Hi, first post so bear with me. 

I've happily used a MCUK sz 2  for quite a while now (i'm 38 no kids) and i've started getting heavier on my first couple of days, having to wake up every 3 hours to empty, now knackered at work :(.  So I thought about getting another cup.  After much investigating and comparing sizes to what I have at the moment I went for a Lunette Selene, couple of mm bigger but the extra capacity might buy me an extra hours kip!    This is when the problems started, C fold  insertion like the MC, no problem, quite a noticeable pop open but ok,   after about 15 mins crikey! PAIN!!   It felt like somebody had hold of both my ovaries and were giving them a good squish, unbearable.  Took it out replaced it with my good old MC and all was ok, pain went away.  Has anybody else suffered this problem? I was wondering if it was the stiffness with the cup, as my MC is much more flexible & softer.  I didn't think it was the size so much as they were both so similar.  Any help greatly appreciated

I have read hundreds of posts here trying to figure out what the problem is as my Diva hurts me even though I think i have it in correctly. I am a new cup user, having the divacup for the second month. I have sz 2 as I have given vaginal birth once and am 37 yrs old. The problem is that it is VERY uncomfortable, causing really bad cramping & soreness, pressure and a feeling of suction inside me.  I can't do anything but sit or lie down when I have it in....walking is not comfortable as i feel the pressure/suction constantly. It is a relief when i take it out...a big bummer as i want this to work for me!

Insertion goes ok, i feel it pop open and I do NOT leak, therefore leading me to believe i have it in correctly. I am not usually able to spin it, but I have slid my finger around it to make sure it's open. I've re-inserted it many times to try and make sure it's in the correct position... I really can't imagine that i have that many options as it pops open as soon as it's inside me and is suctioned in pretty strong. If it was in the wrong place, i would think that would cause leaking as i do bleed quite heavily. 

I did discover that my cervix is VERY low, just about exactly the same length as the diva flipped inside out. So, it seems the divacup has to be in contact with it, or at least causing the major pressure and discomfort. I'm not sure how I'd get around this since my cervix sits so low. 

I've spent hours reading entries in this great forum and have tried everything i can find: I trimmed the stem with so-so results - it still bothered me so i flipped inside out. This DID help, but the internal pain/discomfort is still there. I have worn it for 2 nights now and several hours during the day. I do have a very sensitive body so i'm wondering if I will not be able to use a cup, especially with my cervix being so low?  The first night felt like my body would never relax with it in... I had the constant feeling of my vagina wanting to push it out (very clenched muscles), and it continues to feel like that many hours later. I realize this particular issue may have to do with me getting used to it, but that is minor compared to the pain i feel from using it. The cramps were so bad on the first day that i had to take it out and was sore for hours later.

I'm hoping someone may have some answers for me as to why this is causing me so much pain! Thankyou ahead of time!

Hello, I'm new to menstrual cups and also to this community.
I purchased my first cup today, a size B keeper, since I am a virgin. I have also NEVER used tampons before. I've also never had a pelvic exam before. I'm 20 years old.
It took me two tries to get the cup in, and that had the typical initial pain but i was able to insert and remove it in only a few minutes. The part I'm not sure about happened after it was in. I experienced pretty severe lower back pain (imagine right at the top of your butt, on either side of your spine). And also a very pressing urge to pee. I took it out immediately and will continue doing short insert / remove sessions to see if I can angle it differently or place it higher to make that pain go away. But I haven't read about anyone else having back pain with the cup.
I guess my question is if there may be something going on up there that I should have checked out or talk to a doctor about, or is that typical or the result of some kind of user error? Or maybe I should just get a smaller one, which would be hard b/c they're expensive...

Thanks for any help or advice,
-LN

Hello!

