I've used the Keeper for years. (I think the Keeper is the original version of the Diva Cup) I definitely prefer it to using tampons. It's much cheaper, better for the environment, and I don't have to deal with emptying it as often as I had to change a tampon. Insertion and removal takes a bit of practice but I think it's worth it.

I also use the Keeper, and I really love it. I hated the waste that came with tampons and pads. It's super comfortable (as in, I don't notice it) and convenient, and waaaaay cheaper as the above poster said ($40, ten years of use). The "pully-outy thing" can be trimmed if it's uncomfortable, and from looking at the Instead cup I think it would be even easier to insert and remove.

No, it's not conducive to intercourse, but I was never a big fan of sex during my period anyway.

I also use the Keeper, and I managed to get it for just $10 (biiiiig sale by my college's women's resource center). And I also looooooove it.

The main thing the Keeper's got over the DivaCup? The DivaCup is clear. Think about how stained it'd get. The Keeper is brown rubber, so no stains. Plus, it comes in a cute, handy little cloth bag.

It looks a LOT more uncomfortable than it is. The first time I used it, it was hell. But after that, it was smooth sailing. You have to make sure you read the instructions as to how to pull it out, too, because if you do it the wrong way, it's like suctioning out your insides. Not pleasant.

Also, it's a no-go on the intercourse, but it's very much a go on the oral sex, which is really the best part anyway....

The thing that absolutely turned me from tampons to the Keeper? Fish choke and die on used tampons. *shudder*

I *love* my diva cup! I haven't cut off the stem, but a lot of women I've talked to have. I don't mind it at all. I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but I can't even feel it inside of me. www.livejournal.com/community/menstrual_cups is a great resource for anyone that's interested in menstrual cups. It's true, it looks kind of scary, but once you get used to how it works it's no longer problematic [took me about a cycle]. I recommend my divacup to most women/menstruators that I meet, I love it to death.

why would u want one of these things in during intercourse. if u are wrorried about a mess just put down an old towel.

I use a Diva Cup and love it. I accidentally left mine at my mother's over Christmas, so this cycle I am having to use tampons (yuck!).

The only thing I found with the Diva Cup is that I did have to trim the "pully-outy thing" down. Otherwise if the cup is inserted properly, it's incredibly comfortable.

Also, regarding Jen's comment about the Keeper (brown rubber) and the Diva Cup (clear silicone), I chose the Diva Cup because I have alergic reactions to rubber.

I tried once to use the instead cup and wound up with a horrible mess on my hands. What people should know about cups is that cups don't work for everyone. Some women just don't have the right internal shape to hold the cup in (like me). Its like how 20% of the population can't use ear bud headphones because our ears don't have the right shape to hold them in (me again). Tampons suck but at least one size fits all.

i also have a diva cup and i also love it. i'm a college student, so one payment of, what, thirty bucks? was so much more economical than paying however much tampons cost per month. it's super comfortable, can't even feel it, i cut the stem a wee bit, and, yeah, it took me awhile to get used to putting it in and taking it out, but once you've got it down, it's really quick and easy. love it.

I've had a diva cup for awhile now, it's awesome. I trimmed the stem. It isn't really getting stained and I think it's got a good amount of flexibility. It's sort of fun to see how much blood you catch in it, and the blood looks so red when it comes out.

It will take a little bit of an intro period (pardon the pun) to get good at putting it in.

Re: SarahS's post. I too can't fit an Instead, but my Keeper is fantastic! It's a completely different product and fits in a different place. I could never willingly go back to tampons.

Instead never worked out for me either, but I never had any complaints about tampons, though I prefer those without applicators to those with them.

My girlfriend uses a keeper. She's a big fan. I think she takes it out for intercourse, but I do know someone else who has said she has left it in accidentally a few times and no one noticed it was there.

Oh, also... The diva cup comes with a cute cloth bag and a stupid pin that says "Diva".

The keeper has had loyal support for years. It's certainly less wasteful than tossing tampons.

The dioxin claims are not supported by evidence, and the widely circulated urban legend that includes the dioxin story has been rebutted. It has also been disavowed by the scientists whose names are often associated with the claim. Evidently one of them forwarded the email with a "can you believe this garbage?" as in "this claim is crap" tag to some friends, and people misunderstood. The US government has a debunking site, which describes how bleaching mechanisms no longer use chlorine and thus cannot produce dioxin residue.

There are enough real dangers to women. This is one that isn't.

As to Binky's post...
I, for one, am not going to really take the US government's word for it that tampons aren't harmful to the vag. But even besides that...the risk of TSS with tampons is WAY higher than if you're using a menstrual cup. Like someone said above, you can leave it in for like 12 hours, and still won't get TSS. While they haven't completely ruled out the possibility of TSS w/ menstrual cups, the risk is significantly less.

To everyone who uses the non-disposable ones on a regular basis: how do you deal with having to rinse it out in a public bathroom (the kind with multiple stalls)? I mean, it seems to me that you'd have to take it out and empty it, pull your pants up (one-handed) and go outside to the sink to rinse it off (thus getting weird looks from everyone else in the room and complaints about getting blood in the sink), and get back to the stall to put it back in, all without having any protection against that one leak that always saves itself for a clear shot at your underwear.

What do you guys do? That, or something else? Wet-wipes? Flush and dunk it in the (hopefully clean) new toilet water? I'm thinking of giving this thing a try (although spending $40 on something that I'm not even sure will fit on me is really not good considering my financial situation), and am wondering how to deal with this obstacle.

