[auralpoison]

Um, I'm ghetto, so it goes into a ziploc in the bottom drawer of my vanity.

[hellcat]

Thanks for the input all! I'm on homonal BC and I think that may be a part of the lil flow issue. I was just so excited to see what would be in that cup! The grass is alway greener?
I am, however, very proud of myself and my vaginal canal for getting the divacup in and wearing it for 3 days. My first round complaints will echo others I've seen in this thread.
Insertion: I warm the cup up under warm to hot water. I feel like it a) lubricates and is more pliable and therefor more likely to squish up into my bits. Although, I have pinched delicate skin while trying to turn it all around- very ouchie.
Day wear: I need to cut some of the pokey outtie bit off. I read somewhere (the FAQs?) that one should cut it with sewing scissors or nail scissors that have rounded edges. Ummm...I have paper cutting scissors. Has anyone found a straight cut to end up in more irritation? Also, like others, my cup start to shift downward. I have to suck it back up with kegals. This is annoying but only happened a couple time and I was able to readjust well enough without having to excuse myself to the washroom.
Removal: I still end up pinching some skin trying to get it out. This is also where I start to get nervous that I won't get it out so I distract myself with a book and squat on the bathroom floor pretending to poop until I get a hold of the bottom of the cup. So far I could not remove it in a public place, unless the doors go straight to the floor.

I don't like the wee bag it came with to hold the cup between uses. What do you do with your cup? I want something cuter and less cheap. Ideas?

[auralpoison]

Four days of my period I can take it out at the twelve hour max. But that ONE day in the middle, I usually have to dump it three times in twelve hours.

I am fascinated by the contents. Sometimes there will be a whopper of a clot. I remember using pads in junior high & actually feeling them leave my body. Ack. Way grosser than seeing it.

[prophecy_grrl]

I use non-hormonal bc and I have also been amazed at the quantity in my diva cup. On the first day of my period, I can fill it (to the top) 3x. A friend told me that she adds the menstrual flow from her diva cup to the water for her plants - great fertilizer, evidently. No plants in my house, so I haven't tested that theory. A little gross but also intriguing.

[erinjane]

I wasn't on the pill when I started using and I was surprised at how much flow I did have. I was always going over but managed to find a routine where I changed it 3 times a day. Now that I'm on HBC I don't have the problem anymore but it still gets pretty full on a couple of days.

[Christine Nectar...]

hellcat, i remember when i started using the Diva cup, being surprised at just how little flow i had. to be sure, sometimes there was still plenty, but most days it doesn't look like much when it's all collected in there. WARNING sorry if this is TMI
i would sometimes get little "clumps" or brownish bits that seemed clotted together, just really small, kind of like you described i think. as far as i can tell, that's just part of the flow yo. that would happen esp. if i had just emptied the cup without rinsing it, which i sometimes would do at work just to check it, and then clean it when i got home. so possibly it was just some of the blood drying up a little bit.

i'd say see how it goes next month....

[hellcat]

I have finally purchased my very own divacup! I order it through work and got her for cost- I'm already saving money. Now...perhaps I should post this in bloody girls but I've only started noticing this over-share today. I put the divacup in early this morning, wore it all day and took it out about 12hrs later.
I have close to no flow! I'm day two of the period so things should be starting to go and all I've got is brown snotty lining and the tiniest amount of liquid blood coating the bottom.
I was pumped to use the measuring lines but to my dismay I just don't have enough!
Is it too much to ask what your cup looks like when you must rinse it?

In regards to washing, DivaCup does sell a wash. In Canada you can find it at some London Drugs' and some health food stores.

Heck ya for coming back to BUST. Thanks!

[pollystyrene]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I've only been wearing it at night to prevent the little surprises I had the other morning (see the Bloody Girls post) and so far so good.

Maybe it's a sign of out-of-shape Kegels?

[candycane_girl]

I'll be honest, I only wear my diva cup when I'm at home because any time I'm out walking around I can feel it sliding down! It doesn't move that far down, but it's far enough for me to need to find a bathroom and push the damn thing back up.

[kittenb]

When I was first getting used to my Cup (Keeper Moon Cup, similar to a Diva Cup) I called the company and asked about the spinning. I was told that they don't recommend that anymore.
I know that I say this a lot here, but it has taken me a long time to get the Cup to work for me. It has been worth it and I am happy now, but it just can take many months of finding the right angle, depth and all of that to make it work best for you.

