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How many of you are What do your boyfriends say, does it weird them out? I hardly thought I'd read this entire topic, but here I am. It's interesting. I'm gonna show this topic to my girlfriend, she is icked out by her period and is a clean freak, maybe this will help?
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Nov 14, 2010 11:12
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Jenova Project posted:How many of you are 1. Not Wiccan. Not anything actually, I'm completely non-religious. 2. My husband doesn't say anything unless I leave it sitting on the sink after my period's over (hand-washed and waiting for me to sterilize it), then he'll ask if I want him to "stick the vag plug in the sterilizer" (he also enjoys calling it my twat glass). I don't think it weirds him out in any way - actually I think he likes it because he no longer has to hear me bitch about what menstrual product failed me this month, we don't waste money on feminine products monthly, he NEVER has to deal with a pair of panties soaking in the sink in a vain attempt to save them after some sort of leakage issue, and the bathroom trashcan is a lot less of a trauma for everyone involved. 3. It will totally help if she gets over her initial ICK reaction and actually tries one. I was convinced it was going to be messier than tampons but it's WAY CLEANER. It's literally turned my periods from a monthly traumatic mess-fest into a complete non-entity. Before the cup, I would get really ANGRY the first day of my period, just resentful and pissed off that I had to deal with this poo poo AGAIN. Now my reaction is "Oh, look at that. Time for my cup." Stultus Maximus posted:How would any of the female posters here recommend bringing the issue up? Fruity Tree posted:Does anyone know if you can buy them in Germany?
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Nov 14, 2010 12:14
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Fionnoula posted:Don't wait! Try it now so you can get the hang of getting it in and out without the OMG, FAUCET IS ON FULL BLAST urgency. Unlike tampons, you can stick the sucker up there any time of the month. I've taken to using mine during my high-fertility days cause, you know, mucous is yucky in my pants.  I never considered this before. Now I kind of want one. My flow is pretty light, but the volume of mucous I produce during certain parts of the month definitely increases and it's just as inconvenient as a period in that respect.The only problem is I live in a dorm and don't have easy access to things like a dishwasher or pots I'd be okay with boiling one in. Is there an alternative way to sterilize them that is safe and not super inconvenient? Reene fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Nov 14, 2010 |
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Nov 14, 2010 14:33
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Reene posted:
Sex toy cleaner would probably work. Edit: I checked and Diva also makes cleaner to go with their cups that I assume would work on all cups, "Divawash", Drugstore.com has it. Vespertine fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Nov 14, 2010 |
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Nov 14, 2010 15:31
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Jenova Project posted:How many of you are I am not a My husband is a little weirded out by it, but he figures it's my body and it's cleaner than tampons and pads, so woo. Way to go. It is the women I tell about it (in my family, and they brought it up) that get squicked out about it and go "eeeew, gross." No, honey, sitting on a cloth diaper for hours and fermenting in your own menstrual blood is gross. I have been using a Diva for years. It made my cramps a lot less difficult ... until I started having sex. I don't know what the problem is.  I can't use it now because, hurr, I am pregnant, but holy sweet Jesus. Now that I have sex, when I insert the Diva, the cramps just explode all over the place and I wind up having to take it out and use pads. My husband's mother, when she found out about my Diva, automatically went "well, no wonder she gets horrible cramps!" and completely ignored the fact that I didn't get monthly tear-inducing cramps with my Diva until her son's penis started happening to my vagina.I am hoping the larger size I am getting after birth will kill the issue.
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Nov 14, 2010 15:44
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How active are you when you're using it? I belly dance and would really hate to be doing some twisty move and then...sploosh! I hate hate hate tampons, my husband says I'm the only woman he's ever met who wears pads exclusively. I hate it on heavy days when I'm dancing and I can just...ugh...feel it coming out.
