Diva Cup update [warning: TMI for some]

Ok, so I posted this blog post previously about the Diva Cup.  And I will once again warn that this may be TMI for some readers.

I have now gone through 3 cycles using the Diva Cup.  And I am happy to say that I am still happy with it.

The first month was a little rough I will admit.  I had a lot of leakage issues during the first month I used it.  It wasn't until the end of that period that I realized the cup wasn't even full when I was leaking & so the problem had to be that I wasn't inserting it properly.  I must also say that during this week I was also dealing with the loss of my brother in law & focusing on this new diva cup was really not a priority at that time.  I felt a little numb overall, like I was in shock, as his death was VERY unexpected & VERY sudden.  I was tempted to just go back to tampons for this time, but I didn't want to be a quitter & continued with the cup, leaks & all.

During the second month I used it I had some leakage issues on the first day I used it.  But I quickly started learning how to insert properly & that went away.  I'm sure the learning curve for everyone is different, but for me I struggled with getting it to fully reopen once inserted inside.  So it was a matter of fixing this issue & then I no longer had leakage issues, except when the cup is full & needs to be emptied.  I will say, though, that even though I learned how to insert properly this month, it was still taking me a really long time to get it inserted & fully reopened properly.  But I persisted.

During the third month I feel I have become a real pro.  I can quickly remove, clean, reinsert, & fully inflate in a very short time.  I had no leakage issues this time around, with the exception of when the cup is full & needs to be emptied.

So for now I feel like inserting, removing, & cleaning is a piece of cake.  What I am still working on is knowing when to empty.  My flow varies greatly sometimes & it makes it tough for me to gauge.  I'm hoping to improve in this area.

I did get a pan to boil it in when my period is complete each month.  I hadn't boiled it yet, to be honest, & felt that I definitely should be doing that.  And I really couldn't stomach the thought of using one of my kitchen pans to boil it in.  So I bought a separate pan & will be storing somewhere outside of the kitchen, just so there's no confusion & no one ends up using it for food, LOL.

I did also get a second Diva Cup.  I was having a hard time dealing with having only one cup & no other form of back up.  I kept worrying about all these "what if" scenarios where I would need a back up.  So I went ahead & got one.  Now I keep one in my bathroom & one in my purse.  So no matter where I am I have one available in case I start unexpectedly.

I have also mastered the public restroom issue with using the Diva Cup.  That was one of the first things I thought of in regards to the cup, how on earth do you deal with it in a public restroom??  I found a video on youtube where a woman says she carries a peri bottle of water with her, in her purse, & uses that to rinse off the cup & her hands & then when she's done she washes her hands again at the sink outside the stall.  I have done this, in the public restroom at church, & it worked great I am happy to say.  You can also hunt down places like Starbucks where it's one person at a time with a sink right there with the toilet, if that's doable for you.  But I know that there will be times, like at church, where that's not always doable, so I needed to find a good way to handle it without that option & I did & I am quite pleased.

The only other issue I am wondering about: when I initially switched from pads to tampons I was amazed at how much easier my periods were using tampons.  I had less cramping, less mood swings, bloating, nausea, etc.  But I had thought that using the Diva Cup would be comparable to using tampons in regards to this.  But it is not at all.  I am having bad cramping, mood swings, bloating, the list goes on & on.  All those ugly things that went away when I switched to tampons so many years ago.  I find that both odd & interesting.  It makes me wonder what exactly is in the tampons that causes that effect.  I have learned even more now than I knew when I first made the choice to give up tampons & switch to the Diva Cup.  I now know that tampons have dioxin in them & that it is a carcinogen.  Just knowing that alone makes me never want to insert a tampon internally into my body ever again.  I am hoping that my body is just going through some sort of adjustment period to the cup & that it will pass & things will settle down & my periods won't be so difficult once again.

In closing, just let me say how happy I am with the Diva Cup overall.  They say they can last 10 years easily, if cared for properly.  Ten years from now I'd have to guess that I'll be well into menopause & probably not having periods anymore.  And so this will be my final purchase, final expense as it were, towards my periods.  I think that's pretty cool, although I sure do wish I had learned about them & started using them at a much younger age.