[pollystyrene]

So, I started bleeding last night and put the Cup in when I woke up today. At first, it went in surprisingly easily. It's a little hard to spin it after you've inserted, though, to make sure it's popped back to its round shape. Once I thought I had gotten it spun, it was comfortable for awhile, more comfortable than tampons ever were.

But then I started doing stuff around the house, getting laundry together, which involves a lot of bending over/squatting, etc. and I feel like my muscles are trying to expel it. I went to check it, and the bottom of the cup, up to about the second horizontal ring around the bottom of the cup (the cup, not the stem) is sticking out. It was previously inside.

I know your body naturally sees stuff like that as a foreign body that it wants to get rid of; I see it at work, in the dental office- people get removable appliances (i.e. retainers, snoreguards, etc.) and the first few times you wear it, especially while sleeping, you over-salivate and sometimes even pull the thing out in your sleep because your body thinks it's being invaded.

Could this be what's happening here?

I'm a little sad- I've been so good about not biting my nails the past few weeks and now I had to clip off my thumb and index finger because they were making it more hard to turn, not to mention scraping myself down there- owie owie owie!

[kittenb]

"Vagina Narnia." HAHAHAHA!

Yes, mine moves around and it can be kind of messy to pull out. Bear down with your muscles and that will bring it closer to you. I also bring spare paper towels with me into the stall, sometimes wetting one with water first so that I can wipe my fingers a little.

[jsmith]

Mine starts to shift around after I've been wearing it for a while. But it isn't so bad that things get messy.

[Queen Bull]

question to the masses -- does anyone else's cup slip around a bit during wear. i dont want to be too graphic, but it feels like when i put it in, its nice and snug, then when i go back to empty it, its all up in vagina narnia, and lets just say, its kind of uncomfortable and a tad messy. which i why i only use it off and on. I bough the thing before i lost my virginity, but even now, i dont have enough sexual intercourse to have stretched out that much, so Im afraid to go up a size, because frankly it kinda pains me going in and out anyway. Any suggestions?


Oh and pollystyrene,

I may have negated this advice form my question above, but i generally, if im at home prop my foot up somewhere and put it in that way, or if im out, spread my legs while sitting on the toilet. this provides pretty easy access.

[pollystyrene]

I bought my first Diva Cup tonight. I'm on my last chemically-assisted period, and there's hardly any flow (though more than it has been in months- guess my body is throwing me a "Welcome Back!" party ) so I haven't inserted it yet.

I've never been successful with tampons, but I think the issues I had with tampons won't be a problem with the Diva Cup.

I assume you can't lie down to insert it? Probably can't reach far enough if you're lying down?

[Christine Nectar...]

i often have some leakage during heavier days. i typically use a light pantyliner during those times, so it's quick to just slip the knickers up while rinsing the cup, thus containing any staining of clothing or other ickyness!

[purplestain]

Magnolias, I'm a virgin, and I started using the divacup when I was 18.

I'm so glad! I'm 17 and a virgin and only got up the nerve to start using tampons about six months ago. I really WANT to use the DivaCup but have had trouble getting it to fit and was afraid it was a lost cause or that I would somehow damage my poor cunt. I'll try your tips about the jaw/lube/punchdown fold and see how it works.

[kittenb]

Do any of you ladies have problems with leaking while the cup is out for rinsing?

It depends on where I am on my cycle. Sometimes, I swear the blood gets all over the seat, even the underside. I have a friend who has the same complaint. We have no idea how this happens. I don't swing the damn thing around or anything while changing it. This is why, when using a public restroom, I always bring paper towels with me. I never know what I'll need to clean up.

[persimmon_grrrl]

haha! seriously, i don't think that insertable menstrual device+penetrative sex lead to happy ends. ouch!

[LoveMyPugs]

i think the girl who had sex with the cup in was talking about the Instead Cup. Those are the disposable cups that go way up in the vagina and sit behind the pubic bone. you can supposedly have sex with them in. i think this is a bunch of crap because they are huge and there is NO WAY that thing and mr. pugs junk are fiting into my nonni.