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Nov 14, 2010 15:54
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Jenova Project posted:How many of you are I'm not Wiccan. I'm an atheist. My husband, who is easily squicked out, is fine with my cup using ways. He likes that I'm happier during that time of month, that we're saving money, that the bathroom garbage can isn't a horror-fest, etc. It doesn't gross him out at all. Like someone else said, it's usually the women who are freaking out about it. I don't get it. As for activities- you will be fine belly dancing, jaded_daisy. I swim with mine all the time, and I'm not a polite lap swimmer. I do flips and handstands and crazy dives and all sorts of stuff that would make it sploosh if it was gonna sploosh. And the sensation of it coming out onto a pad will completely be gone. You feel absolutely nothing going on- you almost forget it's your period!
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Nov 14, 2010 16:28
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There's no need to fully sterilize your cup on a frequent basis if it's just been in your vagina. Sometimes I'll wipe or soak my cup with rubbing alcohol, but usually I just wash it with some Provon between periods. Cups are really great if you are an active person, I have done all sorts of stuff with that thing in. It won't leak if you twist the wrong way. The only leakage I've experienced is sometimes when I just start my period or on really heavy days, if I don't clean everything really well before popping the cup in there can be some residual blood already outside the cup that will leak out a bit. That's not the cup's fault though, and this can be solved pretty easily with a jump in the shower to rinse everything out. And what do Wiccans have to do with menstrual cups? I've talked to my BF about the cup and he thinks it's cool, I guess he can appreciate how annoying having a period can be and be glad there's a better solution. He's told some of his female friends about it. spatula fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Nov 14, 2010 |
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Nov 14, 2010 16:47
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A good store that I like is: Lea Store based out of Finland. They offer a 6 month satisfaction guarantee on most of the cups and offer several brands as well as the starter kits/cleaning stuff/cloth pads/almost anything you need for that time. They even throw in a piece of candy now and then with an order.
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Nov 14, 2010 19:02
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Thank you for this thread! I don't know anyone who would talk about this face to face, that or even mention anything going on with lady parts. So I've been eyeing these cups in the local food co-op and after going through boxes and boxes of tampons during periods they sound like a good alternative. But I have two questions and my very conventional OB/GYN hasn't even heard of a Divacup so he was absolutely no help. I have Paragard (love it!) and I was afraid that when removing the cup the suction from breaking the seal would dislodge my IUD.  Is that even possible? Or is there a step that I can take when removing the cup to prevent it?Can you leave the cup in during sex? I forget tampons are up there half the time and I can only imagine what a cup full of menstrual blood would do when it gets shoved around by a penis.
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Nov 14, 2010 19:17
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Not Wiccan either. Seconding whoever said it's the women they talk to who freak out about it. My mom and cousin discovered my menstrual product preferences when I went to visit family a few months ago, and both were completely shocked. "Don't tell me you put your...used...pads in the LAUNDRY!" "EW, how...how can you use your fingers to put something UP THERE?!" Both of them are somewhat liberal and neither grew up in a Puritan household or anything, so it's kind of sad to see how the thought of being "dirty down there" still persists. When I tried to explain the financial/eco aspect of it, Mom just started calling me "her little hippie."  Admittedly the conversation with them worried me a little, and I asked my husband, "Do you think it's weird that I use cloth pads and a menstrual cup?" and his response was, "I really don't care what you use for your period. If it makes you comfortable and happy, go for it." So yup, the women closest to me are the ones who have a problem with it, and the man closest to me doesn't care. It's kind of sad that way .
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Nov 14, 2010 19:23
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Eponymous Bosch posted:I have Paragard (love it!) and I was afraid that when removing the cup the suction from breaking the seal would dislodge my IUD.