I've tried the Instead and Diva cups before, but I can't seem to get them to work. they're hard to get in (i couldn't even get the Instead in right at all), don't seem to fit me right, and leak like hell. don't know if i'm just doing it completely wrong or if i'm shaped funny or what.

Spreading inaccurate information does no one any good, and a knee jerk anti-government feeling doesn't change the fact that if manufacturers don't use chlorine bleach, you can't get dioxin from tampons.

There are plenty of reasons to be opposed to their use, and I am not disputing that. Nor am I disputing that the risks of TSS - which are even mentioned on the government web site - are a valid reason not to use tampons.

That doesn't mean there is good science behind the dioxin claims.

I used a Keeper for seven years and then switched to the Diva cup, which I've had for a year. I haven't had any problem with the silicone staining.

I can't imagine going back to tampons. The menstrual cup is just really convenient. If you find yourself in a bathroom where, for some reason, you aren't comfortable hauling it to the sink for a rinse, it's still safe to wipe it down with toilet tissue and re-insert. Just make sure to give it a good washing when you get home. I also found the menstrual cup to be especially awesome when I was travelling. I didn't have to worry about potentially hazardous waste disposal, for one things.

Also, menstrual cups make great shot glasses. Really.

I've used a Diva cup for a few years and love it. Yes, public bathrooms are a bit of a pain, but since I only need to empty it 2-3x a day, usually it's not necessary. Generally I just use lots of toilet paper to catch drips, take it to the sink to wash (where it looks like someone has just been murdered), then go back and put it in again.

It does stain, but I can't say that bothers me that much. It also has handy gradations on the side, in case you need to know how many oz. or mL. you flow.

I started using the keeper last summer and I would never go back - it's fantastic. It did take me a few months to really feel confident with it, but it was well worth it. It's much more comfortable, and as far as changing it goes, I just look for wheelchair acessible stalls where there is a sink in the stall (in the UK, anyways). Another benifit is that the keeper (or divacup), because it's not absorbant, doesn't have such a "drying" effect - its much more comfortable. It's definatly worth a try!!

I tried Instead, and I found it terrible. Unless I took it out in the bathtub, I had a horrible mess!

Of course, I'm peri-menopasaul, so I'm a heavy bleeder.

I've had my keeper for three months, now and absolutly love it. I feel more in tune and connected to my period, flow, and cycle. It has become a joyous and beautiful thing rather then a yucky and uncomfertable experience.

I have 3 very important responses
1)A major bummer is that you HAD TO HAD SEX before you are able to properly fit the keeper in your vagina. Your hymen has to break, for it to fit. Wouldn't it be great if all womyn beginning when they first start menstrating could use the keeper?

2) There are two different sizes of keepers, one for womyn before they have children and one after they have children. It's important to use the correct size.

3)To answer Kyra's and many other's concerns about public restrooms. When I'm menstrating, I always bring a pretty wet paper towel into the stall with me. Prior to doing my buisness (if i can wait) I take it out, do my thing, if it's really messy give it quick wipe, put it back in, wipe my fingers, and if was a bit messy wipe up the blood on the tolit seat.

enjoy!

I used a cup marketed about 30 years ago for a few months, but found it too uncomfortable. I eventually started using small natural sponges, which I continued for 20+ years until I stopped bleeding. They are so comfortable and relatively easy. I found 2 distinct sorts of sponges: small, delicate, usually pale golden, sold for cosmetic application; too fragile, disintegrate after one or few uses. Then there are some that are much more dense, darker. I used to get them by mail, from some clever woman marketing them at the time. The last ones I found were from greek sponge suppliers, sold for bathing. I'd trim them down...almost the size of a closed fist when dry; boil before first use. I never attached strings, some do. Dampen, scrunch, insert. small panty liner for safety. I had to learn what felt full before overfill. Held for me for many hours, usually overnight. And lasted, sometimes, up to 3 years. Imagine that! I did no real cleansing or sterilizing. Early recommendations re some sort of cleansing at end of period, but I washed, air-dried, put away for next time. Never ever vaginal infections. And yes, there were moments in public toilets that I got very nervous. But the minimum situation was the ability to squeeze it out into toilet, dry hands with paper, and go out to wash hands. When alone and brave, I'd been known to lurch out of the cubicle with half-mast clothes, to rinse and dash back in. Eventually realized it's easy to carry a spare, dampened, in ziplock, and put the squeezed-out unrinsed one back in bag. Cost about $5/year. Comfort: excellent, a soft solution. Self feel-good factor: A+. Most memorable incident: Group retreat type situation, work party, in the snow, in the middle of nowhere, but with the ability to be sprung, in the early days of AIDs fears of blood. Me lurking around the back of a cabin, frozen fingers, fishing the thing out, squeezing it out, then having to rinse it in snow, warm it up before putting it back, heat-beating that I'd get kicked out for spreading blood around. Still, beats all the alternatives for me.

Alternative info here:

I love the Diva Cup, but personally have trouble getting it out once it's been in for awhile. It rides up and won't come out. I just traveled to India for 4 months and used the Instead cup there. I did not dispose of it. I rinsed it and used it over and over again. I used the same one for 4 months, no problems. No need to dispose of the Instead cup.

I wish to try to start to use tampons, but I am afraid.