The Menstrual Cup – What is it?

It wasn’t until recently that I even knew there was another option available to cope with menstruations each month. That option is called, a menstrual cup.

A menstrual cup is a small, flexible cup made out of silicone or latex rubber. Instead of absorbing your flow, like a tampon or pad, it catches and collects it.

I was curious when I began seeing and hearing more about a menstrual cup. I think the first one I ever saw was in Target. I wondered, “WTF is that?” and “who is using this?”

I have never heard my friends talk about a menstrual cup nor has any other woman shared this information with me. But, I wondered, “Is everyone using this, am I missing out?”

So I did a little research. As I learned more about them I became less skeptical. My main hold up was how heavy my flows can be. Could this cup hold all that blood and goop?

After the birth of my first child, 8 years ago, my periods have become heavier and last longer. When I say heavy I mean I put a super tampon in and 20 minutes later blood is gushing out of me. This is also usually accompanied with clumps of goop. I imagine this is my uterus lining and because it is so thick the tampon isn’t able to absorb it. I even use a pad on those days but I have still have managed to ruin underwear, pants and even work chairs because of this issue. It is a constant concern each month that I have just dealt with it and accepted as part of my life.

The only solution that my gynecologists have offered is to go on the pill. Which I have tried off and on throughout my life and the reality is, it doesn’t work for me.

Could the cup really be an alternative? Could it maybe even help reduce how heavy my flow can be?

What sealed the deal was listening to a podcast by Cassandra Wilder titled, “Why Switching to a Menstrual Cup Will Change Your Life.” It would be hard not to try give the cup a try after listening to that podcast.

The last concern I had was if I could find one in France. But low and behold, there next to the tampons and pads were two options of cups. I must be missing out!