I'm mostly a lurker, but I recently bought a size one Diva Cup. This is my second cycle using it, and I do have a few questions, that hopefully you guys can help with. I've managed to figure how to insert it so it opens up and can be twisted, etc. I had to cut the stem entirely off, though, because it kept poking me. That being said:
The Diva cup seems to be working. That is, I can get it in, have it open, and it'll collect the blood and goop and whatnot, the red stuff. I have noticed, however, that I still get brown-coloured secretions, sort of like at the very end of the period week. I've been wearing an ultra-thin pad for part of the week to catch it (since I had a lot left over), but I'd just like to make sure whether or not this is normal with cup use.
The other thing is, and this may be related to my first question, I've read a fair amount of posts in here related to the cup riding up the vagina, but I seem to have the opposite problem. The cup has a tendency to ride down for me, which is, to say the least, rather irritating. It may simply be that my vaginal canal is shorter than usual for the period week, but I can push that thing right up against my cervix (which puts the base of the cup slightly less than an inch into my vagina), but it will still ride down to where about a centimeter or so is pressing against the inside of my vaginal lips. Basically, I can feel it. It doesn't impede my movements or anything, but it is really annoying. Part of it is that I work at the warehouse for my university's shops, which involves a fair amount of heavy lifting. Just the muscle use from that will also push the cup out a bit, although it goes right back to about the position of slightly pushing through the vaginal lips when I put the boxes down.
I guess basically, my question is just, am I using this thing right? Are the off-coloured secretions normal? As for the second question, the only thing I'm not happy about with the cup is the positioning. As far as it works, I love it! It just really irritates me to be able to feel it pushing through the vaginal lips, with the lifting in my job and since my main method of transportation is riding a bike, which is pretty much pressure right against the vag. ;_; I often do need to take the cup out to pee or poop as well, just because of the "normal" position it takes. This is just something I've felt during sex as well, so I just figure that it may just be my anatomy. >> But!
Am I just not using it right? Or would it better to find a smaller cup? If so, what would you guys recommend? I don't mind going to the bathroom fairly often, since my period is really only fairly heavy the first two days, and my job is pretty easy-going. I just want to be able to press my hand flat against my vulva and not be able to feel any of the cup sticking out.
What do you guys think? I want to be able to use my cup, but it is just so irritating to feel it like that. No matter what I do it, always seems to end up right down at that position.