Conversion to cups
A millennial uses the menstrual cup for the first time, sharing her updates on Instagram that help her through the process
I’m trying to move to more sustainable practices on a daily basis and even the thought of someone else dealing with my sanitary waste is not great. So, I owed it to myself to at least try menstrual cups. I didn’t do much research and just bought a small size, thankfully a correct guess. But having the right size is crucial. And you need to be okay with inserting something in your body. So, from the ages of 21 to 24, I switched completely to tampons before I used a menstrual cup, which made the transition to the cup much easier for me. It’s tougher to go from pads to cups.
Insta-support
My experience of using the menstrual cup for the first time was a rollercoaster, just like our periods are — full of mood swings. Putting the cup in is fairly simple, but removing it was a task. The stem was really small and I couldn’t get hold of it. It was a nightmare trying to figure out how to remove it as there is suction too, which makes it impossible. I spent an hour and a half on the bathroom floor and had a meltdown. The last option was for my sister to help me out and that was not happening!
I was sharing my updates on Instagram and a lot of people were actively engaged. Around 100 women gave me advice and some people went with ‘why I haven’t switched too’. There were even some men who said they wanted their daughter and wife to switch. Women of all ages were supportive through this — they told me my fear that the cup could get lost in my body was unfounded as that there’s only a limit to which it can go inside the body.
They were the ones who told me that I don’t need a longer stem for better hold but need to remove the cup by pinching the bottom to remove the suction, after which it becomes fairly simple to pull it out. Just make sure you’re sitting on the pot.
No need to panic
The mistake I was making was that I was panicking and so I was holding my breath, which only made the cup go further inside. You need to exhale and it just slides down.
Then someone suggested I try it out when I am not on my periods, but thankfully women on Instagram shut down the bad idea because that’s painful.
With one unsuccessful cycle and one successful one, I am now comfortable wearing it while taking a shower. I also face a lot of period cramps and I don’t know if there’s any scientific logic but the cup has also helped with the pain, something that a lot of women agreed with too. I haven’t seen so many women vouch for a product which itself says a lot about how great a conversion it is.
“I’M MOVING TO MORE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AND THE THOUGHT OF SOMEONE DEALING WITH MY SANITARY WASTE IS NOT GREAT”