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Mushinronsha posted:omg, my vag/cup is broken!!!! I had this exact kind of problem when I started using the Diva cup, as I got used to it I have become much more adept at insertion/removal. I think if you keep trying, you'll be able to better gauge placement and whatnot over time. Also, I find putting it in, and taking it out in the shower helps. And it's less messy too. Despite all my bitching and moaning in this thread I've actually really liked using the cup. It makes my vagina so much comfortable during my period (not drying like tampons, or chafing like pads, yay.) Does any one use the Nuvaring with a Diva cup? Is that even possible? Sometimes my period hasn't stopped by the time I have to reinsert the ring. I feel like I read someone saying something about that, but now I can't find it. Between the Nuvaring and the Diva cup I feel like I'm constantly jamming something up my hoo-ha. 
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May 6, 2011 03:16
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Hi semi-gross yet hilarious thread! I have a question about the cup. I really can't afford it right now but I will get one as soon as I can. I'm really interested in it. I just am having a hard time picturing a couple of things. How far into the vagina do you actually um, stuff it in there? (lol) Does it need to go up by the cervix, or just deep in there to the place where you can't feel it? I'm guessing if it's the latter, the "suction" you ladies mention is what keeps it in/from leaking? I used to use the Nuvaring and I'm hoping to go back on it soon, you can use them together, right? As I recall the ring made my horrible, awful periods last about 4 days or so. Without it, I've had them last 2-3 weeks at times. I'm thinking that I won't ever need to use the cup and the ring together, but we'll see.
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May 6, 2011 05:34
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I dunno about the nuvaring thing, but how far it slides in depends on how low your cervix is and how you're set up. Even with the drat thing turned inside out, my diva cup still sits a LOT lower than it's supposed to-it's just the way my retard vagina is built. The suction thing keeps it in place and keeps it from leaking, yeah. This thing has my period down to 8 days from 17 in February (tampons), to 10 in March to 8 at the end of April/beginning of May. So. This is kinda nice. I had an incredibly over the top heavy day last Saturday while I was getting some body art done at a friend's baby shower and if I'd been using tampons, I'd have ended up saturating everything the friend hosting it, owned. This thing is a godsend. Even if I was in the bathroom every 45 minutes. So uh. Yeah. Get this thing. It is amazing. I can't say enough about it. Fluffy Bunnies fucked around with this message at 05:46 on May 6, 2011 |
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May 6, 2011 05:44
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evelynevvie posted:This site is pretty awesome for any cup questions. It's the reason I got a cup over 5 years ago. I'm glad it's still pretty active http://menstrual-cups.livejournal.com/tag/nuvaring This post has a poll about how women wear their rings and cups. The very rare times I have to wear my cup and ring, its always the alongside, crossing the seal. I wear the ring that way anyway, so it was easy to just put the cup in. I tried the cup first and slipping the ring in second method and it was pretty uncomfortable. I've been on the ring for a year and my period last barely three days...so I wouldn't worry too much about having to use the two at the same time.
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May 6, 2011 10:21
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Hello all, my girlfriend has been using a Diva cup for two years now and it's always been effective. But since about three months, she has started to have some small leaks. She says she's always taken good care of it, she hasn't changed her activities and her flow is about the same as usual. She's wondering what she should do about it or if it has happened to any of you before. She says she's been told it should be good for at most ten years. Is it time for her to get a new cup? Thanks!
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May 7, 2011 02:20
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I've been following this thread since the start but it's been a long while, so forgive me if this has already been asked. What's the deal with periods seeming lighter while using the cup? Is there a reason for this? I've noticed a few other people mentioning it, and I think it's been that way for me too. I wondered if maybe I was imagining it and exaggerating how bad it was before, but then a few girls here have mentioned their periods becoming shorter by a few days. If tampons somehow make your periods heavier, that's a bit scary.
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May 8, 2011 22:55
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Ojo posted:I've been following this thread since the start but it's been a long while, so forgive me if this has already been asked. This! Has anyone come up with an explanation for this phenomenon yet? I also experience the early stop. I gain a day or two. It is pretty cool, but a little disturbing at the same time.
