Just thought I'd share that information!

How long will it realistically take me to get the hang of using it?

Not long. A few days/couple of cycles! It's easy enough, it's just a matter of learning to trust it.

They say on the website to allow a couple of months.

I love mine, I didn't realise that I had started to love it until I left it in my DH's flat and he forgot to bring it back for me so I had to use tampons. It was going back to using tampons for a month that made me realise how much easier, cleaner and better a mooncup is. Tampons are grim!

Yes you start to love it once you forget about it in a way. I realised that one thing I love about mine is that whenever I go somewhere it frees me from having to think about whether my period is going to start and whether I have enough tampons etc - you just have the mooncup in your handbag and are always ready!

they are great

have been loving mine for 2.5 years now

Make sure you buy the right size. They are bastards when it comes to that

I am all for femmecups now anyway

Flamebat is that the same as a mooncup?

How do you know what size to get?

femmecup looks just like my mooncup

Do you want mine? , it is mostly redundant these days .

Tis just a one size fits all - there is very little size diff between the two anyway.

Is the same as a mooncup, just a diff company

I hated mine, tried really hard with it, but just couldn't get the hang of it. Final straw was when I somehow managed to ping it across the bathroom full of blood Looked like the shower scene from Psycho.

In the end I gave up and started taking Cerazette which stopped my periods completely.

I like the idea but can someone explain to me exactly how one works?

Sorry if I'm being dim

It sort of squishes, goes up your fanjo and catches the blood. you then take it out and empty it

What about if you have really heavy periods, Mine are awful. Gross question but does it not get a bit messy?

Tends to make periods less heavy (where it isn't absorbing and sucking everything out too much iyswim). It is messy to start with once you get used to it, but fine after that.

Holds about 3x as much as a tampon, so again, good for heavy.

I have a nightmare at work having to go to the loo every half hour but if the mooncup holds that much it might be worth trying one.

read here

There are a hell of a lot of threads praising them as well as one article against them

Just read the article - don't know why she could still feel it - had she got it in wrong? She didn't really give it a proper try, did she?

I tried mine for months and months, different positions, cut the stalk off etc etc, but it still wasn't comfortable and was sometimes painful.

I do think that the mooncup is great for lots of women, but I'm not one of them.

Some people it odesn't work for - I have not been happy with mine since DS (am using a mix of reusable san pro and instead cups - not reusable but better for me than tampons)

took me 3 tries to get hang of it. back to it after ds2 this period, no problems. they are great. i like the lack of smell - cos they prevent the blood from coming into contact with air, unlike tampons and pads, there is just no smell. and deffo great for my heavy days, can go up to 5 hours rather than changing super plus tampon every hour on the worst day. not had the pinging problem.

do find them a faff when loos don't have private sink though, as you then have a tricker cleaning job. though you can just whip it back in in an emergency.

i hated mine. not for me.

I've been considering them for a while, but I'm concerned that as my muscles(or lack of)push tampons out, that a Mooncup wouldn't stay in.

Best thing I ever bought. Also use washable sanpro (fairy hammocks) as back up/when expectin AF-much nicer than any disposables

mooncups are fab! i love mine - if you bear down when you remove it you should be able to sort of slide it out rather than it pinging forth...

i'm fairly sure that muscles dont have much to do with holding it in - if you tense your pelvic floor and you can feel it, then it's not in right and you need to poke a bit.

took me less time to get the hang of mooncups than it did tampons however many years ago that was.

definitely worth the cash - has saved me loads each month

<<dislcaimer:i do not work for mooncup >>

lol @ the pinging forth!
Does it look similar to dutch cap? Had one of those many years ago, presume similar in size and style?

I loathed mine - tried it for three months but it was very painful and leaked like a sieve. I was sooooo happy to go back to tampons.

I think the problem is that women's internal plumbing varies greatly, and you just won't know whether mooncups will suit you or not unless you try one. Unfortunately, if you're like me, it's £18 down the drain!

yes it does a fair bit, bit larger i think - i remember them being quite small (sat over the cervix didn't they?) these hover lower down!

I bought mine at the end of last year and I absolutely love it. In the words of my sil "it has revolutionised my life". I love that there is no smell, you are technically not looking at anything and there is no leakage (especially at night) if your underwear moves. I totally totally love mine and wouldnt go back to those bloody nappies. p.s I do not work for mooncup either.

I so wish mine worked for me, however I am not normal of fanjo

The femmecups are £14.99 so cheaper to waste

You need to compare the £18 or whatever if you don't get enthusiastic after trying it to the monthly amount you'll pay in tampons or whatever for the next x number of years. I used to spend several pounds a month on tampons, not sure how much but I suppose £3-5 every month. But now I've had one mooncup for 5 years or more and it will carry on for many more years I suspect. So it saves me maybe £40 a year. That's about £200 for the 5 years I have used it for already.

I have a femmecup as well (I bought it in case my mooncup never came back from Amsterdam), and I don't like it quite as much as the mooncup. It leaked, just a tiny bit, all the time I used it even when the flow was very light.

policywonk, mine leaked a bit when I first used it - I think it had been placing it too high..

Thanks bundle - I did persevere in the face of exquisite discomfort and constant major leaks for three months and I just can't face any more!

I honestly think my vagina is just all wrong for mooncups - it's not very long, so the cup either sits too high and makes me feel ill, or sits too low and pokes out, which makes me want to stab people.

poor you, I know that feeling (from when stalk needed trimming - ouch!)

Surely if you trim the stalk the blood runs out? [thick emoticon]

lol, no, the stalk is a hollow tube attached to the main cup bit which doesn't have a gap through to the hollow tube. Tube has to be cut cos everyone is, it seems, a different "length" so one length of tube wouldn't fit all.

You have to try it out and cut it bit by bit til it fits comfortably. a slight faff.

If you saw one you'd understand better dramaqueen. Think of a wine glass, the bowl of the glass is one complete, smooth unit and the wine can't get into the stem.

I have Endo and PCOS so long AF
(8-12days) and clotty loss and the mooncup has made my life brill, no more smell and can't feel it.

As to 'pushing' it out, have crap PF, urine imcontinance and it stays where it should be and i just pull it out without any hassles.

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I took a long time to get used to my mooncup, over a year, even now sometimes I am too sore at the start of my period to use mine, but I still love the mooncup, I agree it doesn't work for everyone.