Okay, so I've been using a Diva Cup for four periods, and for the first three, it was smooth sailing. I felt incredibly liberated by not having to worry about pads and tampons all the time, and I felt much cleaner down there and greener in general! I thought I was all set, but for some reason, I am suddenly having problems now.

When I put it in (using the punch-down fold), I feel like I can't get a good seal, even though I am twisting it around like I'm supposed to. I've tried clenching, but it doesn't seem to help. As a result, I am getting some major leakage. I know that the cup isn't getting too full, and the fluid that comes out is always really thin and liquid. I took out the cup to examine it, and it looks like there might be some damage around one of the holes, probably from when I unwisely thought that I could be careful enough to clean them out with a safety pin (in my defense, I was desperate in a foreign country without potable water). Could this be the cause of my issues?

I really love my cup, but now I'm more uncomfortable wearing my cup than I ever was with paper products. Help!

i've been meaning to share my success story for a while. it's important to me that i do since i was so iffy about buying a menstrual cup in the first place, and needed lots of help. this community has been amazing for help. thanks to all of you!

so i purchased my first menstrual cup i think last january. i went with the divacup, mainly because it was the most popular one/the first one i heard about. i definitely suggest doing research but when you don't really know what you're looking for/what would suit you best, it's hard to choose.

anyway, i've had my divacup for about 8 months now, and i swear to god i would never go back. to be truthful it's not the most fun thing: taking it out, and putting it in. it takes practice and gets frustrating and occasionally messy, but overall it is nowhere near the trouble that it will save you (let alone the money!) in the long run. other than the aforementioned small annoyances, it's basically like i don't have my period at all. i don't dread it in the least, and i usually forget that i need to empty my cup because i forget it's in.

anyway, to all those who are debating the switch, my vote is 100% do it! you won't regret it.

My name is Susan Murphy and I am the owner of Tickle Me Pink.  I am impelled to share one of my own experiences with using menstrual cups.

 When I am asked about using menstrual cups during exercise, yoga, swimming, I always tell my customers that they work great and are very reliable.  This is what I have been told by the companies.  Well, I recently had a chance to prove this myself.  I practice Bikram Yoga,  a hot, strenuous 90 minute yoga workout.  I had the opportunity to practice on one of my heaviest period days and I decided of course to use my menstrual cup.  (As this is the only product I use any more)  To be honest, I was a little nervous.  Would it shift and pop open?  Would it leak?  Well, I decided to trust it.  

What a success!  I didn't have any leaks and totally forgot it was even in.  I am so grateful that this product exists and that I have the wonderful opportunity to share it with other women.  Menstrual cups really are amazing and offer so much freedom.  Freedom from expense, concern, mess and waste.

Susan Murphy
TickleMePinkStore.com



 

They're called Turquoise and Inspired by Nature.

( Picture behind the cut )


I rather like the Turquoise...

Hello, you helpful, informative people!
My period began yesterday and I got to use my new Lunette Diana! :)
Insertion wasn't terribly difficult, it was more a matter or making sure it had popped open and sealed. I wore a pad as backup but there was no leaking! Some slight marks but I think that was a combination of residual blood on my vulvae and sweat. Yesterday also happened to be gym day for me, and I am chuffed! I did body combat (jump kicks, power squats, etc) and weight training with no leaks! I look forward to doing it tomorrow without the backup pad!
I did have a slightly frustrating removal and insertion experience at work; I would't have removed it at all but as I was walking I felt the nub of the stem (I cut it all off) rubbing me on the right and was worried it was rotating. Emptying on a toilet instead of squatting will clearly take some practice! Bu overall I'm very impressed :)

End of day 1 with my new DivaCup. Score? me: 3, divacup: 1.
I browsed the forums a couple months ago when I found out about divacups, and for some reason decided that Saturday would be THE day I would buy mine. I've since been pouring over the forums. :) As luck would have it, Tuesday my period came a-callin' and I literally dashed upstairs to pull out my new toy. I have NEVER been that excited about my period.
As for the first day, I didn't have any major issues with insertion or removal, just one that didn't quite seal. I emptied it four times because I don't have a good gauge yet on how much it will hold, plus my first day is kind of miserable anyways. Always has been. You know, the whole cramps-that-make-you-shaky bit that makes me wonder if you can actually DIE from cramps? Yeah. That's me. The one and only time I visited the school nurse in high school was because I couldn't stand up any longer in bio class (My mother says her periods are a breeze...no fair.) And that's not even factoring in the fun migraines that let me know it's on its way.
Anyways. Back to the divacup. Y'all are so right. It's terribly liberating. I'm something of an extreme sportswoman (rock climbing, skydiving, traveling, camping, cycling, kayaking, generally being on the move all the time) and I hate being slowed down by my period. Tampons and pads feed the stigma that being on your period has to suck. I despise having to carry with me a handful of tampons when I leave the house during that week of the month, and having to figure out where and when to go to the bathroom between all my three-hour classes (I'm a grad student). I'm also something of a hippie, or so my mother says, so the whole green thing totally appeals.
We'll see how the rest of this week goes, but so far, I'm sold. My period arsenal has likely been permanently reduced to my new divacup and a few aleve tablets. Too bad I didn't know about this nine years ago!