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May 9, 2011 09:28
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How would the method of collecting blood affect the amount of blood building up and being shed by your uterus, though? I mean, hey, if you're bleeding less, you're bleeding less -- I don't mean to dispute that!  But I don't see how the cup could affect that...unless the tampon absorbs "extra" blood that the cup doesn't collect somehow.
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May 9, 2011 14:59
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Rabbit Hill posted:How would the method of collecting blood affect the amount of blood building up and being shed by your uterus, though? I mean, hey, if you're bleeding less, you're bleeding less -- I don't mean to dispute that! That's exactly what I'm asking. I've been wondering if it's just illusion in terms of the quantity, but it does seem to end earlier and now seeing other people here mention the same experience is making me wonder what the hell.
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May 9, 2011 17:10
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I'll take a guess and say maybe the suction of the cup pulls it out faster? I've been wondering this myself while I read through the thread.
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May 9, 2011 21:50
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Maybe tampons kind of plug the leak? Like sticking a cork in there? While the cup collects the blood and lets you drain it on a normal basis?
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May 9, 2011 22:39
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evelynevvie posted:I'll take a guess and say maybe the suction of the cup pulls it out faster? I've been wondering this myself while I read through the thread. If that's true, I'm going to go invent the '5 minute period' vagina vacuum to suck all your period woes away, and become a loving bilionaire. I'd lean more with Julet Esqu's idea on it. It pours out of you normally instead of getting forced to be absorbed before it can continue to shed. If you cram a tampon in the top of a bottle of water and flip it upside down, it's gonna take a lot longer for the water to drain than it will if you're pouring it into a cup.
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May 9, 2011 23:12
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I started to look this up, because I've always heard the urban myth about tampons making you bleed more (something about fiberglass or something), but I came across something called menstrual extraction. I've never heard about this before! Apparently it's a very hush-hush thing and has a connection to being a grey-area legal way to obtain an abortion while/when abortions are illegal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_extraction I think it's interesting. Now that I have a cup I probably wouldn't do it because my period doesn't make me so miserable anymore- but I could see myself trying to get one of these. I know. Gross, right? Oh well. This is the gross thread, anyway. Right?
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May 9, 2011 23:35
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I have successfully educated yet another female friend of mine about all the benefits of menstrual cups, and she decided to give it a go and order one. I really hope she likes it, especially considering how I went on, and on, and on about how awesome they are and how much the internet raves about them.
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May 10, 2011 00:43
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Julet Esqu posted:Maybe tampons kind of plug the leak? Like sticking a cork in there? While the cup collects the blood and lets you drain it on a normal basis? That was my running theory. I think I'm just classifying the phenomenon as "mysterious" for now.
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May 10, 2011 13:01
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Rabbit Hill posted:How would the method of collecting blood affect the amount of blood building up and being shed by your uterus, though? I mean, hey, if you're bleeding less, you're bleeding less -- I don't mean to dispute that! Maybe since the cup keeps stuff moister up there than a tampon would, the last bits of blood tend to go down quicker, instead of dribbling and drying out and coming as little bits for a few extra days. They also have less distance to go, so less time & again less drying.
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May 10, 2011 14:02
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tripwood posted:Hello all, my girlfriend has been using a Diva cup for two years now and it's always been effective. But since about three months, she has started to have some small leaks. She says she's always taken good care of it, she hasn't changed her activities and her flow is about the same as usual. She's wondering what she should do about it or if it has happened to any of you before. She says she's been told it should be good for at most ten years. Is it time for her to get a new cup? Thanks! Ask her to check the tiny holes just under the rim and gently poke a pin through them, and then try again. Hopefully that'll sort it.
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May 10, 2011 15:48
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Rabbit Hill posted:How would the method of collecting blood affect the amount of blood building up and being shed by your uterus, though? I mean, hey, if you're bleeding less, you're bleeding less -- I don't mean to dispute that! What I'd heard was that the bleach used to whiten most tampons and pads would make you bleed more and cramp more too. If true, using unbleached tampons might have the same lessening effect as the cup. (I'm no doctor or chemist though, so take that with a grain of salt.) I suspect that it also has to do with growing older--many of us were using pads and tampons from a young age, and have only recently come to cups, and coincidentally maybe our flows were already going to be lighter? Again, not a doctor, don't know for sure. I do know that mine got WAYYY lighter very soon after switching to the cup, praises be to the deity/ies of your choice.
