My First Completely Environment Friendly Period !

Warning : This post describes a lot of personal menstrual details, that I think is perfectly normal to write about. If you are not comfortable reading up in so much detail, maybe this post is not for you.

I recently changed the name of the blog from "vegan food blogspot" to what food actually has done to me, over the years- led me to think, scratch beyond the surface (like every time I taste something new and my taste buds want to list out all the ingredients)  discover sustainability and a low carbon footprint lifestyle! Big phrases.......... but I personally believe that if you want a better world tomorrow, we all better pull up our socks and start today.

I first learnt of sustainable menstruation over 18 months ago and was very excited, cause this was something that I had been thinking of for over eight years now. I was 24 when I first realized that I might not want children, I was not as sure as I am now, but this thought crossed my mind. When the thought did, I wondered about why I should be putting my body though the strain of periods every month and more importantly waste all that money on sanitary pads! I thought of getting a hysterectomy, but then realized that the human body is made to serve multiple purposes and one cant just get a hysterectomy like that :P.

Seven years later, I am sitting in a room, with a bunch of folks from EcoFemme attending a session on sustainable menstruation. This is happening a year after we embraced composting and I was beginning to see how I had no efficient way to dispose sanitary waste. During this session that I mentioned, we learnt about reusable cloth pads and this shocking device called a menstrual cup !!!!!! I was like , how the hell does it go in there..... are you crazy or what?????

Anyway, I was inspired and so I embraced reusable cloth pads. I ordered my set from Ecofemme and put them to use immediately. My period is fairly straight forward, two and half days with minimal pain on day 1. For day 3 and 4 I use one panty liner to avoid stains and I am good. My bleeding is moderate on day one , heavy on day two and by the morning of day three, is minimal.

Reusable Cloth Pads
My first experiment along this path (the transition, that I had not realized I was making) , and I used cloth pads. I did not make the complete switch but used them at home. They are great and very well designed, however, they do weigh a few grams and that when they soak up blood, they get heavier. Its not something that I could run with or feel dry in. Again, this is not criticism of the product itself , but just some things that I felt. Am sure, it is not the case with others.
Rinsing them is easy but does consume time, especially if you are a bit of a cleanliness freak like me! I chose to make this transition during the winter and one of the big issues I had was drying these cloth pads in sufficient sunlight in our balcony.
In terms of usage, I did stain a bit, cause the wings of the cloth pad are not as stiff as regular pads and I tend to sleep in multiple postures. I had incidents of staining my shorts and on one occasion the bed sheet.
I tried different permutation combinations but was not completely sold. I wanted to shift to the menstrual cup but did not have the courage. After a couple of months, I let go and went back to regular napkins

Menstrual Cups 
Eight months back I wanted to try out menstrual cups and I found a lot of interesting articles. Here are some I recommend :

• Understanding the entire process and knowing what it entails: Click Here
• Very very important , measure yourself to know your body better and order the right sized cup: Click here
• A very useful India specific site for all things related to sustainable menstruation : Click Here 
• The two cups that I ordered: Rustic Art & Stone Soup . I ordered the large size. I was very particular about wanting to buy local. It cost 1/4th of a Diva Cup, a popular brand that comes highly recommended and is available in India and the US

Now that I had ordered the menstrual cup, I was all set ! I waited for my next cycle and was super excited about getting the cup in ! Alas, epic failure, I shoved and shoved and was sore in a couple of minutes. I was angry and frustrated and knew that all that I was being told about the process being easy was a farce. I went back to using pads cause I was super frustrated. I did not go back to the menstrual cup..... It sat nicely in my cupboard for close to six months. 

