I got it the day before yesterday and my period the day after that, so everything was very well timed. I've been using ob tampons during the day because I'm not so sure about changing in the public bathrooms yet. I'm still getting the hang of this. I might give it a try tomorrow. Any advice?
The only thing I was disappointed with was the length of time I have before emptying the cup. While it does hold a little more than a regular tampon (I filled it with water to a little over the half ounce mark and dunked one in and there was still some water left in the cup. And evil tampon fuzzies all over my fingers... yick.) I still have to empty it about every two hours before it starts leaking. That's about the same amount of time as I can go with a tampon before it leaks. Maybe that will change as I get more comfortable with using the cup.
I heard a lot of complaints about suction and having trouble removing Divas in particular... but I've found the suction to be great because it suctions and pops open so quickly. I've been using the punchdown fold because that's easiest to hold closed when there's lube around the rim. No trouble with the cup being too long or riding up too far. If anything, I was satisfied with the small amount of pain I felt on the first insertion: the cup somehow managed to completely obliterate my hymen. There isn't a sign of it anywhere anymore and before there was a sort of white rim that prevented me from getting more than one finger in at a time. I hated my hymen because I felt like it symbolized old cultural obsessions with virginity, so I was thrilled to see it gone when I looked in the hand mirror to see if anything was irritated.
I wore it overnight and was woken up early in the morning by awful cramping. Which I suspect may be related to the cup because every time I've inserted it I start to get minor cramping within fifteen minutes that usually goes away. The cup did leak overnight, but I was pretty happy despite that because it didn't leak much considering what happened when I removed it in the shower. The cup was full and I wasn't surprised by that, but then with this gush of fluid just comes out. The cup was way more than full, and seems to have acted as a sort of plug to most of the excess fluid. Amazing. I tried to insert it without lube in the shower, but it felt awful once it was in and I decided to spend another day with tampons. The experience actually left the area really sore and irritated to the point that when I peed, my labia would sting like they were raw or scraped?
I've taken off all but maybe a millimeter of the stem because I was having trouble cutting off that tiny bit and didn't want to accidentally turn the cup into a funnel. The cup somehow manages to turn slightly once it's in and poke me on one side where it's starting to feel a little bruised, though I don't usually notice the poking. Is that something that I'll just have to get used to?
Sorry for the long entry, to summarize my questions:
-Advice for changing in public restrooms? (I'll check the memories too because I'm sure it's a VERY common question.
-Does cramping caused by the cup happen every time you use it or only when you first began using a cup? Or only during certain parts of your period?
-Do those of you who have been using the cup for a while use lubricant every time you insert it?
-It feels almost like it's bruising/irritating a small spot on the inside with poking/pressure from the apex of the cup (stem is removed) is there anything I can do about that besides adjusting it whenever it's really annoying? Or will I just get used to ignoring it?
Also:
I'm doing some research on menstrual cups and other alternative menstrual products. Does anyone have any links to actual research papers or other records of scientific study on all and any menstrual products?
The only thing I was disappointed with was the length of time I have before emptying the cup. While it does hold a little more than a regular tampon (I filled it with water to a little over the half ounce mark and dunked one in and there was still some water left in the cup. And evil tampon fuzzies all over my fingers... yick.) I still have to empty it about every two hours before it starts leaking. That's about the same amount of time as I can go with a tampon before it leaks. Maybe that will change as I get more comfortable with using the cup.
I heard a lot of complaints about suction and having trouble removing Divas in particular... but I've found the suction to be great because it suctions and pops open so quickly. I've been using the punchdown fold because that's easiest to hold closed when there's lube around the rim. No trouble with the cup being too long or riding up too far. If anything, I was satisfied with the small amount of pain I felt on the first insertion: the cup somehow managed to completely obliterate my hymen. There isn't a sign of it anywhere anymore and before there was a sort of white rim that prevented me from getting more than one finger in at a time. I hated my hymen because I felt like it symbolized old cultural obsessions with virginity, so I was thrilled to see it gone when I looked in the hand mirror to see if anything was irritated.
I wore it overnight and was woken up early in the morning by awful cramping. Which I suspect may be related to the cup because every time I've inserted it I start to get minor cramping within fifteen minutes that usually goes away. The cup did leak overnight, but I was pretty happy despite that because it didn't leak much considering what happened when I removed it in the shower. The cup was full and I wasn't surprised by that, but then with this gush of fluid just comes out. The cup was way more than full, and seems to have acted as a sort of plug to most of the excess fluid. Amazing. I tried to insert it without lube in the shower, but it felt awful once it was in and I decided to spend another day with tampons. The experience actually left the area really sore and irritated to the point that when I peed, my labia would sting like they were raw or scraped?
I've taken off all but maybe a millimeter of the stem because I was having trouble cutting off that tiny bit and didn't want to accidentally turn the cup into a funnel. The cup somehow manages to turn slightly once it's in and poke me on one side where it's starting to feel a little bruised, though I don't usually notice the poking. Is that something that I'll just have to get used to?
Sorry for the long entry, to summarize my questions:
-Advice for changing in public restrooms? (I'll check the memories too because I'm sure it's a VERY common question.
-Does cramping caused by the cup happen every time you use it or only when you first began using a cup? Or only during certain parts of your period?
-Do those of you who have been using the cup for a while use lubricant every time you insert it?
-It feels almost like it's bruising/irritating a small spot on the inside with poking/pressure from the apex of the cup (stem is removed) is there anything I can do about that besides adjusting it whenever it's really annoying? Or will I just get used to ignoring it?
Also:
I'm doing some research on menstrual cups and other alternative menstrual products. Does anyone have any links to actual research papers or other records of scientific study on all and any menstrual products?