I'd say if you can't reach it then go for a longer cup, if it's very easy to reach then look at shorter ones, but that's as far as you can go at the moment. You don't want one that'll fill all the space up to your cervix when you're not menstruating because it'll probably be too long when you are.

I never even touched my cervix until I'd been using a cup for a few years. I'm one of the people who just bought what was most readily available in my country and got along with it fine. Checking your cervix position helps to avoid problems, but it's likely to be fine even if you don't.

The main issue with soft cps as I understand is that they can be difficult to pop open, but I don't think they're any more likely to come out when you don't want them too. The first couple of times you can hold a finger against the base, or where the base would appear, so you can catch it if you find it moving too much. It'll probably be secure and then you can forget about it.

Regarding your question about #2 - I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here who just removes the cup when it's time to do serious business on the loo. ;) Just take it out and then reinsert when you're done.

If you're "in a rush" to get a cup, then Divas, Lunettes, Keepers, US Moon Cups, Sckoons and (completely different) Insteads are allowed (by the FDA) to be sold by US sellers. All other cups must be ordered internationally, which take a little longer depending on how quickly or slowly international mail happens to be moving.

= Divas are "very long" but can be flipped inside out to shorten them.
= Keepers are made of latex rubber and are very stiff.
= US Moon Cups are identical in size and shape to Keepers (same company, same molds) but made of silicone so they're softer.
= Large Lunettes are kinda stiff but smalls are squishy.
= Sckoons are new so we don't know much about them yet but appear to be very similar in size and shape to Fleurcups.

Use the various size charts to pick size ranges that you think would fit/suit you best then use side-by-side comparison photos to make your final selection from those.

Seconding this and adding a few details :
- The Diva is medium firmness / squishiness, and it's also one of the easiest to get a hold of in brick and mortar stores. However, since it is the longest, it might not suit everyone.
My advice regarding length would be to measure now and expect your cervix to be somewhat lower on your period, hopefully not drastically so. So if you can reach your cervix easily now, the Diva goes off the list.

- I don't know anything about KMCs and Keeper except that they are fairly stiff so I can't really recommend those.

- This leaves us with Sckoon and Lunette... both fairly short with a fairly long stem. Fyi it seems (from their website) that Sckoon should be on the soft side, but the design should make it easy to pop open. Lunette is very popular. So it really boils down to whether you think you'd need a large or small cup, and in case you need the large (say, for capacity or weak pelvic floor muscles), then I'd try Sckoon over Lunette to prevent the potential discomfort of a firm cup.

Edited to add : ... and obviously which shape you think would be more comfortable for you, since there is a slight difference in shape between those 2.

Edit 2 : for more options, and if you don't mind a gently used cup, you could always snag a cup from mc_sales : http://mc-sales.livejournal.com/

Edited at 2013-02-08 04:25 pm (UTC)

That's so funny! Of course, it may be that it is 9+ yrs old now, but my keeper feels so soft to me!

My daughter just got a Diva (which is a bit on the firm side for her) and it feels firmer (to both of us) than my rubber keeper. It's very comfortable (I never feel it).

I will know more once I get my new Meluna to compare - my keeper is very near its "10 yr lifespan" & since it's biodegradable I want to make sure I have a backup. LOL When I started using a cup I am not even sure there were other options, if there were, they were well hidden because the keeper was the only one I knew about for a while. :)

This should be up to date : http://menstrualcupinfo.wordpress.com/cup-stiffness-comparison-chart/

thank you to all of you, I've measured myself, I couldn't reach it with my middle finger, but when I tried with my index finger, it took a lot of shoving, but I did just barely reach it. so should I go with the large? also, I do need to consider compacity, as when I do finally have my period I would change my super sized tampons about every 2 hours... Also I'm allergic to latex, so it's got to be silicone. So I'm thinking of Divas or Sckoons... I'm going to do some more research on the two of them. From what I've told you about what I need, do you think either Diva or Sckoons (what it says on the site) would be a good choice?

Length and shape are more important than width.
http://sizecharts.livejournal.com/

I've done a lot of research on both the Diva and Sckoon, and I think after I get my tax refund I'm going to go with a sckoon, it's got some nice reviews on the site, and seems to me it would be the right size, and also has a longer stem, so I can keep it long or trim it if need be. I will let you all know how it goes. :)

I do know that most of the time when I'm putting a tampon in while on my period it hurts, and feels like I'm hitting something, could that be my cervix coming down low? I'm thinking about just getting a small one if that's the case, and just changing it often...

a small one will still hold more than a tampon, you can always order a large at a later date if you need it :)

If you get the schoon please update us with it and how you get on! :) *curious/nosy face*

Hum, it would depend how deep (or how soon) the tampon bumped into your cervix. I used to bump into my cervix back when I used applicator tampons because I really tried to put them in as far as I could, turned out I had to angle them passed my cervix on one side.

With a heavy flow I would get a large Sckoon, Si-bell or Fleurcup since they are bell-shaped. My large cups sit around my cervix, which is about 2" deep, but your vag may vary.

Just in case: does it feel like you need to pee? If so, it's just a bad angle and you're hitting your g-spot.

By the way, when you want to reply to a particular comment you can use the little "reply" link underneath it. That way the original commenter will get an email to say you replied.

I will let all of you know. :-)

yea, I was only putting it in far enough where the whole tampon was inside me. I actually started cramping today, and I can't buy a cup for maybe 2 more weeks, depending on when I get my tax refund... so hopefully I'll start my period in the next day or two, then I'll know for sure.

no it doesn't feel like I have to pee, just hurts. and I know, on my phone it says comment not reply, I don't know how else to do it, there's nothing but "comment".

Thank you to all of you for all of your help, I am starting my period sometime tomorrow I'm guessing since I'm having those pre-menstrual excruciating cramps that always happen within hours of the starting of the blood, so I will find out my size soon... thanks.