i got my cup abt 2 months ago (i ordered online singapore website, the mooncup from uk), when my period just ended. It looks really big, coz I haven used tampons before. I did a dry run the moment i got it. It hurts like hell. I tried about 10 times before i got too sore, coz i think i keep poking my urethra, and keep feeling like i need to pee.
then just a few days ago, i tried everyday for 3 days, different kind of folds as descrived in the community. Everytime i cant get it in i get so frustrated. But usu it got very painful after a while so i gave up. However I know i am determined to get it in, coz reading posts on the community, most people got it in a few tries, and many persevere and got it in eventually.
Just happened that i had my period today, and i had my cup in my bag, so i tried again the toilet in the office. I just i was too kan-cheong, so i failed and then used back a pad. But as usual when i wear pads i feel very itchy,
so I told myself, if I don get it in today in the shower, i can't have dinner 
I just stood in the bathroom with a leg up against the wall and started out with the origami fold, (supposedly the easiest to insert and pop open) but my usual prob is it will open up before i got it in, and then the suction on your labia folds is horrible. Then i tried the labia fold. I think it went in, but only halfway and tried as I do, i cant push it up. Becoz i was having my period, it was pretty bloody and after each unsucessful attempt, i washed it and dry it or else if its wet, it will slip out of the hands.
Then i tried a different position, i tried squatting...like taking a poo. It works! I used the origami fold, coz the labia fold was making my hand cramp....I just squatted down, and the trick is to insert it in , not UP, but horizontally towards my back. It went in perfectly well...there was a bit discomfort, but wasnt painful.
I couldnt tell when the suction sets in...i just kia su a bit..from what i read in the community, either u pull it down a bit, or you wiggle it a bit with your finger, or u do some kegel exercises...for it to seal. Well, i did all 3..hee kia su ma!
The official way is to rotate it, but i cant seem to do it, coz i couldnt get a grip on the base.
actually supposed to stick the finger in and fill around the rim to make sure its opened fully. Well, i did that, but i could only feel a lil bit up the base, but it seems ok, so i just left it there, continue with my shower. and then here i am typing my post and eating my dinner!!!
Now the stem is poking a bit at my inner wall (the stem should not protude out but mine sits pretty low such that the stem is just inside), so i might decide to cut it off.
It hasnt leaked since an hour ago, and im quite happy with it, and i hope removal later will be a breeze. im going to try 4 hrs later, my usual routine for changing pads on the first day.
====
4 hours later
So after i got it in a had my dinner, around midnight I went to empty it. Well...pullin it out WAS PAINFUL. I did it in the shower again, coz im sure it will spill due to my inexperience. The grabbing it part was easy..just squat, push using your muscles again and again like wanna shit, until the stem pokes out, then it shouldnt be too hard to grab the bottom of the cup. I find that if i don push down its hard to grab it by putting my fingers into my vagina as it will hurt trying to insert my fingers as the vagina is quite dry.
Then comes the pain ful part. I grasp the base and pinch down, and slowly try to ease it out , it gets out halfway (as in you can see that half the cup is out) and then its stuck. I think coz the rim is too big to ease it out of the opening. Then i pull and twist and then i think the suction sets back in and its super painful on the inside of the vagina opening. Don't ask me how I got it out, but the first time I got it out, it was super bloody. Because I kept squishing the cup with my fingers, the bllood flowed all over my fingers, and I spilled some when i finally yanked it out.
So there it was, after about close to 4 hours, the cup was slightly more than half filled (not counting the spillage) with a cloudy liquid on top of the blood, Im thinking it coz its not all blood, so its separated as blood is thicker than water. . I poured it away, rinsed with water, and re-inserted squatting. The 2nd time was easy. Really, i just fold, no hand cramps, insert, and straight away it goes right up smoothly.
Before i re-inserted it, I cut off 1cm of the step, as when I sit it there is an uncomfortable pinch in the folds. I estimated 1 cm by putting one finger feeling how long it pokes at uncomfortably and then I actually used a ruler to measure.
I did my 3 steps routine of feeling the sides, tugging it down and up, shaking my hips...and then I went to sleep. It feels so comfortable, as I sleep rolling around my big bed, but around 3 am in the morning, I could feel it leaking...I went off again to the bath room. It really was leaking, and stained my panties, just slightly.. At 3 am in the morning and sleepy, removal is even harder than the first time, I just did what I did, and gawd it hurt til I feel like screaming. Eventually I got it out, and the level was the same at the first time, slight more than half. Sleepily I rinsed it and pushed it back in.
