Monday -- Day 22
11am - wiped reddish and felt crampy so I put the Mooncup in.
11pm - just a little brownish sludge on the bottom

Tuesday - light day
9am - just a little more reddish sludge on the bottom.
3pm - a teaspoon of reddish on the bottom.  Swapped for Lunette cos going out.
10pm - didn't measure but bright red.  Probably 5ml
11:30 - damn, felt it shift just as I was falling asleep.  Removed and reinserted.  Much better.

Wednesday - briefly heavy
8:30am - up to first line.  Went in hard and dry.
11am - up to the first line.
1:45pm - appx 5ml -- and heading out
11pm - to the first line

Thursday - light and waning
12noon - just a little
11pm - just a teaspoon but still quite bright

Friday
9am - just a few brownish drops.  Removed for a liner.
6pm - slobbered up that liner pretty good.  Put the Mooncup in just to eliminate the yuck.

Saturday
9am - forgot to take the cup out last night.  Removed this morning with just a few brownish drops in it.  Liner, just in case.

Saturday -- Day #22
Wiped pink yesterday and had diarrhea last night.
Put the Mooncup in just in case this morning cos 10am-3pm L1 Range.
Wiped reddish all morning and left a brown blip on my shield.  Nasty cramps since 2pm.
4pm - still cramping.  Just a little brownish sludge on the bottom.  (So why all the cramps?)

Sunday -- 10am-3pm L1 Range with the other group.
5am - paranoid, couldn't sleep.  Half asleep, I dumped out just a little.
8am - just a little brownish sludge on the bottom of the Mooncup.  10am-3pm L1 Range again so I put the Lunette in just in case.  Went in hard and dry.  Didn't feel a drop until...
2:30pm - OMG!  HUGE OVERFLOWING LEAK!  RAN to the potty in a panic between Ex7 and Ex8.  Good thing I had a shield because that one leak FILLED it!
Today was supposed to have been a "threatening" day.  Instead, it was a SURPRISE GUSHER!!!
9pm - to the first line = 7ml.  That's all???

Monday
8am - BLIP as I got out of bed.  I should have listened to my inner voice and worn a shield last night.  Nope.  Dummy.  Blotch on the sheets where I pivoted to get up.  Up to the 2nd line in the Lunette.  15ml.  Seemed very watered down.  (So did the leak.)  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
10am - probably 4ml in just the last couple of hours.  More than I expected.  And here we go with the cramps again.  Not bad but "there."
late afternoon - between the 2 lines
midnight - a healthy teaspoonful.  Waning.  This was a heavier-than-lately period in general.

Tuesday
11am - a teaspoonful.  Dark red.  Swapped to Mooncup.
11pm - just a few drops

Wednesday
Shield.  The end.

Wednesday -- Day #19  Mooncup - And it's Day 2 of a nasty head cold.
Spotting?  Cramping?  Mooncup just in case cos going out.
4:30pm - teaching tonight.  One big blip of a clot.
11:30pm - almost nothing in the cup

Thursday - Mooncup and Lunette - head cold is moving down into my chest
10:30am - very little, just spotting.
4:30pm - just a little, swapped to the Lunette cos teaching
12:00 midnight - still just a little

Friday - Lunette
A small BLIP as I stood up out of bed.  I'm glad I wore a liner to bed.  Why does it do that EVERY time???
8am - a healthy teaspoonful.  Here it comes.
12 noon - gurgled.  To second line -- probably as full as it would get before overflowing
4:30pm - just above the first line
11pm - just below the first line

Saturday - Lunette - afternoon on the range
10am - just below the first line
12:30 - hardly anything
10pm - to first line and with an interesting clearer layer on top -- swapped to Mooncup overnight

Sunday - Mooncup - afternoon on the range
12 noon - just a few drops of brownish but put it back in anyway just in case.
late night - just a few drops of brownish.  Removed.  I'm done.

Last time around, it was 36 days.  This time it started coming on at 15.  Just click OFF, dammit!

Wednesday, Day 15 after my last cycle -- just spotting:
Early afternoon - Odd cramping and a little tinge on the toilet paper so I popped in the Mooncup, just in case.  "Just in case."  I love that about cups.
11pm - Just a little brown sludge on the bottom.

