Lena Menstrual Cup Original Large, Purple – Reusable Silicone Period Cup for Heavy Flow, 12-Hour Leak-Free Protection, Soft & Comfortable, Beginner-Friendly Design

I think that in general menstrual cups are difficult to review meaningfully because personal anatomy quirks are such a factor, so I'm going to try to give some information that hopefully will make it easier to evaluate whether or not my experience will match up with yours. I'm also going to do my best to avoid TMI whenever possible, but let's be realistic: this is a review of a menstrual cup. There is some amount of TMI that is just part of the process.I am a long-time menstrual cup user (both the Diva Cup and the Lunette), but I have always preferred to sometimes use other feminine hygiene products under some circumstances - sometimes it's just easier to use tampons, and I prefer to not use anything internal at night if I can get away with it. I prefer menstrual cups specifically (1) when I wake up with cramps but haven't actually gotten my period yet, and (2) on my one or two really heavy flow days, when I would have to change a super absorbency tampon every hour or so but could get away with four to six hours on a menstrual cup. I have always had to trim the stem of menstrual cups (the little piece that sticks out below the cup) because I find them uncomfortable and I don't think they make removing them any easier. In terms of which brands I've used, I started with the Diva Cup, switched to the Lunette because I had some discomfort with the Diva Cup (the smaller one), but found the Diva Cup a lot easier to pop open than the Lunette, so I switched back. I am in my thirties, but because the smaller Diva Cup was already a little uncomfortable (I am a delicate flower), I didn't ever switch to the larger one. I haven't ever been pregnant.Given that context...I chose to try the larger Lena Cup specifically because of the shape. I'd had some problems with leaks on the smaller Diva Cup, but I was pretty sure it was because of the heaviness of my flow and not the diameter of the cup, so I didn't want to switch to the larger one (as I'd mentioned, the smaller one was already a little uncomfortable). The Diva Cup gets wider when you go to the larger cup. The Lena Cup gets taller. The Lena Cup is also less flared - from pictures, I could tell that it was a more consistent width from top to bottom, which just seemed like it'd work better for me, since I felt like it was really a width issue with the Diva Cup that was causing my discomfort.As it turns out, the Lena Cup is a LOT more comfortable than the Diva Cup for me, personally - as in, the larger Lena Cup is more comfortable than the smaller Diva Cup. Because it's less flared, the pressure (all three of the menstrual cups I have tried exert some outward pressure) is more distributed, and that makes it a lot less uncomfortable for me. It's not totally unnoticeable, but it's more like wearing a tampon than having something pushing at me in a really localized area and in a really intrusive way. (It is, however, more noticeable than a tampon, and it seems to sort of... take up valuable bladder space, so I do have to pee more frequently. See? TMI.)I'm not sure if it's the shape or what, but something about the design of the Lena Cup also makes it a lot easier than either the Diva Cup or the Lunette to change tidily, particularly in public restrooms. The blood collects at the bottom, not on the sides (which was a HUGE problem for me with the Diva Cup), and it seems like it's easier to remove it without spilling. [My feeling on the public restrooms is that if you can't change it in a public restroom it's a total nonstarter as a feminine hygiene product, so here's a tip about emptying menstrual cups in public restrooms in general: wash your hands and wet down a paper towel before you go into the stall, empty the cup into the toilet, wipe it out with toilet paper, and then use the wet paper towel to wipe the sides and inside of the cup before reinserting it. Paper towel gets folded up and goes in the trash receptacle (NOT the toilet), like a tampon or a pad. Everything else gets flushed. This requires a few tries before you get the hang of doing it without setting that wet but clean paper towel down on the knee of your jeans and no, it's not ideal, obviously, or a long-term solution, but it'll get the job done in a pinch.]The real place where the Lena Cup excels for me, though, is that I have had absolutely no problems with leaks. None. Not even overnight on my really heavy flow days on a weekend when I'm sleeping in. None. It's a real godsend, not to have to wear a pantiliner or backup pad or get up in the night to empty it, and to know that I can actually get some work done during the day without setting an alarm to interrupt me every couple of hours just to make sure everything is still copacetic. I haven't gone longer than ten hours without changing it, even when I do sleep with it in, or longer than about six hours during the day, but emptying it three or four times a day without incident is a vast, *vast* improvement over either the Diva Cup (which was fine as long as I was wearing a pantiliner to deal with leaks but still kind of nerve-wracking) or tampons (which I had to change literally every hour, and woe unto me if I forgot).A few other notes. The material on the Lena Cup is very firm and it pops open easily after being folded for insertion: I can't do a tri-fold with it (which I had to do with the Lunette and didn't like), but a bifold works just fine (it was sort of hit or miss on the Diva Cup). The air holes are really easy to keep clean (this was really, *really* not true on the Diva Cup). The downside (and isn't there always one) is that I do think it's a little bit harder to remove than the Diva Cup. I did trim the stem, as I mentioned before, and I always remove menstrual cups by pinching the base, but it seemed like the Lena Cup was just a lot more firmly seated, the first couple times I tried. This is possibly related to why it doesn't leak, so I'll take it. I've used it a fair few times now and I've got the hang of it at this point, so we're good. I still do not use it exclusively in preference to tampons or pads.

