Piercings and divacups!

[Huggles]

I am bumping this because I have very important and relevant information to share with everyone, because EVERYONE will want to know it's that time of the month and I have a Diva Cup. See? I knew you did. First thing first:

The DivaCup holds one ounce (30 ml). The entire average monthly flow is around 30 to 40 ml according to the Mayo Clinic.

Wtf? I had to read this several time and check around on the interwebs for confirmation. Then, I laughed. I'd say I can easily average the two cups mentioned as extreme elsewhere. More wouldn't be hard to fathom either. Is that really all everyone else is dealing with? That's, that's just not fair. That's why I was asking so many questions about where to stash it because I'd have to empty it every couple of hours at least. Don't I feel special.

Anyway, it's driving me crazy. Maybe because it's early and I don't have cramps to distract me, but it is. After making several attempts to install it correctly, I can say it does work. But, I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing it all day. Is it supposed to feel like you're wearing a tiny toilet plunger?

[AngharadTy]

Nooooo, I think a lot of us deal with more. I know I do. I wonder if the 30 to 40 ml count is based on, like, "only the blood" or if they took normal vaginal secretions into the equation. Or... if that's a daily average instead of weekly... haha, I dunno. But in the menstrual_cups LJ community (which I actually read regularly--does that make me even weirder?), women often talk about having to empty a full cup at least once on their heaviest day(s).

It's not supposed to feel like anything, Huggles! You could try another insertion method. Have you trimmed the stem at all? I cut mine off completely--I never needed it for removal (it's easy to grab the ridged bottom and squish and tug) and it just rubbed me the wrong way. Pun, er, intended, I guess.

I'm still wildly enthusiastic about my divacup. Like, to the point where I do a little dance and tell Derek how awesome it is, at least a couple times a month. (He doesn't really appreciate it, but he's great at smiling and nodding.) And there are a lot of brands now, like the lady cup, which comes in pretty colors if you so choose, and is apparently a lot squishier/softer than the divacup. And the lunette, which is such a lovely company that their PR contact told American users to buy another cup brand until they get fully licensed to sell here in the states. How often does a company tell you to use the competition? So thoughtful.

[Huggles]

I trimmed stem down the minimum recommended 1/8 of a inch length. Apparently it can get lost forever otherwise. But yeah, maybe I'll just have to cut off the entire thing because it's what bothers me most. Standing is okay, walking is okay, but I have to do weird contortions to sit and not feel it. It's not OMGIMGUNNADIE!1!! bad, but my original analogy is accurate. It feels sucky. Not a pun, the literal suck.

I will read your homemade instruction manual links.

[daisybell]

Nah, it won't get lost forever. I cut all the stem off my (UK) Mooncup and even rounded out the base a little too (though the silicone is perhaps a bit thicker than the Diva Cup's). You can cut it off very gradually, bit by bit until you're confident you won't need it.

The folding methods they tell you are crappy too- don't just use the C shaped one the instructions have, because there are others which might be better (I prefer the 7 fold. The LJ comm has some pictures somewhere if you look for stuff about folding). It took me a few goes to get used to using it and it wasn't easy at first, but I wouldn't choose to use anything else now, it's so much better than pads or tampons and I'm very glad I persevered.

I have no idea about how much the average flow is, but I don't have issues with, er, filling up too fast. And the Mooncup has less than half the capacity the Diva Cup has.

It seems like Diva Cup are now saying you should replace your cup every year, which seems daft- lots of women on menstrual_cups are saying how stupid and unnecessary that is.

And there are a lot of brands now, like the lady cup, which comes in pretty colors if you so choose, and is apparently a lot squishier/softer than the divacup. And the lunette, which is such a lovely company that their PR contact told American users to buy another cup brand until they get fully licensed to sell here in the states. How often does a company tell you to use the competition? So thoughtful.

It's good there's lots of choices out there and some really nice companies, but it sucks that the company who made the Keeper (a much older rubber version) brought out a silicone one, called it Moon Cup and then made legal threats to prevent the UK Mooncups being sold to the US.

[Madge]

I think the uncomfortable to wear all day is just a symptom if it being a new thing. Soon you get used to it.

I remember way back in the day when I first started using tampons, touching the string incidentally when I was going to the bathroom etc was very sensitive, and after 5 years of adolescant life I was no longer in that position where it was sensitive.

