Before I could wax poetic about many-splendored Diva Cups, Allie at Wardrobe Oxygen (formerly My Wardrobe Today) beat me there.
If you are a 1) person who has menstrual periods and hates buying overpriced wads of cotton or 2) a person who hates landfills and can influence your friends/family who DO have periods or 3) some combination of the two, then read Allie’s review here. (Link broken! Allie’s blog has changed names, and that review no longer exists. Mysterious! Allie does give a mini-review here.)
I’ve used my Diva Cup for years now and highly recommend them to ladyfriends.
Five [Somewhat Personal] Points for Inquiring Minds:
— I hacked the entire stem off mine, it was pokey and wholly unnecessary
— Speaking of wholly unnecessary things, I’ve never bought DivaWash.
— I bought size B, recommended for woman post-vaginal childbirth or past 30. Why? Because it’s a mere two sixteenths of an inch different than size A. Why shell out twice?
— I’m not married to this brand. The Keeper/Mooncup may be cheaper/readily available in your area. The Keeper predates DivaCup AND is made in America, both good to know.
Note that the Keeper/Mooncup sizing system is opposite DivaCup’ s: Keeper says B is for pre-baby, A for after.
— Like many other women, I had FAR fewer monthly cramps once I switched from tampons. I’m a believer.
Any further questions, class? Please leave a comment below.
(Psst! If you’re shy about girl-function talk, then send your questions to rebekah (at) jauntydame (dot) com.)
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? I have never heard of these… what are they–what I THINK they are??? how in creation do they work????
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ok, so the nearest store that sells them in my area is 20 miles away, in a town I’ve barely heard of and have no idea how to get there! how much do they cost? My post baby no-more-babies thingy, reduces my menstruationd enormously, I think I get one about every 5-6 months. still worth it for me?
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Before diva cups were invented I had a Keeper, and I LOVED IT!!!!
I was a poor single mom, and you can buy a LOT food for the price they’re getting for a years worth of tampons these days!
Of course my general hippy-ness goes way back, but still-these are a great invention.
Here you can buy them in the food co-op.
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Will look into price for you Winter.
I know my way to the post office pretty well….
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I recently heard about these, and I am anxious not to spend tons of money on pads that go into a landfill, but my whole problem is that I don’t use tampons regularly, because the menstrual flow cleans out the vaginal passage and I have fewer yeast infections. This item may only make that symptom worse — any comments????
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hmmm, never heard of them before; initial reaction – as predicted by the website’s FAQs… “EWWWWW GROSS!!!”
however after having read a bit about it and mulled it over in my mind… that’s actually a pretty interesting/good idea if they really work as well as they claim. I like the idea of no odor or messy used pads to dispose of. i’m still a bit skeptical about the whole staying in while excersising or doing extreme sports though; what’s your experience been with that – do they really stay put and not leak while you’re jumping around and/or flailing your legs about?
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a diva cup is about $40. They’re made in Canada, I think. So, that’s exciting.
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Winter – Do you have an IUD? It might still be worth it, since you can buy the post-baby size and use it until menopause. It’d save a ton of trash, that’s for sure. I love mine, there’s no WAY I’d ever go back to tampons.
Leslie – You can buy them in my co-op, too. I didn’t realize that way back when, I ordered mine.
Megan – I’ve never had a yeast infection, so I might not be helpful. The DivaCup site says there’s no INCREASED risk of yeast infections, but it doesn’t say it could DECREASE your risks, either.
Ladies? A little help, please?
If menstrual cups don’t sound like an option, have you considered cloth pads? Moonpads, Lunapads, GladRags, pads sold on Etsy…. lots of possibilities. I used cloth pads pre-cup and might make my own pantiliners. It’s worth a thought.
Sierra – I picked a name for you. =) I’ve never had any problem with leaking, and I’ve used mine while sleeping, running, biking, etc.. It WOULD leak if you didn’t put it in properly, but nothing works when you’re using it wrong, you know? I’ve never had a DivaCup fall out or jiggle out of place, nothing like that.
