ecstaticI mentioned in comments in the previous post that I was giving up on my Mooncup UK in this cycle because it hurt too much, but I decided to try it again today on a whim.
I discovered these things:
Punchdown as opposed to Labial:
The first time I managed to get it in successfully I used the punchdown method but it HURT like anything. Following that, I decided to use the labial fold method. It entered easily BUT I couldn't tell whether the cup was fully open and both times I used this method, the cup decided to pop open suddenly without warning some time later and TWANG against my insides. That caused a lot of hurt, leading to me attempting to remove it in a hurry.
Which of course, led to tensing up and then painful removal.
However, based on a hunch, I went back to the punchdown method and it felt RIGHT! There was a bit of irritation where the stem was (I'm planning to trim it a bit later) but beside that, I could barely tell it was there (which led to me to worry that it wasn't open). But it was, as I mention below.
Wiggle your cup out, not gentle pulls
Someone gave me an excellent suggestion to wiggle the cup out, and a number of others also mentioned breaking the seal about 1/3-1/2 of the cup. I combined both sitting over a toilet and as the rim came closer, press the labia folds apart as a third commentor suggested. It worked!
There was still a bit of pain as the rims passed out, but I attribute that to the rim itself instead of the method.
In conclusion:
This was a success! THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING ME! I'm really grateful! :)
That said, I can't emphasis enough on what others are saying: relax. Take deep breaths, tell yourself you love yourself and you're going to do things to hurt yourself, even just breathing and visualising the technique, insertion and removal will all help if you're so inclined.
Thank you again guys. I can't say thanks enough. I've removed the cup for now as I slipped and it hit the surface of the toilet during removal.
I do have one question: Is it usual while removing the cup to discover the blood coming out in clumps and still connected to your vagina when you take the cup out? Just wondering.