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Nov 14, 2010 19:24
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Eponymous Bosch posted:Can you leave the cup in during sex? I forget tampons are up there half the time and I can only imagine what a cup full of menstrual blood would do when it gets shoved around by a penis. No, you can't, but there is a brand of cups (?) called Instead Softcups that can be left in during sex. I haven't tried them however. The web site says that it allows for less messy sex? Banana Cat posted:Seconding whoever said it's the women they talk to who freak out about it. My mom and cousin discovered my menstrual product preferences when I went to visit family a few months ago, and both were completely shocked. "Don't tell me you put your...used...pads in the LAUNDRY!" "EW, how...how can you use your fingers to put something UP THERE?!" Both of them are somewhat liberal and neither grew up in a Puritan household or anything, so it's kind of sad to see how the thought of being "dirty down there" still persists. When I tried to explain the financial/eco aspect of it, Mom just started calling me "her little hippie." I told my mom about it in an email and she basically said, "Well, that's good." I explained to her how you can sanitize it by boiling it in a pot or throwing it in the dishwasher and all she could say was "Ewww! How could you cook in the same pot or eat off plates that were in the dishwasher?" My mom, by the way, literally from menarche to menopause was a pad user. Never did tampons. I can't imagine possibly like 35 years of pads. That said, when I first got my period I used pads because my mom didn't have the know how to explain tampons, and I only figured out tampons in college after finally having sex for the first time. So, I went 12 years before finding out about the menstrual cups (I am now 25). Better late than never?
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Nov 14, 2010 19:56
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I use a diva cup and its pretty cool. I tried using Insteads once, and they were awful. It was a waste of money.
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Nov 14, 2010 19:58
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I've seen adverts for these on bathroom doors in the UK but to be honest always dismissed them as gross and for people who love being in touch with their 'inner goddess'. But after reading about them on Something Awful I'm really thinking about getting one when my periods start again. This would be a pretty specific occasion but I'm assuming that like tampons they can't be used for post childbirth bleeding - does anyone know?
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Nov 14, 2010 20:20
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Is there any reason why MeLuna cups are only 13€ while Divas are about 30€? I mean, is there an actual quality difference that would explain that?
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Nov 14, 2010 20:24
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:No, you can't, but there is a brand of cups (?) called Instead Softcups that can be left in during sex. I haven't tried them however. The web site says that it allows for less messy sex? I've used those and they're pretty great for when you're at the end of your period and horny but there's just a little too much blood for the guy to be completely comfortable with it. They're also good if you know you'll be somewhere where you can't rinse out your cup for a couple days or so.
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Nov 14, 2010 20:46
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I love mine. So much less faff every month. It's so nice to just empty it in the morning, and before bed. I haven't had any trouble with emptying it in public as I've only done it once. I just took some wet paper towels into the cubicle, gave it a wipe down and then binned them. I'd really recommend it to anyone. I never have to change a tampon at someone's house only to find that they haven't got a bin ever again! Edit - I completely cut the stem off mine. I just didn't see the point of it. I squeeze the base and it just slides out. also, now it stands up by itself. LizzieBorden fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Nov 14, 2010 |
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Nov 14, 2010 21:20
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:No, you can't, but there is a brand of cups (?) called Instead Softcups that can be left in during sex. I haven't tried them however. The web site says that it allows for less messy sex? I use these. I have an IUD so I almost never get a period anymore, but when I do there's not nearly enough flow for a tampon or even a pad really, but I've never left the Instead in for sex, because my boyfriend finds the idea of that weirder than period sex.
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Nov 14, 2010 21:52
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Fruity Tree posted:Is there any reason why MeLuna cups are only 13€ while Divas are about 30€? I mean, is there an actual quality difference that would explain that? MeLuna is from Germany and Diva is from Canada, so if you're buying in Europe that's probably the biggest reason. Also the Diva has been around much longer and has a lot of brand name recognition, MeLuna is relatively new. I have one of each and like them both for different reasons. On the Instead cups - I tried these and I thought they were pretty great... when they worked. I really wanted to use them for period sex, so I'm kinda sad I couldn't figure them out. Sometimes I would put one in and it worked perfectly, but sometimes I put it in and it seemed to not catch the blood AT ALL. I couldn't figure out why. I really feel like I put it in the same way every time, made sure to get the rim behind my pubic bone or whatever. I don't know what the problem was. Insteads also seem like they could get messy because they come out at a different angle than the reusable cups - I usually do this business in the shower though, so it was a nonissue for me. I also thought they were much more comfortable to put in and take out.