Thursday - threatening stage:
Wiped red first thing in the morning despite wearing the Mooncup overnight.  Not unusual to get a blip of a leak first thing in the morning.  Just a little in the cup but bright red, fresh.
A little later - I would be on time if I hadn't been 2 weeks late last time.  Feeling a little crampy and period-y.  Is it the real deal?
1pm - Blip?  Yes, a small one.  Emptied the cup only because we were going out.  Not even a teaspoonful, not red/not brown, seemed GRAINY when I dumped it in the bowl.
10pm - A teaspoonful or so, dumped it only because I was curious at how much.  Should have waited another hour or two until bed-time.  But no harm.
11:30pm - Swapped to the Lunette just in case I have another heavy night like previous cycles.

Overnight
2:42am - Couldn't sleep.  Very paranoid about leakage.  Also very gassy from yesterday's burrito lunch.  Just a teaspoon in the Lunette.  Swapped for a tampon because they don't leak.  Tossed and turned yet some more.  Very restless, bad night's sleep.

Friday - here it is:
Bad start to the day after a bad night's sleep -- the filter in the coffee pot folder over and wadded up.  Ugh, coffee full of grounds.
9:30am - Filled the tampon.  Swapped back to Lunette.
12noon - To first line on the Lunette.  Took it out only because it shifted when I pooped and was uncomfortable.
2pm - Going out so I emptied it just in case.  Not quite to first line.  Bright red with clear on top.
7pm - Thought I felt a blip and "is it full?"  Nope and nope.  Just a gurgle and not up to the first line.
11:30pm - Just a teaspoon.

Overnight
Another fucking sleepless night.  First time I saw was 4:22 and the last one was 5:55.  And a lot of numbers in between.  I hate insomnia.

Saturday -- kept the Lunette even though I thought it would be overkill -- but turned out not to be after all.
9am - not even a teaspoon.
Odd gurgling and a little dark leakage throughout the day.  Wiped red all day.  Did I empty it during the day?  Maybe.  I don't know.  I don't remember.
10:30 - was going to swap for the Mooncup but just past the first line, which was more than I expected so I kept the Lunette.  Deep red with a clear layer on top.

Sunday
10am - Only a couple of brown drops in the Lunette.  Swapped for the Mooncup.
11pm - not even half a teaspoon but more than I expected in there.  But removed anyway.

Monday
Shield.

Even though my cycle had shrunk from about 25 days to about 22, this one took 36.  My first menopausal delay.

I was due on the 28th and have been spotting ever so slightly -- just barely occasionally staining my panties, wiping "tinted" -- for a week and a half.

Spotting got a little harder on the 8th, 9th and 10th.  I wore my Lunette because I was away that weekend and there was just a little brown sludge in the bottom of the cup each time I changed it.  I didn't wear it the night of the 10th but when I got up to pee at 6am (when the low battery alarm on the CO detector started to beep) I wiped red (not just brown) and popped my Mooncup in "just in case."  Good thing I did.  I felt crampy before I fell back asleep and yes, it felt like my cycle had begun.

Tuesday the 11th
Woke up feeling "wet" and wiped sloppy red (residual slobber) before I got out of bed.  The Mooncup had a healthy teaspoon or more in it when I checked it about 9-10am.  It's baaaaack!
Noonish - Been sitting at my computer all morning.  Peed red, wiped red and left a big blip on my shield.  Annoying but normal.
3pm - Slobbered up my shield to near over-flowing.  Between the lines on the Mooncup.  Swapped for the Lunette cos my flow seemed to have picked up and we had to go out.
5-6pm - Diarrhea.  Ugh.
8pm - My shield is wet but more clear than red.  Surprisingly little in the Lunette -- only about 7ml.  Just barely to the first line.  I wish I could see the lines on this cup better.
11:30pm - Diarrhea again.  Damn, I "shat fire."  But only a teaspoon or so in the Lunette.