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May 10, 2011 19:16
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I'm currently period-ing, and I am using my MoonCup on this go around. For some reason, my DivaCup was grossly uncomfortable, so I'm glad I had my MoonCup for backup. I think I'm gonna be sticking with the MoonCup for awhile, TBQH. It's a lot easier to insert and remove because of the smaller size. I don't know what changed? I primarily used my DivaCup for a good 10 months, now it's like my vagina shrunk or something. I wonder if being less sexually active at the moment makes some kind of difference?
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May 13, 2011 01:24
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:
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May 13, 2011 06:42
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I'd always been interested in these but I finally bought a Diva Cup small last month thanks to the good words in this thread. I've only used it for most of one cycle as I was already on my period when I bought it, but it's great. I'd expected to have to empty it semi-frequently, even with my light flow, but found there was barely ever anything in it when I did take it out. I'd used tampons up until then and had often leaked around them in the first few days, so maybe these are just some kind of voodoo. Or my body rejects tampons or something. I'd really recommend them to women with a light flow, because nothing is worse than having to take out a tampon at the 6-8 hour mark and nothing's in it and it's like birthing sandpaper. I never really thought about how drying a tampon is before this but looking back on it  .I'm really looking forward to not having to stash tampons around like some demented feminine hygiene squirrel. No more products in my purse, car, work drawer, pockets (to then get accidentally laundered, ick), suitcase, etc! Plus in the summer I'd always feel grody being sweaty and having this string hanging out and ergh. Thanks, ladies!
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May 15, 2011 01:36
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Ok so it's beeeeen a month ish? I still have a bit of spotting, and as I said my period isn't at all heavy. Also, is the DivaCup really the longest? Because.. it sure does get lost  I was taking it out today and I couldn't believe that some girls cut the stems off.
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May 21, 2011 04:30
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Not only that, but I had to turn mine inside out to make it smaller (it kind of telescopes in on itself). Then I got a (stem-free) MeLuna because it's a lot shorter, and it's been working great. 
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May 21, 2011 04:35
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La Croux posted:Ok so it's beeeeen a month ish? I still have a bit of spotting, and as I said my period isn't at all heavy. Also, is the DivaCup really the longest? Because.. it sure does get lost All ladys are different sizes. I have a diva cup and I had to cut the stem off and if I don't shove it up there really good it feels like it is hanging out like tampons used to. Tampax tampons used to actually hurt for me because they were way too long. I had to use the OB applicatorless tampons when i used them.
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May 21, 2011 22:58
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Julet Esqu posted:Not only that, but I had to turn mine inside out to make it smaller (it kind of telescopes in on itself). Then I got a (stem-free) MeLuna because it's a lot shorter, and it's been working great. I am curious about this. I tried a small Lunette and it leaked, then tried small Mooncup and it leaked, then got a small Diva and it leaked until I turned it inside out and now it's perfect. I am wondering if the MeLuna would be a good replacement for the inside out small Diva. What size is your MeLuna?
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May 22, 2011 01:28
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lunarian posted:I am curious about this. I tried a small Lunette and it leaked, then tried small Mooncup and it leaked, then got a small Diva and it leaked until I turned it inside out and now it's perfect. I am wondering if the MeLuna would be a good replacement for the inside out small Diva. What size is your MeLuna? Mine is a medium. The mouth is slightly wider than the small Diva, but not by a lot. I picked that size because the size chart (that I can't find right now) at the livejournal forum showed that the difference was only a couple of millimeters. Here's a picture of it next to my small Diva, if you want to compare: 
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May 22, 2011 02:25
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Thanks that was really helpful! I may have to try the medium meluna now, which is exciting because they are way prettier than the diva.