Tampons
I was visiting family in the US, six months back, and being on west coast, was eagerly looking forward to the beach. I had never used tampons, cause my mum had warned me about it when I was younger. Anyway, the day we planned a beach visit was when I got my periods and I was furious, cause I love the beach and water and there was no way I was going to miss out on it. I did my research online and found out all that I needed to know about using tampons. I went to target and got me a pack of tampons.
Here are some links to videos that I found useful to educate myself

1. Understanding the angle of inserting a tampon : Click Here 
2.  Understand using tampons without applicators: Click Here 

Recommendation : Start using tampons with applicators. Relax when you are using it and while taking it out as well.
I was still upset about discarding the plastic applicators so when I left the US, I picked up a pack of biodegradable tampons from Wholefoods  to bring back to India, but at the back of my mind, I knew this was not sustainable and also expensive :)

Back to experiments with Menstrual Cups 



Using tampons gave me a lot of courage and also helped me understand what works and what does not. However changing them every four hours was a pain. I had a particularly embarrassing situation while trying out a new brand, where I stained within two hours.
I tried the cup again after close to 5 months, and failed. This time though instead of being upset, I went back and started reading about what I was doing wrong. One of things that I discovered was that I knew very little about my vagina and how everything was structured. Thats when I realized that I had to probe myself a couple of times. I did this a few times during my periods and on regular days, just to establish a good angle of insertion. I learnt a fair bit. I was initially disgusted with the prospect of using my fingers for probing, but realized that when you treat your vagina like just another body part, it is not as disgusting.
Also through friends at work, I came across an acquaintance who had been using menstrual cups for a while. I had not chatted with her much and did not know her very well, but when I pinged her and shared my problem with inserting the cup, she immediately asked me to come over and meet her. We chatted and it was refreshing, to be able to hear from her. My key takeaways from the conversation were:

• Relax, do not be disappointed if it does not work out 
• If its your first time, try inserting on the second day, you are better lubricated 
• Be prepared for leakages even when you get it in, especially the first few times. This is not mandatory for everyone 
• Once you have a cup in, you do not need to remove it and empty it with the same frequency of changing a tampon or a pad, you can keep it in longer, but this again varies from person to person

Around the same time, another friend, younger than me who I had discussed the menstrual cup with, pinged me to chat with me about her travel plans. We had met seven months back and while discussing many different things, I had told her about the menstrual cup. She had not heard about it then. During the course of our current conversation she mentioned making the switch to the menstrual cup and that she loved it !!!! I was happy and sad , cause this friend was my first convert, but I had still not made the transition. Anyway she told me about how much she loved it and how clean it felt. When I shared my dilemma with getting the cup in, she was quick to point that I am probably not sitting right while inserting or getting the angle right. 

Twenty days later, I had just come back from a trip and was on my second day of periods. I had a tube of medical lubricant lying at home. I thought, maybe that can help me. I used it and two trials later was SUCCESSFUL :) !!!!!!! I was so excited. I used a panty liner to ensure that I had back up if I stained especially since I left to work soon after. I HAVE NOT LOOKED BACK SINCE :) . This month, I had my first completely stain free, pad free, panty liner free period and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. I was in the gym on all three days, living life carefree :). The one regret I have it : I wish I had made this transition earlier !!!! Once you insert the cup right, you do not feel it at all. If you do feel it, then you might want to check if you have inserted it right. 

TIPS, TRICKS  & RANDOM THOUGHTS: 

