Commonsense Organics, or online) and it lasts you ten years. So thats ten years of NOT buying pads and tampons and NOT throwing then and their excessive packaging away. Saves you money AND is good for the environment. And they're made of medical grade silicone (a Mooncup is anyway, a similar product made by other folks is latex) so you can't get TSS off it, like you can a tampon. And mega bonus - they're not GROSS.

Viva le revolution!

By **JVCA**. 18/11/08, 04:03 am

You know they're gunna look anyway.

I've heard of them before, but never tried one myself. I've heard a lot of people sign their praises on another forum I moderate though. o_O

**Guest** Guest

Well if they can't read a warning label is it my fault they have to go and remove their eyes with a hot poker afterwards? Very Happy

http://menstrualcups.org/ links to an LJ community which is just CHOCK full of TMI's and Paint Diagrams of what people think their innards look like and 15 different folding instructions and size comparisons and "PANIC IT'S STUCK HALPHALPHALP!!!" followed by calming posts and careful instructions and finally posts saying "thanks, got it sorted now!"

By Kitten Slave. 18/11/08, 04:19 am

I hate you.

gonk

**Guest** Guest

I warned you! I TOTALLY warned you! And then I put kittens in there too!

By Kitten Slave. 18/11/08, 04:25 am

that was like, waving a big brightly colored something and saying "read me!! README!! Resistance if futile!!!"

sweatdrop

its like the kinda twisted evil thing static would do to bait me...

Im not coming back to this thread.

**Guest** Guest

Seriously consult your doctor about these there is generally a reason these kinda things arnt main stream

**Guest** Guest

The reason is that men make a packet off girls buying disposable products /feminist rant.

Honestly - if there was a problem I would have found it. I've been scouring the internet for over a month, I've search the academic journals where doctors publish these sorts of things and they're made from the same stuff they make heart valves out of. They've been around since the 30's in one form or another and I am yet to find a report of a single problem that can't be fixed with practice.

It's NOT sterile up there, it never was and never will be, so as long as you keep the cup clean, how could it possibly be worse for you than a tampon?

EDIT: That said, I'm never going to say "Don't go to a doctor!" if you feel like you should. But lots of the ladies on the LJ community say they've gotten negative but not fact based reactions from gyno's etc. The product is approved by the FDA in America.

By Static. 18/11/08, 04:46 am

Kitten Slave wrote:: that was like, waving a big brightly colored something and saying "read me!! README!! Resistance if futile!!!"

its like the kinda twisted evil thing static would do to bait me...

Im not coming back to this thread.

XD! She totally warned you, man. I love that you are now traumatised and it is ALL YOUR OWN FAULT!

On topic: I don't know how keen I am on these things personally, to be honest. I don't know that emptying my tampon would be a particularly pleasant task. I'd be keen to try it out though, it does sound like a wonderfully cheap alternative! Oh, and I've been stewing about this since yesterday and since we now have a boy-free thread: I hope whoever invented the speculum died a horrible, lingering death. Had my first smear yesterday and it really, REALLY hurt.

It feels good to get that off my chest. XP

**Guest** Guest

It's not sposed to hurt! I mean, they're DAMN uncomfortable, but hurting sometimes means you're tensing up and making the Ducky-thing (is speculum what its called?) jap you in places. They kinda suck though. looking forward to your next one in a year? Very Happy

EDIT: Why are we allowed to say damn but not sugar honey iced tea?

Emptying is not as bad as it sounds. It's kinda gross, but it's not like it's toxic waste. It's just blood. It doesn't smell nearly as bad as a tampon does, and there isn't nearly as much blood as the tampons make you think there is. Apparently the average flow is 3 ounces over a few days, the cup is about 1 ounce, and since you're emptying it 2/3 times a day you'll never get nearly full. If you're one of those poor girls who has a stupidly heavy flow, then yeah it gets fuller.

**Guest** Guest

u_ne_korn wrote:: The reason is that men make a packet off girls buying disposable products /feminist rant.

Honestly - if there was a problem I would have found it. I've been scouring the internet for over a month, I've search the academic journals where doctors publish these sorts of things and they're made from the same stuff they make heart valves out of. They've been around since the 30's in one form or another and I am yet to find a report of a single problem that can't be fixed with practice.

It's NOT sterile up there, it never was and never will be, so as long as you keep the cup clean, how could it possibly be worse for you than a tampon?

EDIT: That said, I'm never going to say "Don't go to a doctor!" if you feel like you should. But lots of the ladies on the LJ community say they've gotten negative but not fact based reactions from gyno's etc. The product is approved by the FDA in America.