The major problems I had with the diva cup were it leaking a little because I was kinda crap at installing it sometimes. But as with all things, practise makes perfect.

And can somebody change the title so that way it is more appropriate? ("Piercings and Periods" comes to mind. Actually! I can change it myself as the OP. I'll go do that.)

As an update to my post: I have yet to get something pierced. I was totally psyched about the tongue piercing but the boyfriend was not keen on it, surprisingly. Also he said his Mum would freak out. And this girl I mentioned it to the other day (we were talking about piercings and I mentioned I once considered getting my tongue pierced) said it was a "90s" piercing, whatever that means. Almost makes me want one more

[Wingsrising]

I'll ditto the "no, it won't get lost forever." I took mine totally off, too.

I agree, it may just be a question of getting used to it.

I empty mine full several times on my heaviest days, too. And frankly I never got rid of it leaking a little except on light days. I generally wear cloth pantiliners on my heavy days for backup.

[Aqua]

I got a diva cup a few years ago, myself, but am too afraid to use it (scared I won't be able to get it out because it's hard for me to get fingers in.. there..so I've only used it once briefly. difficult and painful to get in too).

So tampons for me still. >_>

*is boring and has no peircings; prefers hair dye*

[Huggles]

Updates! Wore it to bed and bed and it leaked, boo. Folding and putting it in is not the hard part, the hard part is figuring out how far it's supposed to go and what the heck they mean by horizontal. It also doesn't want to stay where I put it. I wore it for about three hours today, and repositioned it about 5 times. Maybe it's the wrong size? I'm on the end of the scale for the small one, but the site makes it seem like it shouldn't really be a problem, especially since I haven't had kids. So yeah. I'll try it out an home, I think I have tomorrow and Wednesday off, and see if I can figure something out. It doesn't hurt exactly. I certainly don't just shove the thing in and yank it out. But, it keeps suctioning and creating pressure and that's not helping. It would be nice if there were better diagrams.

Oh, and I didn't mean to imply that I really thought it would get stuck forever. That was exaggerated. My vagina is not like a couch that swallows up whatever happens to fall in. Sheesh people.

[Jessi]

Since we're all girls here (sorry to any guys reading this e_e) I have a question for all you diva cup users. I have two small problems with using tampons (as I'm sure you guys have figured out, I have female reproduction problems. See, my ovaries like to produce giant cysts the size of footballs instead of eggs :P): One, my cervix is low, so most tampons except for a few distinct brands tend to really bother me when they go in.

Two, because of my birth control (oh my god, REGULAR PERIODS are a blessing! And so Linds won't get me pregnant), my period tends to be much lighter than it ever used to be. Because of that, though, after I use one tampon, if I try to put in another right after, it usually hurts quite a bit, and I end up alternating tampons and pads - if I even bother with tampons at all.

Keeping all that in mind, does a diva cup sound like it'd even work for me? I love the concept of it and I know Ty has raved about hers to me... many times. (Ty and I talk about everything ;D) But really, I'm kind of afraid of trying to shove it up there.

Also,

My vagina is not like a couch that swallows up whatever happens to fall in.

I am curious to see how things could possibly fall -in- to your vagina. I'm sure it doesn't swallow up anything you may put up there yourself but... I am curious about that statement ;D

[Madge]

Huggles- it's pretty much supposed to stay right at the very entrance of your cooch, so it doesn't go in very far at all. It's not like a tampon where it goes way up in there.

Jessi - *shrug*. perhaps the fact it's at the very entrance of your vagina might be something that will be good or bad for you depending on your exact problems? Also, have you considered not taking the sugar tablets/buying the brands of birth control pills they have out nowadays that stop your periods/have them once every three months?

The thing in my arm that makes periods a rare occurance is awesome. (It's odd. It went 6-8 months of no bleeding, then 2 weeks with 5 days of bleeding in them, then three months off, then another two sets of 5 day periods. Very weird). I'd totally recommend it for people who don't want babies. It's like, awesome. And according to everything I've read the most effective thing you could possibly have for not wanting babies. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER ANYTHING (except to get it removed after 3 years). Oh, except if your body is lame and not awesome like mine you might get irregular heavy bleeds and stuff. There was a table with the information the doctor gave me about the percentages of women who have various results.