This is my first time posting but I've been reading a lot of posts mainly since I got my Diva Cup.
First off, you gals are great :D

So this is my third month and I've been on summer vaycation so its been good practice time. The first time I tried to use it I was very...uh... nervous because the cup looked HUGE. I'm 17 and a virgin and haven't done much exploring in my vagina but I was super excited with getting a menstrual cup because along with my Womens Health Book Our Bodies Ourselves I was learning TONS of new stuff about my body. And I'm really open to knowing its just that I hadn't come across such a book as that one that explained things so clearly and honestly so I've been really happy learning about myself.

So first off in getting a Diva Cup I started wondering things like:
1. How do you know where your cervix is and when it changes position?
2. How can you figure out your ovulating cycle (FAM?)? The book explains a bit about measuring 'waking tempertature' (don't know what that is) and cervical fluid
3. How do renmants of a hymen look like and where are they?
4. I've had the really bad cramps before (the I-want-to-kill-myself ones) but haven't had a cup in during. How does that go?
5. Ballet? I managed to break the seal while goofing off and pretending to do pilates so I am a little worried about using it during ballet.
6. Why are Diva Cups the only option in stores (at least the ones I go to)? [US]
7. Why didn't I learn about menstrual cups sooner? My sis goes to a very liberal college so she learned about all types of awesome alternatives there and told me about it. Cloth pads too?!?!
Really, thats a really big concern for me. Womans Health Education is starting to worry me because unless I had found out about my lovely pink womans health book and menstrual cups I would have just stayed in the dark till some accident happened.
8. And lastly insertion and seal:
I use the punch down/triangle method (I hope thats what its called) thats in the instructions. I can insert it easily by now, but getting it to unfold is what I've been messing around with. I try to pinch the cup when its halfway in (I fold the rim all the way to the bottom of the cup not the middle) so that it unfolds and then twist it, but it works about 75% of the time and gives me a start when if pops. Then I just kegel it on up. For a seal check, anything besides rotation and fingers? There is no hope for now of sticking any fingers up there, thats a little advanced at the moment. I've done it but its been unpleasant. I'll keep checking out the tags about insertion but any posts about insertion are welcome :)

Thanks, I think I wrote a lil bit too much. :0
 

I am new to menstrual cups and am excited to try them out.  I have otherwise used pads and don't care for how messy they are, but have never been comfortable with tampons. 

I bought a package of Insteads and tried one this afternoon.  I got it in and it seemed to fit right.  I pushed it in as far as I could and it felt like it was behind the pubic bone.  When I stood up and walked around, I could not feel it.  However, a short while later, I started to feel like I was having cramps.  The aching seemed to get worse so I took it out after a couple of hours.  The crampy achiness quickly went away once it was out.

I was very impressed that it had collected the blood and want to try it again!  But I think I must have done something wrong with insertion. Has anyone else had this happen?  What is the source of the pain?  Am I pushing it in "too far" or something, or going at the wrong angle? 

Thanks for any informaiton and advice!
 

Hi, second time posting here and a new cup user.  I recently purchased a set of small and large LadyCups which arrived mid-cycle and this is my first cycle on them.  Main point of this post is to ask about one-sided cramps as related to cup usage, but I thought I would throw in some other background info too and a secondary question.

The first day (yesterday), I started with the small LadyCup as my cervix is usually low (it also sits to the left) and there were no cramps as a result.  However, there was some "light" leakage (more than just spots) of fresh red - almost like blood diluted with a clear fluid.  Nothing dark.  Wiping after insertion or throughout the day would always result in some of this diluted blood on the TP.

Second day (today) started out ok with the same leaks.  Then when I was in class, I started to feel a cramp on my right side, and my normal menstrual cramps are never lopsided.  The cramps grew and I felt a gush near the end of class.  I went to the restroom afterwards and saw the same diluted blood on my pad, but wiping produced much darker blood.  I got home and found out the small cup had reached the lowest LadyCup holes.  So seeing how only the length of one class was able to fill the small cup, I switched to the large cup.  Inserted it and the cramp on the right side felt worse.  Actually as I was inserting, I could feel it cramping when the cup touched the right wall.  Throughout the hour after insertion, the cramp spread from the right to the right-front of the abdomen, below the belly button.

