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chinchillacan
17 May 2015 @ 02:50 pm
Menstrual Cup Insertion & Leaking Problems
I'm 13 years old, virgin, and my last 4 or 5 cycles have been me trying to get a learning curve around the menstrual cup, and I run into the same problem each time.

The First Problem: It never really opens up. I can get it in there with ease, but nearly 3/4 of the time it just won't open in there. I've tried different folds and insert positions, but it still doesn't go in. If I do get it to pop open, I'm then left with a paranoia because I don't really know the felt difference between the cup being open and there compared to the cup being open and suctioned in place. It gets to a point where I'm stuck reinserting it so many times I just can't use it any more because I'm frustrated beyond belief and I've irritated the vagina with so much action.

The Second Problem: If I do manage to get the cup in, it leaks. I have a sort of medium-heavy flow, and it leaks. The only time it doesn't leak is when I near the end of the cycle, but this is probably only because there's no blood to really pass by and leak through. I've tried sitting it low and up high, but its of no use. (Additionally, while browsing on here I found a solution where you put it up so the cervix is in the cup, but I'm not quite sure how to do that right.)

I started with a Lunette Model 1, but I tried switching to Diva Cup's Model 1 to see if it would fix. Both have the same problem, but the leaking is worse with DivaCup.

Any help or ideas?
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Kai: 2Cupskuradi8 on May 17th, 2015 10:21 pm (UTC)
If you haven't yet, skim/read this: http://kuradi8.livejournal.com/
It covers insertion, popping open, placement and leakage.
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sam_schwasam_schwa on May 17th, 2015 11:40 pm (UTC)
Sounds like the problems I was having. I can share what worked for me, but since your body isn't my body it may not work out the same. I realized that the cup was opening against my cervix rather than around it causing leaks. I also had a low cervix causing the cup to fill quickly and leak on my heavy days. First I enlarged the air holes on my Diva Cup which helped. I ended up needing a wider cup to fit my cervix better and got the Ruby Cup. It still sometimes opens against my cervix, but when I feel that it's not fully open I wiggle it around a bit until it opens. I have to empty it more often on my heavy days, but otherwise I haven't had any more problems. I hope this helps a little.
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tkamockingbird on May 18th, 2015 01:28 am (UTC)
How did you enlarge your diva cup holes?
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sam_schwasam_schwa on May 18th, 2015 08:11 pm (UTC)
I found a tool that was small and pointy on the end, sterilized the tip by running a flame over it and pushed it through the existing holes until they were closer to 2mm wide. After a little googleing, the tool I used is called an awl. Any piercing tool will do though.
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tkamockingbird on May 18th, 2015 08:23 pm (UTC)
Thanks!
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arylisa on May 18th, 2015 12:43 am (UTC)
As a fellow 13-year-old who's been using the Divacup for about 6 months now, I've encountered the same problem.

What I normally do is, I use the punch-down fold, and insert the cup about halfway in. At this point, it doesn't open up by itself for some reason, so I try to flatten it by squeezing the sides until the cup feels like it's suctioned flat/a deflated basketball.

Next, to get air in it, I rotate the cup a few times (this may be hard for you to do, depending on your anatomy) until it feels more inflated, but it still doesn't feel fully open. So I hold the cup by the stem and Kegel squeeze my muscles around the cup, which makes the cup rounder and open. I swirl my finger around the edge to check that the cup feels round.

If you run into a fleshy, knobby thing while swirling your finger around, it may be your cervix, and you want that to be inside your cup, not around it, or else you will leak.

On my heavy days, I can get about 7 hours with the Divacup until I start to leak. Sometimes, your cervix can droop into the cup and take up capacity. Super annoying, I know.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me!
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yayforcupsyayforcups on May 18th, 2015 06:22 am (UTC)
If the cup isnt open properly then its like having a gap in the rim so it will leak. Also the majority can not go 12hrs on heavy days, some as little as 2-4hrs before they have to change, so be aware of that one.
Could it be that the cup is too wide? Maybe have a look at 40mm wide cups? There are plenty to choose from.
Lastly, there are many different folds, they say the more complicated the fold the easier it is to open, ive seen the truth in that. I love the labia fold and the triangle fold is very good too. There are lots of videos on you tube under menstrual cup folds :)
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