I happily used another brand’s regular-size softer/sensitive cup for a few years until I got tired, literally and figuratively, of excessive blood loss during shark week and had a hormonal IUD put in. I didn’t want to risk dislodging the IUD with cup suction, so I switched to a disc.The CORA soft disc is the first one I tried, and now, after my…sixth? cycle with it, I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of it well enough to review. In the early days, I wondered if I should’ve ordered a regular firmness disc instead, because it did NOT want to stay put. I don’t know if I’ve gotten better at it, or my body’s more used to it now, but now, I usually only have to adjust it after number two, instead of trying to re-insert three times after every minor bathroom visit. Could this be made easier with a firmer disc? Maybe, but…I was not really prepared with how much contact I’d have to have with my innards. The disc goes Way Up There, unlike with a cup. I have a connective tissue disorder, so Everything In My Body Hurts All Of The Time, and, based on my previous experience with a firmer (regular-firmness lol) cup, I think that having a firmer disc would be excruciating for me. As it is, I have some pressure sometimes from the CORA soft disc (e.g. when it’s been in but needs to be adjusted), but it’s less than what I had with the soft cup I was using (and I switched from a regular-firmness cup to a soft one for a reason and that reason was pain and pressure). There have been a few times where I’ve lost my grip on the disc due to the water-based lubricant I use for insertion getting under my fingers (and also having hands that don’t always do what I want them to), and that’s uncomfortable enough. I think a firmer cup…no. Just no.(If you’re new to discs/cups, use a good not-runny water-based lubricant with it. It will improve your quality of life. Just make sure you don’t put it where your fingers will be holding the thing.)I will say that I do miss being able to record how much volume I’m losing. I can’t tell what’s half full or 2/3, and sometimes it auto-dumps. This is becoming less of an issue, as the IUD is doing its job, but it kind of bugs me that I can’t hand over consistent data to my gyn like I could with the cup.I’ve seen varying answers for how long the disc is supposed to last than the cup—two years, or 10. The disc is much thinner than a cup, so I’m leaning toward it lasting closer to two than 10, especially since even though my flow is lighter now, I’m still needing to use the cup for close to two weeks at a time (shark fortnight). (That, at least, is data I can report to my gyn without needing to know exactly how full the disc is.) I’m considering ordering a backup, just in case this one gives up the ghost when money is tight.The soft disc has little vent slots like a cup does—which eases my mind about the suction issue—but oh wow do they get more gross than the vent slots on my cup did. My end-of-cycle sterilization measures clear it up, but soap and water (and scrubbing at the slots for five minutes) isn’t cutting it for the mid-cycle slots gunk. Like, do I need to Waterpik it?? It’s not a dealbreaker for me (yet) but might be something to be aware of. I usually rinse with cold water, then use soap, then rinse with warm water before re-inserting, and otherwise haven’t had issues with staining so far. Just the gunk in the slots.I haven’t had much of a problem with losing the disc or the rim getting turned around so I couldn’t reach the little grabber part, which has been a relief. However, I am physically disabled & not out climbing mountains or discovering new lands on horseback, so if you’re the sort of person who runs 30 miles per week in addition to working overtime and taking a gourmet cooking class, you may have a different experience. (For doing walks/roadside trash pickup and yoga, I’ve had no problems.)My rating is really 4.5 stars, but since I can’t give a half, I’m rounding up to 5, because higher-volume reusables have been a lifesaver after 25 years of the physical drain and social embarrassment of excessive flow. I wish my teen self especially had had knowledge of/access to cups and discs. The medical side of it is an ongoing situation, but products like these have changed my life for the better. Is the CORA soft cup a perfect product? No, but I don’t think there is an objectively perfect product. It makes things manageable for me, which was my goal. I chose the CORA soft disc because it was one of the softest options, and even though it has perhaps more of a learning curve, having less pain/pressure with use is worth it. If you’re in a similar situation as me and have the money to at least try this one, I think it’s worth it.
