My Personal Experience

“When I first learned about the menstrual cup, I was surprised that I hadn’t come across them sooner as they are not a new concept. As someone who constantly embraces new medical developments and anything that can better assist us with taking care of our bodies, I was instantly intrigued by the cup and wanted to try it out. I started to do a lot of research and was quickly convinced that this was a NO BRAINER alternative to pads and tampons. I had read countless positive reviews and benefits of the cup and I was excited to try mine out for the first time.

I decided on a small cup because I have a light flow and the 2 options offered by Viva Lily are:
Size A (Pink): recommended for younger girls and a light to average flow.
Size B (Blue): recommended for a medium to heavy flow.
Some reviews stated that women were intimidated by the size of the cup but when I first saw the cup I actually thought it was really small – maybe TOO small? Then I started Googling how to measure your cervix and I started feeling around to see where mine was located. Not as low as I had thought – what if the cup gets stuck? Then I read that it’s not uncommon for a cup to get stuck and you may need to get a friend to help you pull it out! Suddenly, I wasn’t so excited!

First Attempt:
I wet the cup with a little tap water as I had read this made it easier to insert. I decided to use the “punch down” fold as this seemed the most popular. I folded it and up it went. Once inserted you are meant to tug on the stem so that the cup ‘pops’ open to form a seal and nestles comfortably inside of you. Mine did not pop open! I moved my finger around the cup and tried to push out any air pockets, nope! I removed it and tried again only to have the cup go too far up and the panic of ‘losing my cup’ set in so I pulled it out again.

Back to Google – “You might have a tilted cervix”, “Pelvic organ prolapse can limit your menstrual cup’s ability to open”. There is SO much information on the interweb – so I went back to the basics and read some troubleshooting tips. One suggestion was to “Rotate the cup 360°” but this didn’t work so I landed on doing some kegel squeezes until I felt a little ‘pop’. Yay! I also know from using a Nuvaring (removable contraceptive device) that anything in the vaginal canal does move and shift until it finds a ‘comfy’ spot and I did notice after a while that the cup had found somewhere comfortable to nestle. Success!
Note – I did this practise round before I actually came on my period – I would advise doing this as you really don’t want to be fishing around in there once you are on your cycle.
But in doing this I didn’t realise that your cervix is a lot higher up than when you are ovulating and it drops down lower.

Round 2: This is not a drill!
A day or two later it was time to use my cup FOR REAL! But, now that I was more comfortable with how to insert the cup, there was no anxiety around that task, but rather removing it without ‘spillage.’ Luckily I work from home so I was able to check for leaks whenever I needed to and I’m delighted to report that there were none! At the end of the day it was time to empty the cup. I squeezed the cup to break the seal (you can’t just tug and pull it out as it really does create a strong seal) and slowly started to pull it out. It feels a LOT bigger than it did going up – eek! I immediately tensed up which made everything tighter and didn’t help the situation. Relax, deep breaths… and just like that it didn’t feel so big and out it came with a little flow inside. No mess and much easier than I thought. I emptied the cup, gave it a little rinse in the basin and put it back in for the overnight test.

12 hours later:
Again, no leaks during the night but I was eager to empty the cup first thing in the morning as I was worried it would overflow! I woke up with the birds and removed my cup, which to my surprise was only a quarter full. I clearly overestimated how much fluid I lose each month and that is one of the unexpected benefits I found of using the cup. It makes you far more aware of how your body works and we all know that knowledge is power. I also enjoyed the sensation-free experience of wearing the cup – no more trying to dodge peeing on a string or having to change your tampon every time you go to the bathroom to try keep things dry. With the cup, you don’t even know it’s there and can go about your business like you would if you weren’t menstruating. This is especially useful if you are a swimmer or someone that enjoys activities that require you to be away from a bathroom for extended time periods (excuse the pun).

Conclusion:
Change is scary. New is intimidating. But we need to try and give ourselves the opportunity to potentially better the way we take care of our bodies. It’s not going to be easy the first time but be patient and over time you will become cup confident.”

It’s time to change. Period.
Viva Lily’s premium bell shaped menstrual cup is made from medical grade silicone that’s super soft and flexible, allowing you the freedom to MOVE. The Viva Lily cup is the only menstrual cup to have been researched, trialed and published in the South African Medical Journal for it’s uptake, safety and acceptability in Sub Saharan Africa.