1- Leaking-- I've used a small Divacup for about six months now. I love it, but it still leaks on me. Not terribly, I can get by with just wearing black undies, but it's definitely leaking. It's odd leaking, though-- all red blood gets caught in the cup, but brown clots end up sneaking by. I wear the cup up right near my cervix (it's pretty low for the first few days of my period), and I swipe around it to make sure that my cervix is inside. I have no trouble getting it to pop open, and even that high up there there's a bit of suction in I tug on it. The only thing I can think of is that the bottom of my cervix points almost directly towards my pelvic bone. So when the cup is around my cervix, it's almost parallel to the floor, with the stem pointing forward. Maybe stuff leaks out the back of the cup? But then why is it only clots? And what can I do to fix this? -Also, I've been wondering if another cup brand would be a better fit for my body- occasional low cervix, always pointing almost directly 'forward.' Any suggestions?
2- Vaginal Fluid?-- I put my cup in early this month because my cycle's been unreliable lately and I didn't want to leak. So for two days I was just collecting cervical fluid. What surprised me is how much fluid made it past the cup. I expected some clear vaginal moisture, as that's there even during my period (my favorite part of using the cup!) But even though the cup was collecting fluid, I was still getting creamy AND crumbly fluid in my underpants, almost as if the cup wasn't even there. Is this related to the leaking (see above- but it was way more fluid than ever leaks during my period) or is it possible that some of what I think is cervical fluid is actually vaginal fluid? I'm wondering about this, because I just started practicing FAM
and I'm having trouble figuring out my fertile days because I am almost ALWAYS creamy, even before my luteal phase. Part of me is wondering if I might just have an undiagnosed yeast infection, I have such consistent thick fluid. (sometimes it looks chunky/yeasty, but usually just creamy/lotiony) If it was a yeast infection, would it still be coming from my cervix? I just don't understand how so much of it bypassed my cup!3- Cramps while exercising- One of the best benefits of the cup for me has been a major reduction in my cramps from when I used tampons (From needing prescription painkillers the first day when I was using tampons, to sometimes needing an advil now.) Today, however, I went for a jog with the cup in, and had the WORST cramps I've had in a long time. Sometimes exercise makes my cramps a little worse, but this was AWFUL, like I was 16 again when i used to be on HBC and Vicoden and still couldn't always get out of bed for the first day of my period. Could the cup be responsible? Maybe jogging was making it hit my cervix?
TIA!