Report on Instead cups

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

I started my period yesterday and picked up a box of "Instead" cups to try--I know, they're not very environmentally friendly (even given the pads I usually use), but I figure I'll use a box. If I like them I'll make the investment in a "Diva" cup.

I've used two so far, one overnight (about 8 hours) and then one this morning (about 5 hours). I found them surprisingly easy to put in and take out, only got blood on my index finger up to the first knuckle, which I could wipe off. I'm pretty comfy sticking fingers up inside me, though, which probably helped. I've learned about pushing down and all that--and "pushing down", as though going to the bathroom, did help with getting them out! No spatter when they came out, though I kept expecting them to when they popped out.

I'm using a pad for the rest of the day 'cause I'm trying to make sure I don't overdo it. (My flora and fauna get out of whack really easy--I already don't use tampons 'cause they make me have yeast infections.) But it's nice to be able to sleep without a pad. And it didn't leak at all during all the twisting and compressing and stretching in my yoga class this morning.

So so far, so good. They are certainly more comfortable (to me) than a tampon. The second one went in without a problem, which the 2nd tampon of the day (when I've used them) never does, 'cause the first one always dries me out and the 2nd one sticks. I find it hard to believe I couldn't feel it--I had some mild cramps this morning and I'm not sure if it was in reaction to the Instead cup or just psychological. I'll try them again tomorrow and see.

But wow they are not environmentally friendly. They are only an improvement if you are using tampons with a plastic applicator--in that case, switching to Instead would cut down on the plastic you're using.

Comments

[ourika.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, the Instead cups are *nothing* like the DivaCup. Whether you like or dislike the Instead cup won't make a difference when it comes to the DivaCup. They're shaped so differently and sit inside so differently that the only thing they have in common is that they are insertable.

[silversurealism.livejournal.com]

I fully agree. I got my DivaCup in the mail the other day and practiced inserting and removing it today so I'd know how to do it correctly without making a bloody mess by the time my period comes. It really is nothing like the Instead cups, which I used for a year before learning of the DivaCup's existence.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Huh!! I figured they had to go the same place and do the same job, they had to be pretty much the same. Thanks for the heads-up!

[ourika.livejournal.com]

The Instead cup most closely resembles a diaphragm, actually (and my doctor offered to prescribe me a diaphragm for use as a blood catcher – but I do NOT know if it can be used as a blood catcher and a birth control device at the same time. I've got an IUD so I didn't bother asking.)

If you take a look at the DivaCup website, you'll see the difference: http://www.divacup.com

The Instead cup has its uses. You can have penetration sex with an Instead cup in (if that's something you care about), but you cannot have penetration sex with the DivaCup or other reusable cups in. The shape is kind of like a miniature plunger and it blocks the canal fairly low. The Instead cup sits up around the cervix.

Personally, I find that an Instead cup is easy to insert and remove, but it was messy for me, and I never liked it. The DivaCup is also easy to remove and insert once you get used to it, and once you've learned to use it, it's mess-free to remove. The DivaCup can also stay in for up to 12 hours. I can't remember how long an Instead cup lasts, but I'd fill it up in half the time I'd fill a DivaCup (I usually need to empty the DivaCup more often than every 12 hours, though.)

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Oh right, I forgot the Diva cup doesn't go up around the cervix. I'd seen the differences in design but figured it was shape only. That lower-sitting design might almost make it more comfortable for me, since my cervix is pretty sensitive. I can't imagine trying to have sex with it in, though--since it bumps into my finger pretty easily I would think it would bump into anything else trying to get up there too! :)

the Instead cup claims it can stay in up to 12 hours. But yeah, I suppose it depends on your flow.

[ourika.livejournal.com]

That's the weird thing. When I reach my fingers in, Instead is very in the way. The website says that a man's penis won't feel it. When I asked my boyfriend to give it a try, he said that he can feel it a little bit along the top of his penis so he's a bit more careful, but it's not a problem and he doesn't "ram into" it - he slides past it. I think it's a position thing, but I'm not sure.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

That IS weird. But good to know!

[palegothic.livejournal.com]

That is not to say that the DivaCup doesn't totally rock...because I love mine and you could never make me part with it! But they are differently shaped and the divacup doesn't go all the way up there but I would DEFINATELY recommend it :)

[indreamsx.livejournal.com]

i loveeeeee my instead cups. i along with a lot of women reuse them without any problems.

[ladyartemisa.livejournal.com]

i too reuse them without any problems.. i just make sure that i wash them off really well.. and i love my insteads. :)

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

How do you wash them off and how many times can you reuse them before they die? Why do you not use the Diva cup which is built for re-use? (If I may ask--I'm intrigued by people's experiences)

[indreamsx.livejournal.com]

i just rinse them out in the sink & i have yet to throw one away...the only reason i don't use a diva cup/keeper/etc is because they're more expensive. i got a TON of instead cups for super cheap at a discount grocery store.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Huh!! Ok...

(I'm pretty sure my hubby would freak if I was rinsing blood down the sink on a regular basis, given how sloppy I am about leaving splashes of toothpaste or makeup on the sink already... ;)

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

i reuse my insteads (after cleaning them very thoroughly), thus making them more environmentally friendly than tampons.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

How do you make sure they're clean and how many times can you reuse them? They seem pretty sturdy; but when I'm in the office bathroom I'm not able to run back and forth out of the stall to the sink with me pants around me ankles... ;)

[lesbianic.livejournal.com]

I scour mine in very hot water for about a minute, wipe them off, and then scour them again. It's probably not necessary to scour them twice, but I'm really paranoid about TSS. I reuse mine three times each. I've heard some girls say they use theirs indefinitely, as they're no less clean the tenth time they clean them thoroughly than the second, but I like to play it safe.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Yoiks. I guess I could do that with any I can change in my bathroom at home... (and if they can stay in up to 12 hours, come to think of it, there's no reason to have to change it at work! Yay! Now *that's* an improvement over pads!)

[--heartattack.livejournal.com]

thanks for your post... i have been thinking about trying insteads and then possibly another cup product. only my last period on birth control wasn't something i'd like to repeat, so it'll be awhile before i try them.

curious though, how do tampons cause yeast infections? i know i don't like to use them toward the end of my period because they do cause itching, but it's not a yeast infection.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Don't know. I have something of a natural tendency toward yeast infections--I get them anytime it's hot and humid, even wearing natural cotton undies and all the usual precautions. Bleah.

I figure that the tampons being super-absorbent and removing so much of the natural fluids must somehow change the pH balance, and the pH balance is what drives the bacteria/yeast balance (at least according to the ob/gyns I've seen about it in the past). Yeast like it one way (acidic?) and bacteria like it the other (basic? I may have that backwards).