I'm probably going to get a Meluna.
I'm a 15 year old, and therefore need a lot of information about insertion and removal. I'm somewhat nervous, but I'm willing to try and try hard.
I have a lot of trouble, and if anyone has any ideas to help, that would be nice as well.
I'm sorry if I am coming off as immature. I hope I'm not; I'm just very shy.
Thank you for reading.

This is ridiculous. And apparently I'm 12 because only someone immature would ask, but:

When you insert/remove, is your hand awfully bloody? No one mentions that part when they talk about the process and it is something I have been wondering about.

I am currently on my period and hating it. I don't have a cup. I haven't had the money to order one, and even though I'm faily certain I've chosen an Orange Lady cup, I'm of course, nervous it isn't the right decision. *sigh*

I want to try a cup so badly, but I am a complete stranger with my female parts. I have no idea what's going on down there. I tried locating my cervix while I was trying to get pregnant because I was using the FAM method, but I don't know that I ever actually touched it. I couldn't tell!

I'm sure I'm just over-thinking this and just need to dive in, but I don't want to invest in a cup and then not follow through because I couldn't figure it out and because I was "grossed out".

Any thoughts?

Edit: Thanks all of your for your kind input. This is such a great community. I love lurking here.

This is my first time posting here, and the tips and advice have been such a BIG help. I hung around here for about 9 months learning and getting the guts and the cash together to get my first cup -- a large Ladycup that arrived yesterday! My period starts in about 2 days, so I was eager to try it and get used to it in time. Insertion was an absolute piece of cake; I'm another blind cup user, so all the fold descriptions were so helpful! And after years of using tampons, I was amazed at how comfortable it was! Only thing is, I had thought about waiting until I could get a large Lunette in the U.S., because I'd read the capacity is higher and the suction is less, and now I'm kind of wondering if I should have just been patient and waited. I went to pull out the LC...and felt like I was turning myself inside out!!! It's still in now, I just gave up after awhile because it hurt too much. And this community is coming to the rescue again! -- after reading a lot of suggestions I'm ready to try again. I just hope this isn't an issue every single time I have to remove it!

hey everyone!  i just got my cup in the mail today and started my period the same day (good coincidence!).  i put it in with very little problem.  i guess i'm just a little worried about if it actually opened all the way.  when i twisted the stem, it didnt twist all that easily.  is there any way to tell if it's fully open?

also, does anyone have suggestions for cheap soaps to use to clean it that won't irritate my vagina?

thanks!

Hi! (and sorry for the long post)

I'm a 21 year old Israeli virgin. I first came across menstrual cups a year ago while reading an article in the news paper about families in the big cities, who live their lives as environment friendly as possible. It said that one of the women was cloth diapering her baby and was using something reusable for her period, that she had to empty and wash.

Hhhmm… interesting I thought. I never liked pads and tampons but didn't know better. Not long before that day I was wondering, if it was possible to invent something you could put inside the vagina that would only hold back the flow rather than absorb it and create a perfect seal. I assumed that for it to stay in place it had to be shaped like a cup… and then it could collect the flow. I didn't know that what I was "inventing" already existed for about 70 years!

So I researched on the internet for "reusable tampons" (yes… I know, it sounds gross) because I didn't know it was called cups, and found the MCUK first (it's the only cup you can buy here). I was instantly hooked!! My dream came true!! I kept looking for as much information about them as possible. I couldn't find anything bad about this product.

A week later I bought a small MCUK and was a bit intimidated because of the size (six month later I became a proud user of a large lunette without any size problems). I used the C fold and it once poped open right at the entrance… try telling me about pain!! After a few attempts, I finally had success.

The C fold is my favorite fold, it never disappoints me! I prefer having the whole rim inside me at the same time while inserting only half of the cup and letting it pop open then. After that I push it gently in the right position, my suuuper low cervix sitting inside the cup.

For those of you who have troubles getting the C fold to pop open: Try to push the still C shaped base/ low middle section of the cup with your thumb and middle finger from the top and the bottom of the "C". It works wonders for me with the large lunette.

Removal: I prefer the gentle rocking from side to side while pulling down and letting one side of the rim out at a time. Never had problems with it with both cups. At the beginning I use to push the cup back to a C fold, because of thinking the rim part was too big to get out. But it ended every time in spilling blood over my hand and pain when getting the rim out. I recommend relaxing and rocking the open cup out.

To prevent the light leaking stains some of you have: I stir with a finger a few times around the cup on heavy days, until there is no residual blood on the walls in my vagina (it was suggested here before).

