A year and a half to two years ago I became interested in using menstrual cups instead of traditional pads or tampons. I think I saw the collapsible Lily Cup on tumblr or something and delved into researching different cups. Since I didn't really know what to expect, I settled on the relatively cheap and in store accessible Diva Cup to ease my way into the world on menstrual cups. I'm already going to apologize for the wall of text with no pictures, sorry!

I got mine in store at Walgreens, as I'm looking now, it's going for $39.99, but I'm pretty sure it was cheaper than that when I picked it up. The Diva Cup is the most recognizable by the general public, kind of the poster child for period cups, if you will. The brand is all about sustainability and comfort and a more personal period experience, etc etc etc. If you don't know what a menstrual cup is, its a little silicone cup that you insert into yourself during your period. Instead of absorbing the blood like a tampon or pad, it collects it in its cup, which you dump out when need be. You clean it with water after every removal and can boil it for a deep clean in between periods.

Its got two sizes, one for women who haven't given birth and one for those who have. Obviously I got size 1 because I sure as hell haven't had a kid. It is made of pretty sturdy silicone that doesn't actually make it ideal for a first time user. It claims 12 hour leak free protection, ease of use, comfort, and all that good stuff.

When I was first using this, I was in the middle of my insurance saying fuck you and forcing me to switch birth controls (I have since been able to switch back, god bless), that were changing my flow from a light 3-5 days to a medium to somewhat heavy 5-7 days. The Diva Cup worked well at this point. There's definitely a learning curve when it comes to insertion and finding the right placement, but once I had it down I was enjoying my cup. I could work my 6-8 hour shifts without the discomfort of wearing a pad and not being able to change as frequently as I wanted to, or wearing a tampon + panty liner because I could never get a tampon not to leak. I wasn't experiencing any leaks with my Diva Cup at this point.

But once I got my birth control situation sorted and my period went back to a light to light medium flow for only a few days, I began to experience issues with my Diva Cup. First I have having trouble with insertion, this might be a little tmi, but I wasn't as lubricated as when I was experiencing a heavy period, so getting it in was a bit uncomfortable. Then I began experiencing leaks, no matter how I positioned the cup, which lead me to start wearing panty liners along with my cup, defeating the whole purpose. 

And then the discomfort while the product was inserted began. It didn't hurt or anything, but I could definitely...feel it. At first it felt like it was slipping out, or sliding down throughout the day, then sitting in a way that I could really feel it, which made me feel like I was going to leak, and I sometimes did. Then it started feeling like it was pressing onto my bladder, so anytime I was wearing it, I had to pee. Even if I had just finished peeing. It was hell. 

At this point I was no longer enjoying using a cup over any other product, so I retired my Diva Cup and set out to find another cup to try. I don't think I'll ever be returning to my Diva Cup due to its rigidness, and overall discomfort with a light period. I did like it for a medium to somewhat heavy period though, so keep that in mind. I have since found another cup I much prefer, review to come!