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Nov 14, 2010 21:57
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This sounds great and I want to try it, but I'm worried about getting the right size. Anyone have any tips on measuring?
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Nov 15, 2010 00:28
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Oat Willie posted:This sounds great and I want to try it, but I'm worried about getting the right size. Anyone have any tips on measuring? How old are you? Have you ever given birth? The DivaCup, which is the only menstrual cup I have experience with, only comes in two sizes. Size 1 is for women under 30 who have never given birth, and size 2 is for women over 30 or women who have given birth. So depending on what brand you go for it should be pretty easy to figure out. I'd also recommend going to a feminist sex shop to buy one, if you are lucky enough to live near one (that's where I got my Diva) because the staff tend to be very knowledgeable and helpful with questions like these.
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Nov 15, 2010 00:48
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I got a Meluna after the GBS thread and holy gently caress it is awesome. I ordered it straight off the website and got it shipped to me (U.S.) and they sent me one with the round ball in addition to the one with the ring that I ordered. Soooo glad that they did too, because I always felt like I couldn't get my fingers around the one with the ring right and that I was going to snap it like a rubberband... only in my vagina. Not a good thought. But the little ball nub one is great, never had any problems except if I let it get too full on a heavy day. On Insteads: I use them during sex if it's a heavy day. My bf doesn't really mind period sex, I just don't want to have to sprint to the bathroom afterwards or worry about getting blood out of the sheets during cuddling. They're ok, but when I pull mine out they always come out sideways and leak everywhere (especially if they're full, DO NOT LET THEM GET FULL you will look like you just killed all the world's puppies with your bare hands). I have to specifically plan bathroom trips so I have a sink in reach if I don't have to clean up what looks like a murder scene. And to whoever was asking about dorm room sterilizing, try getting a hot pot thing. I have one like this that I got for heating up soup/making tea and stuff in a dorm room, and now pretty much all it gets used for it cleaning period cups.
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Nov 15, 2010 00:51
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I loving love my cup. It's a godsend for camping, festivals, sports events, basically anything without indoor plumbing. You can't put pads and tampons in a porta-pottie (well, you CAN, but you really SHOULDN'T) and they don't always have trash cans in them. Especially since a lot of the camping I do is "leave no trace" events where everything you bring in, even trash, needs to be brought back out with you. The idea of carrying around dirty tampons for a week... blech. My ex thought it was totally gross, which I don't understand at all. I empty it out a couple times a day and everything either is flushed down the toilet or the shower drain. Not left in the trash can to potentially get smelly or dragged out and used as a doggy chew toy or whatever. New boyfriend thinks it's pretty cool and has figured out a way to pinch it and launch it across the room at people (after it's been sterilized, of course). Before I got it I read a lot of reviews online in which people complained how huge it was. It's not. If it was a peen I'd be pretty disappointed. 
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Nov 15, 2010 02:10
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I loving LOVE MENSTRUAL CUPS. I have had a Diva and a Meluna and I have cherished them both. I currently use a Meluna and like it a lot better than my old Diva since it fits me better. I have a ball stem and it is a lovely violet color. My personal tip for new cup users- I personally always remove my cup in the shower and put it back in in the shower. It's much easier to clean it, dump it, and put it in in the shower. I have an ultra light flow so I can afford to only change it once a day. No, there is never ever a smell, and I leave it in for up to 24 hours. My husband doesn't care. He feels basically the same way he did about tampons. Kind of icky. But everything period related it "kind of icky" to him. They really aren't as big as they look. They mold to your body completely. Even the smallest of tampons hurt me, a fully grown sexually active woman, and my cups have never given me anything more than mild discomfort when it pops out from the C-fold too early and catches my pubic bone.
