Diva Cup

[tygab]

hello all. Well many moons (aagh bad pun) ago I got a mooncup too from reading about it here. I have to say it is not comfortable to put in OR remove. Placement I have found requires additional lubrication. Removal, due to the incredible suction, requires a few stressful moments in my shower. It does feel too large for me but I ordered per the charts (age, in this case). Perhaps I should just order the smaller one. Like bat I am small and no kids.

I didn't give up on it tho. Once in place, it is far better than the tampon or pad combo. With the MC I can put on a liner and be good for most the day. I am even comfortable enough to exercise which I never felt good about before. So, all in all it is a positive. But I do wish it were easier to situate.

[lizbids]

I used the Diva cup on my summer tour and will never go back to tampons or pads ever again! Only once did I have trouble removing it b/c I put it in too far, but it still came out. I also find that it's totally not needed for me to fully rotate it once inside me. Just wanted to add my two cents!

[mtkitchn]

I'm also 115 lbs with no kids. The first period using the diva, I found the cup somewhat cumbersome and difficult, but after cutting off the long stem and using the cup a few times, I wouldn't go back to tampons. One more happy customer.

[amy]

I have to say I absolutely love my diva cup. I've been using it for about 4 years. The first 6 months or so had a learning curve for me. I would occasionally have leaks, but I often did with other methods, too. I have found that on really heavy flow days, I have to empty it 2 or 3 times a day, and actually I get a slight cramping feeling when my cup is near maximum capacity. I don't know how that is, but it is consistent.

Given the conversations about diaphragms, I will say I also use one of them for birth control. Yes, they actually still make those things. And I really like it. I don't think I EVER would have considered it if I hadn't gotten comfortable with my diva cup first, but I've used the diaphragm for about 3 years or so. I'm firmly against hormones and it works for me.

[Dianyla]

I know that I have a retroverted uterus and a short vagina from being probed a lot down there when I had my ovarian cysts. I have used tampons all my life without problem. It was okay to insert it but I can't seem to push the thing far enough. It's poking me a bit from the inside and I can definitely feel it when I'm walking. I just rode 1 km on my hybrid this morning to get to work and it wasn't great, although it wasn't painful. I've cut the stem a tiny bit, without much improvement.

I'm built about the same way with a retroverted uterus and a fairly short canal. The best comfort level I was able to get was by lopping the entire tail off of the Diva. And I could still always feel it in there, it wasn't always uncomfortable but it was there. Kinda like a big hard turd.

I used it for about two years (hey, it's still better than tampons!) but when I heard about Mooncups I decided to try one out. I bought one online from their website: http://www.mooncup.co.uk The Mooncup is much more comfortable for me as it is shorter. Sometimes when my cervix gets really really low (I always think that my uterus is attempting to flee my body at this point) I can feel the base of the cup nearing the outside but generally I don't feel it at all when it's in there. I also chopped the entire tail off of the Mooncup, too.

Hey, batsheva, it sounds like you've got two issues going on. First, your cup sounds too big. Second, you probably aren't breaking the suction before trying to remove it. If you decide that it's a lost cause, don't throw it away. Diva has a satisfaction guarantee, I can't remember exactly but I believe it's up to one year from the date of purchase?

Also, bear in mind that body height and weight are not exactly correlated to genital sizes in men or women. I've seen quite big and tall women who have petite hoohas and need a small cup, and some small and trim women who have larger anatomy. Your mileage may vary.

[Grog]

I'm built about the same way with a retroverted uterus and a fairly short canal. The best comfort level I was able to get was by lopping the entire tail off of the Diva. And I could still always feel it in there, it wasn't always uncomfortable but it was there. Kinda like a big hard turd.

Wow, what a great description of my symptoms!!!

I have thrown the towel for today. I am positive that I am pushing it far enough, plus it "spins" (well, sort of) very nicely in there, but it's poking me hard. No leaks though.

This morning I was really getting annoyed (and irritated) so I pulled it out and put an Instead cup in. I don't feel it at all, nothing poking out, and it's not leaking either. Too bad it's disposable.

