I'm here because I've been using a divacup for a few months now. My bf actually was the one who bought it for me, lol.

I like it a lot better than pads and tampons, it's easy to clean, and I don't have to spend a lot of money buying pads/tampons. And it's better for the environment. It was a little hard to get the hang out it (my first time - I think I had to reinsert it five times). But now it's great.

I'm Sabrina, and I joined this community because im interested in getting a menstrual cup. i was peeking through a friend of mine's communities and i came across this one, to my delight.

right now im still using comercial pads, which i hate only slightly less than tampons, which never fail to give me a yeast infection. im just waiting for my first credit card to arrive in the mail so i can buy a cup. i cant wait. :)

I'm Maren, 25, Norwegian... and I have used my Mooncup for two years.

I'm interested in knowing more than I need to know, because I enjoy spreading information about cups, and knowing the answers to the questions people may have. So this is a great place to learn.

And I'm also here because I enjoy it. :o)

I found this community through vaginapagina, which is where I heard about cups in the first place. After a few weeks being a member here, I bought my diva, and in two weeks it will be our one year anniversary.

i found this comm i think via googling. i was looking for info on the divacup, because a friend of mine had one and i was curious.
i started using a divacup in the fall of 04. i also occasionally use ob tampons and cloth pantiliners.
I am a college student in MA (usa) majoring in psychology, originally from NH. I am 20 years old, white, and grew up on a farm (with environment conscious parents, who i dont think know of cups but wouldnt be horrified.) I am (for lack of better description) omnisexual (I am in a LTR with a man, playing with a woman, often attracted to people who are not precisely either one). I love that the cup lets me not think about my period, and i dont have a string hanging out or vaginal dryness.
I live in a dorm and am therefore one of the resident experts on cleaning in public areas.
I have also swum, ridden horses, fenced, and rockclimbed with the cup in. with no issues.

I'm Shelby. I joined this community because I wanted to learn more about menstrual cups. I hate pads and tampons because they cost so much money and are an environmental burden.

After a few months here I purchased a divacup and just recieved it last week. Unfortunately, I had my period the week before, but I tried it anyway. So far so good. For the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to my period so I can see how it works out. wish me luck ;)

I'm Bubbles. I'm 25 and Texan. I had heard about cups vaguely comewhere at somepoint, and then sort of recently it was brought up on a forum I frequent. After hearing the testomonials there, I decided to search livejournal for menstrual cups and see what came up. I'm a Diva, and I'm interested in spreading word of the cup. I've been evangelizing to all the women I know well enough to discuss it with. Like Maren I love having as much info as possible at my fingertips about the various cups so that I can answer any questions that may come up.

I'm Nicole, from Canada, I bought my Diva cup about a week ago and today is my first day actually using it. :) I actually found this community by a link to someone's journal from metaquotes, where a link to here was left in the comments. Is that confusing enough for you? Anyway, this community has been very helpful, I don't think I would have been able to get the damn thing in properly without having looked around in here a bit, so, thanks. :D

Hi there. I'm Megan, 23 years old, and I've been using my fantastic DivaCup since April-ish. I found this community through someone on my friend's list. =)

I'm 22, from Michigan, and have been using my Divacup for 4-5 months now. I found this place through vaginapagina and am here because I like knowing everything there is to know about the products I use, especially when they are as "unique" as menstrual cups are.

Greetings everyone, I'm Heidi, a 20 y/o Texan who heard about the Keeper while at college in IL from a friend... ended up trying the Diva Cup almost exactly 2 years ago and have been quite thrilled with it and everything about it ever since. 4 of my 6 roomies (though 100% of those who tried it) now use them, along with a few more friends who have also given cloth pads a try. For me, it was convenience (flying, swimming, hiking, you name it) and environmental friendliness.

Shani, London.

Joined this community to ask about whether the cup would be suitable for me, and then to hang around for tips. Have now used the cup very succesfully for a few months, and can't imagine living without it. I have stupidly heavy periods, and now there is no leaking on my clothes/bed, whee!

I like geekery, webdesign, painting, sewing, f&sf lit, and as you can see by the friends list on this account, sex. Mweehee.

I'm Tristyn, I'm 30, and I've used my cup for four cycles now (since summer of 2004). I'm in this community partly for tips and support on using it (though honestly I've not had any problems so far), and partly because I loooooove my cup so much and other people I know find it odd when I gush (no pun intended) about my menstrual products. My cup rules, because on non-heavy days I can forget about it for hours, I don't have to worry about rushing to the store for tampons, I know exactly how much I'm bleeding (the dork in me thinks this is the coolest), and it gives me a chance to use up scraps of yarn to knit socks for it (I stopped using that little purple bag a while ago).

I'm Kindli, feralbirdgirl's sister, found out about them from annoying things pasted in the college bathrooms my freshman year, ignored them (and was grossed out by them), the LW got one, and sang its praises to everyone who would listen (or sit at the lunch table), and it was linked from her LJ's friends page... soo after a rather unplesant experiance w/tampons and just hating pads w/a fiery passion in a fit of not fully thinking I ordered a MoonCup (I claim jet lag) and it came all the way from the UK, instead of the DIVA which would have saved me a ton on shipping & handeling.

I've been using it since... June/July 2005, and I love it so much more then pads/tampons, it's different and kinda disgusting in a cool way (my sister loves it for its eco friendliness... right.)

i'm jen, i'm 17 and have used the divacup for one cycle now. i love this community because everyone is helpful and friendly and has something interesting to say.

i found this community from one of the natural living communities.

my diva is comfortable, doesn't leak, and once i got the hang of it, was quite easy to insert and pull out.

spread the menstrual cup love!

Hi! I'm Amber, age 28, and I'm currently on my 3rd cycle with my Diva Cup.

