If you have never used a cup: start with one built for beginners, not a firm rim. A softer cup with a removal loop is far more forgiving while you are learning the fold and the angle. Almost everyone who gives up on cups gives up in the first two cycles.
If cramps are the main problem: try a TENS unit before another box of pills. It is wearable, it is drug free, and it works on the signal rather than the inflammation. A warming pad is the cheaper version of the same idea and does better overnight.
If you want the smallest possible change to your routine: wipes and a pH balanced wash. No learning curve, no new habit, and they solve the discomfort that has nothing to do with absorbency. More of both in Personal Hygiene and Intimate Care.
If your flow is heavy: reusables are the better value here, not the worse one. A cup holds more than a tampon, and period underwear is built to be worn underneath as backup. The two together handle nights that nothing else does.
If your cycle has just come back after a baby: expect it to behave differently, and give a cup time. Fit changes after birth. Postpartum covers the rest of what changes.
On materials: medical grade silicone for anything internal, and nothing scented anywhere. Fragrance is the most common cause of irritation in this whole category, and it is doing nothing for you.
One thing worth saying plainly: heavy bleeding and severe cramping are common, and common is not the same as normal. Soaking through protection every hour, passing large clots, or missing work every month is worth a conversation with a doctor. Endometriosis, fibroids and adenomyosis get dismissed for years, and none of them are treated by a heating pad. We are not clinicians.