I just finished reading through a bunch of posts with the leakage and cramping tags and decided to find my cervix and re-insert to catch it.  It turns out my cervix is higher up today and sitting quite to the left.  So far no cramps yet after re-insertion. 

I guess long post short: 

Q1: Has anyone experienced cramping only on one side from the cup?  Or has anyone with a lopsided cervix experienced cramping only on the OPPOSITE side?  I have made sure that the stem is sitting outside the body so it's not the stem poking around in there.

Q2: Does everyone who have leaking have this "diluted" blood?  Is that normal?

Thanks!

hey everyone! this is my first post to this community. I just had a period where I used a menstrual cup for my very first time - (I bought a Diva Cup at the local Mother Earth). I liked it a lot in comparison to tampons BUT I feel as though I would be much happier with something else, but with so many brand options I am feeling really overwhelmed. I thought maybe if I could tell you all some of my complaints you all might have some recommendations for me!

First off I need to say that I had no leaking which was great!

My problems: (with diva size small)

1. difficult for me to get in - I tried every fold imaginable and it still felt like I was jamming something up my vagina.

2. once I got it in I assumed it popped open (I did not hear anything or feel anything like my friend told me she hears when hers pops open) - I know it says to turn it once it is in, but it WILL NOT turn

3. It feels like it is pushing out against the walls of my inner vagina and gives me almost like a second area of cramps

Any suggestions?

So first time with the menstrual cup thing (I have the Diva Cup), and this has probably been answered, but I read through and still am not sure if it has.  Anyways, I have two questions....

a)  I tried my cup last night... 9 hours, some leaking, and it wasn't even close to overflowing.  Second time I put it in, I decided to try the seven-fold instead of the C-fold that was recommended in the instructions, and I had a ton of leaking with that one.  As in, I don't think it was blocking anything lol!  After about 45 minutes, I took it out (see second question for main reason for take-out), but I plan on trying again before bed... maybe the punch fold this time.  Should I be able to feel if it is "suctioned" in?  I mean, it feel suctioned on removal, but not really while it is in there, although when I put my finger around it as much as I can, it feels as if it is unfolded.  I tried the turn thing recommended by the Diva Cup instructions, and I also tried kiegels the second time (which seemed tougher than usual with that in there, so maybe I need to work my muscles some more), but obviously it wasn't sealed the second time, and the first time it might have been, but it didn't feel any different then the second time.  So should I be able to tell if it is suctioned in well, and if so, how do I tell?

b)  I always get cramping with my period, but I noticed when I have the cup in, I get a pain in the front of my abdomen.  I don't think it is anywhere near my cervix, despite being the longer brand of cup, since I tried checking with my fingers.  That said, my fingers are on the stubby side.  However, I figured maybe I am inserting it wrong, cuz I totally do not get how to insert something horizontally into my vaginal canal.  It isn't horizontal!  I mean, slightly tilted towards my tailbone I can do, but not horizonally like the instructions said.  So I am thinking I am totally missing something, and maybe wrong insertion is what is causing the pain (andpossibly the leaking too).

The pain isn't anything I can't deal with... seriously, taking a tylenol for it would be overkill, but it is noticable, and paired with my first question, it makes me think I am doing this wrong.  So basically, any tips on knowing I have it sealed would be great, and also any information on what they mean by inserting it horizontally (do they just mean towards the tailbone?)!  Thank you so much!!!

Hi There!

This is my first time on Livejournal and with my Diva Cup so I'm really excited!

So anyways, this is my first time with my diva cup and I'm 14 years old.  

( Read more... )

And from the time I've been wearing my cup, I get light to medium cramps and usually I don't get cramps. Could this be because I'm not used to my cup yet?

Hi Everyone,


Well, first off let me just say how excited I am to finally be using this wonderful thing called the Diva Cup :) !!!