I've ordered a mooncup and we'll see what happens, but I'll still give a few trys to the Diva cup this month and the next two, since I'm part of that clinical study...

[shewhobikes]

OK, so I am getting a diva cup tomorrow and hoping to figure it out before I do the MS150 ride in Florida in 2 weeks.

Sorry if this is TMI, but I am in a bad way with cramps and heavy bleeding off and on for most of 2 weeks now, after not having a period since December. Yes, I've talked to the doc and yes, I've had all the requisite tests (endometrial biopsy--YOUCH!!!--blood work, etc., etc.). And I'm taking my vitamins and slow-release iron.

I was hoping to do the full 150--75 on that Saturday on my bike, 75 on Sunday with my sweetie on the tandem--but I guess I will just have to let Mother Nature fill me in on what's possible at the time.

I guess I'm just discouraged. I've ridden well all summer, including LOTS of climbing on a weeklong trip in Vermont, and now I've not felt like riding for 2 weeks.

OK, I will get off the pity pot and see if anybody has any suggestions or encouragement. I'm 51 years young, been riding 2.5 years, put 2,500 miles on the bike each year, and now I'm frustrated and a bit bummed out...

Thanks!

[kat_h]

I've been thinking about trying these for a while and after reading this thread I ordered the sample 2 pack of Instead. If that goes well I'll try a mooncup. I've actually never used tampons. Back when I was a kid my mom made me try to put one in. It hurt and I couldn't get it in so I never tried again. Currently I use cotton flannel pads. For the most part I'm really happy with them. I just want to try all of the options and compare.

You guys really do answer everything.

[shootingstar]

Gee --have to say I'm in perimenopause that has wonderfully calm..slow..fading away symptoms ....and just am not motivated to try something different.

[firenze11]

I just got mine in the mail yesterday which happened to be the first day of my period. I found inserting it really easy and haven't had a leak at all (yet, fingers crossed). When I tried to take it out the first time I didn't break the seal properly and it felt like I was trying to suck my cervix out with it. (Sorry for the over-share) OW! That caused me to panic for a few seconds but I tried again and it was easier. I'm still not totally comfortable taking it out. But there is a learning curve. All in all I think it will take a bit to get used to it, but I will probably end up liking it.

I ordered it from lunapads and got the diva cup and lunapads pantyliners kit. Wow! The pantyliners are so so so comfortable. I never would have thought I would want/like re-usable pantyliners but they're my favorite thing right now. I wish underwear felt like this. So much more comfortable than disposable liners.
(And better for the environment, too, of course.)

[Miranda]

Oh, this makes me sad. I'm in pain.

In preparation of trying a Diva Cup, I found the cheaper Instead soft cups. I thought they would hurt to place. That was fine. Shortly after, I started to get cramping. I do not normally get cramps at this point in my cycle. Came in direct correlation with placing the device.

I gave it a few hours, and then could feel some leakage. It came out fine. I could see that the cup had collected some liquid. But, it just leaked part of the liquid as well.

I know there are several tips in this thread with seating the products correctly. Or trying one, vs the other. But, omg... the cramping is not happy! On Instead's web site, it says this can happen.

I don't think this would be happy out riding. I really would like one of these products to work for me, but I think on cramping, they all would produce the same result?

Miranda

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I am having the opposite experience ... I've been using a Diva Cup for about three years but I am about to toss it and go back to tampons. I had trouble with fit ... I bought the big one because I was over 30, but around my house we call that thing "the doorknob" because that's what it felt like. Even the smaller one feels too big to me sometimes, and sometimes it leaks because it just will not unfurl. (I also wrote the Diva Cup people to tell them that they should find a better way to describe when you might need the larger size, because what they had online sounded like, "When you get old and your vagina starts to turn into a giant sagging canyon to match your big fat hips ..." Wow, I feel empowered!)

Recently I am also finding that it is just plain uncomfortable. I have never found it to be as comfortable as promised, and it definitely never helped with my cramps -- I wear a pad instead if I am having really bad cramps. But in the last six months I have had two really awful leaking incidents, and I am too old for that nonsense. I have been using it on light days but those are the days when it is most uncomfortable, so I am about to just give up on it. Too bad, because the reusability appeals to the environmentalist and to the cheapskate in me, but I think I am just not shaped right for the cup.

