Saw this in boots and just wondered how reliable they are. Didn't want to buy it as its £20 (though nearly spent that on sanitary products anyway!) and thought I better do some research on my favourite site for help.

I'm interested in replies too as I looked at this a few years ago. I was put off though by one review that said the first time they removed it, it looked like a pig had been slaughtered in their bathroom! Yuck!

If they can be used reliably and with no mess then I think it's great for the environment :-)

Yes and I had a nightmare with it! It leaked everywhere for starters (I did wonder if my flow might be too much for it - I've since been diagnosed with anemia as I bleed so much and have been put on iron tablets and the pill and another drug which reduces blood loss), but worst of all was when it got stuck! Took me nearly an hour to get the blasted thing out. I came over so peculiar, burning hot and dizzy, and thought I was going to pass out as I was panicking so much. I ended up stripping my clothes off in a hot sweat (was at home in my own bathroom luckily) and had to lay flat out on the floor to calm down. Never again!

Having said all that, I did research them quite thoroughly before buying one and 99% of what I read was positive.

Hope I haven't put you off

I've used one for the past 7 years.

I have been using a mooncup for around 4 years - brilliant, love it, as much as one can love any sanitary product!

There is a knack to be developed, putting it in and removing it, it is NOT gory like a slaughtered pig and anyone who thinks that is somewhat over dramatic I feel, or irrationally scared of perfectly normal bodily fluids!

I haven't ever had mine leak and I do have a fairly heavy flow, and I have done things like horse ride, swim, sleep, sit in cars for hours and hours etc whilst using it. All fine.

I would NOT go back to the alternatives now, no way.

Ok thanks, two for and one for against so far. Much better for environment but i was thinking of my pocket! I do have anaemia because of heavy periods and this is why I ask about its reliability, a super plus tampon will only last 2 hrs on first day. I'm not bothered about using it as I am midwife so know the area quite well and think getting the hang of it wont be an issue!
what do you do if out and need to empty it? some loos don't always a sink in them.

> what do you do if out and need to empty it? some loos don't always a sink in them.

Wipe with tissue and clean properly when you get home. Not a problem.

I've tried it and hated it! So a vote against from me.

It would save you a LOT of money and that I must say, was my first consideration really.

You will still have to empty it a fair bit, but its really no bother especially if you take a small bottle of water in your bag to rinse it out if there is no sink.

"as I am midwife so know the area quite well "  that made me laugh sounded like you were taking a trip around town !

My sil did used one and as far as I know was happy with it will have to ask her how its going. Fortunately I am out of that now. One of the benefts of getting older well at least I have found one

No personal experience but I know two people that use them and they would never go back to tampons or towels. They think they are great.

me too,but i have to admit i was put off by the whole idea of them,yuk!,oh chris,there is another benefit,its the bus pass!i love mine!

Me too...thank the Lord. It sounds yukkety yukk!

true colliepam, I havnt got there just yet and then have to work out how to use a bus. The last time I got on a bus the student I was with had to explain to me how to buy a ticket and then what to do when you get on a bus . She thought it was ever so funny lol

My friend and her daughter tried them, but couldn't even get them in, they gave up in the end.

Thank the lord I do not have to use anything anymore!

I'd say that if you are curious, and interested, then at £20 it's probably worth it.

You can always practise at home first - or save it for days when you aren't going to be in and out of public toilets if it worries you.  It probably wouldn't suit everyone but I must admit that after Googling it I can see both the appeal AND the disadvantages!!

Well, I must say, there are a few things I wanted to ask you lot ion the last 4 months but thought they were too 'personnel' to ask........ Now I am not so sure!!!! :o :o
Have always thought the mooncup was too unhygenic, but listening to you lot maybe not. Not that I will have any need for it as I am going through a chemical menopause, and will probably only come through it with a hystorectomy next year!!!(hence the questions!!!!)
But through the responses I would actually give them a go if I needed them!!!
Lea :)

Used one for the last 3 years.  Fantastic - won't go back to tampons.  Great on holiday when you might not be able to buy tampons.  As you are familiar with the area you won't have any problems.  I had a bit of of leakage the other day & when I read the instruction manual it said this was likely due to inserting too high - which was contrary to what I had expected.  So now I insert it lower & have had no problems.  I cut the whole of the tail off and I can still get it out easily.  I'm small and I could feel the tail when I rode my bike!!