The next morning at 8am, it was leaking (just a slight trickle, less than the first time, no stains), so I went to the TOILET and did the whole routine again, with the painful removal and easy insertion. I figured that maybe night time use makes it face downwards, so mebbe that's why it leaked. My house toilet and bathroom are separate, I just took it out, wipe myself with toilet paper, pull up my pants, go to the sink right outside, rinse, go back into the toilet and insert. Well, coz no one is in my house already. I find that tipping the blood into the toilet bowl you have to flush immediately, or else it will pool at the bottom while you are washing/wiping the cup, so it will be hard to flush off and leave a stain there.
I went back to sleep til 915, with no problems, and then go to work armed with a panty liner - just in case.
at 1130 I went to empty it by sitting on the toilet, spreading my legs. Before that I went onto the community again to read tips on removal. Someone recommended bearing down and tugging it out gently til its half out (this is easy and wat i have been doing -no pain) , then grab as high as you can, with the thumb and the middle segment of the first finger, then pinch and move your fingers to and fro like trying to separate a plastic bag that wouldn't open. Good advice. I could hear the suction breaking and then I keep the sides pinched and then pulled it out slowly. By being wide awake and no stress as it wasnt leaking or anything, it was easier to get it out. It's only about half-full, and this time round I only spilled two drops, my fingers were not bloody at all, and the outside of the cup was clean. I tipped it down the bowl, flushed. I wiped myself and my fingers with toilet paper again, did not wash the cup, coz even though my office toilet got a tap with a hose, but i find it troublesome. I just wiped the top inner part of the cup with toilet paper so that when i fold it it wouldnt bloody my fingers, insert it in while still sitting on the toilet bowl, and this time I could feel it open up with a soft thud. It wasnt painful or uncomfy, it was just a 1 sec sensation. Just to make sure, I still did up 3-step routine of checking that its properly inserted.(I still cant rotate it!) Then i dumped the toilet paper that i used to wipe the cup and my fingers into the toilet bowl, flush the second time and then left the cubicle smiling to myself. The stay in the toilet cubicle. ...less than 5 mins, including emptying my bladder. It does helps to be relaxed and calm and tell yourself you-can-do-it.
Actually the instructions say you cant feel it. Im not actually feeling it, but mebbe its pyschological I thought I can feel something.
then just a few days ago, i tried everyday for 3 days, different kind of folds as descrived in the community. Everytime i cant get it in i get so frustrated. But usu it got very painful after a while so i gave up. However I know i am determined to get it in, coz reading posts on the community, most people got it in a few tries, and many persevere and got it in eventually.
Just happened that i had my period today, and i had my cup in my bag, so i tried again the toilet in the office. I just i was too kan-cheong, so i failed and then used back a pad. But as usual when i wear pads i feel very itchy,
I just stood in the bathroom with a leg up against the wall and started out with the origami fold, (supposedly the easiest to insert and pop open) but my usual prob is it will open up before i got it in, and then the suction on your labia folds is horrible. Then i tried the labia fold. I think it went in, but only halfway and tried as I do, i cant push it up. Becoz i was having my period, it was pretty bloody and after each unsucessful attempt, i washed it and dry it or else if its wet, it will slip out of the hands.
Then i tried a different position, i tried squatting...like taking a poo. It works! I used the origami fold, coz the labia fold was making my hand cramp....I just squatted down, and the trick is to insert it in , not UP, but horizontally towards my back. It went in perfectly well...there was a bit discomfort, but wasnt painful.
I couldnt tell when the suction sets in...i just kia su a bit..from what i read in the community, either u pull it down a bit, or you wiggle it a bit with your finger, or u do some kegel exercises...for it to seal. Well, i did all 3..hee kia su ma!
actually supposed to stick the finger in and fill around the rim to make sure its opened fully. Well, i did that, but i could only feel a lil bit up the base, but it seems ok, so i just left it there, continue with my shower. and then here i am typing my post and eating my dinner!!!
Now the stem is poking a bit at my inner wall (the stem should not protude out but mine sits pretty low such that the stem is just inside), so i might decide to cut it off.
It hasnt leaked since an hour ago, and im quite happy with it, and i hope removal later will be a breeze. im going to try 4 hrs later, my usual routine for changing pads on the first day.
