Menstrual Cup: Don't knock it 'till you've tried it

I've been a supporter of menstrual cups for a long time, I just had never gotten around to buying one. Seriously, there is no down side.

• They're reusable, so you save tons of money. It costs you $40 and doesn't need to be replaced for 10 years (some governments say every year to cover their asses, but even then you save a lot).
• They're better for the environment because they're not going to the dump. If you use disposable products, you send 6 tampons or pads to the dump every day of your period.
• They're healthier! They're not absorbent, so there is no way for bacteria to breed. Plus they don't disrupt your body's natural cleaning like tampons do.
• There are no icky chemicals involved.
• They don't stink. The blood doesn't have access to air, so it doesn't oxidize and doesn't stink. Plus you're not tossing anything, so you're not stinking up the bathroom either.
• They don't leak. Seriously, if you put it in right, it's impossible for it to leak unless you leave it in too long (too long being more than twice as long as you would leave a tampon in).
• They don't disrupt your routine, and you don't have to remember to put tampons in your purse because you're already wearing the menstrual cup.

Lots of people think they're gross just because they're reusable, but it's not like you don't clean them. I mean, do you make your partner wear disposable gloves whenever he or she wants to touch you? Most people might just ask if they've washed their hands. So what's the difference? You don't even have to touch your blood, which you definitely do with pads and tampons.

Well, I finally got a menstrual cup... and seriously, it's better than I thought it would be. I thought there'd be a learning curve - I definitely had trouble with tampons the first few times - but I've had no trouble. And seriously, you don't even notice it. Because there's no absorbency factor it doesn't expand or get dry or painful in any way. And because I don't have to worry about leaking, I don't have to constantly go to the bathroom. I just go before I leave the house and before I go to bed at night.

Oh! And did I mention you can put it in preemptively? I'm on the patch, so my period is completely predictable, and now I don't have to worry about panty liners and whatnot either. Just put in the menstrual cup on the day I know my period will start and forget about it.

edit: If you really don't like the idea of reusable products (and don't care about the environmental impact or saving money), there are disposable menstrual cups available, too. These are especially good for teens who are still experimenting with different products (and who you are concerned wouldn't clean a reusable one properly). They can try the cheaper disposable ones and buy a reusable one later. Most teens don't know about menstrual cups because they haven't made it into the high school curriculum yet, despite all the benefits.

Another edit: Just found this awesome blog (http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com), which exists solely to test and review all the different menstrual cups. Wish I'd found it sooner, I might have tried a different cup first.