I started it yesterday, put it in no problem and removal was hard the first time but i got the hang of it :)

The only thing is... I have reaaaaaaaally bad cramps! I mean, I usually have cramps during my period but they are SO painful right now and are never this bad. Is there a reason for this? Did i put it in wrong? I know it's opened and I don't feel it.. there isn't any leakage either... Is my body just getting used to the cup or something? ahhhg it hurts.

Other thing, it's so messy when I take it out! I know it's obviously going to be messy but do you guys have any tips to make it less messy? It's hard because the sink isn't close and then I'm trying not to make a mess everywhere!

Anyways, sorry if these questions have been answered already somewhere, I was just in a lot of pain and didn't really have the strenght to browse!

Thanks!

I have been using my femmecup for my last two cycles and I love how clean it is, even though I leaked once or twice, I had on a pad for back up, but I still felt it to be very clean. But I am wondering if this is the right cup for me. My main concern is the capacity and the hardness of the top ring. My first concern about the capacity is not to do with my periods now, more to do with when I get my IUD inserted and the amount of bleeding will increase, but since the femmecup can hold 15mL and the bigger cups go upto 20mL, how much difference is 5mL going to make?

My other concern has to do with the hardness of the top ring. I think I like that the top ring is hard, because it makes it easy for it to pop open, but when I take my cup out, I tend to take it out fully open, but slightly tilted. I feel a little pain when the opening comes out, I am not sure if this is something I will get used. But a worry for me is, will the cup make my muscles loose from removing the up fully open? Is this something I should be worried about, or not?

Other than these concerns I love my cup, I can't really feel it when it is in, but I am sad that my cramps have not decreased when it is in, I think the cup gives slight pressure on my cervix, because I have cramp pains on my third day of bleeding, when I only usually have cramps on the first day.

I asked my gyno about using my cup with the IUD and she said that it is fine, and I asked about the strings being pulled out by the cup and she said it is nothing to worry about.

We all know the wide variety of reactions that cups seem to bring up.

Probably one of the more interesting ones has been my husband's. He's gone from "omgz, that's horrifying. It's your body do what you want, but please don't tell me anything about this terrifying device," to actually liking the thing. I seem to cramp less, not that I cramped much before, and (probably a decent motivator on his end) am *much* more into sex after my period has ended. Disposable pads were leaving me tender and making my skin peel, which let me tell you *that's* all KINDS of sexy **eyeroll**.

Anyway, I was just wondering, how many of you ladies had experienced "turn arounds" with your significant other or someone else close to you?

Hi! I am wondering why some women can't use the Diva cup specifically... or isn't working out for them be it uncomfortable, leaking, size, suction... etc...???

I am new to researching about cups and ordered my first cup just recently. I received it and now I am using for the first day today, actually just put it in a few minutes ago. It is not a Diva cup however, and it didn't feel that comfortable at first but now I think that I do not feel it much. It is a Femmecup, and so this will be my first period with it. It does feel like a lot of suction and was not pleasant putting it in.

 

I am also wondering, read someone mentioned yeast infections and how they do not get them anymore... How does using a cup affect yeast production...??? I get yeast infections very often, although not often "full blown" (and I never use any man made medicines) just enough to be very annoying and sometimes itchy and a bit of pain off and on and does bother me during sex too. Anyway it is usually easily controlled by drinking more water, eating more garlic, and garlic tabs and oregano oil tabs as well as acidophiles tabs and eating yogurt, I even put the organic yogurt there to help cool soothe and heal. Try to eat healthy, most of the time ;) and keep coffee to a minimum.

  

Oh, (sorry) one more question... (but I am sure that I will have even more!) How does cramping decrease from using a cup!?!? I will let you know if mine overtime decreases, but I do tend to get cramps bad.

 

Thanks in advance for your time!

I meant to do this before, like, you know when I was actually on my period, but I didn't get around to it until now.

This is my third month with my cup and this is what I learned this month:

-If I change my cup and the holes aren't clear when I put it back in, it will leak.

-If I don't kegel when I put my cup back in, it will leak.

-I don't really need lube. Nice to have it, but I really don't need it.

