[LoveMyPugs]

annelise - I'm confused. Are you saying that you have had intercourse while the diva cup is inside you? I didn't think that was possible. Am I not understanding what you are saying? I get confused very easily.

[annelise]

i don't have an iud, though wearing the diva cup high might affect that. i was just mentioning that i was able to have sex with it, in the past. now i can't. i have to wear it very high so that it'll seal--which seems unusual with the diva cup. seems like everyone else wears it much lower!

i tried instead cups and hated them. never again.

[LoveMyPugs]

with my last bf, i could have sex with the divacup in because i wear it so high. with my current love, i can't.

having sex with the diva cup in doesn't makes sense to me. are you talking about the disposable instead cups? I don't get it?

[pepper]

oh, that is so stupid. if a cup can dislodge an iud what about SEX?! geez, the cup's just in there, sitting there quietly doing it's little job, not thumping you repeatedly in the cervix. what gives?

[annelise]

it's annoying, but you just have to play with it and see how it fits your anatomy. for most people it sits low, but for me it has to be up further, at a specific angle. once i got a feel for it, it was pretty straightforward to deal with. but it takes time to figure out the best angle/location to make a good seal.

for me (and this seems unusual), i have to push it in as far as it goes, reach up around it to make sure it's unfolded properly, change the angle if needed, then twist to make sure it's sealed. you need to find where it goes so that it will pop open and unfold inside you, which can be tricky at first.

with my last bf, i could have sex with the divacup in because i wear it so high. with my current love, i can't.

[kari]

Hi busties! I just got a diva cup. I attempted to use it, but I could not get it inserted properly. I could still feel it pinching, which the pamphlet said is a sign that it is not inserted correctly. It felt like it was not high enough or something. I inserted it like the pamphlet said, pusing it in horizontally, but I thought at some point it has to go up, right? Is that wrong? help! I wanna be a diva cup lover too.

[prophecy_grrl]

thanks mouse! I guess I didn't examine the site thoroughly

[mouse]

i've never used instead cups but from what i've heard they sit very high in the vagina, up against the cervix. the diva cup sits really low. this is what the diva cup website has to say about iuds:

Can The DivaCupâ„¢ be worn with an IUD?

The DivaCupâ„¢ is worn low at the base of the vagina and is away from the cervix, it should not interfere with your IUD.

As recommended, always check your IUD cord after inserting and removing your DivaCupâ„¢ to make sure that it has not been dislodged. Many of our customers are IUD users as well and have not reported any problems.

CAUTION: Since there is a rare chance that it may dislodge your IUD please use The DivaCup at your own risk as we cannot assume any responsibility if your IUD is dislodged.

(fyi, though, you can't have sex while wearing the divacup)

unrelated, anyone know what the deal is with the divacup's warranty offer? i can't find any info about it on their site or in the pamphlet that came with mine. i don't want to return mine but it's good to know about just in case, and makes a better selling point for convincing friends to stop using tampons

[prophecy_grrl]

**Cross-post from IUD thread**
I have a box of the "Instead" cups that I use occasionally, mostly because you can have sex while they're in, and I just noticed that they have a warning not to use them if you have an IUD . . . I've been wanting to get a Diva Cup, but I wondered if they have the same warning (can't find any thing on their site) or if anyone here is has an IUD and knows about any possible risks?

[humanist77]

annelise/mouse, I also use a safety pin to clean out the holes-but toothpicks sound like they'd be even more effective~
I find that boiling the DC in water for a few minutes is the best way to clean it between cycles.

[annelise]

i use toothpicks for the holes--the silicone stretches rather than being damaged when you put a toothpick in, and that way you can keep them gunk-free.

peroxide seems like it might be too strong, but i have no idea really. i've used vinegar sometimes. as long as i'm cleaning it regularly and thoroughly with hot water, i'm not as worried about it as i used to be. i'd like to boil it every month, but i'm not necessarily so good about actually doing that.

sometimes i put it in water with a drop of tea tree oil because of TT oil's antimicrobial properties...

[mouse]

thanks, i'll mess around with it next cycle. i think i might be wearing it too high.

on another topic, does anyone have anything special they do as far as cleaning in between cycles? i've noticed that those tiny little holes in the rim get a little grody and i can't seem to clean mine out. any tips on soaking it in anything? vinegar? peroxide? any no-nos?

thx

[annelise]

maybe you'll have to mess with the angle and/or how far it's in? everybody's anatomy is so different, and for me it took quite a while to really get a knack for how it would sit best. i still have some trouble with it occasionally! but you really do get used to it--it's a bummer to have to wear pantiliners for a while, but so it goes sometimes.

[mouse]

dudes! uhhh i mean ladies.......my diva cup has been leaking a lot this cycle! it's the second one i've used it for and the first i had no trouble. what gives??? it's not overflowing and i can feel that it's fully "popped out", and i can't feel it so i know it's not in wrong.... i love this thing, i don't want to have to wear pantyliners too....

[annelise]

COOZE! it's a great word.

on my heavy-flow day, i can fill mine up in an hour. but i have crazy crazy hormonal probs, so i'm quite abby-normal.

[turbojenn]

mouse said cooze! mouse said cooze! heee!

*that is all*

[mouse]

damn, turbo, i wish my periods were like that! i could get away with that the last two days, but the first day the damn thing was three-quarters full in like 6 hours.

that said--I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!!!!!! it's amazing! my cooze doesn't get all tampon-sucked-dry, it's super comfortable, i'm saving money and the environment! fuckin awesome ladies.

[turbojenn]

annelise, I think you're right, in that the DC is just a little picky about where it needs to be, and when you have trouble with it, it sucks, but when its in correctly, its brilliant.

Mouse, I guess I don't have particularly heavy periods maybe, but I only empty and wash my DC in the mornings, and I leave it in overnight. Its seriously the best thing to happen to my period.

As for Insteads...like tree said, I also found them very very messy to take out and empty, and after ruining managing to get some on my pants one time - I gave them up for cotton reuseable pads for awhile, before I went to the Diva Cup.

[annelise]

days i'm not using my cup, i just recently started using washable cotton pads, lovemypugs...after using them, i soak them in a tupperware under the sink, then put them in a lingerie bag in the wash so they won't get lost. they're great, and they come totally clean when i soak in hydrogen peroxide/cold water before throwing them in the wash.

http://www.tlc-pads.com/ those are the ones i have, which are great (and cheaper than most!). links to other possibilities here: http://www.villainess.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13

[LoveMyPugs]

I own a diva cup and I have tried the instead cups. I can't stand either. I think it's just me. I'm cup challenged. The diva cup never pops open for me properly and I leak something terrible. The instead cups felt huge in me and never slipped behind the pelvic bone like the instructions say they should. I can't even imagine using them during sex. I think one of the big problems for me is that I'm overweight and have short fingers. Trying to get in a comfortable position and get my short stubby sausage fingers high enough inside me is just a pain in the ass. I'm still using pads and tampons. I wish I could get my diva cup to work because the idea of it being reusable, better for the environment and my body is very important to me but I just can't get it to work. *sigh*