 Today I took  6 brochures and 12 Lunette leaflets with me to my college. There are advertisement tables in our restrooms with various tampon,nuvaring and birth control brouchures, so I decided to "accidentally" leave a stack of Lunette advertisments on the table with the others. ;)


I went back to the restroom 30 minutes later to see if anyone had taken any and to my surprise, all of the Lunette brochures were gone and only 3 leaflets were left! Also, a girl had left a notecard beside my stack that said "Also try Lunapads!"  I don't know why, but it made me smile.


Even if they don't like the idea of menstrual cups, at least they are now aware that they exist. =)


Just thought I would share that with you guys!

~Ellie

 I have owned green donna, shecup, s ladycup, m meluna and currently own s fleurcup, MCUK b, s meluna, s lunette diana. 

The shecup was just a tad too long for me so im wondering if anyone could measure a yuuki for me as if it had no stem please? 

are they as clear as they look too?

Hi everyone,

I have recently arrived in China, and I will be staying here for about a year.  I am trying to decide how to go about rinsing my cup.  The tap water in China is not safe to drink, although I have been told that it is okay to use to brush teeth with.  For drinking water, I am going to stick to bottled water rather than boiling, because I have concerns not just about bacteria but also about metals in the water.  Should I use bottled water to clean my cup or tap water? 

I posted something very similar to this on the IUD Diva community, but I figure there's probably more cup experience over here. 

After learning/reading about cups a month before my IUD insertion, I decided to buy a small Lunette Diana (I <3 green!). Unfortunately, I never got to try it out sans IUD, and I was too paranoid for a while post-insertion. Finally, after 2 months, I decided to give it a try. At first, I only wore it a couple of times during menstruation, and only for a few hours. I'd only put it in if I knew I had plenty of time to take it out slowly and carefully.

Since this period started on Friday night, I decided to wear my cup more regularly. Success! I checked the strings every time, and everything seemed a-ok, and I got really comfortable getting it out. I decided to wear it to work today--a first for me. I popped it in this morning with no problems, but literally 2.5 hours later, I went to the bathroom and was horrified at the blood! Some had already leaked out into my underwear, and when I took out the cup, it was at least 2/3rds of the way full (it may have been more, since I might have spilled in the process). It was all such a mess, I just threw on an emergency pad and left the cup out.

I just went to the bathroom (5 hours later) and I'm bleeding like mad. Soaked through the pad already! I checked my strings and they seem fine. I definitely don't feel any IUD sticking out. But now I'm terrified that the cup did something to the IUD and has triggered this crazy bleeding (and may have affected it's efficacy).
 
Is that likely? Maybe I jostled it or something? Is that even possible? Could there be another cause for what seems to be increased bleeding? Should I make an appointment with my Ob/Gyn? (It's a huge hassle to get appointments with her!) I wish I wasn't such a newbie with my cup (and my IUD) so I'd know whether this was something to get worked up about. :P I'm reallly careful with my strings and breaking the seal, but it's kind of hard to tell what's actually going on up there sometimes! Thoughts? Thanks!

Hi. I really want to make the switch to a menstrual cup for health reasons, economical reasons, and environmental reasons. I saw one in Whole Foods a few years back and fell in love with the concept! I bought it on the spot! It was the Keeper, moon cup the natural rubber one. It was before I had my son so I bought size B. It was way too long even with the tip cut off. It came right to the tip of my opening when standing and when sitting it would poke out. It was also extremely uncomfortable and after time painful inside. It was too wide and I could feel it pressing out on my abdomen and in the back part of my uterus. I didn’t leak, and I had a good suction. I tried several times to reinsert it, even when I was not on my period. It just never felt comfortable. I was so disappointed.

I have been reading through the posts and trying to figure out what would be the best cup for me, but really I am even more overwhelmed than before. I never know there were so many options! I would really appreciate a little advice from experienced users, since I am basically a first time user. I am 30 yrs old and have had 1 vaginal birth. I am 5 feet tall and petite inside and out. I have a narrow and short vaginal canal and my cervix is low lying. I have extremely heavy periods. I soak through the largest size ob tampons in an average of 1-3 hrs at my heaviest, which usually lasts a couple of days. What do you think would be the best cup for me and where is the best place to buy that cup? Thank you for all your advice!

