Diva Cup

Raindrop
I am sorry to hear about your misadventure with the diva. As has been said before there is a bit of a learning curve so don't give up. A few hints: Don't insert it too high. It should be as low as possible while still being comfortable (i.e. you can't feel it at all). It needs to open up after being folded for insertion. I find that i can easily run my finger around the bottom after it is inserted and tell if its open (round) or still folded. Really embarrasing, I found being constipated made it leak too. Too much "stuff" in the pelvis I guess. Plus the diva website has a number of helpful hints.
Keep plugging away at it (pun intended!)

Another tip is to make sure the little holes at the top are clean...sometimes they get plugged and then it is hard to keep suction. When I spin the Diva, I have to grab the actual base of the cup, not the stem. Then it is very easy to tell if it is still folded or buckled or open all the way. Also, if you gently pull a little on it you should feel resistance if it is open, but not if it's folded.

I had to cut off most of the stem for comfort and proper fit.

I've also had more leakage problems if I didn't start using it right away - like if the vagina is already too wet (TMI, I know) it is harder to get a good seal. So I try to put it in at the very first sign that I think I'm getting AF. Or else what can work is to use a tampon for a few hours, then use the Diva, b/c the tampon will dry you up. But I've had bad luck trying to use it after using a pad overnight.

Emily, regarding it opening up when pulling it out....try to release the suction by gently squeezing the base of the cup, (not the stem) as soon as you can reach it (I can do that right away b/c of the aforementioned trimming of the stem). Once you break the suction it shouldn't hurt to come out. And it will also make less noise!

BTW, I am using mine right now also...and went on a 40 minute ride on a hybrid, very upright, no discomfort whatsoever. But when I first starting using it, sitting in a chair was sometimes uncomfortable until I trimmed the stem.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the good responses/advice, ladies. I wore it last night riding for the first time, and it worked like a champ! I even managed to change it at work yesterday before the ride by finding the lone single bathroom in our building so I wouldn't have to fear embarrassment. I'm getting better at it, and I feel so much better about the environmental impact of this vs. the huge number of tampons I was using every 26-27 days (my cycles are closer together now that I am in perimenopause, but still quite heavy).

Thanks ladies!
Emily

Many thanks for all of the kind advice from you ladies - I think I've finally gotten it! My first ride with it was Wednesday also, and it performed very well (though I wasn't heavy yet). I've finally gotten the hang of getting it in and getting it out. Still not terribly comfortable, but I can do it reliably. I can't imagine anything with harder rubber, though... I have discovered that it doesn't always like to unfold. I can't rotate, but I just feel around the edges - you'll know! I have to partially remove it and then re-seat it.

I rode today with a much heavier flow, and it performed great! It was about 1/2 full, and nary a leak. Each time emptying it gets easier, and I feel so much better without the tampons drying out everything. Truly a great product (and I can't imagine how much $ it will save over the years).

If I (the person who whines about going to the ob gyn every time) can do it, anyone can do it. It really is worth a shot! :)

Yea!! Add another one to the ranks :)

I hate to keep bumping an "old"subject, but thanks to everyone's tips, I have finally mastered the Viva cup. What a relief! Today I started by teaching my early morning spinning class, then went on to have a nice ride and nothing leaked or anything like that.

As cheap as I am, I' m so glad that this worked out. (I've purchased my last box of tampons...ever!!!!).

Again...thanks to everyone. This is soooooo good! :)

Another Diva Convert (well, maybe)...

Yesterday was the first day of my cycle with the diva. No leaking which is good. :)

As much as I love not worrying about tampons every 3 hours, it's SOOOOOO painful to get in and out!!! I have a condition called vulvar vestibulitis, which causes redness and a burning pain in the vaginal vestibule ( 3-9 o'clock position, 1 cm wide), it makes sex impossible, but I can handle tampons since they're so narrow. My flow is light enough that I only need to take it out twice a day, but it sometimes takes 2 or more attempts to get it in (have to wait for the pain to subside in between), I really want to stick with it, why can't it be more like a diaphram and go in sideways! :(

Well... at last... months later, another year on the calendar, and I have done it... after going to numerous chemist shops, and to a couple of witchy/nature shops and a health food and products shop... I finally got hold of a "Moon Cup" :cool:

Believe it or not it was the health food supplies shop that got them in (they already stocked moon pads - reusuable pads :eek: which I have not tried)

So I have taken the cup in to show the chemists that expressed interest in knowing if I ever tracked one down... I reassured them that I had brought it in BEFORE I had tried it out :p and they were very interested - never heard of or seen them before!