I thought I had a medium-heavy flow, but now I know it’s less than 1/4 oz. per day — I was using three tampons a day for THAT! With a cup, I can leave it in all day, not rush to a bathroom every four hours when a tampon decides to flee my body.
Greg – My favorite researcher! Yes, they’re made in Canada— mine says so, and I e-mailed the company to be sure. Ladies should definitely shop around, prices vary from one site to the next.
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Oh, I didn’t have to research. I knew that stuff off the top of my head.
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Rebekah Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 5:24 AM
Wait, you happened to know where DivaCups are made??
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Leslie Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Greg is a veritable font of information….almost as good as Google and considerably cuter.
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Greg Reply:
November 11th, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Yes, if you can believe that.
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They’re around $25 on Amazon. Very reasonable for something that “pays for itself.” Still sitting on the fence, but intruiged, to be sure.
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Rebekah Reply:
November 10th, 2009 at 4:34 AM
Heeeeeey, $25 is great! It costs nearly that to buy dinner for two in local restaurants.
Nothin’ wrong with a little fence-sitting.
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The main problem I’ve had with the Diva Cup is that sometimes when you put it in it doesn’t seal quite right and then you have to run back to the bathroom stall and re-put it in, and that’s just a lot of digging around in private places in public restrooms for me at times. But even so, I’m still a fan, even though I find myself too lazy to use it most of the time. But when organic cotton tampons are $8 a box, it might be time to pull it out again…
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Kelly – Huh. If it ‘pops’ into place, then you know it’s sealed and won’t leak. Don’t leave the bathroom until it pops open, or you WILL have leaking/swearing. It takes awhile to figure out how to make it pop open, though. Rinsing it with cold water helps some women, but I just twist/tug until it seals.
This must sound CRAZY to newcomers…
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hmm, thanks for the heads up! maybe I’ll look into the amazon deal! I think I’m gonna try it. Yes. I have an IUD-Mirena to be exact. my flow used be very heavy but it’s a 1/4 of what it used to be!, but I find I’m even more susceptible to cramps via tampons now- as I almost never use them! I’m in. I gonna try it! I DO like that it’s reusable, seems gross at first, but definitely saves on the trash! I’m totally for that! I’ll try to remember to post an update whenever I get my new diva cup, whenever I get my next period! lol.
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Rebekah Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 10:54 PM
I have an IUD(ParaGard), which is why I asked. Some women have found their DivaCups more likely to leak when using an IUD, but I can’t for the life of me think of a logical explanation AND I haven’t been able to find one online. Mysterious! But you’ve got Mirena, so you’re probably not losing much blood to begin with. Awesome!
I’d recommend using panytliners with your DiveCup until you get the hang of it, either way. Safety first.
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I thought Diva Cups were the grossest idea ever. Uuuuuntil my well meaning mommy bought me one and I felt bad about Not using it. Now I’m converted. It’s cheaper than tampons, actually feels Less obtrusive than tampons or pads (I forget it’s there) and saves a lot of room in my purse for things I really want to lug around with me ;)
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Rebekah Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 11:44 PM
Isn’t EVERYONE grossed out initially? We think “Wait, you want me to keep a cup of blood INSIDE MY BODY??” as if that were soooo much worse than a wad of blood-soaked cotton.
With a DivaCup, ladies who swim don’t have to worry about telltale strings showing! Pity I never swim.
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Darn
youyour lack of trackback url! Anyway, here’s my comment (with immature humor… warning!) http://adderall-apocalypse.blogspot.com/2009/11/and-now-for-something-little-less.html[Reply]
Eeeeeeeeeeeeee. I never knew about these. *needs time to process* Haha!
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Rebekah Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:00 AM
Take a deep breath. It’ll all be okay.
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Is there a chance it can fall out spilling blood evrywhere?
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Do you have to fish it out every time you go pee pee?
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Leilani – 1) Diva cups can’t fall out, and 2) pee and period blood come from different body parts. =)
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