Hi, I've used tampons for over 24 years but after my first child and the onset of fibroids which lead to my very heavy menstrual flow, I had to find something to help me manage my menstrual flow better than the super plus tampons I was surviving on because they were leaking and staining me and smelling terribly ,of urine after I pee. It just wasn't working for me anymore and I didn't want to go back to pads because I would obviously have to double the pads because of my heavy flow. Doubling the pads would mean friction and sores in my inner thighs, not to mention the heat and smell and discomfort of sitting in a pool of my own blood all day....Pad never worked for me really. My husband used to say its easy for anyone to know when I'm on my period because I use bleach alot during that time of the month to wash off the blood stains on my undies and this bleach smell always lingered on my hands.....

I stumbled upon menstrual cups by chance and gave it a try and was pleasantly overwhelmed by the change it made in my periods. The menstrual cup I bought in Lagos here was able to "hold" my heavy flow for 12 hours with no leakage or stains. I put it in when bathing early in the morning before going to work and I don't need to worry about wrapping or changing tampon and pantyliner till just before I go to bed at night. and I haven't had to buy a tampon or pantyliners again since then because menstrual cups are re-usable for some years.

The most surprising part was I couldn't feel it inside me at all! and I don't have that unpleasant smell women get during their period anymore and no more bleach smell on my hands!!. I also noticed it shortened my periods because the menstrual cup is collecting the menstrual flow directly from my cervix inside me so the blood is not taking its time to flow down and out of my body from inside me.

Could this be the future of feminine hygiene, especially with the push around the world for each of us to do our bit to preserve the earth from global warming by reducing our personal carbon foot print?

I'm a very eco-conscious person in terms of what I use on my body so I am very very happy I am throwing away less pantyliners and tampons because they don't decompose. I'm also on a healthy hair journey and have eliminated Sulfates and Parabens etc from my hair and skin care routines. Before every month I used to throw away about 16 tampons and upto 12 or more pantyliners used to backup the tampon. Nobody ever wonders what becomes of all this feminine waste Now with this menstrual cup, I throw away no waste each month because I just flush the contents down the toilet every 12 hours plus I'm saving money. Has anyone used a menstrual cup before? Which one did you use? are you trying to manage your menstrual cycle in a more eco-friendly way?

Mentrual cups are very new to the Nigerian women. It will take a while to gain widespread usage among Nigerian women.

@ellistmedia hi that may be primarily among women that use pads. They are the ones it may take time. Millions of Nigerian women like me use or used tampons and so I guess we are already used to 'inserts". I think any woman who has had sex with a man before or used a intimacy gadget before may not be so squeamish about inserting a cup . Menstrual cups will also be easier for women who have implants like IUD's (inter uterine devices eg Copper T, Mirena) as a means of contraception and women who use contraceptive diaphragms or cervical caps which are all inserted healthier, eco-friendly, safer barrier methods of contraception. I think women need to begin to think more about RUMPS (Re-usable menstrual products eg menstrual cups, menstrual sponges, clothe pads) there are so many things out there we can use to make TTOM (that time of the month) safer, more comfortable and most importantly more eco-friendly aside from pads. There are many RUMPS forums on FB, twitter too, check them out when u can. I've learned so much from them. Also google menstrual cups, there are hundreds of videos on youtube about menstrual cups and RUMPs. Even Kenya and South Africa have their local brands of menstrual cups.....the Giant Of Africa will not be left behind . More RUMPs means less exposure through your monthly period to dioxins in disposables like tampons and pads that cause cancer.... As women we need to do our bit to start reducing our carbon foot print. Change must start with "ME" today

ellistmedia: Mentrual cups are very new to the Nigerian women. It will take a while to gain widespread usage among Nigerian women.

Most of our women have not heard of it before, so there is need for adequate sensitization for it to get patronized.

abdulaz: Most of our women have not heard of it before, so there is need for adequate sensitization for it to get patronized.

You are right. There is need for real sensitization to create more awareness about Menstrual cups.

Woww just hearing this for the very first time went straight to google n scared the heck out of myself.... Well i wld probably go for it after childbirth but def not b4! Woww

Hello Everyone,

I'm going to try to post pictures of some of my own menstrual cups on here.

I haven't uploaded a pic on Nairaland before so lets home this works. These are not all the menstrual cups I have just some. The beautiful bright red and cloudy clear ones at the top right of the pic are the two I bought in Lagos here ie the Luv Ur Body Menstrual Cups, they are the prettiest and have flower designs on them. I have one medium size and one large size. For most of my Cups, I buy both sizes ie medium and large. There is a size guide in the Products section of the Luv Ur Body Menstrual Cup website if you want to know your right size www.luvur-body.com/shop/index.php/en/products

I'm sharing more on this Luv Ur Body Menstrual Cup brand because its what is readily available in Nigeria for now. There is a list of shops where you can buy it from on their website or you can order straight from their website and they deliver globally to your door.
As I've said, I've found menstrual cups particularly useful for heavy flow.