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May 22, 2011 05:30
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I'm chiming in with the IUD + cup camp. I got the Keeper several years ago, before I got the Mirena and only had to use it a few times before my periods stopped entirely. I experienced no issues with using them simultaneously, and I recall no issues pre-Mirena. Frankly I'm surprised that women have reported worse cramps! I'm 100% sure that when the Mirena comes out, I'll go back to the Keeper. Less mess, less fuss. No perfume, bleach, pesticides, commercials, monthly expense, waste, risk. Freedom from the yucky as you get comfortable with your own body and fluids. I don't know what people think is going on down there, but it's certainly not a bio-hazard or toxic waste spill (unless you have a communicable disease in which case it's only hazardous to other people). My #1 reason for supporting the use of menstrual cups is to boycott the big business of selling stuff to women by making them feel bad about their natural state, with "sanitary" supplies being only part of the problem. Even the term "sanitary" is degrading. I'm not freaking dirty goddammit. I don't need to be sanitized.
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May 22, 2011 17:46
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Second cycle went great on my Diva Cup but I dropped it in the toilet  . I'm a walking tragedy.
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May 22, 2011 19:29
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Tigntink posted:All ladys are different sizes. I have a diva cup and I had to cut the stem off and if I don't shove it up there really good it feels like it is hanging out like tampons used to. Tampax tampons used to actually hurt for me because they were way too long. I had to use the OB applicatorless tampons when i used them. Yep, we're all different. For example my favourite tampons were Tampax and I used them for years without any issues or discomfort. They never felt out of place and were super easy to use. However, now that I've "converted" to cups I'm using medium MeLuna and it almost feels too big. It just doesn't go very deep inside and instead sits comfortably almost at the opening. But hey, I don't feel it and it does its jobs perfectly, it's all good. But here's the funny part: I'm also using Nuvaring and I sure don't know what kind of black hole I've got up there, but it just disappears. I once had to remove the cup and really rummage around my vag to check if my ring was still there. It was, but yeah.  And apparently the handy sizechart for different cups has moved, here's a new one: http://sizecharts.livejournal.com/
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May 22, 2011 23:39
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jodiesattva posted:Freedom from the yucky as you get comfortable with your own body and fluids. I don't know what people think is going on down there, but it's certainly not a bio-hazard or toxic waste spill (unless you have a communicable disease in which case it's only hazardous to other people). This is a fact. I guess there's something about rummaging around in your own bloody vagina 2+ times a day that makes you less squeamish about your own body, but there's a lot more to it than that. I think pads and tampons just make the whole thing grosser. It's anything but sanitary. The blood sits there and congeals and air gets to it and it dries out and after a while you get... that smell... You guys know the smell I'm talking about.  And then you get to wrap the whole mess up and let it live in your bathroom trashcan for a while.Blood in the cup doesn't really have a chance to get into the air or to dry out until you remove the cup, and then you're dumping it anyway. So it doesn't smell like anything and, mucus aside, the color looks more healthy and less like, well, old blood that's been sitting around on a sponge all day. Using a cup just feels so much cleaner, and so much more natural, and I'm so much more aware of what's going on in my own body. My period used to be this disgusting battle that I had to go through every month. Now it doesn't feel like a battle, and it doesn't disgust me anymore. I almost forget sometimes how gross it still is to most other women.
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May 23, 2011 00:59
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Yeah, I think that's the right of it. I like being able to sterilize my cups, that the ole netherregions aren't dry as the fraggin' Sahara after a few hours /and/ I don't have to traumatize/bother people with the waste tampon and pads would produce. It spares my roommate and family a lot of hassle and ick factor. I think the cup is a lot cleaner in many ways than tampons and pads. At least with the cup, any waste gets flushed away.
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May 23, 2011 02:20
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Just ordered a mooncup off amazon on Friday! This thread really has me pumped to try it out and they were on sale for 44% off. I could only find one store in my town that carried Divacups and they wanted $55 for it. Thank you ladies for getting me curious about these. My girlfriend was also thinking of ordering one. Is it safe to write our names on them with marker or something so we don't end up confusing the two for each other?
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May 23, 2011 20:32
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CJBurgandy posted:
I think I would just get different colored containers/bags/whatever to keep them in.