Overnight - Sleepless and restless night.  Bad night's sleep.
4am - Felt a BLIP and got up.  Hadn't reached my shield yet.  Only a teaspoon or so in the Lunette.
Overcast so couldn't see the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Wednesday
8am - felt another BLIP when I got up.  It became a few BIIIIG sloppy leaks that filled my shield by the time I got to the toilet.  Lunette was full, probably overflowed with my cervix in it.  No wonder it leaked.  This is something new... flowing so hard overnight.  In the past, overnights have always been light and gravity has made me gush during the day.  But the good news is that that was probably the worst of it and things will taper off from here.
10:30am - Lunette and shield were both 2/3 to 3/4 full.
afternoon - a little more than a teaspoon in the Lunette and more clear than red on my shield.
7pm - Didn't empty the cup but swapped out the shield for a fresh one.
11:30pm - Not even a teaspoon in the Lunette.

Overnight
5:30am - Felt like I HAD TO go pee but Lunette seemed to block the flow.  Dribbled out slowly.  Didn't remove cos half asleep.

Thursday
10am - Very little in the Lunette.  Swapped for the Mooncup.
[no more notes so going by memory:]
before bed  -- just a little

Friday
morning - even less
evening - empty and removed

I'm over a week late and that's VERY unusual.  I'm not feeling any of the usual warning signs and symptoms.

Could this be my first menopausal missed period?

Will it be late?  Will I skip it?  Will I just click OFF?  Do I have irregular cycles and nasty surprises to look forward to?  (I didn't when I clicked ON -- I was regular from day one.)

Let's see what the future brings.

 

Wore the Lunette down to Ema's.

Tuesday
Just a dribble.  Threatening stage.

Wednesday
Here it comes -- with a little "residual slobber" by late evening and bed time.

Thursday
Damn, it leaked overnight/early morning!  Good thing I was wearing a liner cos I filled it (the liner.)  I think it was because I was propped half-upright watching TV and dozing, waiting for Ema to wake up.  Continued to "residual slobber" all day.  Went through many liners before everything calmed down by evening.

Friday
There it goes.

Saturday
Just a couple of liners.

SUNDAY -- Not due until Thursday but recalculated to Monday (tomorrow) because my cycle seems to have shortened consistently.
3pm - Cramping and brown sludge so I popped in the Mooncup.
11pm - Just a little brown liquid at the bottom.

MONDAY
8am - Just a little, slightly redder.
1pm - Couldn't take the Mooncup slobbering any more -- half a liner-ful.  About 5-6ml, swapped for Lunette.  Fresh liner.
6pm - Only another 6ml-ish despite cramps all day.  And reddish "wet" slobber on the liner.  Perspiration too?  87* today.  Unusually warm for April.  1* below our record temp.  Even my feet have been hot -- and my feet are always cold.
9:30 - Still only 4-5ml in the cup but yet more reddish slobber on the liner.  Ew.  Swapped for a new one.  Last cycle, I sprung a wet reddish slobber leak in the middle of the night.  Do I trust it or will it do the same tonight?  I don't want to wear panties and a liner to bed.  I want my parts to breathe after a long hot sweaty day.  But I don't want to sleep poorly because I'm paranoid either.
11pm - Just 3-4ml in the cup

TUESDAY
I slept with panties and a liner.  No need to have been paranoid.  Phew!
8am - 15ml in the Lunette.  A surprisingly heavy night.  I usually slow down overnight and gush during the day instead.
11am - 8ml and nothing fresh on the liner.
3pm - 3ml and slobber all over the liner.  New liner.  It seems the heavier my flow, the less I leak.  The lighter my flow, what a mess.
11pm - Barely 2ml and swapped for the Mooncup.

WEDNESDAY
11am - Barely 2ml but still red.
3pm - Barely 2 ml but still red.
11pm - Barely anything and more brown than red.  Removed.

THURSDAY
Liner, just in case.

Cycle total = appx 50ml

My one year anniversary of cups will fall between this cycle and the next.

16-1/2 cycles per year.  Wow, that's down to 22 days.  Things are definitely winding down.  And they're not nearly as heavy as they used to be.  I wish I had numbers to "prove" that instead of just "gut feeling."