I also have a few re-usable methods of contraception such as my contraceptive cervical cap and my contraceptive diaphragm, I will share pictures of these next post for women who want to stop taking birth control pills and injections to prevent pregnancy. All these pills and injections have side effects. These re-usable methods for menstrual protection and contraception are safer and puts you the woman more in control. You can for instance use your cervical cap or diaphragm to back up a condom because as we all know, condoms break and some men are even bold enough to pull off the condom (without your woman's permission) when a woman isn't looking just because they want skin to skin contact. I would encourage everyone to google and read up on these topics to shift mental paradigms on RUMPS (re-usable menstrual products) because pads are NOT the only things out there for menstruation, there are safer more eco-friendly methods of feminine hygiene......thx

Pics are not loading! somebody help pls? any suggestions?.....

Hello Everyone, happy new year. I bought a pack of Instead Softcup Menstrual Cups from Boots pharmacy in London and Im going to give it a try and let you all know how it goes. This brand is supposed to be disposable so is not as Eco- friendly and cost effective as other brands. Some women re-use it more than once to save some money. Has anyone tried any other brand! Share your experience please thanks.

Not looking forward to trying this at all. The thot of sticking something inside me still freaks me out. I can't even use a tampon.

Hmmmm interesting.but r u sure pads causes cancer ?

Hello sisters, I'm so glad I found this thread bt unfortunately its an old one I'm sincerely hoping any of u ladies wld see ds vry soon and can be of help. I stumbled on menstrual cup online too and got so interested so I actually decided to try it out for a particular 'bedroom' challenge hubby n I are facing; s.emen leaks back out after doing d deed. Usually messy n inconvenient. I'm particularly interested in d Instead brand cos of d great reviews I read abt it. Now my problem is: I've searched online bt dn't know where I can get it here in Abj; I only found a store for d Luv ur body cup. I'm desperately searching for d Instead brand especially. Pls if anyone knows how I can get it n an idea of d price, I'd rily appreciate. @Allwoman I know ds is a huge favor to ask (seeing as u know me frm nowhere) bt I dnt know if there's any way I can get d Instead softcup thru u? I'd be grateful.
Pls if any1 has an info, i'd appreciate. Hoping some1 sees ds sha. 10x in advance

Juwonesho:
Hello sisters, I'm so glad I found this thread bt unfortunately its an old one I'm sincerely hoping any of u ladies wld see ds vry soon and can be of help. I stumbled on menstrual cup online too and got so interested so I actually decided to try it out for a particular 'bedroom' challenge hubby n I are facing; s.emen leaks back out after doing d deed. Usually messy n inconvenient. I'm particularly interested in d Instead brand cos of d great reviews I read abt it. Now my problem is: I've searched online bt dn't know where I can get it here in Abj; I only found a store for d Luv ur body cup. I'm desperately searching for d Instead brand especially. Pls if anyone knows how I can get it n an idea of d price, I'd rily appreciate. @Allwoman I know ds is a huge favor to ask (seeing as u know me frm nowhere) bt I dnt know if there's any way I can get d Instead softcup thru u? I'd be grateful.
Pls if any1 has an info, i'd appreciate. Hoping some1 sees ds sha. 10x in advance

Juwonesho:
Hello sisters, I'm so glad I found this thread bt unfortunately its an old one I'm sincerely hoping any of u ladies wld see ds vry soon and can be of help. I stumbled on menstrual cup online too and got so interested so I actually decided to try it out for a particular 'bedroom' challenge hubby n I are facing; s.emen leaks back out after doing d deed. Usually messy n inconvenient. I'm particularly interested in d Instead brand cos of d great reviews I read abt it. Now my problem is: I've searched online bt dn't know where I can get it here in Abj; I only found a store for d Luv
ur body cup. I'm desperately searching for d Instead brand especially. Pls if anyone knows how I can get it n an idea of d price, I'd rily appreciate. @Allwoman I know ds is a huge favor to ask (seeing as u know me frm nowhere) bt I dnt know if there's any way I can get d Instead softcup thru u? I'd be grateful.
Pls if any1 has an info, i'd appreciate. Hoping some1 sees ds sha. 10x in advance

Juwonesho hi, this is AllWoman, I'm so sorry to be replying to your request so late but I haven't logged on here for very long. Yes, I can give you one SoftCup but how will you get it. I couldn't really use the instead soft cup because it was just too wide, it definitely wasn't as comfortable for me as the normal shaped menstrual cups like the Luv Ur Body Cup. The Instead Soft Cup was very wide like a contraceptive diaphragm or contraceptive cervical cap. And because it's not re-useable, I would suggest you get a reusable one that is available locally here in Nigeria that you can use over & over again for upto 3yrs after each sexual intercourse. If you are looking for a small menstrual cup that will effectively "pool" the semen inside you for longer, maybe you should get the new Luv Ur Body Small sized menstrual cups these are now available on JUMIA & KONGA or from www.luvur-body.com directly. The Instead SoftCup is only 8 in a packet so this may not be so cost effective.