Hi everyone.

I've just bought a Mooncup and I've been using it for 3 days so far. It works great, doesn't feel uncomfortable, doesn't leak or anything. However, I've begun to noticed that when I'm taking it out it hurts, it's feeling really sore around there. I have size B so no chance of going smaller. Is there a different cup I can get that is a little more flexible or soft and is available to the UK either online or in store?

Thanks!

 Hi all,

Just thought it would be of interest to you all to know that Miacup has finally resolved it's credit card issues and that we can now service international orders again.
There is a special on till the end of tomorrow so if you are thinking of getting a Miacup now is the time!

Thanks.

Warm regards,
Miacup support team

I am a cup user as of 4 months ago and have never had a leaking issue with my size 2 Diva cup. Even after cutting the stem off it was a bit too long, so I bought a large Lady cup (plus they are SO pretty!).

This month was my first cycle with it, and the first couple days weren't a problem and then I started leaking a lot. I am almost 100% sure the cup is popping open all the way (I felt clear up almost to the top all the way around and it was open. I rotated it, have tried it higher and lower, and made sure that none of the holes were blocked. No luck. It was bad enough that I switched back to my Diva cup (putting it in in the exact same way) and haven't had the tiniest leak since. Interestingly enough, this time I can't feel the Diva cup at all! Not sure if that has anything to do with the problem, but it is the first time in 4 months that it fits comfortably.

What could be the problem with the Lady cup? I really wanted to love it, but won't wear it if it leaks this badly.

SOLD
Hi all! I bought this small ladycup a few weeks ago, but I'm going to let it go in hopes of getting a Yuuki. It was used ONLY by one other person for a dry run. I did not use it at all. It comes with a little polka dotted pouch and the stem is fully intact. I am asking $20 shipped.  EDIT: I take Paypal!
( Picture! )

Thanks!

I have a meluna cup, size medium, that I would like to trade for a large meluna. My cup has the ball stem and is the older version. Any stem style is okay as long as it has one, I just need a bigger cup! I am in the United States if that makes a difference. If you want to trade please send me a message or leave a comment here. Thanks!

ETA: Thought I should add, the cup has been used, but only twice. I will boil it before I send it out for a trade. Also I do not mind if the cup I trade for is also used.

Hi, all. I got another email yesterday from the Instead manufacturers about their cup that I thought some of the general population here might be interested in.

Apparently the company's creating a new, smaller size of Softcups, and they need testers. Email them at support@softcup.com, with the subject "I want to be a tester" and provide your mailing address in the body of the email. They'll send five of the old size and five of the new; you try them out and fill out a "brief online survey." As thanks, you get a "two-month supply" of twenty-four Softcups, in whichever size you prefer. There's a note about limited supplies and replying promptly, so if you're interested, I'd check it out. (I will note, I'm not sure whether this is limited to US customers or not. I know the last email I got from them was a US-based survey.)

Anyway, figured someone here at least might want to to try it out!

I just wanted to be the umpteenth person to express their love for the cup!  I started using mine about 5 months ago and it's the best thing ever.  I do a lot of rock climbing and hiking and it's so nice not worrying about having enough tampons, or dealing with packing them out and disposing.  I've been traveling and camping all summer and it's been great to just have my cup....no boxes of tampons cluttering up my car or taking up space in the backpack!

This site has been an incredible resource, I can't thank you all enough for the in depth information!  Especially in my first cycle using the cup when I couldn't get it out the first time!  Made a mad dash for the computer and started reading posts, thank god for the tags is all I can say! 

Hey everyone, I'm a first time user with a question. I trid checking the tags, but I kept coming across stories with problems so I don't want to psych myself out and not want to try it. And for extra info, I'm a 21 yr old virgin using a size 1 Lunette :)


Anyway, I got my period today so I wanted to try out my cup, but I forgot I have to sanitize it first. The only problem with boiling it is that I live with my entire family and I'm too awkward to be all out and proud about my cup. Especially with my dad and two 13 yr old brothers in the house haha. Can I use alcohol or anything like that to clean it? And if so, do I just soak it for a few minutes and then let it dry on a tissue/toilet paper or something? And then with in-between washing, is the lunette wash good to use (they sent me a trial with the cup)? But once that runs out, what kind of regular soap should I use? (I know it should be unscented, but I don't really know what they mean by mild...)