====
4 hours later
So after i got it in a had my dinner, around midnight I went to empty it. Well...pullin it out WAS PAINFUL. I did it in the shower again, coz im sure it will spill due to my inexperience. The grabbing it part was easy..just squat, push using your muscles again and again like wanna shit, until the stem pokes out, then it shouldnt be too hard to grab the bottom of the cup. I find that if i don push down its hard to grab it by putting my fingers into my vagina as it will hurt trying to insert my fingers as the vagina is quite dry.
Then comes the pain ful part. I grasp the base and pinch down, and slowly try to ease it out , it gets out halfway (as in you can see that half the cup is out) and then its stuck. I think coz the rim is too big to ease it out of the opening. Then i pull and twist and then i think the suction sets back in and its super painful on the inside of the vagina opening. Don't ask me how I got it out, but the first time I got it out, it was super bloody. Because I kept squishing the cup with my fingers, the bllood flowed all over my fingers, and I spilled some when i finally yanked it out.
So there it was, after about close to 4 hours, the cup was slightly more than half filled (not counting the spillage) with a cloudy liquid on top of the blood, Im thinking it coz its not all blood, so its separated as blood is thicker than water. . I poured it away, rinsed with water, and re-inserted squatting. The 2nd time was easy. Really, i just fold, no hand cramps, insert, and straight away it goes right up smoothly.
Before i re-inserted it, I cut off 1cm of the step, as when I sit it there is an uncomfortable pinch in the folds. I estimated 1 cm by putting one finger feeling how long it pokes at uncomfortably and then I actually used a ruler to measure.
I did my 3 steps routine of feeling the sides, tugging it down and up, shaking my hips...and then I went to sleep. It feels so comfortable, as I sleep rolling around my big bed, but around 3 am in the morning, I could feel it leaking...I went off again to the bath room. It really was leaking, and stained my panties, just slightly.. At 3 am in the morning and sleepy, removal is even harder than the first time, I just did what I did, and gawd it hurt til I feel like screaming. Eventually I got it out, and the level was the same at the first time, slight more than half. Sleepily I rinsed it and pushed it back in.
The next morning at 8am, it was leaking (just a slight trickle, less than the first time, no stains), so I went to the TOILET and did the whole routine again, with the painful removal and easy insertion. I figured that maybe night time use makes it face downwards, so mebbe that's why it leaked. My house toilet and bathroom are separate, I just took it out, wipe myself with toilet paper, pull up my pants, go to the sink right outside, rinse, go back into the toilet and insert. Well, coz no one is in my house already. I find that tipping the blood into the toilet bowl you have to flush immediately, or else it will pool at the bottom while you are washing/wiping the cup, so it will be hard to flush off and leave a stain there.
I went back to sleep til 915, with no problems, and then go to work armed with a panty liner - just in case.
at 1130 I went to empty it by sitting on the toilet, spreading my legs. Before that I went onto the community again to read tips on removal. Someone recommended bearing down and tugging it out gently til its half out (this is easy and wat i have been doing -no pain) , then grab as high as you can, with the thumb and the middle segment of the first finger, then pinch and move your fingers to and fro like trying to separate a plastic bag that wouldn't open. Good advice. I could hear the suction breaking and then I keep the sides pinched and then pulled it out slowly. By being wide awake and no stress as it wasnt leaking or anything, it was easier to get it out. It's only about half-full, and this time round I only spilled two drops, my fingers were not bloody at all, and the outside of the cup was clean. I tipped it down the bowl, flushed. I wiped myself and my fingers with toilet paper again, did not wash the cup, coz even though my office toilet got a tap with a hose, but i find it troublesome. I just wiped the top inner part of the cup with toilet paper so that when i fold it it wouldnt bloody my fingers, insert it in while still sitting on the toilet bowl, and this time I could feel it open up with a soft thud. It wasnt painful or uncomfy, it was just a 1 sec sensation. Just to make sure, I still did up 3-step routine of checking that its properly inserted.(I still cant rotate it!) Then i dumped the toilet paper that i used to wipe the cup and my fingers into the toilet bowl, flush the second time and then left the cubicle smiling to myself. The stay in the toilet cubicle. ...less than 5 mins, including emptying my bladder. It does helps to be relaxed and calm and tell yourself you-can-do-it.
Actually the instructions say you cant feel it. Im not actually feeling it, but mebbe its pyschological I thought I can feel something.
I shall persevere til the end of my period, as practice really do makes perfect in insertion and removal and I hope its due to my insertion technique that it leaks at night, I shall post back again if i find the problem.
no more of itchiness from pads and worrying about messy pads!
However, the cup wouldnt get rid of menstrual cramps and the backache that I usually have on the first 2 days....