I am getting ready to start my second cycle with my Diva Cup. I had no leaks during my first cycle and loved it!  However,  it is just a tiny smidge too long, and the nub where the stem was before I cut it off is a bit irritating, even though I filed it well (my vagina goes a little to the left, so the nub rubs my right wall).  By the last day of my cycle, I couldn't take the irritation any longer and turned it inside out.  MUCH better, but it was my last day so my flow was light and wasn't concerned about leaking.  In preparation for this cycle, wanting to use it inside out for my heavy days too, I have been practicing inserting it inside out, and it just doesn't want to pop open!  The punch down fold worked well right side out, but not inside out.  I have tried all of the folds, running it under cold water, letting it open before it is in all of the way....as many tips as I have been able to find in this great community.  I have also been storing it inside out, hoping that it gets "used" to being this way.  Does anyone have any tricks to getting the Diva to pop open inside out?  I am thinking that the solution may be just to order a Lunette, but want to give my Diva Cup a fair chance for three months before I make the change.  Thanks in advance for your help, I love this place!

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!

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 )

Hello again everyone lol.
I just got my new large and small LilacCups! Hurrah!
On my test runs I noticed that it's kind of hard to remove, and I heard that sometimes putting it inside-out could help, does anyone have any experience doing this? And tips you could give for removal? Since it's super super slippery, =) thanks.

So I've noticed several posts on the success that people have had with flipping the Diva inside out.  So I thought I'd try it.  And it was a disaster!  I flipped Anastasia Beaverhousen inside out and tried to put her in.  And when I did, it flipped back inside my vagina!  So I managed to grab it.  And I pulled it out and tried it again.  And I thought everything was working fine so I went about my day.  But then when I tried to pull it out when I pinched it to remove it, it flipped AGAIN!  Like, reverse vacuum or something!  And I got blood everywhere.  I'm not exaggerating, there were splatter on the opposite wall (!) It was like an episode of CSI in my bathroom!  And to make things worse, it took me twenty minutes to get it out because it was so high up I couldn't get a good grip on it. 

Am I not flipping it correctly?  Is there a trick to doing this?  I thought it was more comfortable when it was inside out.  Aside from the whole homocide-in-the-bathroom that resulted when I tried to remove it, obviously.  I don't find the discomfort that noticble when it's right side in so I'm not adverse to just going with what works. I just found it popped open more easily inside out which was nice so...any suggestions or am I stuck going traditional?

Well, my period finally started again, so I got to measure the distance from my introitus to the near side of my cervix. 35 mm!! No wonder my Diva hangs out so badly (even inside out)! And to think, when I first discovered this site I thought my problems were all related to diameter and Kegels (or relative lack thereof)!

I think Day 3 of my period is when my cervix will be at its lowest, since that's been when I typically have to give up and go to pads. I'll have to remeasure....

I already have poured over and agonized over the size charts. Now I just want to collect some data! If you have inverted your cup, how long is the inverted length? FYI, the large Diva goes from 57mm to 51 or 52mm. It would be awesome to have this data all in one place for other low-riding women.


-----------Edit:--------------------
Summary of inside-out lengths (a work in progress):
Large Diva     57mm -> 51mm
Small Diva     57mm -> 

Large LadyCup     53mm ->
Small LadyCup     46mm -> 43mm

Large MCUK     50mm -> 
Small MCUK     50mm -> 43mm

Large Lunette     52mm -> 
Small Lunette     47mm -> 43mm
--------------------------------------

Hi, I'm Mandy. I just got a size 1 divacup, and this is my second day using it. I started using it when I got my period yesterday, the stem sticks out when I don't flip the cup inside out, so I've been turning it inside out and inserting with the 7 fold. It was working fine up through bedtime yesterday, so I assume it's opening correctly and everything. It's been sitting low, fairly near the entrace, but that seemed fine, according to the literature. When I woke up this morning, I had leaked all over the pantyliner I left on for just-in-case. When I took the cup out, it didn't seem very full at all, but maybe that's because I forgot to push down, and therefore squeezed it too much trying to get it out? 
so, my questions are
- why would it start leaking if it had been doing fine all day, and i reinserted it the same way before bed?
-also, do a lot of people turn it inside out? I am a little bit afraid that when i do, the bottom part of the cup (with the stem sticking inside) starts to push up, so there's less room in the cup, and it feels rather concave from the bottom? does that make any sense? would it make a difference? I was thinking maybe I should just trim the stem off and try that, since I havent had a lot of problems taking it out with no stem, inside out.  
sorry, this got kind of long. thanks for your help, I'm so glad I found this community!

For those who use their cup "inside out" do you find that this greatly reduces the capacity? I've been wearing my GreenCup inside out lately, but it seems to reduce the capacity a LOT. Otherwise inside-out works well, once I got used to the difference in popping it open. I finally found a use for the C-fold! ;)

Anyone done the inside-out LadyCup thing successfully?

I had a go with it today, and could NOT get the thing to pop open at all! I inserted and removed it three times with different folds, pushed and pulled, swirled and generally mucked about with it and finally gave up in disgust and turned it right side out again.

