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| hey all. i am approaching a sufficient amount in my paypal to buy either the keeper, or another 6 pack of sorella-luna pads. the only problem is, i am not sure which one to use. i soak the pads in the sink in the guest bathroom, but get tired of soaking them and i am worried that if i do not soak them, blood will get all over the rest of the laundry. on the other hand, i like the convenience of a cup, but hate wearing anything internally. i have never worn a cup before. so which one should i choose? should i complete my pad stash, or go with the cup. it is a whole dollar cheaper than the 6 pack of pads. |
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Oooo! I'm excited about this thread - I'm investigating this as well, and while I've decided to get a diva cup, I'm struggling with how many pads/liners to buy (because I don't plan to use the cup at night - I don't even know if you can)...Can I ask how many are in your stash?
Thanks |
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hi there. sure. right now i have 6 pads. i have been washing them frequently to keep up with my period. these sorella-luna ones are awesome! these pads are 100 percent organic cotton. they are not waterproof, yet do not leak through at all. here is the site to order them.
http://sorella-luna.com
i might go ahead and make my purchase right now so that they will send it out later today. gah! i still dont know what to pick. i might just go with the pads as i am still a bit leary of internal protection. i had a bad experience with tampons when i was younger. my sis and mom basically pressured me into using them because they were sick of the pad mess (i was using disposables back then.) |
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I guess it depends what you're comfortable with and what you prefer. I adore my cup and would never go back to tampons or pads of any kind.
I use cloth as back-up to my cup (just teeny tiny little drops every so often - got them with tampons too) but I prefer the dry & clean feeling I get with a cup. More comfy too, I forget I even have my period sometimes!! Plus I can go much longer without worrying about it, it only needs to be emptied/rinsed twice a day then washed at the end of my cycle (washing takes all of about a minute with hot water, soap and an old toothbrush to scrub a bit), much less 'maintenance' than any pad...
And yes, you can definetly wear a cup overnight. Any cup can be worn for up to 12 hours with no problem at all... It holds plenty for most women to go that long (most could actually go much much longer, it just needs to be emptied/rinsed for sanitary reasons), only those with very heavy flows may have to do it a tad more often.
There's definetly a learning curve with a cup since it's so different from anything else, but once you're past that I think it's the most comfortable thing you can use.
Oh, and the cheapest I've seen the Diva Cup is at Iherb.com. Got mine for less than $25 including shipping to Canada. Do a search on the board here for a $5 coupon code for your first Iherb order too... Not sure if it's still valid but it's worth a shot!
If you're really hesitant you can look into the Moon Cup or Keeper, I'm pretty sure they have a no questions asked 3 month guarantee so you could return it if you really didn't like it.
Karen. |
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| Personally I use the Diva cup and wouldn't go back to pads... I'm like Karen and prefer the dry and clean feeling you get with the cup and you do forget that you are having your period sometimes! I do wear mine overnight because my little girl still wakes up once or twice and that way I don't get that "gush" of blood (sorry tmi!!) when you get up after laying down for a while... It does take some getting use to but pretty soon you won't want to go back! |
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| i might go ahead and get a keeper when i get the money since all of you seem to love them. i was planning on saving up to buy a big bag of soapnuts though. karen sent me a little bag of them and they get my sons dipes so so so clean! the only problem is that my last 6 pads are on there way here. so when i eventually do get around to buying the keeper, what shall i do with these pads? they are really high maintenance in my opinion what with soaking them and changing the water with every pad that i drop in the sink, and flattening out the pads when they come out of the dryer as well. i do feel dry and clean with these pads accept when i wear them for too long. they do not leak, but i get an icky feeling after long wearing time. i invested $80 and some change for these 12 pads though. |
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Hey, I mean if the pads are working for you then there's nothing wrong with that...
But if you do get a cup you could always save the pads for lighter days maybe?? You can wear the cup even on very light days but I know some prefer using pads for times like that. You could also use them post-partum if you have another little one... Can't use a cup then...