THURSDAY - due Sunday - Mooncup
4pm - Spotting brown, cramping and going to the supermarket so I popped the Mooncup in.
11pm - just a little brown in the bottom.
Daily total = 2-3ml

FRIDAY - still surprisingly light - Lunette
9am - Yay, red.  2ml? Swapped for the Lunette.  Let's see how long it takes to fill it.
8:15pm - Couldn't stand the suspense any longer.  Could have gone all day to bedtime with it.  It's official, I can't even find the lines on that cup WITH my glasses on.  Rinsed it out and hunted for them, finally found them.  They're tiny.  Seemed to have been halfway between the lines.  What's that?  10ml?  They're not marked.  So why bother putting lines?
11:30pm - just a little.  2-3ml?
Daily total = 14-15ml

SATURDAY - heavy day - Lunette
4am - Woke up to roll over and DRIP!  What???  Oh no.  Big sloppy leak.  Why???  Full?  Nope.  Not quite to first line.  6ml?  That was uncalled for.
8am - Not quite to second line.  13ml?  My guess is that I'll start off heavy and get lighter as the day goes on.
10:15am - What, AGAIN???  Another big nasty drip of a leak.  What's going on today???  It was open, it was in right.  Appx to first line.  8ml?  And I definitely put it back in right.
1:45pm - An active day with a LOT of housework.  Hardly sat down at all.  AGAIN!  Another big drip of a leak.  To second line.  15ml.  Is that my overflow point?  It has been 3-1/2 hours so time-wise, that's about right.
4:30pm - Dammit, AGAIN?  I don't know, maybe not.  Did I change my liner last time?  I don't remember.  I think I did.  This time it looks more wet than red.  Just stray tinted discharge?  Definitely new liner this time.  And there was hardly anything in the cup.  Just 2ml?
11:15pm - Nothing on liner.  Down to a trickle.  About 3ml.  Should probably have swapped to the Mooncup but I kept the Lunette out of laziness.
Daily total = appx 47ml.  Is that a lot?  I don't know.

SUNDAY
7am - only a ml or two.  Kept the Lunette out of laziness again.
4:30pm - About 5ml after having been on my feet all day again.  Swapped to the Mooncup.
Daily total = barely 7ml

MONDAY
8am - just a couple of drops since 4:30 yesterday.  Too lazy to dig out a liner.  I'll check and probably remove later.
11:30am - Nothing in the cup.  Put on a liner, just in case.  Could probably do without it.

GRAPH:
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Post about this cycle at http://community.livejournal.com/menstrual_cups/1637076.html

MONDAY - Day 4 of the flu.
9am - wiped red
11am - wiped red again, popped in the Mooncup
Drinking a LOT of water today to rehydrate from cold and cold tablets and I was very dehydrated overnight last night.
Wiping red every time I go -- but so far, nothing on shield.
5pm - starting to pee red as well -- and small blip on the shield  How/Why is it getting past the cup?
11:30pm - OMG!!!  WTF???  Dark brown JELLO!  SUPER THICK GLOP!  Thicker than jam.  Up to about first line 7.5ml?  =8oO
Swapped for the Lunette.

TUESDAY - after a lousy night's sleep
9am - Back to normal.  More red than brown.  To first line.
1:30pm - odd gurgle.  Peed red, wiped red.  To second line.  15ml.  Minor red (not diluted like in the past) splotch on my liner.
5:30 - another odd gurgle.  Peed red, wiped red.  Just beyond first line.  9ml.  A little more red added to the liner.
8:30 - Didn't dump the cup but there's a little more red on the liner.  Massive coughing fits all evening.
***The good news about the liners this cycle and last is that I seem to have conquered the pee traveling up problem.
11:30pm - Just below first line.  5-6ml?
Swapped to Mooncup because the Lunette felt BIG all day.

WEDNESDAY - I think my flu finally broke today.
9am - very little in there, just half a teaspoon.
5pm-ish -- wiped red and emptied it just because I was curious.  Not as much as I expected.  5-6ml?

THURSDAY
removed in favor of a shield

Thursday and Friday -- due Monday
just light spotting
wore my UK Mooncup

Saturday
peeing red and wiping red with the Mooncup -- but barely a mark on my shield.
1pm - just a little in there but bright red instead of brown.  Swapped to Lunette.