Leaking when the cup is not full: Never happened to me! But I read here many posts about this problem.  Possible answer: Not having a good seal + being in a position that allows the blood to reach the holes (like lying down ect.). I noticed that when I fill my cup with water above the holes and touch a hole with my finger, water comes through the hole and runs down my finger. In a real case it is the vagina wall "touching" the hole + not having a good seal. Please comment on this, so I know what you think about my "theory".

I could go on and on in my excitement about cups. I've told literally every woman I know about cups and bought a MCUK for my younger sister. But sadly my friends still don't share this excitement.

Thank you, all of you!!! You have been an awesome help in my one year journey with cups, that will continue until I hit menopause.*grin*

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

Hello all! Been lurking for a couple of months and after finally figuring out how to post on this darn website, I would like to ask some questions! About me--36, no children and using a small Diva. Had a mostly successful first cycle with one major leak (I think it was too high).

I have read here about women to say that their cup is placed correctly when it is latching on to their cervix and this confuses me. I know some vaginas are longer (or shorter) than others, but my understanding is that the Diva Cup is supposed to seal to your pelvic floor. If mine was sealing to my cervix it would be way too high and I am pretty sure it would leak. I also read about women who "kegal" their cup up to get it to sit right, but if I did that I think it would be too high! Can ya'll advise?

Also, I am deployed to Afghanistan right now and the water we use in the shower is technically "potable", but they say not to actually drink it. Am I safe to wash my cup with the water from the shower, or should I use actual bottled water? The water situation makes me nervous here--someone put cyanide in the water of another base nearby (no one was hurt), but I guess if that happens I have more to worry about than the integrity of my cup, huh? :) Sorry, a little combat humor there...

So if anyone can offer me tips on placement (low or high?)and how I might handle the water situation here I would appreciate it! Thank you in advance!

This is my 2nd period trying Instead. Today it doesn't seem to want to go in quite as far, and I can't get it lodged behind my pubic bone. The box itself just says "put it completely into the vagina", and it is, but the video makes a bigger deal about getting it up behind the pubic bone. Should I leave it where it is or give up on it for today and use a tampon?

Edit: Well, I did manage to get it in place, and I used them yesterday and today, but I have discovered that it puts pressure on my urethra, making it hard for me to pee. As soon as I take it out I can pee fine. So, no more Insteads for me.

This is my first post here, I'm 24 without children so I went for the diva cup 1.

I put the cup in yesterday because I generally start my period between 3pm Tuesday and 3am Wednesday. I know exactly what's happening down there, so getting it in, and positioned was easy. Totally open, cervix totally inside, spins like a dream. After about an hour I realized that the stem was, at least partially, going to have to go, so I cut half of it off. Another hour and I determined that it needed to go completely, I have no problem reaching anything, I have long fingers and a low cervix (which is bad news for me with the diva cup, actually, I did a bit of research, but not enough, sigh) and I can reach well past my cervix, and I can reach well past the cup and am not at all worried about losing it in there. Where would it go?
3 hours and I realize that just the bottom of the cup is painful. Maybe it's just because my skin has been irritated by the stem, but I decide to take it out and try it inside out. No pain at all inside-out, harder to insert (I had gotten really good at the punch-down fold and I could get it in really quickly right-side out), I had to switch to c-fold, which I could feel more discomfort from upon insertion, not much and it worked, so no complaints. 2 more hours and I could just feel it, the base was just resting right at the opening of my vagina and I found myself obsessively kegaling and thinking about it the whole time. Through all of this the persistent need to pee, just a little. I decided to take it out so I wouldn't be thinking about it over family dinner night with the in-laws. When we got home, I took a shower and inserted it in there, c-fold again, went in fine, watched some star trek, attended to my facebook chore games, and climbed into bed with a cloth liner as backup.
Could still feel it, torn between "this is because my vagina is sensitive from all the attention it got today" and "this is because my cervix is crazy low and the diva is crazy long, and that orange meluna would certainly go well with my other menstrual gear, hm hm." Since the persistent need to pee was still there and I had been lying in bed for a couple of hours dwelling on it, I hopped out of bed to try that out and removed and reinserted the cup, very carefully and with much thought. I figured out that I can push the base of the cup back inside of itself a little bit and then the cup sits where I would expect it to. I'm undoubtedly losing some capacity with this, and risking it popping right side out when I don't want it to, but it feels like I expect it to, which means, like not much of anything. I went back to bed, kegaled a little bit because I could feel it a smidge, and went to sleep. This morning I couldn't feel it all, but I was cramping and sure that I had started bleeding. I got up and did a few morning things before heading to the bathroom to look. It had turned in on itself a little more in the night and was farther up (I feel also that my cervix has moved a little, and is less low this morning.) I gave it a little squeeze to draw it back down into it's full inside-outted-ness and gently pulled it out, turning the rim into a quasi-c-fold as it came out. No mess, no discomfort, all the blood collected in the cup, which wasn't much, but it was there. Rinsed it in hot water and tried to see if I could get it back inside anything like I did the night before, and I seem to have had some success. The first time I opened it up this morning it had gone up past my cervix, but I could easily feel this, pull it out, and try again. When it's placed like this, I don't feel the need to pee. Everything still feels a little tired from too much attention, but I expect that's all it is. I still think that things would go infinitely smoother if I got a shorter cup, but I want to give the diva at least 2 cycles before I kick it to the curb.

