Did you break the seal before pulling it out, or did you pull it straight out? I don't know about your cup specifically, but some can have quite strong seals, and if you don't break them you can cause yourself a lot of pain. This is the first I've heard of something quite this extreme, but I could see it being a worst case scenario.

I'd definitely go to the doctor ASAP. I really hope that everything is okay for you, though :( I'd be freaking out, too. Hopefully someone who knows more about anatomy/medicine will come along to help calm you down, too.

Hi!
With the femmy cycle you are not supposed to have to break any seal, and it's supposed to "have no danger of coming into contact with your cervix". So much for that... Thank you for your reply. I am going to drop my kids off at the drop in daycare in the morning and go straight to see my doctor...

Oh my. That was a helluva way to find out that you have what is probably prolapse. It's not a (quote-unquote) "bad" condition but could have some annoying symptoms down the line. Look into it and discuss what some of your options are. You will probably want to try exercises first, then take it from there.

As for continuing cup use... perhaps another brand that has large anti-suction holes (either from the factory or modified by you) would suit you better. And bring your cup with you to your Dr because chances are that "he" doesn't know what one is or how it works.

FYI: My last Gyno wanted nothing to do with cups. His attitude was that if they hadn't been professionally fitted or "by prescription," then they must not be any good and those like me who use them are foolish to do so. My new Gyno had never seen cups before and she and her NP associate think they're wonderful. I've played Show and Tell with my cups for them and their staff, and they have thanked me for pointing them to the Size Charts here at our Community FAQ.

Agreed, it sounds like a prolapsed uterus. I don't know much about them, but I believe it's reasonably common in women who've had children and as kuradi says, not a serious condition. (Apparently there was a flood of women going to the doctor with this complaint after the NHS was introduced in the UK, as it's something that you can leave untreated if money is tight, but if you can see the doctor for free then hell yeah tuck it back in.)

Anyway, I hope having the term to search for will be helpful and not bring up stuff that freaks you out more.

Yeah, freaked me right the heck out. At my dr office now, waiting, with my femmy cycles and instruction sheet to play show and tell. I told my doctor I was going to try them, and she saw no reason not to. I had a d&c abput a month ago and a suctioning 2 months before that and a miscarriage a month before that... So that's probably why this happened, right? Sigh. Since I was bleeding for almost 5 months I wanted a reusable recepticle, as pads are bulky, unconfortable, annoying and getting expensive not to mention wasteful. Sigh. I was considering the lunette. Thoughts?

I think the topic of whether cups can cause prolapse has come up here but without any kind of conclusive answer. Perhaps there are posts from other people who've had them that would be helpful though, try the search link on the sidebar and of course discuss it with your doctor.

Have you considered sea sponges? They're reusable for a while and suction-free.

Have you seen the size charts at either http://sizecharts.livejournal.com/ or at the Community FAQ?

I have a (large) Lunette and LOVE it. It has a frosted texture, large anti-suction holes and is a nice medium length. It is a fairly stiff bodied cup which has its pros and cons. I think its stiffness helps it pop easily and seal securely but I am often "aware" of it on my sensitive BLECH days.

If you like the Lunette, also consider the large Fleurcup. It has very similar dimensions, it's a softer squishier cup and it has a rounded blunt base rather than a fairly pointy one like the Lunette. The Fleur also has a slightly higher capacity, if you need/want it. You might want to enlarge the anti-suction holes on the Fleur. They're not tiny like some other brands but not as big as the Lunette's. Something like a piercing/dermal punch will probably make a less ragged hole than scissors or a drill bit. The holes on the cup with the biggest holes are 2mm. The ones on the Lunette are about 1.5mm and (looking at photos) I would GUESS that the Fleur's are about 1mm.

Something else to consider... If you're going to choose a colored cup, my personal preference is for a light color -- so you can see how full (or not) the cup is in low-light situations such as by night-light in the middle of the night.