I first heard about menstrual cups a few years ago - I think I was reading online about tampons or something and stumbled across some info on cups. I was thoroughly horrified by the idea and promptly forgot about it!

Several months ago, I was reading a forum where a woman talked about using a cup for the first time at Burning Man and how much trouble she had. I was curious and started Googling, which brought me to the DivaCup website. Still not quite convinced, I linked up with this community and was so blown away by all the great reviews, tips, and info, I bought my own cup!

It was a little difficult at first, but by the end of my 2nd cycle with it I was a total convert, and now I am trying to convince all my friends, too!

Top things I love about my cup:
1. No more wasted money on disposables
2. I can put it in before my flow begins
3. No more chafed vagina and yeast infections from the drying effects of tampons - hooray!
4. No more urine-soaked strings (yuck)
5. I can leave it in for 12 hours at a time, sometimes more - and no TSS risk!
6. It's just so COOL to see my menstrual fluids in a nice little cup!

I just used the cup for the last time last month. I love how it's good for the environment and saves money at the same time (2 of my favorite things). The 1st time I ever saw a cup it was the Insteads cup in the pharmacy a very long time ago and thinking it was the nastiest thing I'd ever seen. Funny how life is huh?

I actually haven't posted in here yet, I just ordered a divacup last week and I haven't received it yet, but I've already learned so much about cups just from reading stuff in here.

But I am 19 years old and live in MA. I decided to get a divacup because while on my period I get what I like to call "death cramps" where I'll double over in pain and can't get out of bed because they hurt so bad. I find that I mostly get them when I'm using tampons, and even when I take the tampon out I still have the pains. I read that using a cup can actually help ease most cramps, so I thought it was worth a try. That and it's way more enviornmentally friendly, and cost efficent. I had read about cups awhile ago and I've actually been wanting one for about a year, so I can't wait to try it!

Hi everyone! I'm 34, living in Alaska. So far I've only used the Mooncup for one cycle and found this community by searching for information about menstrual cups and IUDs. I first found out about Mooncups, Divacups and the Keeper from the BPAL boards. While I only used my cup for 1 cycle, I so fell in love with it and CAN'T WAIT to go back to it. The switch to it from tampons was really liberating and I absolutely loved it! Still in the new stage with the IUD so I was to wait a bit before going back, but as I said, I can't wait! I love that it is so comfortable, no strings, no dryness, it's ecologically/economically friendly, no more carrying around tampons!

I'm Tori, and I'm 24.

I've been using my Diva Cup since January 26, 2004. (No, I don't have an incredibly accurate memory; I also chart my menstrual cycles online.) Before that, I used Insteads for about 18 months or so.

I love cups. It was only after beginning to use them that I discovered not everyone changes/empties menstrual products every 45 minutes. I know it sounds like a line of testimonial bullshit, but menstrual cups have made it so my period doesn't utterly control my life every cycle.

Hello! My name is Rachel and I am an undergrad at the University of New Mexico. I study cultural anthropology and linguistics, and I'd like to use my education to help out with NGOs or other organisations.

I cannot remember how I became familiar with the idea of a menstrual cup! I've been reading this community for a long time, but only recently took the plunge and bought myself a Divacup. I had tried Insteads over the summer, and they weren't the best thing, but they weren't terrible either. I LOVE MY CUP though, by the 2nd day of my cycle I became comfortable with insertion and removal. I will never use a tampon again, the cup is more convenient than anything! I really love this community and am SO glad you guys have been here to help me (and others!) out.

I'm Jasmine, 22, from Canada.

I was brought here after a member in my asian_beauty community said she used the DivaCup in response to a post where I asked about tampons and pads.

I got curious, researched menstrual cups, eventually bought one and this community has helped greatly in answering all the questions I had (seriously - there were many!)

I've had my DivaCup for 2 cycles now and I still catch myself looking through the memories for answers to new questions.

This community is awesome.

Hey, I'm Erin, a 20-year-old in Florida. The second I found out about menstrual cups I went research-crazy because I thought they were the coolest things ever. So I found this community of course. I've been using my DivaCup for 5 cycles now, I think. It's basically the best thing I've ever bought because it turned something I really hated into something I can tolerate :] It really makes having a period so much easier. I used tampons because I hated pads, but tampons annoyed the crap out of me too. I love how cups are better for the environment, better for my body, and much better for my wallet.

I'm Robin, 19, and at school at Baylor. :)

I found a random reference to menstrual cups while researching fam (fertility awareness method). I thought the idea sounded cool and started to research them online. I ran across this community, and after much debate over which cup to buy, ended up with a Keeper. I've had it for almost a year now and I haven't bought a box of tampons since! I love my Keeper. This community gave me so much info before I got my Keeper, and when I got it, I had hardly any problems with it. I want to help other women discover the joy that is menstrual cups.

I'm Kelly, almost 28 years old (one more day!) and I run this joint.

I forget where I first heard about menstrual cups -- it was some place online. I was immediately interested, but I put off purchasing one for a while. I finally broke down and bought a Keeper in early 2002 because I was planning on going on a two-week, cross-country road trip that spring and didn't want to deal with pads or tampons (my period was set to arrive in the middle of the trip).

I "upgraded" to a Divacup in January of 2005 because I was experiencing increasingly more frequent irritation and discomfort while using my Keeper, and suspected it was something to do with the cup. I don't have a latex allergy, but I suspect that is what was the cause of my irritation.

I started this community on April 04, 2002 because there weren't any communities dedicated to menstrual cups. At the time this place was called the_keeper because that was one of the more widely-known and popular cups at the time. We changed the name to menstrual_cups last September because the place had grown so much and most of the discussions weren't just about the Keeper.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how this community has grown: we currently have 990 members who have posted 1,519 entries and 13,113 comments.