I would be having a much much harder time without this community (I never would have thought to turn it inside out!) and I think given the fact that the diva is probably not the ideal cup for me, I'm doing incredibly well with it. Is it a bad idea to think I want to go in the exact opposite direction and get a meluna? I might go for small, because I do have a pretty light flow (I'm on hormonal birth control), but since I can make the diva work, the medium might give me a little more freedom without causing any problems.

( here's a picture of my gear, for fun )

So I just got this today and it seemed ok at first but the stem was irritating so i trimmed it. seemed ok for a little bit but it just keeps coming out the opening. just the bottom is coming out but really annoying! NOT COMFORTABLE! So I tried it inside out but my vagina just feels so irritated nothing seems comfortable! Im also not sure if well, when i put it in i cant push it up anymore because there is air in it and no letting it go up anymore! What do i do????? Please help!

So I decided to get the Diva cup cause so many people seem to like that one. I got size 2 because I have a 1 year old. I looked at the sizing stuff and i believe I have a short vagina and need a bigger around because i have had a child. I put it in and got it in the first time no problem. However when i walked or sat i could feel the stem? It was comfortable all except i could feel it at the opening.  I dont know if maybe it wasnt far up enough or i need to trim it. I wanted to ask first because it was $32 and dont want to mess it up! Thanks for any advice :)

Before I started using a menstrual cup and was only considering the possiblity, I was worried it wouldn't work, because I have a septate hymen (about which there is relatively scant information on the Internet. Pretty much it's just a bit of skin that cuts across the opening, so it's like there're two openings even though there's really only one). I was searching everywhere to see if anyone with a septate hymen had used menstrual cups. And now an established cup user, I thought it would be fair to let the Internet know that it works for me, in case anyone has the same concerns. Of course, everyone's different, so my experience can't be a general statement, but at the very least, having a septate hymen doesn't necessarily mean it's impossible to use a cup. :) Btw, I use DivaCup, in case that's relevant.

Edit: Whoa, who added the "disabilities & health problems" tag? Not cool.

So I have a Diva cup & used to have a LadyCup and I've never had problems with inserting either one; in fact I find them to be just as easy to insert as tampons.

Anyway, this weekend I bought a box of Insteads because I was at my parents' house for the weekend and forgot my Diva at home.  I feel kind of dumb, but I don't *get* them at all.  How do you get them in right?  Can someone give me step by step instructions that are more detailed than the couple of pictures on the box?  I feel like the rim is too big.  I'm not sure how to best describe this, but I'm sort of putting the rim in vertically and then trying to turn it so it sits horizontally.  Is that right?  Hahahaha...I feel like I'm rummaging around in my vagina when I try to put one in.  

When I got back home (ended up having to use some old tampons I found in the medicine cabinet), I felt like hugging my Diva.  I still want to master these Insteads though, mostly because I'm stubborn.

Hi! I've been stalking this community for some time. I've been surfing the tags, but haven't found satisfiable comparisons. This is x-posted to menstrual_lib and menstrualhut because I love opinions.

My big question is about comparing insertion and taking out of tampons/cups/sponges.

Which is

easier to take in/out,

more comfortable just after insertion and after it's been in there a while,

easier to get used to,

requires the littlest practice,

and simpler to handle in public restrooms?

Public restrooms I'm most concerned about as I'm out for 5 hours at a time. Though one can hope her university restroom is clean, they're usually just awkward.

Where I am right now: I just bought a sea sponge beause I have no patience for the fact that I have no patience for trying to insert a tampon! I've never been able to put anything in (probably because I'm so squeemish about it), but figured maybe sponges would be easier since they're not dry and they're more flexible.

Also, regarding sponges, what kind of fabric should one sew on as a string? I suck at sewing, so would trying to sew on a string be worth it? "Mr Turtle, how many pulls does it take to completely screw up a bad sewing job?" "Let's see. One, two...two."