I've been using cups for over two years, so I know what's supposed to happen, and I tried all the usual tricks, but I've never used a cup inside-out before. I just tried it today because the LadyCup stem irritates me and I thought I would do this before taking a knife to it. It is hard to remove as it is, and someone mentioned that inside out might be the way to go...

So, anyone done this? And what was the key to making it work??

With so many suggestions to turn the Diva Cup inside out going around, I decided to see how it would work with my small Lunette. Turning it inside out kind of stretched the holes in a way that looked a little dangerous for long term use.

It was so much easier to insert! I use the extreme 7 or triangle fold, because it's the smallest tip, but usually it hurts a bit at the base when it goes in. I thought it was because the fold made it wider at the base, but now I think it probably has more to do with the ridges. The inside out Lunette went in very smoothly without pain. I didn't have any problems popping open.

I then went to class and left it in for several hours. I think I may have had a bit more leaking than normal. This could be because I left it in for too long, but I think the leaking was constant. On the other hand, it did not leak very much, and I have had some issues with it leaking when it wasn't inside out.

I was a bit worried about removal, but it actually went pretty well. Turning it inside out makes it flat on the bottom, almost flared out a tiny bit. I had some trouble getting my finger past the base of the cup, but once I did that, it was easy to pinch the base and get a good grip because of the shape.

So, I may be using my Lunette inside out from now on. I'll edit this post tomorrow or in a few days if I come to any conclusions about leaking.

EDIT:  ( Pictures behind the cut! )

Hi everyone---It's your friendly resident inside-out-Diva advocate here. (In case you're wondering I wrote an entry ages ago about how the only way I could properly use my small Diva is by flipping it inside out. Now, that's my suggestion for the fully litany of Diva related issues...you've probably seen me suggesting it here and there. It doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth a shot before giving up!)

Anyway, I've never really been interested in trying other cups, since I saw the purchase of my Diva as a money saving measure in the long term. And I, personally, haven't been charmed by colored cups. BUT when Lady Cup ran the $7 trial colored cup promotion w/ the batch of defective ones, I couldn't resist. As I'm nearing on my 25th, I ordered a large blue cup. (I picked blue because I haven't heard of as many tears w/ that color as I did purple or green. I couldn't care less about the actual color.)

Even though I take NO stock in dry runs, I thought I'd try one the other day, after I had orgasmed, and knew it wouldn't be too painful or frustrating. Anyway, I got the blue cup in (right side out as intended) and it was popped open, but instantly, it felt like the most uncomfortable thing of all time (especially the little stem). I couldn't resist, I removed, and turned it inside out, and again...the magic cure all for me. I don't know what it is! At this point, I just suspect that since I've been using my Diva inside out for so long, that's just what feels best for me.

I'm going to test it next week on my period both inside out and right side out. Unlike the Diva, I suspect it won't leak horribly for me right side out (as I could tell it was popped...the Diva never did that.) But my inclination is that I'll end up using it inside out as a comfort factor. I guess we'll see.

I thought I'd go ahead and share since I haven't heard of many other cups being used inside out. I will note a couple of things: I have twisted, folded, distorted, and flipped my blue cup inside out and right side out over and over, and no signs of tearing yet (knock on wood! It'd be great to get lots of use out of a $7 cup!) Second, I can see why people have written about removal problems with Lady cups. Those suckers ARE slippery. It was actually easier to remove inside out though, since flipping it created a small nub like place to pinch and pull.

I'm interested to see if there are any significant period related differences between the inside out Diva and inside out LC :)

OK - so I thought my period was over and then I got up yesterday morning to discover that it wasn't!  (I hate it when that happens - I'll go 24 hours with NOTHING, and then it will just start back up.)

Anyway, I tried turning my Lunette cup inside-out to prevent the remaining portion of the stem from stabbing/poking me.  I was able to get the cup MUCH further in/higher up, which was really surprisingly nice.  The stem problem was also solved, another plus in my book.

Now for the bad news:  Since turning the cup inside-out makes all the ridges and markings now on the inside instead of the outside, the cup was WAY smoother.  This caused the cup to have a better advantage of sliding back out of my body.

Out of desperation, I ended up calling my gynecologist, who is also a personal friend.  I explained the issues I was having and asked what his professional opinion would be on how to go about solving them.  He was open to the discussion, but had NEVER seen a cup.  So, I brought him my daughter's (as she is currently not on her period, and mine is in use).  He was really impressed about all the pros associated with the cups and would be sharing the information with his clients about the cup being an alternative to tampons/pads.  Anyway, he then went into a nice explanation of how my body is probably not designed for this particular cup.  I have a very short vaginal canal, my cervix is positioned backwards (instead of toward my tailbone, it is toward my belly button), I have a larger than normal "vaginal vault" (the part at the top of the vagina before the cervical opening that is slightly larger and designed to collect the seminal fluid during intercourse).  Furthermore, he explained that after having three children, my vaginal walls are just not as strong as they need to be to hold the cup into position.  This is what is causing the cup to slide down/fall out.  He ended up suggesting that I do some SERIOUS kegals EVERYDAY to strengthen the vaginal walls.  He also suggested that I try another cup.  He said that he would research all the cups online and then get back to me on his professional opinion of which cup to switch to.

