A Love-Hate Relationship with my Menstrual Cup

Let me tell you about this funnel-shaped eco-friendly reusable feminine hygiene product that made an awesome impact in my life- my small but terrible hero, my menstrual cup (MC)!

It’s been more than 4 years, since I first received a blogger mail from Malaya Cup; and believe me, it was one mail that changed my menstrual life- cycle forever. Need I say, I wasn’t instantly convinced of its benefits. Took me months and a lot of procrastination before I finally gave it a try, and maybe like most women my age, these are why I hesitated at first: because of the notion that it may cause vaginal irritation or an allergic reaction to the silicone, which is what it is made of; the inconvenient and sometimes painful way of inserting or removing it, and lastly, I’ve always doubted it’s ‘no leaks’ claim.

Although I’ve always had a regular cycle, it was frequently heavy and most of the time excruciatingly painful. No worries though, my OB-GYNE ruled out the pain and heavy bleeding as just a result of hormonal imbalance, nothing really serious. And yup, I had been vaccinated a couple of years ago with an HPV Vaccine that prevents Cervical Cancer and other Human Papilloma-virus caused diseases, so may be that one helped too.

Going back to this tiny thing, it did gave me a lot of WOAH moments, literally and figuratively speaking. Let’s talk figuratively first- my favorite part is- it lessened the pain in my period, and for some reasons, have actually narrowed my cycle, from a week down to only 4 days, with day 2 being the most saturated one. That’s a deal breaker for me! Anything that takes that agonizing pain away, I am for it. Still have yet to figure out why and how using MCs lessen, if not took the menstrual pain away, and what caused it in the first place? Is there something on those disposable sanitary pads that make periods unbearable? I won’t say using MC was totally mess and leak-free, NO it is actually far from it, that I still do use those washable bamboo charcoal cloth napkin as a tandem, or worst, a disposable diaper, when I had no choice but to go out on a heavy day. BUT this, I hope, is only because I haven’t got the right fit for me. Still looking for one ‘til now. Any recommendation would do just please type in the comment box below.

Now let’s talk about that funny, almost scary part of my MC journey. I do not mean to scare anyone, but, instead, for you to cut the worrying part out and just do it. Let’s just say, it took me, almost half an hour trying to figure out how to get it in. THERE WAS RESISTANCE, and all-sweaty exhausted me couldn’t help it. I was one of those who got SHOCKED upon successfully FORCING it in, and one of those who did PANIC as I tried to get it out, because at some point, I could not feel the tip part of it anywhere. Save your worries, it won’t get lost inside and go into your uterus, if that’s what you’re thinking. Our cervix is designed to be right at the end of our vaginal canal where it deliberately stops. So yes, a little push will help the cup find its way out. The key is to be relaxed when you put it in so there won’t be any resistance and tension in those vaginal walls. Yes it will be too awkward at first but once you get the hang of it, everything will be just a breeze, just make sure you get the right size! How to clean it is another story. Depending on your flow, you can wear a cup for up to 12 hours or overnight.

Now let’s go down to the heavy part. Did you know that a woman uses an average of 2700 sanitary napkins in a period of 10 years? I have come across this appalling fact, and have sadly realized how much of a contributor to pollution I had become in the past 30 years (more or less) of my life. How do I get that back? I have no idea. Although I could say that I had been practicing proper disposals, still I cannot rely on the garbage collectors to just dump those trash on landfills and oceans. But I now have a choice. I may not completely be waste free but this menstrual cup promises a more gentle option for our planet and a way healthier reproductive system for me. Win-win, huh?