Re. public toilet thing.  My cunning plan is to hold it under the flush.  It gets rinsed nice and clean then you can put it back in.  Failing that - just emptying it out & putting it back in (but careful - it can be a slippery little sucker) is fine too.  As you are 'in the business' one quite interesting aspect is that it allows you to measure your flow, not sure how this might be handy.  But when I went to the gynae recently and she asked me, I could tell her in ml and I think she was impressed!!

I think the risk of TSS must be much lower too.  Definitely worth experimenting with - but if you don't get on with it, then I don't rate your chances of recouping your losses on ebay!! . . . .

My cunning plan is to hold it under the flush.

YIKES ! don't do that ! the very fine spray that comes off loo's being flushed contains all manner of bodily nasties.

... for Lea and anyone else considering a hysterectomy, this is really good http://www.hysterectomy-association.org.uk/ and has a very helpful forum (I had a hysterectomy 6 weeks ago today).  The forums are down today but the site is worth knowing about. :)

Just trying to build up my immunity . . .  Seriously - haven't had a problem, I just can't get very worked up about hygiene issues to be honest.  Am careful with knives, chopping boards and raw poultry - but that's about the limit.  Warning to anyone coming to dinner - best get your shots!

Thanks Jan, I will look when forum is back up and running, as there are some things that I would like to know, and would be good to ask questions that I wouldnt want to ask on a dog forum.
Thanks again
Lea :) :)

> Am careful with knives, chopping boards and raw poultry - but that's about the limit. 

I think  you are running just as much danger in washing your mooncup in a lavatory pan, particularly in a public lavatory pan where you have no idea if the previous user has maybe suffered a bacterial infection.  Clostridium difficile, for instance, would be a great one for splattering up the sides of the pan ready to be misted across to your poor little mooncup :)
Seriously, you have to stop this habit before something does happen.
Might I suggest carrying wetwipes suitable for use in this area such as femfresh for those occasions when you do not have access to a sink.

Have to agree with Stooge...I have a healthy disregard for germs usually but I wouldn't rinse a mooncup in a toilet.  When I researched them, I saw many people mention that they carried around a small bottle of water to give it a quick rinse whilst out and about, or, as Stooge suggests, a wet wipe or tissue would have to be better than playing russian roulette with toilet bacteria.

*edit* Should add, I bought one but couldn't get on with it.  I just couldn't get the hang of inserting it properly.  I like the idea of them both ecologically and economically so I may try again in future. 

I agree, that is kinda gross, I generally don't wash my genital accessories where I wouldn't drink. ;) ;) ;)

I've never used one because I worry that taking it out would cause me to spill blood everywhere; I have the implant in my arm and I'm in love; no seaso-PERIODS, and it lasts for three years! Think I'll just get them to pop one back in when I get it changed, I used to have such incredibly painful periods and really heavy flow so it was a godsend.

Do you just whip it out when ready? How do you know when it's full?

One additional benefit which nobody has mentioned, which a lot of people find (including me) - it also reduces cramps!!

How?

> How?

Dunno - something to do with the positioning of it I think - but several reviews mention it.

Maybe marketing ?:-)

> Maybe marketing ?:-)

No it's not just marketing - many indepenent reviews mention it and from personal experience I know that it reduces cramps! (Probably varies from person to person, won't work for everyone, but I can honestly say it stopped mine!)

Mine vary, but before using the mooncup, I would be in agonising pain for three days. These days I can usually function, some months are better than others but in the three years I have had a mooncup I don't think I have had a single period where I have spent more than one day mostly in bed rather than up and about doing stuff.

In all other respects my periods have remained the same so I don't think I have just 'grown out of' the pain (unlikely at 31 anyway).

I really have no idea why that is but other people have mentioned it to me too.

> it also reduces cramps!!

Perhaps not so much due to using the mooncup as not using tampons which can apply pressure to the cervix which in turn causes uterine cramping.

Could be... however until the mooncup I rarely used tampons at all, preferring sanitary towels.

Due to word association I will now never watch the Moonpig adverts in the same way ....

Jeangenie!!!!!!!!!!!! What can I say just fell about laughing!!

I used to have terrible periods and was diagnosed with endometriosis. Told would be very difficult to concieve, words like hysterectomy were banded about...until I went for chinese herbal treatment. Haven't looked back since and that was over 10 years ago. Periods can regress towards how they were but a quick diet check(bad sweet tooth) and vit b, starflower oil everyday and back to normal. Which is relativity pain free and last about 3 days,they used to be so heavy changed every hour and so painful could barely get up. Used to get cystitis with it every month, acne, back pain blah blah blah... Worth checking out chinese herbalist if you have serious issues as they have a different take on it. 