If you still need it, let me have a number I can reach you on. Best regards.

Latifahed:
Hmmmm interesting.but r u sure pads causes cancer ?

Latifahed hi, yes they do, most are made & whitened using industrial bleaches & other well know carcinogenic material. Carcinogens are things that cause cancer in humans. Its best to google & do some research on the issue. You will find a wealth of information on this online. Best regards.

forbisi:
Not looking forward to trying this at all. The thot of sticking something inside me still freaks me out. I can't even use a tampon.

Forbisi hi, women have been sticking things inside them for hundreds of years. Its part & parcel of being a woman. Women stick not just tampons & menstrual cups up there, but also adult intimacy toys, contraceptive Nuva Rings, contraceptive cervical caps, contraceptive diaphragms, female condoms, suppositories etc. I think the problem is that in this part of the world, all we know is pad & condom. The size of a menstrual cup is nothing compared to a baby's head that comes out of us during birth neither is it comparable to the larger girth of a man's private part. Once a tampon or menstrual cup is inserted properly, you can't feel it AT ALL. But a pad you will ALWAYS feel because of its bulk, soggy wetness, the friction sores etc. With a pad you are basically sitting in a pool of your own blood all day long for 5-7 days. As a woman, During sexual intercource, you will stick something inside you....that is inevitable.

Another major problem women have with these products is the erroneous belief that you will feel it when its inside you. You can't. If you stick your finger inside you, and scratch the "RUGAE" or bumpy inner wall of your VAJ, we both know as women that you will feel absolutely nothing, at best a slight sensation. Considering menstrual cups & tampons are inserted sliding upwards against the RUGAE, you won't feel it. The stem of a menstrual cup can be cut off if you find it uncomfortable or you can simply turn the cup inside out. I suggest you try it and see. You will love it!

AllWoman:
Hi, I've used tampons for over 24 years but after my first child and the onset of fibroids which lead to my very heavy menstrual flow, I had to find something to help me manage my menstrual flow better than the super plus tampons I was surviving on because they were leaking and staining me and smelling terribly ,of urine after I pee. It just wasn't working for me anymore and I didn't want to go back to pads because I would obviously have to double the pads because of my heavy flow. Doubling the pads would mean friction and sores in my inner thighs, not to mention the heat and smell and discomfort of sitting in a pool of my own blood all day....Pad never worked for me really. My husband used to say its easy for anyone to know when I'm on my period because I use bleach alot during that time of the month to wash off the blood stains on my undies and this bleach smell always lingered on my hands.....

I stumbled upon menstrual cups by chance and gave it a try and was pleasantly overwhelmed by the change it made in my periods. The menstrual cup I bought in Lagos here was able to "hold" my heavy flow for 12 hours with no leakage or stains. I put it in when bathing early in the morning before going to work and I don't need to worry about wrapping or changing tampon and pantyliner till just before I go to bed at night. and I haven't had to buy a tampon or pantyliners again since then because menstrual cups are re-usable for some years.

The most surprising part was I couldn't feel it inside me at all! and I don't have that unpleasant smell women get during their period anymore and no more bleach smell on my hands!!. I also noticed it shortened my periods because the menstrual cup is collecting the menstrual flow directly from my cervix inside me so the blood is not taking its time to flow down and out of my body from inside me.

Could this be the future of feminine hygiene, especially with the push around the world for each of us to do our bit to preserve the earth from global warming by reducing our personal carbon foot print?

I'm a very eco-conscious person in terms of what I use on my body so I am very very happy I am throwing away less pantyliners and tampons because they don't decompose. I'm also on a healthy hair journey and have eliminated Sulfates and Parabens etc from my hair and skin care routines. Before every month I used to throw away about 16 tampons and upto 12 or more pantyliners used to backup the tampon. Nobody ever wonders what becomes of all this feminine waste Now with this menstrual cup, I throw away no waste each month because I just flush the contents down the toilet every 12 hours plus I'm saving money. Has anyone used a menstrual cup before? Which one did you use? are you trying to manage your menstrual cycle in a more eco-friendly way?

Hello Everyone, below are links to some articles you can read which validate the fact that pads & tampons can be unsafe & menstrual cups are a safer, more cost effective & Eco friendly alternative -

http://natural-fertility-info.com/tampons-infertility.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/feminine-hygiene-products_b_3359581.html

http://ecowatch.com/2013/11/05/groundbreaking-report-exposes-chemicals-linked-to-cancer-in-feminine-care-products/

http://www.naturalnews.com/040302_womens_health_feminine_hygiene_toxicity.html