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Nov 15, 2010 03:05
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Another Diva Cup user chiming in here. Atheist for the guy who asked. Hands down the best decision I ever made. I used to leak all the time with tampons and pads because my period is extremely variable. Some months I have all 5 days of changing tampons every 2 hours and some periods are 3 days of light tampons for the full 8 hours. The diva cup takes it all like a champ. When i'm having really really heavy days I can kind of feel it getting heavier so I know when I need to go empty it - sometimes every 4 hoursish. Honestly I feel like it is far cleaner than a tampon as well because I don't have to touch a tampon string that I just pissed on. I personally just pop it out, empty it in the toilet, wipe it out with some toilet paper and pop it back in. I wash my hands again on the way out of the bathroom and im all done.
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Nov 15, 2010 04:22
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Sorry for the derail, but OP, what is up with your avatar?
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Nov 15, 2010 04:29
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boquiabierta posted:How old are you? Have you ever given birth? The DivaCup, which is the only menstrual cup I have experience with, only comes in two sizes. Size 1 is for women under 30 who have never given birth, and size 2 is for women over 30 or women who have given birth.  - so I just ordered one of each size. I haven't tried them yet because I haven't had another period yet, but man, am I ready for it to be great. Or even just a little bit better.  Speaking of Lunette, Fruity Tree, the company's from Finland, and their German site says you can buy or order them from pharmacies in Germany. Edit: Not a Wiccan either, I mostly just like the idea of not dealing with bloody things in my trash and worrying about carrying backups. What's not to love about that? Innovative Salad fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Nov 15, 2010 |
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Nov 15, 2010 04:44
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I just put my Divacup in.  I got one a few years ago because my period was due to come when we were on vacation and I was desperately searching around for an alternative to tampons. I have switched to the cup and cloth pads (for lighter days, or if I wanna give my junk a break) and I haven't looked back. The husband seems indifferent to my alternatives, but my chick friends and family find it disgusting. Oh well, their loss.
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Nov 15, 2010 04:45
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spatula posted:
I'm not one either, but aren't the cups sometimes used to catch blood for certain Wiccan rituals? Googling "wiccan menstrual cup" brings up a couple hits on menstrual blood being involved, for instance. I'm just curious. Not trying to be a dick or anything, though the " My girlfriend saw this topic and was thoroughly embarrassed. At me. ;p She's looking into these things, though, so that's good. I'll bow out now, and just say that all questions were asked out of simple curiosity.
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Nov 15, 2010 07:37
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PlasticPaddy posted:Sorry for the derail, but OP, what is up with your avatar? I had to make it how it is because of a  in Watch & Woot. I set a goal for myself to maintain weight loss, but by the end I had put on just a few pounds (summer laziness basically  ). So another goon made an ugly avatar of a picture of me and told me what the custom title had to be. It was this or be banned, and I didn't want to be banned and pay for another account! I need to make another thread over there though because I got back on the bandwagon and I lost the few pounds I gained so it would be nice to be able to switch back to my old avatar...go figure, right?
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Nov 15, 2010 12:36
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hookerbot 5000 posted:I've seen adverts for these on bathroom doors in the UK but to be honest always dismissed them as gross and for people who love being in touch with their 'inner goddess'. But after reading about them on Something Awful I'm really thinking about getting one when my periods start again. Didn't see anybody answer this. I don't think you can use this for lochia, because nothing is supposed to be going into your vagina during that time. To be honest, you probably won't want to mess with inserting the cup then either, at least at first. I thought about it too prior to having my son but once I had him it didn't cross my mind as a possibility until he was at least a month old. My post childbirth bleeding was a little strange and would come and go for the first 8 weeks. I'd have 3 days with nothing, and just when I thought it was done it would come back for 4 days. I used my MoonCup once I was past 6 weeks and there haven't been any problems. I also spotted after having sex for a couple of months, and had really heavy anovulatory bleeding last month that my cup handled just fine. I never changed sizes so that makes sizing more confusing! I occasionally have leakage issues after I get up from bed, where the cup just decides to dump it's contents due to my changing position from horizontal to vertical. Any idea how to prevent that? I usually empty it in the shower but even emptying right before bed doesn't do anything to prevent that. And I ALWAYS run a finger along the rim of the cup to make sure my cervix is inside of it, which I highly recommend. I leaked all the time before I started doing that because I'd somehow have my cervix sitting on the rim of the cup or not in it at all.