> Worth checking out chinese herbalist if you have serious issues as they have a different take on it.

That's interesting, I might ask about that as my mum goes for acupuncture with our local chinese herbalist doctors, who are really lovely. Mine have got more painful and more heavy as I head towards the change of life, and they've always been pretty awful at the best of times.

Been debating whether to try a Moonpig (Thanks Jean!) or not.
£20 is a lot to gamble at the moment if I don't like it, and I may only have 4-5 years of use needed (let's hope!!!). How long do they last, how often should they be replaced? And if they aren't great at coping with heavy flow at night, would I still be dealing with that?

What do they do/how do they work/how do you change them/how often do you change them.
I have a very heavy flow and a tampon and a towle both together do not last longer than an hour and even then i very often have already leaked out a bit. And sometimes i feel it leaking out and run to the loo in time for an absolute ess everywhere and have to shower and wash clothes straight away. Also terrible belly pains and annemic when on :( Very bed experience every month. Will I benefit from a mooncup ????

*mess

Not tried a mooncup, just wanted to say I used to suffer badly from pains and very heavy flow each month. but I had a Mirena coil inserted and it has been absolutely fantastic. My periods stopped altogether apart from just the odd spot, so no pain no mess. I know coils aren't for everyone but it was the best thing I ever did. Although the advise used to be only people who had been pregnant could have one I beleive they can even be used if you haven't had children these days. And if you do deceide you want to conceive they can be removed so you can try for a baby straight away. Although I think a puppy would be a better option myself!

Its a menstrual cup, a little silicone (soft, flexible!) sort of egg cup shaped thing that you insert, that collects the blood and then when you to to the loo you empty it down the loo, rinse under the tap and re-insert it.

For someone with such a heavy flow, you would still have to empty it very frequently though probably not as often as wtih a tampon, and I would recommend you used towels to start with until you got used to how often you needed to empty it just in case.

On the plus side, you would save a FORTUNE on tampons, the mooncup is around £20 and will last you years and years, and it might well reduce your cramping. It is also suggested that it is healthier as  there is no risk of it leaving fibres behind, unlike tampons which can.

> Mine have got more painful and more heavy as I head towards the change of life, and they've always been pretty awful at the best of times.
>
>

My latest was a real joke not, lasted over a fortnight.

Teh pattern over the last couple of years was for them  to start of slwo for a few days and then several days of almost haemorge liek bleedign adn then antoehr day or two tailign off, usually all told aroudn a week or so. 

Thsi last was light for over a week/10 days and then heavy less heavy than previously, but it was soo long drawn out. 

Is there anything I can do, or is this how it goes as you near the end of reporductive life. 

I will be 48 in February.  They are about 30 days apart from start to start, used to be 5 - 6 weekly before my son was born 20 years ago.

> And sometimes i feel it leaking out and run to the loo in time for an absolute mess everywhere and have to shower and wash clothes straight away.

Yep that is what I have been having over the last couple of years.  Reading up I found advice to sue and antiinflamatory to ease excessive bleeding and taking ibuprofen when I am on seems to reduce the overwhelming gushing.

You can find info on Mooncups and a video on their website http://www.mooncup.co.uk/

I have bad blood clots aswell :( i actually once thought something terrible was happening to me because of the size of one on the bathroom floor before, had me shaking and paniking. I have always had them bad but I am only 23yrs old and my life seems to have to stop when im on. i was on the contraceptive pill once after having my child and i constantly was on with it so stopped taking int. Then when i met my now partner i had the implant in the arm. And i bled for about 3months constant. Not as heavy as my normal cycle but still heavy anough for most activities to be put on hold. I went to the docs a few times to have it removed but they wouldnt, they said i had to give it a try for atleast 6months :( Thankfully i have now gone back to my normal cycle (as normal as they were anyway), but still now and again i could only have say a 2week gap before 'on' again. I have tried tabs from the docs before to lesson the flow, was told i would hardly notice anything when on, but they didnt do a thing (not that i could notice) so have not seen point in going back :) I dont have bad pains every time, only say every other time, which is weird, but they come with a vengence, and i no it sounds pathetic but i rang my mum in a panick before becasue of how bad they were, i though i was in labour again, sounds weird but they were sooo painfull, couldnt stop crying, feels silly now tho haha so maybe the mooncup not much use to me only apart from to save money ???

>I have a very heavy flow and a tampon and a towle both together do not last longer than an hour

A mooncup will hold more fluid than even a supersize tampon.