I think I did pretty well this month. The only time I had leaks were with the above circumstances so I think next month I'll drop down to a liner instead of a pad (much celebration on this point; I can only get pads to stay in place if I wear girdle...ugh). I finally figured out about how much time I can go between changings so that makes things easier.

Now, questions:

-I tried my first public changings this month (my friends literally kept me out from 10 am to 4am on my first/second day(s) which is(are) my heaviest day(s); that would have been a *nightmare* with tampons). When I change my cup in public there isn't always a sink around. Of course, this is how I discovered that my holes need to be clear. How do you make sure the holes are clear if you can't get a stall with a sink?

-Has anyone ever dropped their cup in a public toilet before? What did you do? I'm just curious on this point.

-This is slightly more worrisome. My cramps have changed with my cup. Before, I would just get cramps from the tops of my knees up to about where my thighs met my hips. I've never had abdominal cramps. With my cup the leg cramps are gone, but twice now I've gotten a sharp pain in my abdomen region while wearing my cup. It goes away like nothing happened, and then it comes back. Anyone else experienced this?

Thanks guys! Much love!

Today is my heaviest day, and I was really hoping to put my LadyCup to the test today. I've been doing better with it every day this cycle, and I wore it overnight last night with great success. Very comfrotable, no troubles inserting or removing. I put it in a little while ago and almost immediately felt noticeably crampy. I tend to get crampy and icky feeling on my heavy day anyway, and I'm sick and not feeling well to boot, so I ignored it at first. It doesn't have the distinctly sick-painful  feeling of a wrong placement, so I thought, "Eh" and tried going for a short gentle walk to settle the cramps. No dice. Just worse and worse. I came back and fiddled with the positioning, tried pulling it down a little and changing the angle, but still ugh. Had to give up and take it out, and still feeling so IIIIICCCCCCKKKKK!  Maybe I just can't tolerate having anyting in there on my heavy day-- I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to the insertion process. Haven't used tampons in a couple years so can't really compare.

Just venting really.

PS: It was definitely the cup because it's starting to ease off now that I've had it out a few minutes.

I'm noticing that I get some fairly intense cramping right after I remove my LadyCup. Is this normal, or might it be the result of not adequately breaking the seal and putting too much suction on my poor li'l cervix?

I'm doing my best to break the seal before I start pulling on it. I slide my finger up alongside and push inward while bearing down until I hear/feel a squishy burp, and then pinch the bottom hard and pull while still bearing down. It seems quite hard to pull out it, and it hurts a bit, so I'm not quite sure I've broken the suction well enough, but I can't seem to get my finger all the way up to the rim to actually pull on it.

I can't shake the idea that it's sucking on my cervix too hard and that's what's causing that crampy feeling right after I remove it, and I walk around doing kegels for a while, worrying I'm going to give myself a prolapse!

I posted an entry about insertion issues about a month back when I first got my Diva Cup and got a lot of great advice. Thanks everyone. I eventually managed to insert the cup and I figured out that it rides pretty high (had a little problem finding it the first time to get it out :), so the length of the Diva is no problem. I think I picked the right cup after all (by chance--I didn't know there were any other companies at the time) and I read a post where someone suggested a case of buyers remorse which I realize I was probably suffering from.

( More of my experience )( Read more... )

Anyway here are my questions simplified:
1. For those who insert before your period starts, how early do you stick it in before you expect to bleed? On the day? A day before? My period is pretty regular (started about a year ago) but it usually varies a few days each month.
2. This isn't really related to cups as much, but how do you track your flow? How many record exact measurements? Or do you just mark your period days on your calendar. I've signed up for Kotex's period planner (http://www.kotex.com/na/TrackerEntrance.aspx) thing because you can click heavy, medium or light days and then it calculates when you should expect your next period on a calendar. It's pretty simple.
3. Why am I getting that sqealching noise at times, even though I've not leaking?
4. Is there anyone out there that has proved that the cup is responsible for worse menstrual cramps than they had before?
5. When you first started using the cup, if you didn't know your flow that well, how often did you empty it?
6. Can anyone give confirmed info about what qualifies as light, medium or heavy flow? What is average. The stuff I read on the internet is so variable I don't know what to trust.
7. For those you use cloth liners as backup, do you make your own or buy them? I've checked out Lunapads and PIMP but they're pretty expensive. I've ordered one of those liner givaways from PIMP and hope I'll be able to make my own based on it. Are there any other online stores I should be looking at?

