Sorry about the glare. I'm not good at photo editing, if you haven't noticed.
Hey ladies! I am assuming anyone who is reading this is a female because, you know. How many men
want to read about feminine hygiene products on their own free will? ;)
As some of you may have read on my Facebook page, I was recently given the opportunity to review a Luv Ur Body menstrual cup. So, consider this your warning now that there will be lots of talk of "lady parts" and a lot of what most would probably consider "over shares". But, we are talking about a menstrual cup, after all, and I feel like I should share as much about my experience with others as much possible on the off chance that someone may have similar issues as me. So, without further ado, my first experience with a menstrual cup...
Overall, it wasn't a great experience, but I think it could have been a lot worse, too. To be honest, though, I don't think it was the cup that was at fault for my not so great experience as my own body. While I did receive the "wrong size" according to how their site said to choose the correct size, I decided to give it a whirl anyways.
As I have heard from EVERYONE who has tried a menstrual cup, there definitely
is a learning curve at first. It took me a good 20 minutes to insert it the first time and 10 minutes the second time. I also had to *ahem* lay down to get it in. I tried sitting on the toilet
and squatting over it to no avail. Being an avid tampon user for years, you would think I would know where my vagina is by now, right? I guess I should also note that I used the "C" fold...Mostly because I didn't understand the punch down method and it looked easier anyways.
I feel I should tell my "cautionary tale" before I proceed any further. Needless to say, I was relieved and felt a sense of accomplishment after taking 20 minutes to get the darn thing in the first time. However, shortly after I sat down on the floor to change my daughter's diaper. Evidently I did NOT have it in all the way/where it should be because when I did this it came out on its own! And it was NOT a very pleasant feeling! Luckily, I was still at home.
I also have to warn you that if it takes you awhile to get it in the first few times, you will probably have some soreness in your nether regions for obvious reasons. I found that the first couple of times I used the Luv Ur Body cup and DID have it in appropriately, it felt a bit like getting a tampon in wonky. We've all been there, right? However, I didn't really notice it much when I used it the second day.
All of that being said, those things weren't even my real problems. I'm pretty sure I have a "fat" labia and that is my biggest issue. According to the directions (which for once in my life I actually read!), the little stem you see in the pictures should be sticking outside of your body between your legs. I liken it to that of a tampon string. Well, for me, the stem is
nowhere close to being outside of my body. In fact, my hands are on the smaller side and I would have to reach so far up to even be able to get ahold of the stem that I almost couldn't reach it. Needless to say, that kind of freaked me out for obvious reasons. (I know it can't technically get lost in there, but I will talk more about that in a minute.) And yes, I would leave the stem sticking out upon insertion and as soon as I stood up it would, erm, "migrate".
It freaked me out so much that it was
that far in there that I ended up using a tampon overnight and told myself I wasn't going to use it the next day...Then I decided to suck it up for the sake of reviewing (and because it
is pretty spiffy and does its job well) and I figured I would only have to change it once or twice throughout the course of the day, so that wasn't so bad, right? That was until my hubby told me of one woman's horror story about her fiasco with a Diva Cup...
Given it's a different brand, but this poor woman evidently had problems with her cup migrating too...And it got stuck behind her pubic bone. Once she finally released it from there, she ended up still having to go to a convenient care clinic type of place and discovered it was SUCTIONED to her cervix! Ouch! They ended up having to poke holes in the cup to release the suction. This is a rare case, I'm sure, but concerned me nonetheless. I don't
think mine would have gone that far seeing as I had it in for 8 consecutive hours the 2nd day, but I wasn't willing to take my chances.
As far as
this cup goes, the only other "bad" thing I have to say about it is that it's not very pleasant taking it out either, if I haven't mentioned that already. I mean besides the fact that I personally have to dig for it. I mean the moment it starts "popping" out. I have a feeling that's not an issue exclusive to this cup, though.
With ALL of that being said, I did only use the cup for 2 days. However, I would
most definitely recommend it still...to any woman with a normal labia and vagina size. lol I received the medium sized cup to review, which is actually intended for woman who have never given birth by c-section OR vaginally, which I obviously have. To be honest, though, I don't think my experience with the large sized cup would have been much, if any, different because the large is actually shorter than the medium cup, but slightly wider in circumference.
Size comparison. It's a pretty big remote.
Bottom line: It DOES work. Like I said, I used the cup for 8 consecutive hours the 2nd day (which is usually one of my heavier flow days) and it was only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full. How awesome is that?! I probably would have had to use at least 3 or 4 tampons in that time!
I also didn't experience any leaking in that time either, although I did wear a cloth pad just in case. I had a Tampax Pearl Super in for about 3 1/2-4 hours after that with leaking and needed changed, of course.
You can learn more about the Luv Ur Body menstrual cups and order your own to try on their
website. You can also stay up to date with them on
Facebook,
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Pinterest, or
Instagram.