So, that's that.

If you have success with the Lunette size 2, but want to prevent the stem from poking you, then you CAN turn it inside-out with success.  I just can't (for now) because my vaginal muscles are not strong enough to hold the cup in.  BUMMER!!

Meanwhile, I will grin and bear it and just do what I can to make it work until I get another cup.

Thanks, again, for all the wonderful feedback that everyone gave to help me with my other concerns (previous posts).  This is such a great site, I will continue to be a part of it and, hopefully, I can find another cup to meet my needs.

I feel like my Diva cup is betraying me. I posted a few days ago about how well it was working with it turned inside out, but last night it just suddenly stopped working for reasons I can't figure out. It does not seem to want to pop open completely. I'm using the punch-down fold to get it as I have been doing all along and it sort of unfolds but it stays all sucked in and buckled. I can tell it's not in right because even if I leave it in there like that it slips down and becomes very uncomfortable. I must have tried 50 times to get it in last night, and then again today...but no luck whatsoever. I'm devastated since I used it this cycle for my heaviest days and it worked like a charm. Now I'm back to stupid pads and after having had a taste of success with a cup I hate the pads even more.

For reference, my first cycle with the Diva did not go so well. I tried turning it inside out, as someone suggested here, as sort of my last resort to make it work for me (I have a low cervix and I think a right-side-out Diva is really too long for me). I also have cleaned out the holes, tried a C-fold instead of a punch down fold, and even tried some lube. I'm out of ideas. Should I just throw in the towel (or cup, as the case may be) and try another cup brand? I'm toying with the idea of getting a Mooncup UK because it's the shortest cup (according the to the size comparison chart on this community). I just don't want to buy a whole new cup and only end up with the same problems.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, I really want to find a way to make my cup work, or get a new one that won't let me down. :(

Hello all,

I spent a few weeks researching cups and lurking around this community, but was on the fence about actually buying one. Last week I decided it was worth it and ordered a Diva Cup (size 1) from South Coast Shopping, as I live in the US and am a bit low on cash. Inserting the cup wasn't a problem, however my first thought was that the cup was WAY too long. The stem was sticking out of me and snagging on my clothes, so I tried to push it further up, but it was at the point that there was no where else to go. Eventually I had trimmed the entire stem off. This made it much more comfortable, so I decided to wear it for the day. It was alright, but I could still feel the cup rubbing a bit at the opening of my vagina. Wearing the cup was bearable, but it felt the same as if I had inserted a tampon too low and it just wasn't sitting right. I was conscious of it all day, unlike tampons that I could usually insert and forget about.

I had resigned myself to just dealing with the rubbing/feeling the cup at the opening of my vagina and labia, but today I found the recommendation here that you could turn the cup inside out to shorten it a bit. So, I flipped it inside out, reinserted it, and that seemed to do the trick. I wore it all day and it seemed to work fine - no leaks, but then again I am at basically the end of my cycle so there was not that much blood in the cup that could have leaked out anyway.

My question is, does flipping the Diva cup inside out affect how the cup functions at all? When I push on the bottom to try to get it situated a bit higher up, the cup just folds in on itself (as if I were turning it right-side out). Do you think this might happen when I wear it and cause problems? Also, I've read posts where women say that the suction so intense that it hurts to tug the stem down to try to remove it, but when I remove the cup, I can barely feel it. I don't need to get my finger up to the rim, I just gently pinch the bottom into a bit of a c fold and pull it out. I can feel that the cup is open fully, but is there anything that needs to be done, besides getting the cup open, to have a good seal? If there are problems associated with turning the cup inside out, do you have any suggestions for making the cup sit a bit higher? It literally sticks out of me when not flipped inside out, and the only solutions I've come up with are just sucking it up and getting used to the feeling of the cup rubbing the opening of my vagina or buying another brand of cup that isn't quite as long.

I'm hoping that this is a case of "So long as it doesn't leak, don't worry about it" and I can continue wearing the cup inside out, but I'm concerned that when my flow is heavier at the beginning of the next cycle this might become a problem. Thanks so much for reading through all of this!

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the community, so I thought I'd ask a little about my personal experience.

I first heard about Diva Cup about 6 months ago. At first I was afraid to try it, but in an effort to become more green, I ordered one about 3 months ago. The first month it was the most frustrating thing I had ever tried! I couldn't insert it properly, it popped open too soon, or not at all. And I ended up staining my pants, badly, in the night. On top of all that, the stem poked me horribly, and even when I trimmed it down, it still would rub a bit especially when I exercised.

I was so frustrated, because it cost $40 after shipping, and I had only heard good things about it. Tampons don't work for me, and I was sick of pads, so at my wit's end, I did some research. And I read somewhere to try it inside out...and it has worked WONDERFULLY since I started doing that. No leaks, no poking, it opens every time first try. I'll never use anything else!

Has anyone else experienced this...that their Diva Cup works best when inside out? And if so...I wonder why...?