Also it's fun to make a random guy feel it and tell him it was from when I was abducted by aliens and they implanted me with a tracking device. One guy was really annoyed I wouldn't tell him what it was for. Yeah, I'm immature.

[Jessi]

I'm terrified of those arm implant things. You start reading about how they can get lost in your arm and agh @_@ Scary. I'm also terrified of IUDs, haha. The pill was the easiest way for me xD

Madge, I'm already on a pill that gives you shorter, lighter periods - it's a 24-active therapy pill with 4 days of iron pills. Because of my issues (like having fibroids in my uterus), I really shouldn't let myself not bleed for a few days out of the month, even if it does suck. I keep trying to convince my stupid OB-GYN to just tie my tubes already (or.. tube, I guess) but she's convinced I'm only 99% sure I don't want a baby, even though I'm about 350% sure, at least. Ah, the female body is a finicky thing.

[Seerow]

...And so Linds won't get me pregnant...

I really have nothing to add to this topic as I've never tried a Diva Cup (Tampax Pearl works just fine for me thank the lord), but I just had to say that the quote above is possibly the best NC quote of all time. You (and Lindsey) get a gold star!

And to make this slightly more on topic maybe, I have a picture (which might stretch the page, hence spoiler)!

Spoiler: open/close

I'd buy em. From the one and only Ursula Vernon.

[Wingsrising]

Hmm. If it's sliding around, you may need a larger size. I use the large size (got it after a catastrophic Keeper failure with the smaller-sized Keeper) and I haven't had kids.

The cup is supposed to develop suction. If you just pull straight down on the cup without pinching the bottom to let air in, the cup is supposed to more-or-less stay put. (Or, at least, that's my experience.) If you're not get getting a good suction seal, that may mean the cup is too small.

On the flip side, are you sure the thing is fully open? When I got the larger size, I had problems getting it to fully open at first. You want to rotate it to make sure it's fully unfurled, and I usually tug on it a tiny bit to make sure I've got a good suction seal.

I have to say, though, that contrary to the website I've never gotten the thing to be TOTALLY leak-free. I generally get a little leakage on my heavy days, when the cup fills up. Also, unlike a tampon, if your period has already started when you put the cup in, there'll still be a little blood that was below the cup when you put it in, if that makes sense. Like I said, I generally use cloth pantiliners on heavy days.

Still miles better then tampons as far as I'm concerned.

EDIT: Jessibean, I think I have a fairly low cervix, too. At least, contrary to the instructions on the Diva Cup, the Keeper, and every other cup out there, the top of the cup is right by my cervix... and the bottom is right by the entrance, so it can't possibly go any further down! I have no problem with the Diva Cup, but I didn't have problems with tampons, either. (Then again, I used OB, which is a pretty short, fat tampon. I never liked the long, skinny brands.)

Once upon a time these cups used to offer a money-back guarentee. I see from the website that Diva Cup no longer does, but some of the other cups still might.

It might be worth a try. Cups are GREAT for light flow days, since they don't suck you dry the way tampons do.

[AngharadTy]

About the rotating thing--I can't rotate mine. It gets such good suction that I can only move it by breaking the seal.

Also, mine sits very far up, so it's not right at the entrance. Haha, that's a great phrase. But women are all shaped differently (longer, wider, whatever). Which is why their suggested size guidelines are only suggestions. It might be good to try various sizes of various brands (there are a few photos throughout these posts) just to see which one is perfect for you. I'm lucky and the first thing I tried (small Divacup) was exactly right. But even if I'd had to buy six cups to find one that would work right, I'd still have saved money in the long run--it's so nice to buy games and boots instead of pads!

Jessi, the reason tampons hurt when you use one after the other is a little bit that the fibers can chafe you, but mostly that they soak up all the good, helpful, useful fluids you produce. So then inserting a new tampon is like trying anal without lube. If you winced, good. I hate tampons. ;)

[thelonetiel]

Where have you all bought your cups? I would really like to get one, but we aren't big online shoppers. I suppose if that's the only way, I'll do that, but it would be easier to go out and buy one, if I only knew where to look. I've peeked at the DivaCup store finder, but the closest distributors are hours away. Do any major chain stores sell them, or am I better off looking at health food stores and crossing my fingers that they carry another brand of cup?


Also, rereading this thread reminds me of how much I adore all of you. Good people. <3