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Nov 15, 2010 15:51
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hookerbot 5000 posted:
As enitsirk said, they cannot be used for the same reasons tampons cannot be used- nothing is to enter the vagina due to introduction of bacteria and an open cervix. If your cervix is open you are highly susceptible to infection, and it most definitely is open for a while after childbirth (the true reason for avoiding any vaginal penetration instead of stitches as is commonly thought). I daresay that a cup would be even worse for lochia since you must insert your fingers a bit to put it in. Not to mention the fact that cups can hold a lot, but they couldn't handle the flood that is lochia.
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Nov 15, 2010 20:53
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Thanks Enitsirk and oval office Pickle, I thought that'd be the case - guess it'll be the good ole matress sized pads for a month then.
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Nov 15, 2010 21:44
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I know it was addressed earlier, but I'm disappointed. This thread inspired me to get one but since I'm getting my Paragard on Friday, it looks like these are out of the question.
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Nov 15, 2010 22:53
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^I know someone who uses a cup with their IUD and it's no problem, it's not contraindicated or anything
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Nov 15, 2010 23:16
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I've been using the Diva Cup for over a year (in fact, I'm wearing it right now), and completely love the thing. A friend recommended it to me, and after doing some research and calculating how much I was spending on tampons on a yearly basis (which was a lot, since I turn into Niagara Falls once a month), it seemed like the best option...definitely a good choice. The first time I used it, it got stuck and I had to spend twenty minutes squatting in my bathtub trying to get it out, because I didn't read the instructions properly and didn't realize that you had to break the seal  . My boyfriend tends to be grossed out by periods in general, but he has told me how much he appreciates the lack of a pile of used tampons in the bathroom garbage can.Lackadaisical, I had my Paragard put in about four months before I got the cup, and haven't had any problems with it getting yanked out (oh god the thought of that hurts so bad), I would just wait till you're all healed up down there to try it and you should be fine. I do find that my cramps are a tiny bit worse since I've started on the cup, but it's nothing life changing. Also, the Diva Wash that they sell is pretty good, it's concentrated so it goes a long way (I bought a bottle when I bought a cup over a year ago, and still have more than half of it left), and has a pleasant citrus-y scent. It's super gentle, so it's great for washing up down under on your grosser days. I sometimes get worried that I may have forgotten to put it in, because I can't feel it at all, and will have to run to the bathroom in a panic to make sure. Man, this thing rules.
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Nov 15, 2010 23:23
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Lackadaisical posted:I know it was addressed earlier, but I'm disappointed. This thread inspired me to get one but since I'm getting my Paragard on Friday, it looks like these are out of the question. As long as you break the seal first and are very careful not to tug your IUD string it's not an issue. There are a lot of happy cup users who have IUDs. How to break the seal effectively (which hurts like heel trying to get it out if you don't break it anyway): Run your fingers along the top of the cup. Squeeze the cup into whatever fold works for you (I prefer the C fold). Wiggle it around until it starts to slide easily. Remove cup.
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Nov 15, 2010 23:26
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I have introduced the Diva Cup to so many friends of mine, but only one has made the plunge to go for it. Unlike most of my friends, though, she's totally not grossed out by her body, likes trying out new things, etc and she absolutely LOVES it! It's really not gross at all, I don't see what's so bad about women touching their own vaginas. Come on, most of them masturbate anyway. But, since I got an IUD last April I haven't gotten my period AT ALL. I can't complain, but I only got to use my cup less than 10 times, so it makes me a little sad to see it gathering dust. It really was a godsend!
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Nov 15, 2010 23:50
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Innovative Salad posted:The sizing thing threw me off too - I'm 31, have never been pregnant, and haven't shown any signs of turning cavernous I don't think, where does that put me? Yeah, I'm confused by the sizing thing too. My vagina doesn't seem to have blown up like a puffer-fish in the last few years. Seems to be the same size it always was. I'm interested in which size works for you.
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Nov 16, 2010 00:02
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