After two trips to Target, I decided that it was finally time I shut up and tried a menstrual cup. Since I’m on the pill, my period has changed drastically and made it only possible for me to use pads, which is obviously diaper central (and tragic). I wanted the freedom of tampons, and the menstrual cup was the best option. The first time I went to Target and looked at the Saalt menstrual cup, I freaked out and put it down — how the heck was that supposed to fit in my body? I soon regretted the decision, after I looked up reviews and videos about it. My mom and I went back the next day and picked it up. When we got back home, we had to boil it in hot water for four to five minutes to sterilize it. Obviously, my dad saw, and he asked us what we were cooking. After sterilizing it in hot water, I placed it in the bag it came with and waited for my period to arrive.
Day one (or as I like to call it, the day of traumatic events): Putting it in took me around 20 minutes. The first 10 minutes were just me standing in different positions, looking at the size of the thing and wondering how this was supposed to work. I’m not joking. I put music on and just paced my bathroom, all while holding the cup in my hand and thinking about what I was getting myself into. The next 10 minutes were spent actually trying to figure it out, and finally accomplishing the goal of getting it in.
I had it in from around 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. I removed it in the shower as recommended, just in case you spilled (gross). I left the door unlocked on the likely chance that I would need to yell for my mom to talk to me through it. I started to try to remove it; I didn’t comprehend how far up it went, and I thought I lost it inside of me. I immediately panicked and started yelling for my mom to tell her that she had to take me to the ER because I lost it. All I could think about was going to the ER during this pandemic alone, and having to explain to a random doctor that I got a menstrual cup stuck inside of me. After all of that, my mom recommended I use my stomach muscles (or lack thereof) to help push it down. Of course, that worked, and it came out so easy. I refused to sleep with it in and just threw on a pad.
Day two was where this thing got easy. I woke up, immediately popped the cup in, and went about my day. I loved the freedom of not having to stop and replace my pad every few hours. My cramps were also significantly less painful than usual, and the only thing that had changed was using this cup. As removal time inched closer, however, I did start to get antsy. I got in the shower, leaving the door unlocked again, and used the same technique from the night before. Within seconds it was out and I was cleaning it with soap. I didn’t sleep with it again, because that for some reason still made me nervous.
After the first traumatic day, I really didn’t have any issues whatsoever. The cup had a slight learning curve but it was nothing too intimidating. After a few days of use, I could already see myself using it long-term. The cup can last up to 10 years and only costs $32.99 from Target, which is clearly so much cheaper than buying pads or tampons. I can’t wait to keep using this and see how much easier it gets over time.