I'm very excited about using cups & think they are a great idea.  I bought the instead cups to start with.  I'm on my 3rd day of using them.  I have a few questions/concerns & haven't been able to find what I want when I searched so I'll just ask my questions here:

~ I know of one other poster that uses her insteads as if it was reuseable & that's what I plan on doing.  Is there anyone else that does that?  Those that do when/if you boil use between cycles how long are you boiling it for?  Storage between cycles?  how do you handle that? 

~ now the first couple of days i had no issues, but those were my light flow days.  I can have very light months or VERY HEAVY months then there are months i'll have light or heavy days...lol.  i started off this month light & no problem with the instead, easy to insert, easy to remove, no leaking, but like i said very light flow.  today my flow is heavier & i've noticed some leaking plus i can feel it in there today.  it doesn't hurt, but i feel it there.  i'm inserting it the same way.  any thoughts on what i may be doing wrong?

Hello, gracious and helpful ladies of the menstrual cup board!

This is my second cycle using a cup. Last month, I tried the Keeper. It was fairly successful, except for one morning when I woke up in a bloodbath. The main issues with the Keeper were it was filling up too quickly on my heavy days (I was under the impression that you could go all day without emptying these things, based on my friend's experience, but I guess my flow is heavier than hers); it was hard to remove because it is small, stiff, rides very high inside me, and has no ridges on the base or stem to help grab and remove it; and sometimes it would leak when I went from lying to standing, which I attributed to the fact that its stiffness didn't allow it to move with me.

So this month I tried the Diva, and it was a disaster. It is so flexible, it never seems to open or stay open, no matter what folds I do. It's as if my vaginal walls are squeezing it shut. The blood simply bypassed it and came right out of me. Even when it did catch some blood, plenty leaked. After wrestling with it all day at work yesterday--I spent way too much time in the bathroom, rooting around in there and covered in blood--I gave up because I was going to the gym and needed something foolproof, so I went with a tampon. Then, later, I went out dancing with tampons. Well, dancing with my friends but you know what I mean. And it was such a huge relief, I have to say. I knew when I needed to change it because of that telltale bubbly full feeling, and it was so easy to do the crouch-in-the-nightclub-bathroom-without-touching-anything-pose while changing the tampon. And I thought, How on earth would I do this with a cup? Now, I know that theoretically one can put in the cup and go dancing and not have to empty it at all. But it doesn't give you that bubbly feeling when it needs to be emptied, plus if you don't want to touch anything and you are somewhere dirty, it's really not a good option.

This morning I put the Keeper back in for another try. Maybe I just need to use tampons on my heavy days and rely on my Keeper for the light days. And as for that Diva, I just don't understand how it works for so many women.

 I started out with a DivaCup before I found this community and the before I ever saw the size chart (which is SOO helpful!)  It protruded all the time.  

I realized with the help of all the info posted here that my cervix is extremely low.  In fact, I think at certain times of the month, I am almost prolapsing.  I've had two children and carried both of them very low.  

After studying the sizing chart , I got a UK Mooncup (large size) and it works better.  I cut the stem off entirely.  For the first couple of days of my period, it works well, but then the next few days, it gradually rides lower and lower, and if I cough or sneeze or sit down the use the bathroom, I have to nudge it back up inside me.  I can almost always feel it against my labia.  

I've been kegeling like crazy for months, and it doesn't seem to be helping.  

So last month, on the last day of my period, when I was really only spotting a little, I was wearing the cup while out at a park with my 2 young children, 18 months and 3 and 1/2 years.  The three year old suddenly stripped off his clothes and took off running, apparently deaf to my calls to come back and put his clothes on.  --What on earth goes on in their little pea-brains sometimes??  :-)   As he was about to round the curve in the path where I couldn't see him anymore,  I grabbed the little one, strapped him into my backpack child carrier, and took off running after DS1.  

And right then, the entire damn cup popped right out of me!  As if I wasn't already pissed about our little naked chase around the park...now I was REALLY mad!  ;-)  I guess I can giggle a little about it now, but...

I'm just glad it wasn't earlier in my period when there would have been a cupful of blood pouring down my leg.  

So any ideas about how to get this to work better?  It almost seems like I need a cup that is wider and shorter.  
Does anyone have suggestions?  As far as positioning, I usually insert it, run my finger around the top and make sure my cervix is inside the cup--it pretty much just sits down IN the cup, it's so low.  

Like I said, I've done kegels like crazy the past few months.  I even bought a KegelMaster to make sure I was doing them right and hopefully increase strength and tone faster.  

