i'm a small-framed 19 year old asian (though i probably havent grown much since 15 >_>) and i just got a small ladycup! it's working pretty well. i haven't told my mom yet though (whoo having my own credit card).
as far as where... well, easiest is online. got any friends with paypal accounts? failing that... whole foods maybe? but assuming you're in the us the only brand you'll be able to find in physical stores is a divacup. their website has a store finder that might be helpful.

Some physical stores in the States sell the Keeper/Keeper Moon Cup, I think. I dunno for sure, though.

Yes, some (read: bigger) Whole Food stores have the Keeper/Mooncup along with the Diva.

could be; i looked on the website and didn't see anything about physical stores so i assumed not. could be wrong, though.

I just have to say that my cup works great for fencing, I've never had any problems with it--so if you were worried: fencing and cups make good friends

As for finding cups in stores, you may be able to find diva cups in some stores (if you're in the US or canada, they may be offered elsewhere, I dunno) near you, there are no cups (excluding insteads) in any of the towns or cities I frequent, but if you don't want insteads or a diva cup then you'll probably have to order online

And yes it probably will hurt the first few times you use it, but if you stick with it and use lube you'll probably be able to get the hang of it soon enough, and it will stop hurting once you get used to it, but I don't know how long that would take--I had no pain or problems inserting my cup so I have no personal experience on the matter, but plenty of other people here do, so worry not!

Maybe you could get one of those prepaid credit card thingies?

yes I second this. If I'd known of them when I bought my cup I totally would have ordered a different one online.

As it is I had to buy a diva at a store (and I didn't really want a diva) because I don't have a credit card. I would still prefer a smaller cup (divas are LONG) and when finances are available I'm getting a different one.

At any rate, diva and keeper are the only ones you can find in a physical store (besides insteads, which are different from the bell cups). Anyway, I'd say a lady cup or a lunette would be the best option for you since you are a young teen. (And I TOTALLY understand why you don't like tampons. I didn't wear them for years until a few months before I discovered cups, when I was bleeding through a maxi pad AND a tampon in less than three hours and I HATED those few months. Trust me when I say, its not the internal-ness of tampons, but the fibrousness of them that makes them unbearable. I can't feel my cup when its in.

The thing to remember though is that your physical frame isn't related to the size of your vagina. That being said, the Lunette-small and the Ladycup-small are the smallest cups available, but you do have to buy them online. If you decide to try Paypal or prepaid credit card, the Leastore at www.leastore.fi sells them both, and I highly recommend them. Otherwise you could try to find a Divacup for sale in your area (Whole Foods carries them, amongst other places.) If you decide to get a cup, be sure to check the tags for insertion tips in particular, insertion - folding methods and the post with various folding methods. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. :)

Its true your physical frame isn't related. However, I'd be hard pressed (without evidence anyway) to say that a fifteen year old (especially if she's a virgin) is quite as large as an adult anywhere, vagina included.

It's just that they have been many teen virgins happy with the Large Lunette, a more well-known example at http://sew-in-love.com/menstrual-cup-2.html where a woman who did one of the early cup comparison gets input from her daughter. And many teen virgins who successfully used a small Diva cup. We are not all made the same. I just wanted to offer some perspective to the OP.

Yes, this is true, but I doubt those girls had trouble getting tampons in. I found my small Diva a little large when I started using at the age of 23, and I had been using tampons (O.B.s) problem-free since I was 10.

Edited at 2008-07-16 06:42 am (UTC)

Yes...and even after many years, and have only been marginally comfortable with less than or equal to a medium OB, but am fine with a small Diva. My point to the OP still is that she needs to determine what is best for her unique and individual vaginal anatomy, which statistically isn't related to her external body frame.

OP: BTW, you might find the cup to be more comfortable to insert than a tampon, after an initial, umm...steep, learning curve in figuring out how to use it, as it isn't drying or abrasive. The cup...it is just a better way. :)

Hmm, okay. I think the reason I did so well with tampons (I switched to a cup because of the expense and the waste) is that I naturally have a lot of discharge, so dryness was only an issue at the very end of my period.

Yeah mothers can be very freaked out hearing about cups/tampons/cloth pads if it's not what they grew up with. But they can come around, it's surprising.

Many girls here started using cups at age 14 or 15, so I'm sure you'll be okay, I might recommend getting a smaller sized one such as the Ladycup...I have a mooncup UK and it's a lot bigger than a tampon. Tampons I didn't have issues with, but you have to push them soooo far in compared to a cup.