I would still worry about the silacon perishing after time as I wouldnt gauge any silicon product more than 5 years (let alone 10) as it will start to become absorbant when it ages as with any silacon based product (including pc chips which is why they can cease to function after a while for no apparent reason

**Guest** Guest

Ok, but this isn't a tiny strip of silicone. It's about 3 or 4mm thick at it's thinnest part. Absorbancy and staining apparently does become a problem but vinegar or sex-toy cleaner takes care of most of it.

The thing is, say it does perish after five years instead of 10? So what? Silicone isn't toxic, it's not like you're using it as a contraceptive, so if it develops a leak it develops a leak and you notice and you toss it and get a new one.

If it does lose it's flexibility, you're gonna notice that because you have to fold it up to get it in, and you'll see cracks and things and the manual and common sense say to toss it at that point.

But even if it only lasts ONE year I'm still saving money and throwing less trash out.

By Static. 18/11/08, 05:01 am

u_ne_korn wrote:: It's not sposed to hurt! I mean, they're DAMN uncomfortable, but hurting sometimes means you're tensing up and making the Ducky-thing (is speculum what its called?) jap you in places. They kinda suck though. looking forward to your next one in a year?

EDIT: Why are we allowed to say damn but not sugar honey iced tea?

I don't think I tensed - it was fine until she started really winding it, and it was bad enough that I couldn't keep my mouth shut - there was a lot of swearing done. And hell no, I'm not going back for another one! Three years is enough, thanks. If a medical procedure hurts more than getting tattooed on one's spine, it is a Bad Thing.

Oh yes, and Balmung? It's not that we don't appreciate your input, but until you've had to shove cotton wads up your tender bits every month since puberty, I don't think you quite appreciate how much of a pain in the ass it is. I'm gonna look into this, I think - I take it it fills slower than your average tampy?

By **JVCA**. 18/11/08, 05:02 am

My main issue with them is that emptying (and presumably rinsing?) is not really so plausible in a public bathroom. o_O

**Guest** Guest

i would still do more reaserch before trying something like that just to be on the safe side

By Static. 18/11/08, 05:05 am

Also: I love that this is in the "plugging" category XD

**Guest** Guest

After your first one you're supossed to go back in ONE year, not 3. At least, thats what I was told. Repeatedly. Of course when I went back for my 1 year the pH was off or something and I had to a do-over.

EDIT:

Ha, yes I tried a public toilet. That was fun. Very Happy

Especially since it still takes me ten minutes to get it out. But you can pour down the toilet, and you can just wipe out with toilet paper. Or you can take over the disabled bathroom thats got a sink in there with you. Or take in a water-bottle.

But the thing is, if you only have to empty twice a day, which a GREAT number of women do, you can just wait till you get home.

By **JVCA**. 18/11/08, 05:07 am

Added a small note in the OP to explain what this topic is about, as many don't know what a Mooncup is. XD

**Guest** Guest

Awww, I was hoping for more traumatised boys Very Happy

By **JVCA**. 18/11/08, 05:08 am

So you *were* baiting them on purpose! XP

**Guest** Guest

No... But I got such a good reaction from Kitten I was looking forward to more! Very Happy

By **jpwise**. 18/11/08, 05:13 am

As others have said, any title that says "don't look" will instinctively drag people in to look. Razz

Sounds like an unusual product, but plausible. As u_ne_korn said the medical silicone has been around for years. I'm pretty sure they use the same stuff on the outside of parts of pacemakers, and yeah, wouldn't surprise me if they use them in heart valve work. I think they usually advertise them as having a ~15+ year lifespan, but thats built to go within the body on a permanent basis, without any air, uv or other exposure.

I still think that standing pee tube thing they advertised for woman about 8-10 months back is freakin strange though.

Static: lol - i probably shouldn't laugh, but yeah i thought i picked up a hint of something along those lines in one of your rants relating to doctors and a few years or something. Razz

PS: What boy free thread? ninja

By Static. 18/11/08, 05:15 am

LOL! Brilliant, man. And yeah I know you're suposed to do it again after a year - I still refuse.

Where do you get mooncups? Internet, or locally?

@jp: yeah, I was dying to have a good rant about it but I figured I should save the delicate male sensibilities a bit. But look! Korny's broken you all for me, so I call free for all XP

Edit: whoops, didn't read first post properly. Commonsense Organics it is. My bad...

**Guest** Guest

I got mine at Commonsense organics for $50, I thought after the exchange rate and P&P it was cheaper to do that than order in. But Mooncup is just one of many brands and they're all different shapes and sizes.

**Guest** Guest

u_ne_korn wrote:: Awww, I was hoping for more traumatised boys

seriously were used to this sugar honey iced tea anyway so were pretty much immune to this kind of sexist abuse

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