This month I'm afraid the leave the house until my period is over. Grrr.  

I inserted the Diva about an hour ago and when I feel around it with my finger it seems like one side is slightly caved a little little bit.  I can't tell if I'm pushing it in, or if it really is in.  How do I know for sure?  Do I just wait and see if I leak?  I'm at home so if I do it's ok.

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
 

So, here's that MeLuna review finally! Sorry it took so long, things have been busier than I expected. But my period came today AND fearthefear commented to ask me where my review was, both of which were good reminders!

I have mixed feelings about the cup. I have their smaller size and I chose the ball stem. On the one hand, it's the most comfortable cup I've ever worn; on the other hand, it can be more difficult to use than my others.

( Details behind the cut, also picture )

There have been a lot of questions about ordering. When I ordered mine I completed the order process on the website, then emailed the company to ask what email address to use to send the money via PayPal. (Their website says you can use PayPal, but it doesn't show up as an option when you're making an international order, or at least it didn't a month ago, which is why I emailed them to get the address.) That worked fine, and it shipped out quickly.

(Mods et al.: I threw on what tags looked relevant, feel free to add or remove tags as you see fit.)

Hello! I am brand new to the community and have been considering getting a menstrual cup for some time now. I recently had an IUD inserted and so I've been looking around for something that will hold my heavier Paragard flows (that I am expecting.) Part of the reason why I wanted to get a Paragard was because I wanted to get in touch with my body and know when I ovulate, exactly how far apart my periods are, etc. I've kind of always been "grossed" out by my own body (which is sad!) and especially my insides (i.e. vagina.) A big breakthrough was when I got the Nuvaring (which I loved for convenience, but hated for its side effects) and I got to inserting it. Literally, it was one of the only times I would ever touch the inside of my vagina. My question about menstrual cups is, if I can insert a Nuvaring, I should be able to insert a menstrual cup, right? Are they similar in how they are inserted? I'm a little embarrassed, but I don't exactly know where my cervix is and I just hope that I will be able to place it in correctly.

this is my second question today--i'm a new cup user. i really appreciate everyone's feedback!

sometimes i hear air escaping from my vagina. it seems to happen if i get up from sitting/reclining to go pee, and when i sit on the toilet, it leaks a bit. i feel around in there, and the cup is fully open. not sure what else to do. no matter where i place it, it does it's own thing once it's in. sometimes it seems to ride low, other times it gets sucked way up in there and i really have to dig in to remove it. either way, my vagina is always very tightly gripping it, so much so that it's impossible for me to turn it once it's in. so i don't think the problem is that it's too small for me....

last night i had a really, really messy leak--woke up to blood all over at 6 AM (i posted about this earlier).

my cup is a small keeper, btw, and i've never had a baby.

Ok, so I'm all healed up and I think I'm ready to try going back to cups now...  But I also wanted to give out some advice on being super gentle with your body during your cycle when using cups, because being too fast / rough appears to be what got me into trouble...  

( Read more... )

I mentioned this in passing in a comment in another post, but I'm curious: how many of you use spit as a lube when inserting your cup?  It dawned on me recently that maybe this is a "weird" thing to do.  I usually lick a finger or two of my left hand (cup in my right) and run it around the rim of my cup before folding and inserting it.  For me, it makes inserting my cup 100% easier so I'm not going to give it up, but I guess I was just wondering if I'm alone in this.

 Mega gross secret confession:  When my cup is totally clean, I have been guilty of licking the cup itself.  :-0

 Ok so I just used my BlueCup for the first time and, as was expected, I had a few insertion problems and could use some helpful suggestions.

I seemed to get it in fine but the first time there was a LOT of pressure, sort of like a speculum feeling. Then it suctioned perfectly but the bottom of the cup was sticking outside of my vagina. So I got it out and tried a few more times. 

Trying the C-Fold (first time was Punch Fold) I got it in but I had to pee REALLY bad. Then I couldn't. This led me to thinking that I inserted it straight up as opposed to back so I took it out, washed it because it was a tad messy, then re-inserted it.

As of now I am in the bathroom and not feeling too comfortable. The bottom of the cup + stem are sticking out of me and I can definitely feel it when I am sitting down or even walking. It's not that uncomfortable, but a tampon is looking pretty good right now. Should the cup be sitting this low? Should I try getting it higher up? If it's that high I have a problem fitting my fingers into my vagina to check for the rim and I don't want to accidentally hit my IUD strings. 

I'm going out of town to a wedding this weekend and want to be able to use it. I will definitely bring tampons and pads just in case. Some help will be much appreciated. I'm not ready to give up yet and will try again in the morning. Thanks!