I finally got to put my Diva to use. I was pretty much sold until I got these weird cramps. SO I figured out it was full. Emptied it. Put it back in, got weird cramps. Took it out. Left it out all night. Put it in this a.m. (no probs getting in, except after you shower it's a challenge bc of no moisture), and started getting the 'pelvic exam cramps'. Took it out. Mournfully put on a pad.

I can't wear a tampon. Don't want to go into why I can't. I bought the Model 2 of the Diva, bc I'm over 30 but never had a kid. Could it be that I'm too small? At least something on me is small. Guess vagina size is not correlated with shoe size

I'm going to call the customer line and see if they can help me out. I loved wearing it but I still have funny stomach muscle cramps right below my bikini line, like I held my pee too long. Weird. Ah well..I still liked it and boy, what a feeling not having to worry about when I stood up that the gush would occur. I hate that so much.

[Miranda]

I finally got to put my Diva to use. I was pretty much sold until I got these weird cramps. SO I figured out it was full. Emptied it. Put it back in, got weird cramps. Took it out. Left it out all night. Put it in this a.m. (no probs getting in, except after you shower it's a challenge bc of no moisture), and started getting the 'pelvic exam cramps'. Took it out. Mournfully put on a pad.

I can't wear a tampon. Don't want to go into why I can't. I bought the Model 2 of the Diva, bc I'm over 30 but never had a kid. Could it be that I'm too small? At least something on me is small. Guess vagina size is not correlated with shoe size

I'm going to call the customer line and see if they can help me out. I loved wearing it but I still have funny stomach muscle cramps right below my bikini line, like I held my pee too long. Weird. Ah well..I still liked it and boy, what a feeling not having to worry about when I stood up that the gush would occur. I hate that so much.

TDG... I just went to my gyno this week for my annual and was telling him about my cup experience. I just love that man. He's a cyclists too, and so is his wife, whose also an MD. Now if he only did podiatry work for cycling, I'd have bike pain life kicked in the tail. I digress...

Please feel no privacy pressure to post here why as to what I say, but here's why he said it didn't work for me, fwiw...

(also thought I would post this, vs a pm only, since I think it is good "generalized" useful information for the thread that might help anyone else with my issue)

From my big babies, and very weak fashia tissue, I have had a couple prolapse repair surgeries. My docs told me with the weak tissue in my body, it would not last. A sure sign for ME that some part of my repair is coming undone is that the tampons lately have been hurting me again. Help doc... oh, no!, does this mean???....

Yes, part of my prolapse is re-occuring already *sigh*. The area is part of the front wall near the bladder. He said with the prolapse, it makes my cervix move down further towards the cup. If the cervix is pressured by the cup (and likewise other parts pushing the cervix down further in the vaginal canal), it will cause the cramping. Also, it puts the pressure on the bladder because it's not supported... and then is laying down on the cup object.

Reminds me of when I was pregnant and had my body filled up with babies. The baby would grow and be more pushed down on the organs. Bladder included... thus it makes you feel like you have to pee more often... as the bladder is not in it's normal state/capacity due to something pushing on it.

It really really sux as that cup is such a cool thing. The doc said one of his RNs uses it and just loves it. Crud, I wish it worked for me too.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

No definately not a prolapsed problem. I never had kids and I always have problems during my annual exam (which I am happy to say, is no longer every 3 months as it has been for 5 years). I think I'm going to see if the good peeps at Diva can help me out, I emailed them, and see if I can get a model 1 to try out. Between the stress with my work and my personal life (aka divorce) I think the twink is just not happy about the diva. I thought about this as my gyn is always going...are you going to relax? And then it's "oh sorry..." Haha...Ah the Diva...it worked so well.

[RoadRaven]

Sorry to interupt your conve, Tahoe and Miranda




Mine broke last month - the little stem just snapped off
That happen to anyone else?