So now I have to go in and let them know if it works!

Have pasted the links to other discussions here in case any newbie is as puzzled as I was when I got here and was trying to work out what the heck you meant and how the heck it worked... :rolleyes:

So I'll keep you posted and let you know if I think its as great as most of you do...




Real embarrasing question
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...highlight=diva


help! need advice for doing 585 mile ride during menstruation
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...highlight=diva


That Time of the Month
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...highlight=diva


Another private girly thing....
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...highlight=diva

The Diva Cup
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...highlight=diva

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Originally Posted by RoadRaven

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]Well... at last... months later, another year on the calendar, and I have done it... after going to numerous chemist shops, and to a couple of witchy/nature shops and a health food and products shop... I finally got hold of a "Moon Cup" :cool:

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Yay!! I love my MoonCup. I used a DivaCup for about a year and I found it a bit too long for my own personal anatomy (I guess I'm "short" in there). After talking to a bunch of women on another forum I visit, I decided to order a MoonCup from the UK (they are not yet sold in the US) and it's much more comfortable for me lengthwise than the Diva.

And yet the Diva is still 10 times better than tampons ever were. :eek:

OH MY!!!!!!:eek:

i just LOOOOOOVE my diva!!!! haven't had any problem with length but i am tempted to cut the little "extension" on the tip (somebody on here suggested that at one point)

i do not know how i survived all my mensturating life without it...in fact i love it soooo much i want to buy it for all my mensturating friends as a gift...how do you think it would be recieved???:confused:

anyway...anyone questioning if they should try it or not...i say "go for it!" if you do not like it go back to your old way, nothing lost (except somewheres around $32) and at least you can say you tried, right?

***and think of all the septic tanks and landfill space that won't be filled up by...um...well...you all know what i am saying here!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bouncybouncy

anyway...anyone questioning if they should try it or not...i say "go for it!" if you do not like it go back to your old way, nothing lost (except somewheres around $32) and at least you can say you tried, right?

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When I bought mine, I was nervous it wouldn't work. So...I read all the FAQs on the divacup website. They offer a 1 year money back guarantee. So...if it doesn't work, you can get your money back. Nothing lost but some time in the trying of it.

Yep - it worked for me. Even Ms. Squeemish. And nope, I don't miss the vaginal irritation that tampons used to cause. ICK :eek:

So...thanks again ladies! I would never have heard of it but for you...

Carrie Anne

I just bought the Diva! Y'all sounded so positive about it - I had to give it a try. I, too, am prone to irritation and allergic to latex. So - this sounded like a great option. Hopefully it gets here before Wednesday :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dianyla

Yay!! I love my MoonCup. I used a DivaCup for about a year and I found it a bit too long for my own personal anatomy (I guess I'm "short" in there). After talking to a bunch of women on another forum I visit, I decided to order a MoonCup from the UK (they are not yet sold in the US) and it's much more comfortable for me lengthwise than the Diva.

And yet the Diva is still 10 times better than tampons ever were. :eek:

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I know I'm *short* in there, so I'm glad you posted this! I keep forgetting to order a Diva, but now I'm glad I haven't, as that was a concern I've had. How much did it cost w/postage, if I might ask?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fixedgeargirl

I know I'm *short* in there, so I'm glad you posted this! I keep forgetting to order a Diva, but now I'm glad I haven't, as that was a concern I've had. How much did it cost w/postage, if I might ask?

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It ended up being something like $35 with postage, IIRC. So, definitely pricier than the Diva but still, in the long run, totally worth it.

BTW, I did actually lop off the tail to my DivaCup completely, but even just the cup part was uncomfortably long for me. During some parts of my cycle it would fit fine, but when I'm really flowing hard my cervix can get very low and close to the entrance. I think of this as The Time When My Uterus Tries To Flee! :p When it's like that I could feel the base of divacup near the outside and that was mildly unpleasant. Not terrible, just unpleasant.

I can't feel the mooncup at all when it's in place.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fixedgeargirl

I know I'm *short* in there, so I'm glad you posted this! I keep forgetting to order a Diva, but now I'm glad I haven't, as that was a concern I've had. How much did it cost w/postage, if I might ask?

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The keeper has a shorter cup than the diva and a longer "tail" which they recommend you cut to whatever length you want. I don't really see how to cut the diva's tail, it's already pretty short. Try the keeper.