Summer Lewis, nurse, educator, and mother of 3 shares why she and her daughters use the FemmyCycle menstrual cup.
Periods, rag, menses, aunt flow, riding the crimson wave… no matter what you call it (or if you’re menstrual positive or shy), the truth of it is, all of us ladies bleed from our vaginas. We have all gone through the pad phase and then onto tampons. Tampons were a relief compared to pads but many still need a panty liner to make sure there are no accidents. Recently, it seems that women want something other than a wad of cotton jammed up their V’s…enter the menstrual cup.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Tampons were a great invention for the time and were amazing for those living active lifestyles or on a swim team or in gymnastics or just didn’t like the feeling of a wet mattress between their legs 3 to 10 days a month. However, as a nurse and educator I have found that most women have no idea why tampons come in different sizes and tend to only buy the most absorbent torpedo size tampon rather than getting a selection of sizes.
See, tampons sizes were designed to match the heaviness for your flow, not the width of your vagina…our vaginas are pretty mystical creatures and can accommodate something as small as a pencil and up to as large as a baby! This means as our flow gets heavier or lighter we need to adjust the size of the tampon to prevent infections such as toxic shock syndrome and yeast infections, tearing and inflammation and general discomfort. Let’s be honest: this is not information that is given freely and women are stuck dealing with their menses with little knowledge and just trying to stop accidents and leaks.
The average cost of a period per month can run anywhere from a couple bucks to upwards of $20. This cost can get really out of control when you want to use high quality products. On average I was spending about $25.00 a month on products to contain my period.
I have 2 daughters and when they started their menses I was spending upward of $75.00 a month and wasn’t happy about the cost. I had heard of menstrual cups but was complacent and uncomfortable with trying something new. Also, I was not jazzed at the idea of trying something that cost $25.00 to $50.00 upfront…What if I didn’t like it? What if it didn’t work??? Then I wasted so much money!!!
Then the day came when I became pregnant with my son. This meant I would stop working and raise my son the way I wanted to. But that also meant I would need to readjust my budget by about $65K per year. I began looking into ways to be more frugal and while I am all about the generic brand or discount products there are 3 things I just can’t go cheap with:
1) peanut butter 2) mayonnaise and 3) FEMININE PRODUCTS! But how was I going to justify $75.00 a month on mid quality tampons and pads?
In comes the menstrual cup… I purchased myself and my daughters each a menstrual cup. I told them we would give the product a 3 month try and if they hated it we would go back to tampons and pads. My daughters at the time were 13 and 17. One was a virgin and the other not (I feel like that information is important because people always think young women can’t use cups, but I am here to tell you they can!). After one month I asked my daughters how they felt about the cups and if they would like to go back to tampons. They both replied with firm “NO!,” no way are they going back to tampons and pads! Additionally, I invested in a set of reusable menstrual pads for each of us. They also made a huge difference in comfort and saved a lot of money.
Then one day the FemmyCycle Menstrual Cup fell into our laps. After using the “old school” menstrual cup, I will say it took some deprograming and a couple YouTube videos but I finally got the hang of it. Now that I have mastered the FemmyCycle I can say I freaking love it! My daughters, now 19 and 15, are also in love with this cup! My daughters have started calling their FemmyCycle cups “The Fish bowl” because of its shape. It looks like it is going to be really big in the vaginal canal, however when you insert the FemmyCycle it actually stays somewhat collapsed. The FemmyCycle works through suction and that’s why the FemmyCycle cup stays collapsed but I am also convinced there is some sort of magic involved.
At first, my daughters were little put off by its size and shape, but after one use they both love it! The invention of this cup was a game changer especially if you have a heavy flow. The FemmyCycle spanked the competition. It’s the one cup that rules them all! I love that one product works for all of us. We are all in different stages in our lives but we all have the same feelings about the FemmyCycle cup.
The Benefits
- One will last you a couple years with proper care
- Better for the environment
- Better for you V’s environment
- Can be worn up to 12 hours… 12 HOURS!!! As a nurse this is a demand in my field.
- One thing I love about the FemmyCycle vs. a typical menstrual cup, the FemmyCycle sits a little different in my vaginal canal and it’s easier to pee when I have to go — without trying to urinate around it nor does it put pressure on my urethra.
- So much more comfortable then a tampon and so much more reliable.
The Downfalls
- I have not found one yet, but I will let you know as soon as I do.
Thanks for reading and I really hope this is helpful when you are thinking of buying your next menses products!
Nurse Summer L. Lewis, LVN, DSD
The views and opinions expressed in any guest post featured on our blog are those of the guest author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions & views of FemmyCycle or FemCap, Inc.
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