I LOVE my Diva Cup. I never really had a problem, per se, with pads, but I didn't like the dripping feeling and tampons were okay but it was a lucky day if I managed to insert it "correctly" so that I couldn't feel it at all. My cup is just perfect. Easy, and comfy. My sisters are still a bit sqeamish about the idea, but hopefully one day I'll warm them up to cups :)
Sorry this was a bit longer than I expected, as always...

I'm on my second period using a menstrual cup. I used a divacup small the first time around and LOVED it, but decided to go ahead and buy a Lunette large because of the higher capacity...anyways, last night was my first time using the Lunette and at some point this morning, I woke up because I was in pain (cramps + upset stomach feeling). After tossing and turning for a long time, I finally got out of bed at 5am, took some advil, and changed out the Lunette for the Diva.
I think the Lunette was overflowing because it was leaking a tiny bit; it all dumped into the toilet, though, so I don't know for sure. Anyways, here are my questions:

1. Is it possible that I was experiencing worse cramping than usual because the Lunette is so big? I'm a virgin and the Lunette is the largest foreign object I've ever stuck "up there." Also, I've never had cramps wake me up before, but it's also possible it was the upset stomach feeling that woke me up.

2. If the pain is not size-related, is it possible that  I was experiencing bad cramping/upset stomach because the cup was full?

3. What do you ladies who have to empty the cup every 4-6 hours do at night? I function best on at least 8 hours of sleep, and I'd really rather not wake up in the middle of the night to empty the cup.

Thanks, everyone, for all your help!

This is my first cycle using the diva cup, though I tried inserting it once before my period, which resulted in lots of pain, as I'm a virgin and I feel like my vaginal opening is pretty small...granted, I definitely freaked out, but I could barely insert the cup even when it was folded pretty small.

So anyway, I started my period yesterday and decided to give it another go.  I was definitely more relaxed and don't have much problem inserting/removing it anymore.  However, for the first hour or so that it was in, it was extremely painful...I never really get cramps too badly, so it was pretty awful.  I tried removing it and inserting it again to find a more comfortable position.  The pain subsided after a while, but I was still very aware of it inside of me.  Now on the second day, it's kind of bothering me again.  It just kind of feels generally crampy/like there's a weird pressure there. 

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and if it gets better over time, or if perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

=]

Hello!

I know the issue of leakage has been addressed many time, but I haven't found anything that will solve my problem and hopefully this entry will bring up more solutions..

I've been using the DivaCup for over 2 years, and for the first two or three days of my period, I use backup pads.  And I have to empty my Cup every few hours (on average every 3 hours, I would say, and probably more the first day).  But the cup never fills up completly, it fills up about halfway and then starts to leak. 

I just got a Lunette Selene size 2 (it's blue!!!), and was hoping that would solve my issue, but it hasn't so far.  It fills about half way and then leaks. 
(I also got the Lunette because it has a higher capacity, and I'm thinking of getting an IUD which will likely increase my already heavy flow.  Which is also why I really want to fix my leaking problem.)

My cervix is not beside the cup, so I don't think its location is the problem.  I never really understood what people mean when they talk about the seal of the cup, so maybe that's the problem?  How would I go about getting a seal?  Any other ideas of what could be wrong?