Rest of Saturday and Sunday
no notes

MONDAY
am - THIS should have been the cycle to chart.  Peed and wiped red throughout but only a quarter sized blip on the shields on either of my two heaviest days.  That's cos I bore down and super-wiped around the cup if I didn't remove it -- to try to minimize what had traveled up.  And I rinsed AND DRIED the cup if I removed it.  I'm back down to a trickle now.
11pm - surprisingly full by bed time cos I thought I was done

Tuesday
am - just a few drops.  Swapped for the Mooncup, just in case.
pm - more than I expected.  Glad I wore it.

Wednesday
just a shield, nothing on it by evening.

A very short, very light cycle.

Tuesday -- not due until Sunday  (early!)
9am - Wiped red, put the MCUK in.
11pm - Just some brown sludge

Wednesday:
5am - Bad dream, DRY mouth, drink of water, went pee even though I didn't have to
6am-ish - Half-asleep, did it just BLIP???
7am - Woke up to roll over, remembered the blip.  "FUCK!  I'm sticky!"  Yes.  Wet and a little bloody.  It's cos I went pee earlier.  Got up, removed, about 7ml brown sludge and the outside of the cup was wet.  That is the source of my slobbering.  Pee travels up and around the cup somehow.  I HAVE TO remove it every time I go pee, otherwise I BLIP a piss-based leak that picks up whatever residual blood there is to become red and sticky.
12:30 - Gurgling.  Shit, it leaked.  About 10ml, more brown than red.  Swapped for the Lunette.
11pm - Residual slobber on shield.  About 10ml.

Thursday:
8am - Just under 15ml.  Went back in a little dry.  Gotta remember to drink more water today.
10am - Peed red, wiped red.  Here we go again.
11am - Peed red, wiped red.  Still trying to remember to drink a lot.
1pm - Peed red, wiped red.  About 15ml.
4pm - YIKES!  I missed my cervix!  Almost nothing in the cup, very full shield!
11pm - Only about 4ml.  Short period.  Very strange.

Friday:
8am - VERY little in there.  Was going to swap for the Mooncup but decided to remove completely and just wear a shield.

Saturday and Sunday:
Light spotting throughout.  More clear than red or brown.
2 shields on Saturday
1 shield on Sunday

Friday
1pm - wiped red, put in the Mooncup
wiped pinkish all day but nothing on my panties.
11pm - just some brown sludge

Saturday
8:45am - just some brown sludge
11:30 - peed red, wiped red.  Liner is WET but not necessarily red.  Is pee traveling UP and around the cup?
1:30pm - yes, I think it's going UP.  Still just brown sludge.
evening - ? and that liner was GROSS.
11pm - just a teaspoon but getting redder.  But nothing on the new liner.  Swapped for Lunette overnight even though it's probably overkill

Sunday
9am - damn hard to pee with the Lunette first thing.  Took it out, peed more.  Just a little in there.
10am - It feels really FULL down there.  Borderline annoying.  Debating switching to another cup.  I think the worst of it has hit.
11:30 - Not quite as annoying as earlier.  Went pee, peed red.  Wiped red.  Minor blip on the shield from before.
12:30 - BLIP!  Aw shit, here we go again.  Took it out to re-seat it.  2/3 full.  BURPED coming out, splattered it all over the place, what a mess.
2:30 - went pee, wiped red but didn't pee red.  No leaks up to now.  If removing it each time I go pee is the key to avoiding the residual blip, then what's the sense of having such a large capacity cup?
evening - peed red, wiped red, swapped for a clean liner
8pm - peed red, wiped red, took it out cos I was constipated.  Didn't help.  Same thing last month.  Went back in very dry and therefore I can feel it.  But the worst of it is over already.
11pm - took it out to pee only so it wouldn't slobber overnight

Monday
8am - Just a little but bright red.  Swapped for the Mooncup.
in between -- peed a few times, wiped a little red
5pm - dumped it only cos I was thinking about it.  Only a teaspoon, bright red.  Barely pink on the shield.

Tuesday
9am - hardly anything in there, more brown than red.  Removed in favor of a shield.