Maybe try simplifying your routine with the pads, that might help? I know that instructions vary on this one, some say you should soak them all, others say only the really saturated ones, others say it's not necessary at all, others say you can use a dry pail and soak for a few hours in the washing machine etc. You could play around with it, find what's easiest that works for you? Maybe rinsing the particularly bad ones but not necessarily soaking? I know my pad use is different than yours (mine are mostly pantiliners that I use for back-up) but for what it's worth I've never soaked once. Even when I used the pads alone and they got dirtier than usual (and I do have one regular pad that I've used a few times alone) I never bothered.
Karen. |
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Yay, I like this topic!
I bought the Diva Cup in March so used it for the first time in May. The first day was trying - a real learning curve and I was so frustrated I sent DH to the store to buy me pads because I had none left. I did get the hang of it though and DH bought me pantiliners vs. pads anyway so I've just been using those as backup and for the end of the cycle or if I needed a small break after coming home from work until my bath at night. I wore the cup overnight. I don't have a very heavy flow. I have never really gotten the hang of tampons previously either - until last year, I used them a couple of times to take DS to swimming lessons. I had predominantly used disposable pads. I'm so excited to recommend them to friends but strange to suddenly start talking about them.
Karen, I noticed that you should replace the cup annually? Is this what you do? I'll have to make sure I buy from Iherb - I think I just bought from Diva International (Amazon). It was quick - only a day or two from the States - very impressed. |
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I've only ever replaced my cup because the first one got flushed accidentaly! Other than that I've never replaced and frankly I don't know why you'd need to. Only the Diva Cup recommends that, the Keeper says that with proper care you can expect a cup to last 10 years (mine was going strong after something like 5-6 years - granted with a pregnancy during that time but still). I don't know why they say that to be honest, my only guess would be that the Diva Cup is made silicone while the Keeper is made from natural rubber?? But then there's a silicone version of the Keeper too and they don't say anything about replacing it every year (only that it hasn't been on the market as long so they can't give precise life expectacies).
I really don't know and I suppose some would want to err on the side of caution but honestly I really doubt I'm going to be regularly replacing mine unless it starts really degrading (been using it for about 2 years now and it's like new so I don't anticipate that happening anytime soon).
Karen. |
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| I just received my diva cup, and I think it is wonderful... but it won't stay up. Please tell me that with practice this will get better. I am so hoping it will! |
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What do you mean exactly? That it won't stay in at all or just that it doesn't stay all the way up? If you just mean that it won't stay all the way up then that's totally normal, it sits differently for different women but it usually doesn't sit up high near the cervix. For many women it sits way low, this is normal and not a problem. Many have to trim the stem so that it doesn't 'poke' them or even cut it off altogether. I had to do that, cut if off altogether. Mine sits very low, if I feel around I can usually feel it right there, it's always been that way in the 7+ years I've been using it. But it never comes out and it never leaks.
Karen. |
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I guess I thought it would sit up higher and I wouldn't be able to feel it. yesterday, it was almost falling out on a family hike -- yikes!!
It is a bit better today, so perhaps it will take time to get used to how to get it in properly. I have trimmed the stem a bit, but maybe I will cut it all off.
I do have to say that I find it so much better to get in than I thought. So, so different from a tampon.
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| wow... i thought that it would go in the same wayas a tampon, of coarse, with folding it first. |
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Well, it goes in the same place as a tampon but that`s about the only similarity! LOL! Seriously, it`s fairly different since the cup has to form a seal in order not to leak (since it doesn`t absorb but just `catch` fluid) while the tampon can just sit there. The forming of the seal produces a light kind of suction feeling which is a little weird at first...
ontariangirl, you shouldn`t be able to feel it once it`s in place. You might be able to feel it when you wipe to pee or maybe sometimes after a bowel movement (sometimes I find I have to readjust mine afterwards the odd time) but other than that you really shouldn`t be able to feel it at all. If it`s the stem you`re feeling that`s different and easily fixed by just cutting the whole thing off. I had to or it poked me in really unfun spots!! You don`t really `need` it to remove the cup anyway, especially if it lies that low for you.
Karen.
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