I bought my first Lena cup in May but wanted to give it a few months before I left a review, since I felt that way my review could be more helpful to others. This was my first time ever trying a menstrual cup - I have used tampons pretty much for the past 10-15 years. Based on the company's recommendation in the FAQ, I initially purchased a size small. I hesitated with the sizing at first because although they recommend the size small for women who haven't used a menstrual cup before or had children, I didn't think it would be big enough because I have a crazy heavy flow (sorry, TMI). Nonetheless, given their recommendation and the fact that I'm a pretty small person, I decided to start with the small.The very first period, I really had difficulty getting the cup into me. It would take me like 6 or 7 tries each time, so I pretty much gave up after the first two days because I got so sore. Also, I was having to pull it out and empty it every 2.5ish - 3 hours, which was really annoying because even with my heavy periods, ultra tampons usually give me 3-4 hours. So after switching over to tampons again mid-period, I figured I would give it another shot the next month.In the meantime, I had received an email from the company just checking in with me, so I responded with my two concerns- that I had a hard time inserting it and that I was having to change it too frequently. I then received a very nice response with some helpful tips and letting me know that I should follow up if I had any more concerns after trying them.So, June came around and I tried the cup again, keeping in mind the insertion tips they had sent. Lo and behold, the tips + the extra practice made it much, much easier to insert the second time around (taking an average of 2x per insertion - not perfect but much better than the first month). Unfortunately, I still could only go 2.5ish -3 hours on my heaviest days before emptying - otherwise the cup would get too full and I would leak. So, I followed up with the company, just letting them know, and they responded back right away saying that they thought I might be happier with a larg cup and would send one out to me free of charge!Having just finished my July (and third) period using the large cup, I can finally feel comfortable in saying that this is an awesome product and an awesome company. I ended up using the large the entire period because I was too lazy to switch to the small, and unlike tampons, it's not dangerous to use a larger size even when your flow is lighter. It was harder inserting the larger cup, but it still only took about 2-3 tries per time (and I expect that to get easier as I continue to use it in the future). This might be TMI but I find that the easiest way to insert it is by folding it into the 7-fold and then kind of just feeding it into my vagina. I can't push it in too hard or quickly because that hurts, but by inserting slowly and gently, it doesn't hurt at all. I have had zero problems with it sealing over my cervix, but it's easier to stick your finger around the edges to make sure it has formed the seal.Time wise with the large cup - on heavy days, I can go about 4 hours before having to empty, and on lighter days, I can go forever before remembering to empty. So while the heavy days are pretty similar to ultra tampons, the lighter days are SO much better because I don't feel nervous if it sits in me for longer than 8 hours ( the max for tampons)! Plus, this cup doesn't dry me out like tampons do. It's also wayyyy cheaper - I've already saved money by just using it for 3 cycles. It's also better for the environment (if you care about things like that) plus you don't have to worry about having accessible trash cans (not always easy when you're a guest at someone else's house).I will say this - I like to wash it off in between taking it out and inserting again, and to wash my hands as well. So, I am most comfortable using this when I know I can use a private bathroom with a sink right by me. I would not feel comfortable emptying and changing in a public restroom. Besides for the mess on my hands (TMI but I haven't perfected emptying/inserting without getting anything on my fingers), I wouldn't want my fingers that close/inside my vagina after having to touch public surfaces (such as the stall door). That's just me though - I'm a germaphobe. It's definitely easy and possible to use in any bathroom, I personally just wouldn't do it yet in public ones.I hope this review can help anyone else out there contemplating switching to a cup from tampons. This review is totally honest and not biased, even though they did send me the large cup for free after the small cup (which I had paid full price for) wasn't working for me on my heavy days. At no point did they ask me to write a review when they gave me the large cup for free. And that's the main reason I'm happy to write such a good review - I can't stand the companies that now pay people or give people free things in exchange for biased reviews. This company just wants its consumers to be happy and to be able to use their products, which is so awesome and which makes me much more likely to recommend to friends.