-----

large UK Mooncup, large Lunette, large Diva

FRIDAY:
Put the MCUK in this morning cos I wiped red.
6:20pm, wiped red even with the cup.  WTF?
7pm, I felt the Mooncup Blip and wondered how my old Diva would work now that I know how.  Swapped for that.
11pm, the Diva has been gurgling all night.  Feels like it's leaking but it's not.  Severe bladder sensitivity for the past 15 minutes since I went pee.  Back to the MCUK.  Maybe I'll try it again tomorrow.


SATURDAY:
8am, MCUK makes it hard to pee, even first thing in the morning.
9am, switched to the Diva just to see how it would be.
12:30, drinking and peeing a lot today.  No more gurgling but wiping red each time.  No leaks though.  (Still VERY light.)
And that's when it began to leak.  Slobbered all over a shield.
2pm, a big teaspoon -- re-seated.  I wasn't drinking/peeing as much.
4pm, still very light.  Still leaking a little but it feels like a lot.  This is why I gave up on the Diva.  Swapped for Lunette.
10pm, emptied the Lunette (not much) before bed.

SUNDAY:
DAMN!  Lunette leaked overnight.  Not a huge Exxon Valdez incident but a 2-finger splotch.  Fuck.
6am, emptied it and put on a maxi for the range.  Seriously considered a tampon.  "No, that's what I got this for!"  Stuffed many tampons into my purse and pockets, just in case.
10:30am, emptied it in the porta-potty!  2/3-3/4 full.  The worst of it.  No leaks.
2pm, emptied it at home.  1/2 full.  No leaks.  Washing the bed cover.  Fucking leak.
11pm, 1/3 full.

MONDAY:
6am, almost nothing in it.  Really DRY to insert, a little bladder sensitivity throughout the morning.
2pm, 1/4 full.  Swapped for MCUK.
11pm, just some brown sludge -- don't really need it any more.

TUESDAY:
8am, removed.

-----

NOTE: That "leak" might have been there from Thelma (cat.)  One of the moles on her back is bleeding.

Wednesday:  Mooncup and very little in it.  Brown glop.
Wednesday Night:  Ditto

Thursday:
8am -11am -- MC about 1/3 full and it leaked a little -- but I did lift up the dock.
11am -  2:30pm  -- Lunette  Considering trimming the stem -- but I like the ANCHOR it provides.  But I can feel it.  About 1/2 full into the shower and no leaks?  Wow. 
4:30 - Lunette, about 1/3 full -- still no leaks but makes me feel like I GOTTA pee
11pm - Lunette, about 2/3 full -- stood up all night (classroom) and still no leaks

Friday
8am - Lunette overnight, only a teaspoon by morning
9am - just a little, swapped to Mooncup
about 2-3pm -- BLIP!  Why did it leak?  Less than 1/4 full.  It's such a comfy cup.  Why does it have to slobber???  And it seems like it ALWAYS wipes red.

Saturday:
8am - very little inside
3pm - very little brown sludge.  Removed for a liner.

-----

Large Mooncup UK, Large Lunette


Wednesday:  Just threatening, wore the Mooncup, no problems.

Wednesday night:  Swapped to the Lunette 10pm - 9am.  Minor blow-by at first and it's hard to pee with it in the morning.

Thursday:  Swapped back to the Mooncup at 9am -- mostly cos I had the shits (yesterday's cookies and tomato sauce) and it was hard to pee with the Lunette.
11am - swapped back to the Lunette just to get more familiar with it.  Mooncup was half full already so I seem to be at the worst of it.  And there was a little blow-by.  Good thing I was wearing a shield.
12:30 - The stem was poking me a little so I gave it a quarter turn.  Minor blow-by.  Happy for a shield.  Tampons never leaked.  Why do cups?
2:30 - Went pee, wiped red, only 1/3 full.  Did I swap shields too?  I don't remember.
8pm - Only a teaspoon in the Lunette.  Swapped for the Mooncup cos the worst is over.  I'll check it again in the morning.

Friday and Friday night:
wore the Mooncup all day and night and it hardly collected anything.

Just a shield on Saturday.

Short period.

-----