I'm 25 years old and in my first cycle with the Mooncup UK. Everything went extremely well for the first 2 days - I couldn't feel it inside, NO MORE CRAMPS(!!!), clean removal as long as I change it every 3-4 hours with my heavy flow.
After two days, I decided to trim it a little by 0.5 cm, because I figured it still stick out a bit after popping open and I have to push it in all the time. Usually it would sit about 1-1.5 cm inside, and I can easily remove by bearing it down low enough to put another finger in and pinch its bottom. I thought by trimming it, it would sit closer to the opening and I can reach to it easier.
To my horror, this morning when I woke up, I couldn't find it! I had to stuck almost my entire index finger in, just to feel something like a bone at the bottom, and the stem is stuck on top of it. Bearing it down didn't help, because the steam was pointing at the bone. I had to squeeze my finger in and try to angle it away from the bone, then bear it down. Now come the part where I started cursing myself for cutting the stem - it's too far in and I couldn't stick another finger in to reach it!
Anyways, long story short, I tried giving birth to my cup for another hour (yes I was sweating until my T-shirt was drenched wet), went out, read some online posts, cried, panic because those who described the same problem as me had to go see doctor, tried some more, gave up, cried to my boyfriend that I might have to let someone stick their fingers inside my vagina. Until a point I couldn't take it any more and decided that I was too stress to do anything about it. I went to have lunch and took a nap because I was too traumatized.
Upon waking up, I went to try again, constantly telling myself that I can do it and if I give up I would have to go to the ER. Apparently the fear of seeing a doctor won. It came out, full, smelt horrible (like a dead fish - maybe because it was in for 18 hours and leaked). But it is out! I'm so relieved. Now it is sitting on top if my windows under the sun to get rid of the smell. And I won't be using it until my next cycle.
After carefully reflecting on every single thing that happened since last night, here's my full report on the incident.
1. Why it happened?
Most likely because it didn't pop open properly when I put it in last night - I only felt it opening about 30 mins after I inserted it and went about my night. It was very likely that it travelled up my vagina during that 30 mins. It has nothing to do with the stem being shorter.
2. What to do?
- Panicking didn't help. Rushing in didn't help either. Crying did. It relieved me of the stress somehow. Eating also helped because you need energy to bear down and also it makes you feel more relax.
- Go in to the shower, squat down, turn on hot water, run it at your belly while sticking your finger in and bearing down. I got it out while doing this. The hot water helps me feel relax and my muscles opened up much easier. If you have a small shower tub with glass sliding door (like mine) , don't close the door though, the steam can make you feel dizzy.
- It is difficult to stick your second finger in because it's very high up. But remember that if you go to doctor, they will make you FULL open and stick their whatever metal equipment inside you. Your blood will splatter ALL OVER the place, and trust me, if it's been inside there for so long, it smells b-a-d. Having all these thoughts of embarrassment in mind would help you with that determined moment when you have to open your vagina bigger than usual and stick your second finger in to pull it out.
- With your two fingers on the steam, keep bearing down while pulling the stem, until part of the stem it sticking out of your vagina. Now you can definitely reach and squeeze the bottom of the cup.
3. Moral of the story:
- Make sure it pops open!!!!