I am 23 years old, a virgin, and I have a fairly low cervix (6cm) - so I decided to order the small Yuuki cup (it seemed very similar to the small Lunette, and was cheaper). While I was waiting for my cup to arrive I stretched my vagina out with 2-3 of my fingers (because the cup seemed wide, and I had never had anything other than tampons inside me before).
I received my small Yuuki cup cup in the mail the day before my period was due, and I was really excited about using it so I tried it out on a 'dry run', and then I used it properly when my period came.
DRY RUN:
Insertion: I did a low crouch in the bathroom, folded the cup into the "punch-down" fold and tried to insert it into my vagina (with the folded side of the cup facing up). Pushing it in was tricky because the cup was bigger than my vagina was used to, but it slowly went in. I could feel my fingers losing grip on base of the cup & I was afraid that the cup was going to ‘pop’ open too soon, and hurt me so I took it out before it was fully inserted. I did this again about five times, always stopping at the point where I ‘knew’ my fingers would slip off. Finally I got brave, and kept pushing the cup inside me anyway. As I was pushing the base of the cup into my vagina, the cup popped open completely. I didn't feel a thing! I felt around the base of the cup to check that it was open, and it seemed fully rounded. Once it was fully inserted, the base of the cup was 1cm from my vaginal entrance (and the stem of the cup hung 1cm outside of it).
Removal: removal was quick, but a bit uncomfortable & messy. I pushed down, pinched the base & dragged the cup out.
REAL RUN:
Insertions: The cup has 'slipped' in easily throughout my 'real run' (more easily than dry tampons). I have mostly been using the "punch-down" fold, but sometimes the cup wouldn't open properly inside me so I used the "C-fold" instead & that worked. The stem bothered me, so I tried the cup inside out, but I found removing the cup inside out too difficult (the cup was too smooth, it didn't have any ridges to grip). I took the cup out, turned it the right way round, and cut the stem down a bit. It was still uncomfortable when I reinserted the cup, so I chopped the stem right off. Now I can't feel the cup when it's inside me at all (it's like nothing is inside me).
Removals: removals continue to be a bit awkward, messy and uncomfortable (although the cup takes less than two minutes to remove). Once when I was removing it blood went all over my hand and the bathroom floor (and a little bit of blood also got on the toilet paper roll... I turned it upside down so my family wouldn't notice). I have started to wriggle the cup as I am removing it so that the rim comes out on an angle (instead of all at once), and that has helped a bit. I have inserted and removed the cup over a dozen times so far, and removals are still uncomfortable - but I think my body will get used to them with practice.
My cup hasn't leaked at all yet (I have been wearing a resuable pad at night just in case). I have a fairly light flow, so I don't think I'll need to empty my cup more than twice a day (in the morning and in the evening) even on my heaviest days.
I'm really happy with my cup (even though removal is still a bit tricky), it is a great alternative to pads and tampons. With tampons, I have to change them every few hours and I constantly worry about them leaking (that's why I've always worn pads). I love my menstrual cup because I can leave it in all day and I don't have to worry about it accidentally leaking when it gets full (it can hold a lot more blood than a tampon). It's nice to be able to wear something that I can't feel and that I don't have to worry about.
My cup has helped me to see what my menstrual blood really looks like - now I know that it is not just blood, it is also made up of stretchy gooey translucent stuff. I think it looks beautiful. Apparently my blood doesn't smell at all (the smell that I used to get must have been my blood mixing with the chemicals on my pad). I used some of the blood that I collected in my cup to paint a picture (the picture has dried now and turned sepia brown). I've never painted with my blood before, but I really enjoyed doing it because the blood was so different in texture compared with paint. It was like mixing various shades of dark red paint with really stretchy glue ;)