Huge thank you to this community btw, I hope this works out because I'm over the pads, the leaks, and the unnecessary worrying. <3

 I got my period today, which means I got to try my ladycup for the first time a few minutes ago. :) I had decided not to do a dry run before I got my period in case I got frustrated and gave up before I got to try it for real.

After having it pop open painfully half way out the first time, I got it in the second time. It made a slightly frightening squeaky noise and I could feel it opening up, which I think means it has gotten itself open and in the proper position. When I attempted to feel up there, it seemed like it was fully open. Aside from being slightly sore, I find that I began feeling very crampy almost as soon as I had it in. Is this normal? Will it go away? I don't usually have cramps, especially not in the beginning days of my period, so I know this isn't just my body doing its thing.


EDIT: I woke up this morning to find no leakage, and went into the bathroom to remove the cup. It hadn't gone anywhere during the night, so it was easily within reach, but it had suctioned itself quite well to my insides, and I cannot get it out. I'm not worried at all, because I expected this, and not being able to get it out means it opened up right when I put it in.

All that being said, most of the entries here on removal are for people who can't reach their cups. I can reach mine pretty easily, and a little bearing down put the rim of the cup within reach as well, but not enough to pull on the rim and break the suction. I think once I accomplish that, I shouldn't have too much issue getting it out, but how exactly do I break the suction without just yanking on it?

EDIT 2: Just when I was starting to worry I'd never get it out, the suction broke and I got it out, cleaned it, and put it back. I'm actually very pleased with the whole experience so far, if that's going to be my only problem (aside from the cramps, which I'm hoping will go away.) I'll be happy with cups in no time!

 I started using a moon cup uk about a year ago but switched to a meluna due to it being too big a leaking too much. the meluna is smaller and more comfortable but is leaking worse than ever. When it leaks it is usually when I initially put the cup in (as if there is no cup) or when it is half full.

I just discovered recently that my cervix is so low that it can see (w/ mirror) it sticking out side my vagina and when I insert the cup, my cervix is almost always inside the cup. Is my cervix the issue? What can I do so that I can end this leaking... I am getting ready to making a switch to pads or anything but having pairs after pairs of underwear stained...

Hi!

I just want to mention that I love this community! It has been very helpful to me and just very interesting to read about all the cups out there. So, I have two spare cups (not my sizes), selling them cheaper than on other websites, brand new, factory sealed, no catch. Here is the link:

http://shop.ebay.com/pogo_shrink/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1

So I just got my first cup. I got a size 1 Lunette. I'm 21, have not had sex, and have never really used tampons. So I was a bit worried. But I'm sick of using reusable pads so I thought I would try the cup.

Anyway, I got the cup today and sanitized it and everything, eager to do a dry run with it. The dry run was successful for the most part. The whole experience was generally uncomfortable. The only way I really got through it was because I had looked up folding methods on this site. The main problem came during removal. I thought it would have gone better than it did, even after reading experiences on here.

Removing it ultimately ended in blood. I did use lubricant, but I don't think there was enough during the removal. I bled a good amount and I'm not sure what to do. So I thought I would ask here...

Is it likely that I just tore my hymen and that I shouldn't worry about it? How should I treat it --leave it alone and just hope for the best? Or is bleeding a bad sign? And Is there a specific way of getting it to be smaller when taking it out? Hopefully I won't have this problem again...

Thanks!

Hello everyone! I just had my first postpartum period and used a size 2 Diva Cup for the first time. No problems inserting, but I can't seem to get the positioning right. Either it was too low, with the stem sticking a little ways out and it would work itself out so the base started to come out a bit. If I got it what seemed to be high enough that it didn't slip down, I felt a sharp pressure/pain in the area that I think was just inside my anus. I tried wiggling it around and inserting to different depths but couldn't get it comfortable and just ended up wearing it too low (which is uncomfortable  for the rest of my period. No leaking problems once I got the seal right. Suggestions? Am I doing something wrong?

Side note: I wore it to Pilates and when I did a short spine (which involves laying on your back and spiking your legs up in the air, basically being upside down except for your head/shoulders), it broke the seal and when I came back down it gushed out...what a mess! So cup users beware of performing such maneuvers! LOL

"Dear Mooncup Newsletter Subscriber,

Many women who've discovered the Mooncup have contacted us asking why we don't advertise more. As we grow, we're excited to find ourselves in a position where this is becoming more possible, and we'd like to ask for your help in shaping the way we do it! We'd be really grateful if you could spare 10-15 minutes to fill in this survey - just click on the link below or paste it into your browser bar before Monday September 13th.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6J9QNF



Thank you very much!



The Mooncup team"

Just in case anyone's interested!