• One of things that I read, was that if you had trouble getting the cup in, you could wet yourself. So the first time I tried, I had just had my shower and I feel like that helped 
• It is also recommended online, that when you try for the first couple of time, do so in a bathroom that you are comfortable in, ideally your restroom at home vs one at work or college etc. The point being, just be comfortable 
• For the first few months, please ensure that you do not have your nails too long, especially till you get the knack of inserting and removing right. Your genitals are so sensitive, one rough/long finger nail can give you a nasty bruise
• Rinse your hands very well before inserting and removing, also make sure you completely get any soap off your hands and pat your hands dry. You may think this is so silly of me to call out, but I have got some questions about this 
• Different positions work for different women. I started by squatting but now prefer, sitting on the western toilet facing the flush tank, while inserting and removing. I feel like my vagina and pelvic muscles open up better 
• The lubricant was a charm,  I did not even realize that the cup had glided in so easy. Make sure you use a medical grade lube. I used Lubic Jelly that most medical stores should have. In the second month though, just water was more than enough to help the cup glide in 
• The c fold of the cup did not work for me. Based on research I realized that the PUNCH DOWN fold demonstrated here  worked best for me 
• Once you insert the cup, use your thumb and index finger to gently guide the cup in place. Squatting does give you better access to the cup once inserted, for adjusting 
• Remember that the cup does not go in vertically, but at an angle. I realized that in my previous attempts, shoving the cup straight up was what hurt me, not the cup itself
• While taking it out for the first time, you might wonder, where it is ..... sitting, squatting makes it easy for just the tail of the cup to jut out. Slowly and gently , pushing with your pelvic muscles, get the cup out. The movement mimics what one would see in a typical natural birth
• One of the big advantages of using the cup is that you will always stay dry, this was a big big concern for me when I used pads, not to forget the mess when you are bleeding and taking a shower
• I tend to feel a little bloated on the second day and that continued with the cup as well, although there was no discomfort 
• When the cup comes out, if its full, blood will spill on the toilet floor. The best way to avoid this, especially when you know your are full, is to sit on the toilet seat tip facing the flush tank as I mentioned before, and pulling out the cup. Even if you spill, it is in the commode and you can just flush after
• A friend mentioned that she did not have a wash basin in her loo at work and thats why she could not rinse out the cup and hence not use one. If you have a commode with a bidet shower/bum shower and you know the source of water is clean, you could just rinse right there 
• The main thing is to just stay calm and be prepared to keep trying if you encounter any roadblocks and oh yes FIND A BUDDY who is user and can guide you throughout

Whenever in doubt, read..... The internet is such a good source of information. Its just about being uninhibited, patient and finding what works for you. Also do not generalize ..... having birthed children, being sexually active etc are not criteria for how things can work. The one other thing that I have realized is that the intent to adopt this change, has to come from within..... no amount of encouragement will work, unless the woman wants to make this transition. Its just a mental block, especially with our cultural upbringing where "inserting" anything "there" is blasphemous as is talking about it :). 

The last time I felt so enthused, was when I rescued my first animal.... a puppy I think and that is when I knew that everything that I did, had to make this planet better ! Twenty years later, I feel the same enthusiasm..... spreading word about the menstrual cup ...... to make this planet a better place :). 

2020 December : An Update 

Thanks for continuing to read this rather long blog post. I have been a successful cup user for the last three years ! Here are some things that I learnt since the original post. 

• Accidents do happen, I had a particularly embarrassing one during a trip and realized that I had not inserted the cup right. As a workaround, I always change my cup especially on the heavy days at least 30 mins before I step out, so that way, I have the next 30 mins to know if there is an accidental leak. This has worked very well for me. Again, this is not intended to scare you, but just let you know, that accidents do happen even to regular users 
• Slight staining after inserting the cup. I have realized that when pulling out the cup, there are traces of blood that stay in the vaginal lining and sometimes that tends to leak and stain after a change. When at home I always use the bum share to quickly rinse and that has reduced the frequency of these incidents 
• Lodging the cup : sometimes, I feel like the cup is not sitting well and for those occasions, I spread my legs much wider than my shoulders, squat, as if you would do a sumo squat and then twirl my waist like I would, if I had a hula hoop around me. Works like a charm 
• Be supportive : Whatever be your gender, be supportive of the woman making the transition. I once passed a remark on a friend who had, had two children and was scared of using the cup. I told her that if she has had children she should be able to do this. I immediately realized that it was not appropriate. So please do not jump to conclusions. What works for you, may not work for someone else. 

It is okay to be scared, it is okay to be confused, it is okay to be hesitant