First, I’m putting this in GQ and not IMHO, because while I’m looking for advice and tips from women already using the diva cup, I don’t want a poll or similar. So if five dopers tells me it works wonderful if I do… then it’s not neccessary for the next 30 dopers to post “Me too”. (No offense, it’s just not further information at this point).
Now, the real question: I’ve read about Diva cups sometimes on the board and looked them up on Wiki. Their main advantage to me is that I wouldn’t have to keep buying tampons, and to avoid waste; also avoiding dryness when the bleeding is minimal would be positive.
On the other hand, I’m a bit unsure how easy or difficult it is to actually insert and then remove the full cup.
Also, it says that the cup is emptied, washed out and re-inserted. In my bathroom at home, the sink is next to the toilet, but in almost every public bathroom, the sinks are outside, so I could only wash the cup at home. Would this be a problem for long time use, or is the cup porous enough to let air in, while keeping the fluid?
Any other tips I need to know before I buy one? Anybody who changed from tampons to Diva cup and “it’s wonderful” or who changed from Diva cup to tampons because “it’s too messy/ too much trouble”?
Personal advice threads go in IMHO; it is not limited to polls. Of course, you can ask people not to post “me too” responses (though that rarely works, regardless of forum ;))
I used one for almost a year before my hysterectomy and it saved my sanity.
Insertion takes practice. For the first month (well week but you know) I would suggest using a pad as a backup until you get the feel of the right place.
When I was at home I emptied washed and dried at the sink. When it needed to be changed in public I would just clean it with some toilet paper and then wash it when I got home.
In general however you shouldn’t have to worry about it away from home, if your flow is fairly normal emptying and washing twice a day should be lots. Don’t wait for it to be completely full, the more full it is the messier it is to remove and empty. About half full or 12 hours, whichever comes first, is a good limit.
I’ve very rarely had to empty it away from home; I empty it before bed and when I get up in the morning. Worst case scenario I’d just empty it, reinsert it, and then get to the sink without using that hand/waving it around. Very seldom is it anywhere near “full”. But YMMV.
Oh, and IT’S AWESOME!!!
I wasn’t able to use one - crampy. But I should have figured, I’m miserable with a tampon. Inserting it for any comfort at all took practice for me - pulling it out was harder (I had long nails at the time. But yeah, wash it out at home in the sink. When you are out in a public bathroom, leave it alone - unless you are out for a very long time, in which case I’d bring a backup tampon, dump the Diva Cup in the toilet, and throw it in a ziploc in your purse. They do have a money back guarentee.
Your body may vary, but only once did I have enough volume to require emptying in a public toilet. I merely poured out the contents and re-inserted without washing it of, though I did wash my hands before entering the stall, as well as after.
My random bits of advice:
You might want to trim the stem a little shorter, as that can be uncomfortable.
The best way I found for inserting it was squashing it flat, then folding it in half, and then folding it again, keeping my fingers tightly in place just above the part where it starts narrowing. Insert into the vagina fairly deeply (you don’t want any of the cup sticking out near the outer labia), let it go, then wiggle/twist a bit so it unfolds properly and is seated correctly. If you get any leakage - outside of some residual blood that might have gotten trapped outside during insertion - then remove and reseat it. For me, I had to make sure it was in far enough and at a good angle; think about the slightly-tipped-forward angle for tampon insertion and that should help.
For removal, I’d just pinch the bottom of the cup itself (not the stem) to break the seal, and then pull the cup out that way.
I’m speaking in past tense because I haven’t used it in a while due to my Mirena IUD shutting off menstruation; I definitely found it better than traditional disposable methods.
Can I piggyback and ask: how necessary to successful cup usage is knowing exactly where your cervix sits? I’ve read about women whose cups leak because they can’t get a good seal around their cervix – I’ve never been able to find mine and I’ve put off buying a cup because of this.
I love mine - my experience is pretty much the same as Moonlitherial, re cleaning and the time it takes to get used to/willing to trust that it really won’t leak if you don’t change it every 4 hours. Make sure you trim the stem as much as you can while still being comfortable extracting it, because if not, it might hurt (that was my only difficult thing to start with, til I worked that out - mine is trimmed right down, and I can’t feel it at all once it’s in.)
gallows fodder, I have no idea where my cervix is. (This might make me an idiot, I can live with that) - as long as the cup is properly unfolded open inside you, I think it sorts itself out. I’ve only ever had one leak, and that was in a horribly heavy period - normally I can leave it for 12 hours without even needing to think about it. So, I’d say not at all necessary, in my experience!
They are remarkably adapatable to heavy periods too.
The main reason I switched was actually in an attempt to measure my extremely heavy periods in some quantifiable manner. Most days of my period I actually had to empty every hour and on several occasions the cup was actually full but due to the position it held not only until full but after. Removal was… messy in those situations but even then I had no issues with cleaning up in a stall and washing it only when I was at home.
I haven’t used the Diva cup but I’ve been using Instead softcups for years and I really like them. They’re disposable but I wash them out and reuse them usually for the whole cycle (but if you’re in a public restroom then you can just throw it away and use a new one, so that could be helpful). They seem easier to position properly, although like I said I haven’t actually tried the Diva, but I have read the instructions and looked at the diagrams and all that. If Instead didn’t exist, I’d try it, but I like Instead because of the reasons I mentioned and because it can be worn during sex, so I stick with it.
There are a few women with very retroverted uteri who won’t suit cups. You won’t know unless you try. It works fine for me and I have a retroverted uterus. Money Back Guarantee is your friend here.
