Hope this is ok to post...

I decided to set up a new menstrual cup discussion forum, here: http://menstrualcups.friendhood.net Please bookmark it if you like it. There's also a link to it on my WordPress review page, and the description box of my videos, etc. Its all up an ready now. It just got started, so the more new members, the better! Hope you guys like it, its pretty easy to navigate. Take a look and tell me what you think, ok? :) . I put in some topic categories I thought would be fun, but also open to some new suggesitons. So far, I have:

* General Discussion
* Problems & Help
* Brand-Specific Discussion (a thread for each brand)
* Virgins And Cups
* Moms And Cups
* Not A Virgin, But Not A Mom
* Off-Topic Discussion
* Skeptics’ Corner
* Videos
* Photos
* Cleaning
* FAQ
* Activism
* Suggestions
* The Test Thread
* Curious About Cups?
* Add Me (for making cup user connections on other social websites)
* Environmentalists

i was watching current (tv station) this morning and saw a segment on menstrual cups. you can watch it on their website here

http://current.com/items/90895010_tats-got-issues-period-cups.htm

i was really excited to see menstrual cups featured on tv!

vote and leave a comment for menstrual cups to appear on "The Drs"!

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/produce/idea_comment/1475

popular topics will be featured on the show. The topic only needs 30ish comments to appear on the "most commented" page (bottom of the page, but 1st page nonetheless). it shouldn't be that hard to get the topic noticed and getting one step closer to informing the general public!

p.s.:you need to register on the site to comment/vote, but it doesn't take long.

This was posted in April, but it's so fantastic that I thought it should be re-posted now. This is something called the Beautiful Cervix Project. A women got the bright idea to take a picture of her cervix every day of her cycle for one full cycle, using a plastic speculum, a strong light, a digital camera, and a patient partner. After she posted it, other people started sending in pictures.  There's some mention of women using cups as well as descriptions of the cervical discharge at different points in the cycle including ovulation.

The first time I looked at these pictures, I felt queasy. Then I got curious, and looked again. I never knew what a cervix looked like before, and was really surprised. I think this website is wonderful, spectacular, excellent. Anyone interested in their body should look at it! Anyone not interested in their body should look at it! Men and women both. Check it out.

www.beautifulcervix.com/

Enjoy :)

i made a funny menstrual cup video. even referenced this site. you girls will love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv_a3fgW93w

I changed the camera angle when she says, "excuse me?!.............." and i made the character on the right pronounce collect a little better (rather than call-ecks). I also fixed a wrong word i had in there. the video was up to 200 views, but now it's back down to 0 due to me fixing it. if you posted this video somewhere, please note that you will have to use this NEW link! i will not be changing it anymore so this link is FINAL!

mods: feel free to edit the tags. i got a little crazy and started tagging stuff the video talked about then may have gone overboard by tagging all the cup companies as well!

I know that last time this contest ran, I mentioned it here, and I think some people from this community won! Here's another contest to win a Keeper or Moon Cup: enter here, and the more people that enter, the more menstrual cups are given away!  Good luck, ladies!

Found via the Mooncup (UK) email newsletter.

Mooncup article

I finally have the money to get a cup. (yay!) 

So then I was thinking, well what if I just can't use it?  I was reading "The virgin's guide to cups"- which really helped by the way-but I can't get past step 3.  And if I can't get past step 3 how am I ever going to be able to use a cup?  So then I thought what if I just bought it before I get weak and buy something else I really don't need with this money lol, and maybe I will try one day and it will just work.  But what if it doesn't work and there goes 20 bucks down the drain.  I'm just looking for some advice here on whether or not I should buy the cup, have any of you ladies had a similar experience?

Hello everyone! I saw this post on green_daily  about a place that recycles old or unwanted sex toys! www.recycleyoursextoy.com/index.html
So it seems like you could recycle a menstrual cup! I'm sure that a place like that would take a cup too, I don't see why not. Just something for people who's cup is getting tattered or those Divas that are ripped by the hole and can't get replaced easily.

For those of us who don't know German, the Google Page translator is super handy! http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

In case anyone is interested, I got some MeLuna cups the other day and I've posted pics on my blog http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/meluna-pictures

*mod approved*

I found this contest to win a free Keeper menstrual cup and I thought I'd pass it along. I personally use one and love it! It doesn't look like there are too many entries, so you may have a pretty good chance. Good luck winning!

Stumbled across this website:

http://www.busybusymomma.com/MC.html

Hey, new user here :)

My period snuck up early this month so the nice little LadyCup I ordered arrived the exact day after it was over. But I just couldn't wait, so being a science nerd, I ran to the autoclave (hey, it said to sterilize it, right?) and now I'm taking this as opportunity to get my usage perfect before the date comes next month, and I have just a couple questions.

First of all, I dry-run wore mine all day yesterday at college, through my back-to-back for 12 hours classes, and unlike tampons, I never felt any kind of discomfort, even though it is the large size (it is so not that big). If the bleeding goes well, I will never look back. I stalked this community for a long time before buying, and I just wanted to say thank you :)

Somewhere on here I remember someone posting a link to a youtube video demonstrating different folding techniques. I can't find it! So if someone could link me, that would rock. Nevermind. One more second and I would have found it...

I didn't have any trouble removing it like a lot of LadyCup users seemed to... Except that it was a little uncomfortable through the opening. Are you supposed to fold it when you pull it out too? If so, what fold are you supposed to do? I can't very well be doing origami in my vagina.

Thanks ladies!

http://www.sendmonthly.com/

..All I was thinking was 'How about getting a cup? That's even more convenient than you guys! And that's only a one-time cost!'

http://6dollarshirts.com/submit_a_design.php?view=submission&id=1245754442

If enough people want to vote for this, I think we have a good chance of getting this design printed! We currently need at least five more votes to top the submissions for this week! Apparently they choose a new "winner" each week, so we only have a day or two to collect more votes!

