I switched from tampons to a menstrual cup and then it got stuck inside me

It is pretty pricey to have a vagina. And when I first heard about the menstrual cup from my college classmates, I was skeptical.

A menstrual cup, for those that do not know, is reusable feminine hygiene product. It’s a silicone cup that you fold, insert and adjust it so that it opens up and it will collect your menstrual fluid, as opposed to absorbing it, like tampons.

A 2015 study found that women spend an average of more than £18 000 on their periods throughout their life. According to Diva Cup, a menstrual cup supplier, if a woman menstruates regularly over 40 years, she will use about 9,600 tampons. Woah.

So before long I jumped on the menstrual cup bandwagon for a cost effective alternative that, depending on who you are asking, you only have to purchase every five to 10 years. It also holds five times the amount of fluid a tampon or sanitary towel can with hardly any risk of TSS.

When I initially got my cup I was so excited to use it and couldn’t wait to get my periods (strange, I know). The first few times trying to get it in was difficult, I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials and I even used a lubricant. When I did eventually get it in, I was scared to let go of the stem. I went back to the YouTube tutorials and the internet then assured me that it was highly unlikely that my menstrual cup could get lost in my vagina.

I was so happy that I was using it, I felt great and I was telling everyone that would listen. Then, on the third day of my period when it started to lighten, I went on a night out. When I got back in and tried to take it out so I could go to bed the trouble started.

I tried retrieving it, and I could feel the stem, but it was really far in. The stem was tilted sideways, not straight down, the way I had put it in. I don’t have very long fingers, so when I tried to grab onto it, pinch it and pull, I couldn’t really get my fingers to grasp it tightly enough because it was too far up.

I started to panic. I squated and even tried using the lubricant again. Nothing worked. I was almost in tears and woke up my mom. Luckily for me, my mom is a nurse and she tried calming me down. She suggested that I leave it in until the next morning and if it still would not budge, I could go to the clinic, a hospital or a doctor.

The thought of having to go to the doctor or hospital was so terrifying that I reluctantly asked her to take it out. She gloved up and lubed up her fingers, and asked me to lay down. She stood over me and the rest was painless, quick and slightly embarrassing. In less than five seconds she pulled it out, no problem.

Since that fateful evening I haven’t attempted to use my menstrual cup again. I’m understandably shaken, but I hope I’ll eventually go back to using it. If you are considering getting a menstrual cup, it’s a really good idea to do your research first. I wouldn’t have managed it in the first place without my YouTube tutorials and copious amounts of lube.

Mostly I’m just glad I didn’t cut the stem off my cup. In most of the videos I watched women cut theirs off, because it irritated them while they were wearing it, but decided – thankfully – against it. But despite my nightmare ‘losing’ a cup inside me, I still really believe reusable menstrual products are the future.

I’d rather have a moment – OK, longer than a moment – of panic and be eco-friendly than waste £18,000 on tampons. Plus, you can always get those stuck up there too to be fair.