Love love love. Wish they’d been around since I was, oh, 13 or so (actually not sure whether I’d have had the nerve). I’m another person who only needs to empty it morning and night. Rivulus/Boscibo-- are you wearing it nice and “low”? If it rides too far in it seems looser and less well sealed-- make sure you tug it down as far as possible.
Love it and could never go back to anything else.
When I first tried to take it out, it was very frustrating and scary. Spent an hour trying to do it. I couldn’t get it out; it seemed impossible to reach with my fingers. Then I realized that bearing down is the key to breaking the seal and getting the damn thing to slide down low enough for me to grasp the stem. Now it’s easy peasy
Try it out at least two cycles before giving up.
I used to use a DivaCup, but then found out there were 7 or 8 different brands of menstrual cups available that, if not found in a store, can be ordered online. The Keeper (which is made of soft rubber) or the Keeper Mooncup (made out of silicone) is available in the US. There are other brands made in different countries that can be ordered online. The DivaCup was too long for me, so I used a Keeper MoonCup which was comfortable and easy to place, but kind of hurty to pull out. So I switched to a Ladycup (made in Finland I think) and have great results with it.
I found a lot of advice (like how long and wide each brand is, how much each brand holds, how to clean, tons of stuff) and links to different websites on :
rivulus, thanks. I’m glad I’m not a freak. It’s a pain, and the biggest negative to the menstrual cup, IMHO.
I have never had to trim the stem, so there is a possibility that the OP won’t have to. I had the same tiredness in my vaginal muscles the first time I used it, but that time I put it in a couple of days before my period started to get used to having it there and inserting/removing. My normal cycle doesn’t seem to last long enough to make the muscles tired or achy.
I’m in love with my cup and have been for the last three years. It’s taken a lot of hassle out of my periods, which are of the kind that I would need to get tampons of two sizes, night pads and normal pads to cope with the changes in flow and my sleeping style. Even so, I still managed to leak on my sheets at least once. With the cup (a large-size Lunette, which is a bit shorter than the Diva) I empty it in the morning and evening and rinse it with water. Soap if I’m feeling energetic, but it seems not to be needed.
All in all, I feel a bit unfairly favoured by the goddess of menstrual cups – no leaks ever, being able to sleep in nothing but Chanel no. 5 even during the heaviest nights, and having to Google the procedure to deal with bloodstains instead of having it hardwired into my reflexes. It’s rather unhelpful to have nothing more to say than “Everything works out just peachy, thanks.” I had a fool’s own luck in finding my cup, as I bought the model that was available in the farmacy and it worked out fine.
If you’re familiar with Livejournal, the menstrual_cups community is a truly supportive forum with an excellent tagging system, size comparison charts etc.
My roomate showed me. A whole forum for menstrual cups… it boggles my mind.
I tend to forget about mine, because I can’t really use it when I need it most. For the heaviest days of my period, everything gets really squishy down there, so it won’t hold a seal, and it makes my cramps worse for some reason. For the lighter days, it works wonderfully.
Thanks for the link, LorieSmurf! I definitely think I might have better luck with a different brand.
'Nother question: do you need to store it in a special place to keep the germs off? Do you have to boil it or whatever before putting it in?
Love my Keeper! Change it once a day in my morning shower, except on day 3 when I have to change it at night too. Had to cut off the whole stem due to a weirdly placed cervix, so I’m considering purchasing the UK Mooncup in the future since it’s slightly shorter than the Keeper.
I’m kind of curious about it but part of me is reluctant because tampons do work really well for me–I’m not in need of a change. Though I suppose DivaCup is nice because even if the flow is too light for one of my tampons I could put it in. (Or I could get less heavy tampons for the last few days but usually I just wear a thin pad if it’s very light.)
The whole cleaning thing kinda annoys me, too. I like the idea of just being able to wrap and toss, but I guess if you get used to it.
Little Bird–weirdly placed cervix? I thought the stem stayed outside. Like, er…I know that some devices are different but I just figured that the whole thing was in the external part of the vagina. Like that it didn’t go in any further than a tampon. Are you supposed to put it up against the cervix like a diaphragm?
Freudian Slit–
My cervix is not all nicely placed at the tippy top of my vagina, it’s tipped down the side somewhat, which gives me less room for a menstrual cup.
So does the Diva Cup get inserted against the cervix? Or is it more around the mouth of the vagina?
It sits about halfway in the vagina, not really near the cervix. (Unlike Instead, which is shaped very differently and worn similarly to a diaphragm-- that does go up near the cervix.) However, you want the DivaCup to nicely seal against the vaginal walls, the better to catch all that comes out of the cervix, and if you’re slung such that your cervix isn’t at the end of the tunnel but a bit off to the side, it may be tricky or possible to find a position where the cup both seals comfortably and catches.
As for cleaning, you don’t have to store it in any special place, just keep it generally clean. (It comes with a little storage pouch that’s more than sufficient, though I might not want to keep it amongst all the lint and debris at the bottom of my bookbag.) You don’t have to boil it before putting it in any more than you have to boil your partner’s penis pre-intercourse, but after your cycle, a quick boil or cleaning with H2O2 will remove stains and any residual organic matter that could breed bacteria in the weeks before you use it again.
It’s not supposed to sit near the cervix, I just have a weird vag and *my *cervix is so low that the Keeper bumps up to it. If you have a normal vag it won’t be near your cervix.
Ah, okay, gotcha.