(You do need to create an account to login and vote - but if the shirt wins you can use the same account to buy one! ;)

This is a link to a YouTube video about (I think)  moonCup UK.    I respect people who bring the natural female function out of the shadows, and this video does just that...

WARNING:  The video does contain shots of actual menstrual fluid in a shower, so if you are queemish about other people's fluids, you may not want to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs8OJUvckdQ

I thought it might be practical to collect some links to informative sites about cups in languages other than English. After all, this is an international community, and they might come in handy for convincing our friends and family.
I'm thinking of sites that talk about cups in general and/or mention several brands.

For a start, here's the three that I know of.
Please comment with your links, I'll add them into the table. And when the table gets long, I'll put it behind a cut.

International cup sites

language	link	status
Chzech	http://www.kalisek.cz	commercial (sells two brands)
Dutch	http://home.tiscali.nl/cupper	independent
Dutch	http://www.menstruatie-cups.nl	commercial (sells several brands)
Finnish	http://kuukuppikunta.net	independent
French	http://www.easycup.fr	independent
French	Pouledondeuse's blog	independent
German	http://www.easy-days.com	commercial (sells several brands)
German	http://www.nfp-forum.de/ (relevant subforum, registration needed)	independent
Swedish	http://www.menskopp.se	commercial (sells several brands)

Have you all seen this community on facebook? Have a read through the comments LOL!!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2221919650

I just can't believe some people honestly think that way.

I've been using my diva cup size one for 3 cycles.  This is my third.  I'm leaking and I'm not sure why.  I use the punch down fold.  And I reach up and feel the top and it feels secure.  It seems like more blood than just a simple case of residual blood in the vaginal canal.

Anyone have any tips, or suggestions?

I'm not sure what else to include.  So if ya'll need any more information let me know.

Also I did a ten reasons I love my Diva cup blog post.  In case anyone is interested.

Thanks bunches ladies.

I know that this community is about menstrual cups, not all kinds of reusable menstrual products, and I also know that I, as a Divacup user for over 5 years now, haven't used a pad since I got it.

However, I also know that some women who use menstrual cups still do use pads (as a backup method, when they don't want to wear their cup, etc.), and, if you like a reusable internal product like a menstrual cup, you're probably inclined to like a reusable external product like a cloth pad.

That is why I wanted to let all the women in this community know that I'm running a contest on my blog, Cephaloblog, to win a Lunapads Sampler Pack, a $25 value.

All you have to do is comment on this post with why you want to switch to reusable menstrual products (if you don't already use them), or why you think women should switch to reusable methods (if you do).

Best comment wins, and all those who enter will receive a consolation prize (be sure to include a valid email address with your comment)!

The contest ends 05/31/09 at 11:59 PM. See this post for the complete contest info: http://www.arielservadio.com/blog/2009/05/lunapads-contest-giveaway/

Please feel free to pass this link along to anyone you think would like to enter, the Lunapads Contest Giveaway is open to all women, worldwide.

Cross-posted

Green Donna

http://en.efeitoverde.com/Cat-24-Feminine%2Bproducts.html

Is anyone here using one?

I just made a menstrual cups page on Facebook - please become a fan if you're on there!

(Here's hoping I didn't mess up the link, heh)

I am an avid reader of Dan Savage's Sex/Relationship advice column called Savage Love.

This week, a person wrote in to respond to a previous letter a woman wrote in about how her boyfriend refused to have sex with her while she was on her period. And this is what she had to say to Dan, that woman (with the bf afraid of period sex), and all of Dan's readers:

I'm a big fan of something called the Instead cup, which might help AFTER and her hemo-phobic boyfriend who doesn't want to have sex with her at any time during her period. You can buy them at the big drugstores like CVS here in California. When I have my period, the Instead cup sits up against my cervix. It captures all the menstrual blood and keeps it away from my loving boyfriend's enormous yet fastidious cock. He often doesn't even realize I have it in. It's a little messy to take out and dispose of, but it's totally worth it. Here's the website: www.softcup.com.

And if AFTER's boyfriend still won't fuck her with one of these handy numbers in, then she should definitely DTMFA*.

Cup Up Pussy

Readers: Since you're reading this in The Stranger, you might not know what CUP is referring to. Last week, I had to cut a question from the local version of this column—a question from a woman whose boyfriend refused to have sex with her while she was on her period—to make room for info about HUMP! To read the letter from Aunt Flo Terminates Erection Return and my advice to her, see last week's complete column at thestranger.com/savage.

As for you, CUP: I'm familiar—not intimately so—with the Instead cup. But, like a total leotard, I spaced it. Thanks for writing.

*DTMFA=dump that mother f-er already. Dan Savage coined that phrase.
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ALSO, my friend and I were talking the other day, and he linked me to a Reddit topic on Menstrual Cups! Although not all positive comments, there are a lot of supporters there. As long as it's gettin' the word out, I say good! Here is the link:

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/8gqmf/an_innovative_alternative_to_tampons/

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Pretty wild, huh? Keep on spreadin' that cup love, ladies!

Hi everyone! I know some of you have posted your ladycup coupons on here in the past, and I thought I'd share a website with you. It's retailmenot.com, and it lets people put coupons that they're not going to use up for the public. If you're not planning on using your Ladycup coupon, you could put it on RetailMeNot.  I put the coupon I got with my trial greencup on there yesterday, and it's already been used.
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/ladycup.eu
(Scroll down if you want to put your coupon up).

Also, has anyone tried using a trial cup coupon on Ebay? I assumed the coupons were only good on the Ladycup website (which is why I let someone else use my coupon).