Thanks!

ps//  Does anyone have any good ways of dealing with cramps?  I'm suspicious that my cup actually makes them worse.

since my first cycle with the mooncup was mostly me figuring out how to avoid leaking, having the cup move around inside me (why it did i don't know, neither why it stopped doing it), finding out how often to empty it on wich day (still working on that) and everything i decided to wait how the second cycle would go before making up my mind on how i cope with it. i never had issues with insertion and removal though, maybe using the biggest available tampons without applicators for years has prepared me enough.

so, yesterday my second cycle on the cup started. and it has been a great experience so far. i didn't have any cramps yet (with tampons they sometimes were so bad that i would even throw up with pain, and always had me take pain medication like m&m's, thanks endo) wich is great, i didn't have any leaks and i'm doing great. so tomorrow i expect my heaviest day. last periode that meant i had to empty the cup every three or so hours (through reading this community i came to the conclusion that a diva might be better for me, at least on my heavy days. too bad i didn't find my way here before i bought my cup. still, i ordered a diva already, should be in the mail sometime next week. so for cycle #3 i'm set with volume). i'll keep this post updated as i go along.

all in all i'm really happy i stumbled upon cups, and i'm never ever going back to tampons! i even gave all my leftovers to my best friend with a smuck grin on my face and an "well, it's your bad if you don't want a better life, here, take that poisonous trash"-thought on my mind (i told her about the cup as soon as i ordered it and i'm going to nag her with how much better my periode feels until she is willing to try *lol*

sorry this post is a little all over the place, it's past 1am here and i'm going to bed now. i just had to get my excitement off to the world :-)

I posted about my trial dry run with the Divacup. It was cake aside from the stem poking me a bit. I started my period yesterday, and my first real experience hasn't been terrible, but not perfect.

( Cut for story and a few questions. )


Overall I'm happy. I'm a daily liner kinda gal so I wear liners while wearing it, but I think with a few adjustments the cup will work out great in the long run (much better than disposables!).

I like the Divacup, but it does seem kinda large to me (I can pretty much always feel it, but I'm not sure if I'm sensitive from the extreme cramps yesterday or if it is putting pressure on my cervix). I might purchase another cup eventually, if anyone has any suggestions feel free to share. I picked the Diva for the price (the special at the end of December on iherb.com), and to try a menstrual cup. I'm converted ;)


( And I may have converted my mom - before I was 100%. )

Hi everyone!

I wanted to stop in today with a tale of both success and teething troubles! And, oddly enough, the success came before the teething troubles! I decided to share my story for the benefit of those of you who may have been initially disappointed and/or are going through a similar phase in your learning curve.

( Cut for lengthy tale )

I'm a new user of cups. I recently bought a lge lunette and had my first trial with it yesterday and today. Yesterday was fine and I was thinking this thing is brilliant! but today some MAJOR cramping after putting it back in and I had to pull it out in a blind panic. I don't know what went wrong - I'm sure it was in exactly the same place as it was previously. I was wondering what people have learnt about cramping? What or where internally is the problem? Is it the cervix itself or is it if the cup is pushing at the top or bottom of your insides? Also, I was wondering about the cup being wide all the way down... Has anyone found that a wide rim (and I need that) but narrower in the body helps with cramps? During my periord my cervix sits really low. Other's comments about pushing the cup further up or further down are impossible! The cup is squished up against the back wall with the cervix in the cup and the tip of the stem is right at the opening of the labia... And from what I've read, the lunette is shorter than most as well. Not really sure what else to try!

Hi Ladies,

I'm in need of some help. Here's my situation: I used The Keeper for 7 years before becoming pregnant with my son. He's now 16-months-old and my cycle has finally started again (while on vacation, of course). I bought a DivaCup a couple of months back when I thought I was starting my period. I even wore it then with no discomfort. I never experienced discomfort with The Keeper.

I used Instead cups (different, but interesting) until I arrived back home this evening. When it was time for me to change, I inserted the DivaCup. Instant cramping. I figured it would go away in a minute but it only continued to get worse. I wore it for less than 5 minutes because the pain became unbearable. I was not experiencing any cramping before insertion.

Was there just some strong suction going on or what? Is there a different way I need to insert it now that I've had a baby? Any ideas? TIA