They sell Divacups over the counter in the US I believe, and mooncup UK in the UK (funnily enough), but aside from that you'll have a hard time getting them anywhere but online. You don't need a credit card, if you do internet banking you can make a paypal account and there are a couple of brands on ebay. Oh how we wish to see the day when cups can be brought over the counter!!

If you can't get your hands on a cup, you might want to try using cotton tampons, they mightn't irritate as much and are a more natural option than regular tampons. You can't wear pads for fencing? There are a /huge/ range of pads out there, and I know you're wearing tight white pants but you should be able to find something...I really hope you can get a cup though. Good luck! Let us know how you go :).

I do have a paypal account! (: I'll definitely think about that, then. I really do hope they start selling them over the counter though.. it'd be so much easier! Agh!
Cotton tampons? Like.. organic/o.b tampons? I'll need to look into that. (:

Hmm.. I dunno, I've never really looked into pads 'cause I always thought that tampons would just be easier, period. (lol, pun intended.) 'Cause, even if there're a lot of pads out there on the market... tight white knickers = probably being able to see the pad, which would be really embarrassing. Ooorr, if I leak... I'm doomed. ><

But I dunno, are there like... pads for active people/easily hidden?

In my experience, ultra-thin pads work better for working out, but that's just me. I'm a small virgin teen who's ordering a lunette and some cloth pads today. I just found about cups/cloth pads a couple of days ago. I decided on the lunette because it's still relatively small, but holds a lot because I have a heavy flow. I'm really not a pad person. I've had my period for four years, and have only used tampons for about a year. I didn't have the guts to tell my mom I want to switch to tampons, but I needed to use them for an ocean trip!! It was hard for me to take the plunge and ask for a cup/cloth pads to have options. But I figured that once she buys them for me we never have to talk about it again, unless my pads smell or something. I'm going to order some cloth pads from "Homemade mama" who is based in Canada. She aparently has some really thin pads called endura pads made of athletic material. http://hyenacart.com/HomemadeMama/index.php?c=38

There are some also some cute pads from "Party in my Pants" or P.I.M.P.'s for short at www.partypantspads.com

If you want to learn more about cloth pads/cups you should go to
www.ecomenses.com. It's a great site, especially about cloth pads.

People have already said this, but if you live in the US you'll probably find only the Keeper or the Diva Cup in store. Insteads are a lot more common. I can find the Diva cup in only 2 stores in my city, but I've seen instead at a ton of stores.

For what it's worth I'm half asian-half english and have grown up in the US. My dad's asian though (but a doctor) so I'm not sure how he would react, but I don't live with him so..for me that's not an issue. (Not very helpful, sorry.) The only thing I could think of is present her with the facts. I know Japan has much stricter sanitary protection laws, so if your japaneese that could be a way to start. If not, just print out stuff from the internet about the health affects of tampons/pads.
Some places to start:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1487684 "Contact dermatitis associated with the always sanitary napkin"
http://www.center4research.org/wmnshlth/2005/tamponsafety.html - good article on dangers of tampons

http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=766&Itemid=61
and http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=923&Itemid=61 This is about the bill that would require the CDC to investigate the sanitary protection industry. It's full of useful facts that could support your cause. I hope this info helped and you get a cup

if you have a paypal account, you should be able to get cups from online stores without problems! though i guess your mom might be concerned if she sees the bill...?
i would be wary of pads and fencing... all that legwork; i would be paranoid about leaking ALL THE TIME even if i wasn't. but your mileage may vary. i took some fencing lessons in high school and don't remember being inconvenienced by pad use, but it was beginner-level and i never had to wear an actual uniform (lessons were at school, not the fencing academy).

I've found some of the commercial pads pretty effective (coz, you know, lined with plastic and all) but you could also look into reusable cloth pad options, some of them are lined with plastic (there's a community on lj all about it too :P.

If there is a Whole Foods or any other health food store near you, check there. The Diva website's storefinder is not completely reliable. I used it and the closest place it showed was two hours away from where I live at a store I've never heard of. But then it was mentioned here that Whole Foods sells them and there is a Whole Foods 30 mins. from where I live! And I ended up buying a Diva there.

Your other option would be to look into the Instead cups. They are disposable and made differently than the other cups, but they are available at almost any store like Target, Walmart, etc. and some drugstores like Walgreens and Rite Aid.

Hmm... unfortunately, I don't think we have any Whole Foods... I'm not sure.. I'll look into it!

Instead cups? I've never heard of those! Are they as comfortable as the other cups that've been mentioned?

I have never used Insteads, but I have seen them at the stores on the same shelves as the tampons and pads. If you check out Insteads website, http://insteadsoftcup.com/ it will give you a lot of info and there is a video demo on how to insert them. Also, check the tags here. Some have posted about them.