Help! Moon Cup Removal (not for the faint of heart)

[Ana]

But I never want to freak anyone out too much. I guess if you clicked on the link and knew it was about the moon cup, that should have forewarned you enough

So the pain specifics:

Surprisingly, I have not had any of this "suction pain" I read about...even when I push and pull it down to the entrance for removal.

For removal, I already use my muscles to push it out partly and can reach inside fine. My pain occurs when the rim/fatter part at the top is at the cusp of coming out of the narrowest part of the opening. It hurts and stings a lot in the front. I read somewhere that you have to "pull it down, not out" but I am not sure what that means, exactly. I also read that you have to wiggle it....but I don't know what that means exactly, either.

I also attempted to fold it back up the same way I inserted it (i.e. punch down fold) but could not keep it close enough to the entrance to use only one hand (I was holding it by the stem with one hand and using the other to retrieve it) and then things get complicated with space. I was also unable to get my finger around the rim enough to push it in. Is there a fold that is easier to do for extraction?

Mine does not easily release the suction so squeezing the base is futile. I usually have to get a hold of a good part of the cup (i.e. top-middle or the rim) to release it.

I also read that it becomes more pliable over time. Has anyone found this true of the moon cup (or diva cup)?

[arielmoon]

I use a Diva cup and like some else said, once I grab a hold of it, I gently squeeze it a little as I remove it. My cycles are infrequent and short when they do occur so I have not noticed a softening of the latex.


I never tried a Moon cup, but I am wondering if you might do better with a smaller one? Or maybe put some lube on it when you insert it???

Sorry, I dont think I was much help

[wackyjacky1]

The first couple of times I removed the Diva cup, I had what sounds like the same painful experience. Now I do it the way firenze11 described (break the suction by collapsing the side before pulling it out) and I have no discomfort at all.

HTH.

[Tuckervill]

Since we're in the TMI territory, I have a question.

Do your hands get messy during removal, and does that pose a problem in public restrooms?

I can't imagine walking out of a stall to wash my hands with blood on them. Do you wipe them with TP first, or is it not an issue?

Or do you just avoid public restrooms when using a cup? (That seems undoable for me.)

Karen

[OakLeaf]

I'm beyond it now... but when I used a Diva cup (and before that a Keeper) my hands never got messy.

The two things that were somewhat of an issue in public restrooms were (1) remembering to wash my hands BEFORE going into the stall, and (2) wanting to rinse the cup before re-inserting it. Without rinsing, it isn't perfectly clean on the outside after emptying, so whatever I was wearing would get a little stained unless I wore a liner (which kind of defeats the purpose of the cup). Staining was always really minimal and not at all a concern with cycling shorts. Also, rinsing before insertion helps lubricate it, clean or not. I guess you could bring a water bottle into the stall to squirt it off, but I never tried that.

[badgercat]

Since we're in the TMI territory, I have a question.

Do your hands get messy during removal, and does that pose a problem in public restrooms?

I can't imagine walking out of a stall to wash my hands with blood on them. Do you wipe them with TP first, or is it not an issue?

Or do you just avoid public restrooms when using a cup? (That seems undoable for me.)

Karen

I'll hop on the TMI bus!

I've made a few very unsuccessful attempts at using a menstrual cup, so I finally opted to switch to "applicator-free" tampons (and machine-washable cloth pads... I ordered those a couple weeks ago but as they're made-to-order by an independent seamstress, I haven't gotten them yet... I hope they're worth the wait, though ) to at least try to reduce waste a little bit. This does result in some mess, sometimes. It it's substantial (like, wouldn't easily be able to pull up my pants without leaving blood on the waist band or something), I'll take a square of TP and swab off first...but if it's just a little bit, I'll just take it to the sink. Personally, I feel like anyone who's looking that closely at my hands and is concerned that I have a little bit of my own body fluid on them can kiss my heinie but I understand not everyone is so open about menstruation or whatnot.

Of course, I turn on the faucet with the back of my wrist or something similar to make sure said bodily fluids don't contact the handle, but that's just kind of how I normally turn on faucets anyway.

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, I don't touch anything with anything in a public restroom, if I can avoid it. From the looks of the wall behind the flusher, I'm not the only one who uses a foot.

However, I am frequently in public restrooms with small children, and sometimes they are boys. Sometimes they are 8 years old. Sometimes the mother in the stall is screaming at the 8-year-old boy not to move to where she can't see his feet! Sometimes the 8-year-old boy is embarrassed enough.

I can't imagine what a mother like that would say if I came out of the stall with bloody hands, and a Diva Cup and rinsed it in the sink. And besides, how do you get your pants up enough to come out without putting it down? I have enough trouble with pads. I don't use tampons if I can help it.

Thanks for the enlightening discussion.

Karen

[kermit]

I am considering trying one of these. Do you still wear a liner in case of spotting? How long can you really use one before emptying? My first two days are brutal, I think it could be really messy at work.