I had a Mirena put in after my daughter was born, which meant that until last month I hadn’t had a period since September 2008.
Last month I had very, very heavy, clotty bleeding for 2 days. Mirena threads are still in place so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t anything hinky, and I’m waiting to see what next week brings…
My MoonCup (UK brand of cup- same concept) was a Godsend- no stained clothing or sheets, no cramps and by emptying it every two-four hours I could keep a good eye on things (and make sure the Mirena wasn’t expelled).
I’d take a bottle of water and some wet wipes into public toilets if I needed to empty it- that way I can rinse it and my hands. Before my first Mirena was put in I would have emptied it at bedtime and first thing in the morning-which was plenty.
Then we’re idiots together! I’ve searched but I cannot find it – I don’t know if my fingers are too short (judging by the “hand size” poll thread, I don’t think so) or if my cervix is really high up there, or if it’s off to one side, or what.
One of these days I’ll give this cup thing a shot. It sounds so convenient.
I have a retroverted uterus and my cervix sits down further in my vagoo than most women’s, but I can still use a cup.
I used the Keeper (US) for a couple years and liked it–didn’t love it. It’s a taller, firmer cup than most which made removal tricky since I had to cut the whole tail off.
A year ago I purchased the Femmecup, which is a few millimeters shorter and less stiff. I was able to use it without removing the whole tail, and this one I LOVE.
I will empty it twice a day on the first two days and once a day the rest. I always empty it in the shower, give it and my undercarriage a bit of a washup, and reinsert. All the nasties go down the drain and I feel fresh and carefree.
Oh yes, I forgot to say-- If you can stick your finger inside and feel around and not feel a cervix, then you have plenty of room to use any cup you want. Mine is so low I can touch the tippy top without reaching.
Love love love my DivaCup (mine’s actually a LunaCup, or MoonCup, or something; bought it in Germany. I’m petite and it’s petite; for those who find the DivaCup a little too wide, there are companies that make smaller cups). I used to do the “C fold” (if you look at the cup from above it would look like, well, the letter C) but occasionally would have a tiny bit of leakage. Now I do the “seven fold”. Basically, squish the cup flat, with your left thumb and index finger on the one side and your right thumb and index finger on the right side. Now, take the right hand corner, and fold it down, so the outline of the lip of the cup makes a seven shape. I’ve had no leakage with this. And on removal, it’s important to kind of, uh, “bear down” I think is the polite term. Like you’re having a BM. For me, this pushes the cup down enough that I can get it easily, without having to really dig around. Just grab with the thumb and index finger on either side of the cup, clasp together like you’re trying to join the two fingers together, and pull out.
As others have said, I only ever empty mine twice a day, when I wake up and usually when I get home from work. Huuuuge advantage is that I’ve always had light periods, especially the last two days. Now I don’t have to worry about too-dry tampons and the 8 hour “OMG TSS!!!” panic.
Spoiler alert for the next bit; I doubt that anyone really squeamish would have made it this far in the thread, but just in case.
I mix the blood into water and use it on my garden. I don’t know if it’s hippie nonsense that it’s good for your plants; I do know that I’ve got lovelier plants on my terrace than I’ve ever had, and than anyone I know.
As for cleaning it between periods, you’re spoilt for choice.
You can microwave it, boil it or use sterilising solution.
Some ladies have even put it in the top shelf of their dishwashers!
I have had a Divacup for a year and while it’s useful, it’s not a tampon replacement, because I can’t get it to stop leaking. I have read every website out there, tried every fold, take it in and out and spin it and squeeze it… it still leaks, enough that it will stain my clothes, so I have to use a back-up pad. I still use it because it saves me a bit of money on disposable products, and isn’t an eighth as gross as using a pad alone.
I bleed pretty heavily the first couple days of my period, so it also will overflow if I don’t dump it 2-4 times.
I think I need a cup made of a stiffer material, but haven’t gotten around to buying one. My problem seems to be that my vagina ‘breaks’ any seal I get established, once I move around. Also my cervix is in a bit of a funny position (due to to my uterus being retroverted and my vagina being extra-long) and that might contribute to the issues, I don’t know.
Most women don’t seem to have these problems once they have perfected insertion and making a seal.
Like some of you I can’t reach my cervix with my (long!) fingers, and since my cervix is on the back wall of my vagina (according to my gyn) and the top of my vag is a dead end, there is no way for me to suction the rim of the cup around the cervix. I just have to get it as high up as possible and try to make a seal.
One trick to the leaky thing is that it’s not supposed to be inserted way high, but as low towards the outside world as you can comfortably manage. I put it in, tug it towards the opening again, and then give it a spin to make sure it’s seated. Another trick: if you insert it folded, make sure that it manages to completely unfold-- might need to break the vacuum for a second to let it spring open.
Diva cup is not a schlurp it around the cervix cup like the disposable ones that look like a diaphragm, it sits in the mouth of the vagina and catches drips [in a manner of speaking]
If you are trying to get it to set a seal around the cervix you are doing it wrong …
I think the literature even says it’s supposed to be low, but from what I’ve read online that doesn’t work for most women and it sure doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it at all levels. When it’s lower down there is no way to form a seal as the cup is compressed into a flattened oval by my muscles, so it doesn’t catch anything. And it won’t stay very low for long, if I stand and walk it works it’s way up quickly. Starting by putting it in as high as I can get it (almost higher than I can reach) works the best, but still not perfect.
I’ve searched but I cannot find it – I don’t know if my fingers are too short (judging by the “hand size” poll thread, I don’t think so) or if my cervix is really high up there, or if it’s off to one side, or what.