>I have a very heavy flow and a tampon and a towle both together do not last longer than an hour and even then i very often have already leaked out a bit. And sometimes i feel it leaking out and run to the loo in time for an absolute ess everywhere and have to shower and wash clothes straight away. Also terrible belly pains and annemic when on  Very bed experience every month. Will I benefit from a mooncup ????

>I have bad blood clots aswell  i actually once thought something terrible was happening to me because of the size of one on the bathroom floor before, had me shaking and paniking. I have always had them bad but I am only 23yrs old and my life seems to have to stop when im on. i was on the contraceptive pill once after having my child and i constantly was on with it so stopped taking int. Then when i met my now partner i had the implant in the arm. And i bled for about 3months constant. Not as heavy as my normal cycle but still heavy anough for most activities to be put on hold. I went to the docs a few times to have it removed but they wouldnt, they said i had to give it a try for atleast 6months  Thankfully i have now gone back to my normal cycle (as normal as they were anyway), but still now and again i could only have say a 2week gap before 'on' again. I have tried tabs from the docs before to lesson the flow, was told i would hardly notice anything when on, but they didnt do a thing (not that i could notice) so have not seen point in going back  I dont have bad pains every time, only say every other time, which is weird, but they come with a vengence, and i no it sounds pathetic but i rang my mum in a panick before becasue of how bad they were, i though i was in labour again, sounds weird but they were sooo painfull, couldnt stop crying, feels silly now tho haha so maybe the mooncup not much use to me only apart from to save money ???

You sound like me LurcherOwner and the Mooncup did not work for me. I just filled it up and leaked everywhere in no time at all. Even 3 large blood clots will be enough to fill it in my experience (sorry if that is TMI for anyone!). Was it Tranexamic Acid (TA) you were on from the doctor? That is what I am on as well as iron tablets and the contraceptive pill (I see you had problems with the pill - perhaps another one might work better?). Neither the pill nor the TA were enough on their own for me, but the two combined has made a huge difference. I no longer flood at all and have barely any pain. It is great not to have to worry that I am going to flood through my clothes when out (happened to me at college as a teenager once and I bled through my clothes and all over a fabric chair in the middle of an lesson, absolutely awful!). I have to take 6 of the TA tablets every day for 5 days when I am on. If I take less they do not work (and again, they do not work unless I am also on the pill). I was quite severly anemic when I went to the doctor (not surprising really as I had struggled with these periods for 20 years prior!). It took 6 months of 3x daily iron tablets to get my iron levels anywhere near normal. Would prob. go back to the doctor if I were you as I'm sure there would be a solution :-)

I was only on the iron tablets, they didnt really mention about any other help available :( yes i often do dlood through my clothes while out, so usually have to go out in a tampon, towle, leggings and tousers, even if just going out for an hour just incase :)  iT IS SUCH A NIGHTMARE ISNT IT ??? and i have been innemic in the past and no i am now becasue of how drained i feel all the time :( yes maybe a trip back to the docs is in order, they are rubbish where i go but i shall make them help me !!! :)

Ask to see a gynea specialist at your doctors, or ask to be refered to a gynea specialist.
I went to see the  gynea specialist and she refered me and I now have the answers, you should be able to see a gynacologist to help you. dont be fobbed off as this your life you cant live it the way you are.
Mum had 6 years of 'bleeding out' and had a hystorectomy, but she was was so ill from anemia it took her over a year to recover. She was about 33 when it first started :( had it at about 39, and never looked back. As I kid I remeber her selling the cmabridge diet so there was always boxes in the back of the car, she would have to sit on those broken down boxes in the car because she was bleeding out (I hope noone she knows is reading this!!!!) I was only about 10 at the time!!!
I started having problems in july and had a laparoscopy in September (Always say you can go in with a cancellation if you can as you get in quicker)
I am now having Zoladex injections and if they do what they are meant to do I will be having a hystorectomy next year, I am 34 and have 2 boys aged 12 and 16 and a 4 yo step daughter, My family is complete, and if my Gynacologist had said I could have a hystorectomy the next day I would have gone for it. unfortuntly I have a fybroid that need reducing before they can do one on me :( :(
Only an option if you dont want any more kids,.
But do whats best for your life xxxxx
Anyone else had Zoladex seeing as we are on a thread like this????
Lea xxxx

Sounds like you and your mum have had a right bad time of it :( Glad it all sorted ot sorting now though. I dont think a hystorectomy is quite for me just get, am only early 20's !! But am deffinatly going to go to the docs and get it sorted :) I have never heard of Zoladex, what do they do exactly??