Guess what was in my mailbox on Friday????

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!  My Lunette cup is here!!!!!

There's no telling how long it's been here though because I really never check my mail.

There's not much to tell except for that I just came back from attempting a dry run with it and ummm yeah, I'm definitely going to need more practice before my next period.

Cutting my nails definitely made removal possible.  I'll play with it tomorrow or sometime.

Softcup. Day 4. (i think)

Well, I'll make this short and to the point.

I like the Instead Softcup, but there are a few things I don't like about it.  So I decided to order a reusable cup.  I ordered the Lunette Cynthia cup in size 2 last night.   I decided on it after finding the Menstrual Cup LiveJournal community with links to size charts and pics of several cups on the market for comparison purposes.   (There's a lot of them too.)

Here's what I liked about the Instead cups:

• availability
• familiarity (they've been on the market a while and many women have tried them)
• did not leak
• comfortable

What I didn't like?

• disposable
• expensive compared to a reusable cup
• messy (could not figure out a way to remove without spilling)
• the seal is broken whenever you bear down so you probably will leak when having a bowel movement, peeing, or passing gas...which leads to...
• residual blood that may or may not leak onto undergarments 

I would use them again with no hesitation because they are cleaner, safer and more carefree than tampons for me.  I just think I can find something better suited for me.

(Just in case you want to check it out, I ordered the Lunette from LuneShop for $27 with free shipping.)

Sooooooo, whenever my period shows back up, I'll be reviewing the Lunette.   Actually, I'll probably do a dry-run or two when it comes in to make sure it fits okay and that I can insert and remove it.

Mission Softcup was almost aborted

Thank goodness a quick Google search was able to answer my question quickly because I was about to throw in the towel.

Everything was going great until this morning, but like I said, I had never had a normal flow while using it. Well, at some point last night, my period decided that it wanted to grow up.

I don't know how to describe what happened without being too graphic, but it is what it is and it might save someone else in the same situation.

Well, apparently when you sit on the toilet and bear down to pee or poo, the cup becomes dislodged due to the change in shape of the muscles but as soon as your done, it goes back into place and everything is all good.

I was very confused as to why it seemed to be leaking into the toilet but not anyplace else. That's why.

I'm happy neither it nor I am defective.

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Rihanna - Man Down

I'm addicted to this song and video. I love the hair she's wearing. I love the lyrics. I think I love her.

Girly Time: Instead Softcup Review

Hey, by Girly Time, I mean I'm talking about menstruation and my vagina and putting objects inside of it.  Don't want to read about it?  Click that X now!!


So last month or whenever I last had something that resembled a period, I tried the Instead Softcup.  It is an alternative to tampons and pads.  They don't come with the risks of Toxic Shock Syndrome and can be left in for 12 hours.   It differs from the Diva Cup in that it's disposable and you can have sex while wearing it.  

I have been interesting in trying either of the cups for a few years, but I never saw the Softcup in stores until recently.  I don't think I was paying attention in the stores where it's available.  I was expecting to find it in local healthfood stores.  Yeah, no.

The reason I chose the Instead brand over the Diva cup is because it's available at my pharmacy, CVS, and is cheaper.  Now what sucks about me trying it when I did is that my periods have become somewhat non-existent.   I believe it's from drinking apple cider vinegar in water daily.  I had heard this could stop periods or make them very light but I honestly thought it was an old wives' tale.  I was drinking the mixture to help with my sinuses and allergy problems.

Anyway, I'll take what I can get.  So my review will be based on a light to normal flow.

First of all, unless you have seen what these things look like, you might be kinda shocked when you open the box.

This is what I saw:

Excuse me?  What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!  lol

I breathed a sigh of relief when I read that you're supposed to squeeze it make a long oval.  The back end goes into the space under the cervix and the front slides in place behind the pubic bone.  Now, for the most part, it's just like a tampon, you won't feel it if it's in correctly.  However, when I turned a certain way while sleeping, I could feel it for a moment.  Wasn't painful, just there.

To take it out, all you have to do is hook the front end and pull down and out.  Now what they don't tell you is that you might want to keep pinching it together because it can be a little uncomfortable pulling it through the vaginal opening if it's opening up to normal size.

Like I said before, my flow has been very light so I can't speak on how well it performs with different flows but for what it's worth, I've had no leakage whatsoever.

I like that I can insert before I leave for work in the morning and keep it in until I get home and not have to worry about it.  Very convenient.

If you're looking for an alternative to tampons, you should try the Softcup.  If you can figure out tampons, I'm sure you can handle this.

Medical Update. booooooo *hiss* yaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

So, I had an appointment with the nurse practitioner at the gastroenterology clinic recently. the morning that Molly got assaulted.    She had previously ordered some blood work...regular stuff...metabolic profile, complete blood count, lipid profile, and a vitamin d test.

White blood cell counts were below normal.  They generally are and have been for a few years.  It kinda concerns me since my T-cell counts were so high, but none of the tests I had done less than a year ago turned up anything.  So I won't worry too much about it.

Vitamin D though?  Yeah, Gone like N*Sync.

I was all crunk that I had gotten down to only a few pills a day.  Now, I'm back on my probiotics, taking at least 1200mg of Calcium a day, and taking 50,000 IU of vitamin D a week for 12 weeks.   Oh well, I'll never complain about being proactive with my health...well, I will, but I won't really mean it.

I also asked why the manometry was scheduled after my CT scan.  The notes mentioned a distended esophagus.  *cries*  This coupled with the notes from my last barium xray about my LES spasming causing delayed emptying of contents from my esophagus into my stomach really really really makes me uncomfortable.   My diagnosis is still non-specific esophageal motility disorder or esophageal dyskinesia...meaning I don't yet fit into any of the known primary motility disorder categories such diffuse esophageal spasm, nutcracker esophagus,  or achalasia nor do I have condition that is causing esophageal problems.    


I'm okay as long as I know that I don't have to suffer in pain because my condition doesn't have a name and because I don't fit into some neat disease box.   


Having a medical team that truly supports you and wants you to get better is the best feeling in the world.  

Tag Team, back again...

So let's play catch-up.  Okay?  YAY.

For the most part, I'm still the same.  My life is still the same.  My cats still hate each other and me.

There are some new things going on.  For instance, I'm trying to embrace veganism and raw foodism.  No drastic changes, but I've stopped snacking on junk (for the most part) and now only eat raw fruits, veggies, and seeds between meals.

I'm also in the process of becoming a DONA-certified birth doula.  This is very exciting to me because I've wanted to work in childbirth since I was a senior in high school trying to figure out what I wanted to major in in college.   When I was unemployed for almost a year (that wonderful wonderful time of my life that I miss so much), I decided that I wanted to be a midwife.  Watching baby shows all day long everyday will do that to you...  But, I didn't know how to go about it.  When I did figure out how to go to school for it, I felt guilty for wanting to spend more money to go back to school.   Fast forward to now, I figure that I can become a doula and get a feel for the field.  If I find out that I'm not fit to be a medical professional, I can still be part of the support system for pregnant mothers.  So there's not really a downside to this.

I'll go into more detail about what doulas are and what they do and do not do in another post.

That's really all I have going on right now.  I got into a fender bender in Molly. *cries*  Same thing everyday.  Monotony.  No excitement.  

Happy Independence Day!

^^^that's what they call talent^^

I actually had to google what the flag looked like to even attempt to doodle one out.  :(

Anyway, I feel bad about not blogging for so long.   So I shall soon return.  

HOLLER!