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May 23, 2011 22:39
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This thread converted me to menstrual cups. I picked up the small Diva Cup and I love it. Cut my period in half, usually it's six days of bloody crampy crabby hell but I was through my period in two and a half days with minimal cramps. I seriously cannot express how much I love this drat thing. Raving about it to my sisters and mom got me a few weird looks, but one of my sisters suffers from ungodly periods and she is very interested in a diva cup after hearing me talk excessively about mine. Thanks ladies!
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May 23, 2011 22:44
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Tigntink posted:All ladys are different sizes. I have a diva cup and I had to cut the stem off and if I don't shove it up there really good it feels like it is hanging out like tampons used to. Tampax tampons used to actually hurt for me because they were way too long. I had to use the OB applicatorless tampons when i used them. No no I know that. I was just wondering if anyone else had that problem with the Size one Divas, and had switched to anything longer. Does anyone know what the longest size is?
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May 23, 2011 23:03
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Oh hell, I just had my first experience with accidentally pouring the contents of a Diva Cup all over your hand. Luckily it was all into the toilet, but still, shudderingly disgusting. Gotta say, though, I'm on my third Diva Cup cycle and couldn't be happier. I'm already proselytizing about it to my real life friends; I don't think anyone has started using it, but to their credit, they have indulged my ramblings!
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May 24, 2011 03:31
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Ladies, we have a miracle. I first happened on this thread a few months ago. Finally decided to shell out for a cup just before my last period, with amazing results. I cannot rave enough about my cup! A little backstory for you: I have always had HORRIBLE periods of epic proportion. I bleed like crazy, I wear pads AND tampons, and often have to wad up a bit of toilet paper in there just to keep from ruining my sheets overnight. My periods last anywhere from 7 to 12 days, and on one terrible occasion, 15 days straight. And I get cramps. I got called into the principal's office back in highschool to 'discuss' my poor attendance when it was discovered I missed a straight week of classes every month due to 'illness'. Partly due to my mother taking pity on me, and partly due to the crippling cramps I would experience. You know the ones that makes you want to just crawl into the dryer and turn it on... I get those every time! With the amount I generally spend on Ibuprofen, pads, tampons, and toilet paper, I was pretty much sold from the moment I read the word 'reusable'. So, when I tried my Divacup out for the first time, I had zero issues getting it in. I read about the finger trick here in the thread, and knew how to check if it was open all the way. As soon as it was in, I couldn't even feel it anymore so I wore it off and on for a few days before my expected period to get used to it. Finally, my period hit, and kablammo! My cup works! It doesn't leak, it doesn't hurt, and it doesn't make my cooch feel like the Gobi desert! I can wear it overnight, and it doesn't leak! It doesn't make me have to go pee every hour like tampons did, and when I do go... I don't have to deal with it every time! All that perpetual changing, and wiping, and sopping up of gunk each time I had to use the bathroom turned me into a reluctant pee-er! And that isn't even the best news... You guessed it. No mother loving cramps! I can't explain it, I don't understand it, and I don't want to analyze it too closely. I have not had ANY cramps or gas, or liquidation of stomach contents since I started using my beloved cup. I would give anything to go back in time and give myself a cup at the ripe ol' age of thirteen to save myself eleven bloody (ha!) years of misery, cramps, and lost education. I could be a smarter woman today if only I had a cup from the beginning! So, thank you, ladies! You've changed my life.
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May 25, 2011 04:36
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Well, my period's still in full swing, but it's time to insert my Nuvaring, so I'm going with the side-by-side method with a pad for backup. I will report in later as to the leakage situation (if any, it feels pretty secure.) Edit: Three hours in, so far so good! I totally didn't think this would work, we'll see how removal goes. Edit2: Ten hours, and a memorial day cookout later, no leakage! This is super surprising to me because the Nuvaring is definitely crossing the lip of the cup. I guess the vagina's spongier (ugh, weird phrasing, sorry) than I thought? fully adequite fucked around with this message at 01:58 on May 31, 2011 |
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May 30, 2011 13:07
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Okay so my period is coming any day now, so I thought I would get a head start and put in my Divacup for the first time. On the instructions it told me to turn it completely around once inserted but that's pretty much impossible. The whole thing is weird still and I'm starting to cramp up. I can't tell if it opened up once I put it in (I think it did?) so I guess I should just keep practicing until it's code red.
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May 30, 2011 19:08
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