It could just be that your periods have become heavier of late, and the cup is filling up all the way. Blood that was fine when you were laying down rushes down because of gravity when you stand up, and then the cup bursts.

Perhaps during one of those bathroom trips you need to change your cup. I'm having the same problem lately. Usually I can go a whole day without changing, even at the beginning of my period, but I've had to change my diva more often this cycle. It's annoying... If you think your period is a lot heavier than before you could go get a check up with your GYN.

As far as being stretched out, via penis or cup, it's actually a myth that frequent sex stretches you out. The vagina is a muscle, and it expands to allow things in and relaxes once they're out. It's not some weird stretchy goopy thing. I believe babies and age are the only things that stretch out the vagina because they cause the muscle to lose tone. (That's why cup manufacturers recommend smaller and larger sizes based on your age and whether you've given birth.)

Hope my rambling helps! :)

"I believe babies and age are the only things that stretch out the vagina because they cause the muscle to lose tone."

This. And that's not even the case for everybody. I know that I am definitely different after two large babies, but some people feel the same after giving birth.

Also, I second the thought that it's probably heavier flow causing you problems. If you've been fine for so long, now all of a sudden it leaks...close to the end of the night...sounds like overflow to me. That's the only time my cup leaks...when it overflows.

Agreed--the OP's problem sounds like overflow, not any other kind of leak, and a bit heavier flow would cause overflow.

There is some formatting weirdness going on in your post. If you edit it in HTML mode and remove the weird tags from the front, that should clear it up. (I'd do it myself, but for some reason LiveJournal doesn't give community maintainers the power to do that!)

Let me know if you need any help :)

Dear whimaway and hairballsplat,

Thanks for writing.

My blood flow has not changed at all. I am still perplexed...

Is the cup full when it leaks? If so, it sounds to me like this is the evidence that, during those hours, your flow is indeed heavier, even if it may not seem like it.

are you passing clots? they might fill the cup faster than usual...

My cup does not fill up over night- so I am confused why it would leak...

Maybe you're tossing and turning a lot in the last few hours of sleep, and the seal breaks? It seems like a lot of people have complained about the seal breaking w/ diva cups.

Also, have you tried placing the cup higher if you can? It seems like my cup leaks if I don't get it high enough.

Chloe,

I always pushed it up higher thinking it helps, and I recently saw on these message boards that if you push it higher your cervix dips into it and makes less space for blood- causing overflow. It is all so confusing. Do you know any other cup brands that have better suction?

Thanks!

I like the yuuki cup. It seems to have good suction, and doesn't leak for me.