Hang in there. You'll be OK, really you will. :o)

My doctor looked, and said "that it looks bruised and banged up, but has snapped back into place." Hooray for being young and healthy! She told me to do Keagle's, and to possibly stay away from that kind of cup. She said that she had never seen menstrual cups before, and did not know a lot about them but was interested. I have ordered myself a large fleurcup, on your recommendation. I am not giving up! :-)

As for kegel exercises, there are many different kegel tools. Some are hands-on and require interaction -- such as wands or tethered "orgasm balls" or gizmos that look kinda like speculums. My favorite tool is just plain Ben Wa Balls. Start with ones that are about 1" and 3/4oz apiece and then graduate to those that are appx 3/4" and 1oz apiece. Amazon, eBay and other online venues have them. The idea is to insert them and keep them in while you walk around, do the dishes, etc. Start with 20 minutes a day and build from there. The longer you keep them in, they harder they'll be to keep them inside. That's what's working your PCs -- hands free, no interaction required. Do this at home. Be sure to remember to remove them (relax, cough and catch) before going out or using the toilet.

But it has recently come to light that kegel exercises are not enough. You will need to add squats (for the butt muscles) and lower abdominal crunches to your exercise routine. They all work together to tone vaginal muscles.

Seconding the suggestion to squat, it does lovely things to your pelvic floor and core! Well, to the whole posterior chain, too.

So, I talked to Dr. Shihasta (creator of femmy cycle) on the phone just now, and I told him what happened. He said that I most likely have a low cervix and now is sending me absolutely free the version of the femmy cycle for a low cervix! He's replacing it completely free! I can't believe it, and I couldn't be happier!

I'm glad to hear that everything is okay. "No danger of coming in contact with your cervix" Wow. I don't know why a cup coming in contact with your cervix is dangerous, and if you stick something in your vagina there's a pretty good chance it is going to come into contact with your cervix.

I'm glad you're not giving up. I have the large fleurcup and I love it. I hope it works for you. If the stem or ridges bother you then you can cut/file them off.

I came back to see if you were going to be okay (sadly, didn't have any advice to give) and thank goodness, you will be all right. I'm glad.

This is the first I heard there is a second Femmycycle for low cervixes - interesting. I wonder if it's marketed, or on a special request basis like yours?

Or maybe in the testing phase. Very intriguing!

Too bad you already ordered the Fleurcup (which I love, BTW). With that one, you definitely have to break suction before removal.
A similarly shaped but softer cup is the Si-bell or Natu. Very soft, can reportedly be pulled out by the stem, but in your case, I'd still pinch the base, just in case. It's a great, soft cup, that can be inserted very easily, pops open easily, is as leakproof as the Fleurcup, but with a much easier to break suction.

If the Fleur doesn't work, keep that one in the back of your mind.

What a scarry thing to experience.

Problems with cups is doctors may not have ever heard of them, and use tampons/pads themselves, so they probably don't trust them out of principle.

I appreciate Femmycup's awesome customer service but I call BULLSHIT when it comes to "No danger of coming in contact with your cervix." I agree that there is "no danger" but it WILL come in contact with your cervix.

Despite what EVERY cup company says and shows in their illustrations, that's JUST PLAIN WRONG for most of us.

Any cup will/should eventually settle (O) in the fornix around the cervix. No, there will NOT be a cup-length or more between the rim and the cervix as nearly every illustration shows. In reality a cup will more or less fill a vaginal canal. The height of the bottom of the cup will be relative to the length of the cup and the length of the vagina.

Another term you might hear around here is "dangly" cervix and you might have one. Just like it sounds, it dangles -- and the Fleurcup that you ordered happens to be a cup that many recommend because it is wide and round and blunt, which rounds out a vagina and kinda reels a dangly cervix up.

Returning to "riding low" and "not touching a cervix" -- BULLSHIT. I think that's the company's legal departments talking, not their medical advisors -- and the experienced and enthusiastic cup users here on this list repeat and repeat our corrections to their misinformation.