This is my 9th cycle with the Lunette size 2. Overall, it has worked nicely for me though I hate that on my heavier days it seems I either have to wear a disposable pad or liner. I bought this so that I could get away from that completely. To achieve this, I decided to start doing Kegel exercises. A few days before this cycle started, I noticed that inserting the Lunette was a lot easier than before. It would almost slide in, which was great! Would Kegels contribute to this or is it just my vagina getting used to having a menstrual cup in it?

Where can I buy a Lunette or Lunette Selene in Canada? I'm fine with online or in store. I'm in Ontario.

Fleurcup responded to my email asking when their cup would become available in the United States. Here is the reply (translated from French):

We thank you for the interest you have expressed in the menstrual cup Fleurcup. The commercialization of the Fleurcup in the United States is not planned at the moment. Please consult out internet site www.fleurcup.com from time to time; all the information on the subject of countries that we deliver to is there.


So I guess we'll just have to keep checking. Doesn't sound like it will happen anytime soon though :(

(This will be my last post for a while, I swear! lol)

i've been following this site for a while before purchasing my diva cup... hopefully someone will have a tip for me because i haven't seen anything much about the problem i'm having.

okay. so according to the directions that came with my diva cup, if you get a seal, the cup *can't* ride up. not the case!! no matter how shallow i put it in, my vagina sucks it up so it's so far in i have huge problems getting it in.

i know it's sealed because:
- i can hear the whoosh of air as it seals
- it's not leaking (at all - i have to say this is wonderful!!)
- it has huge suction when i go to take it out, have to squeeze and tug and pull, etc

anyway, i was using the punch-down fold and trying to it position it so the stem was just outside of my body and i could feel it easily... guaranteed within 5 minutes it was so far in there i need to dig waaay inside to even find the stem and getting a grip of it was almost impossible.

had that a few times, then tried putting it in just barely using the c-fold (the stem AND maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of the base were visible from the outside using a mirror). that was fine while i was standing up but when i sat down - vagina sucked it up again!

it's really comfortable when it's so far in there - my problem is it's so hard to get out and i'm kinda worried if i leave it in more than a few hours i won't be able to get it out.  the only thing i can think of is that maybe i should put a hole in the stem and put a string through like a tampon, just in case?!


i didn't have this problem on my "dry runs" before my period so i'm assuming it has to do with my cervix moving, or just because things are slippery down there. any tips would be appreciated!! it is pretty awesome that it doesn't leak AT ALL... just want getting it out of my body to not be a 10-15 minute procedure!

My second cycle ended last week with less success then the first with the Femmecup.
It just leaked so much. Even after a few minutes it was already leaking! And so for sure after 2 hours or less I was in the bathroom. I must have tried so many different times reinserting it and a bit different every time to try to get it right with No success!!!

This must be the wrong cup for me... or am I just putting it in wrong all of these many times!!>??
I tried the C-fold and that is the only fold but I tried straight, I tried toward my back, foot on toilet, sitting down... anyway... I guess it is not the right cup for me.

With regards to the size of the F-cup, do you think this means my vagina is longer or shorter? And which do you recommend I try next!?

Thanks.

I want this to work... but this last experience was very frustrating! to say the least!

Hello from Russia! :)
I'm not very good at English but I can't find russian-speaking cup-user who could answer my questions... So I hope you will forgive me for my mistakes :)
I've been using my Mooncup UK for 5 periods and I still have some troubles with leaking.
I'm 25, no kids, sexual active. I use a small size - "B".
It works, and sometimes it works perfect, but another time it leaks just like there's nothing inside at all.

I tried to insert it in different ways:
- low, right next to the entrance of vagina - works, but I fill it and the stem pokes me.
- higher, towards my cervix - but when it is inside, I can't say if it is around my cervix or not... how can I check it? So it usually leaks when inserted like this - means that I do something wrong?

I could wear it low, but in time it rides up anyway, and sometimes not to my cervix - so it starts to leak a lot.

So how do you think what should I do?
Try to incert it around my cervix (but how can I do it?) ?
Or shoud I try a wider/longer cup that wouldn't ride up in wrong direction when inserted?
I should add that my Mooncup "B" seats very tightly, I can hardly insert a finger to check the suction.
And my cervix is not low during my period (about 6-7 sm).

So I went ahead and ordered a Divacup since the small Mooncup US that I originally got has such a low capacity, and when it came in the mail the other day I did a dry run and it seemed to fit pretty well. Problem is, I just noticed there is a crack in it above one of the holes, and in fact none of the holes seem to have been punched out very well. From what I've read here, Diva customer service kind of sucks and it may take months for them to send me a replacement. Well, my husband and I are going on a camping trip in a couple weeks which happens to also coincide with my period, and I don't want to have to be emptying my Mooncup every few hours the whole time. So I'm not sure if I spend another $25 on a new Divacup (which who knows, could also turn out to be defective!) or just tough it out with my Mooncup (because hey, it would probably still be better than pads and tampons). But I can't make up my mind what I should do. What do you all think? Another issue is that I don't want to wake up in the morning having leaked all over the place because the Mooncup overflowed! Bringing disposable pads and tampons is out of the question, and the idea of buying some cloth pads for this one trip doesn't thrill me either.

I am really irritated with the Diva company for sending me a defective product. Argh!

EDIT: Okay, so I emailed iherb.com about the problem since I didn't expect a reply from the Diva company, and they said they would issue me a full refund. I don't even have to send the defective cup back to them. Also, they replied to my email in less than half an hour. Wow! Iherb officially rocks.

Hey, new user here :)

My period snuck up early this month so the nice little LadyCup I ordered arrived the exact day after it was over. But I just couldn't wait, so being a science nerd, I ran to the autoclave (hey, it said to sterilize it, right?) and now I'm taking this as opportunity to get my usage perfect before the date comes next month, and I have just a couple questions.

First of all, I dry-run wore mine all day yesterday at college, through my back-to-back for 12 hours classes, and unlike tampons, I never felt any kind of discomfort, even though it is the large size (it is so not that big). If the bleeding goes well, I will never look back. I stalked this community for a long time before buying, and I just wanted to say thank you :)

Somewhere on here I remember someone posting a link to a youtube video demonstrating different folding techniques. I can't find it! So if someone could link me, that would rock. Nevermind. One more second and I would have found it...

I didn't have any trouble removing it like a lot of LadyCup users seemed to... Except that it was a little uncomfortable through the opening. Are you supposed to fold it when you pull it out too? If so, what fold are you supposed to do? I can't very well be doing origami in my vagina.

Thanks ladies!

Hello Ladies!

I've been lurking in this community for a while, but never actually posted. Quick about me: 27, no kids, on the heavy side, low hanging cervix. Or I think it's low, it's around 1.5 inches(4.5cm) from my outer labia during my period. At any rate, I've been using cups for around 3 years, and of course, I love them! I even accidentally converted a friend just by virtue of raving about the awesomeness of my cup.

My first cup was an Mooncup UK, size "b" or the small one. I've cut the stem all the way off, but occasionally I can feel it anyways. Usually only if I'm riding my bike. I assume this is because when I'm on my bike everything gets compressed, except the cup. I also constantly had problems with even the tiniest organic applicatorless tampons poking me, too. But that didn't bother me. It was always easy to insert and remove for me, popped right open. Taking it out I would just grab the base and yank, suction be damned. I didn't care about an extra cramp from the suction. xD

But then, about 6 months ago, I got a copper IUD. This changed things, I used my cup for my first cycle after the IUD was inserted. I had tried using pads, but I just couldn't handle it. I had honestly forgotten how disgusting and uncomfortable they were. But then I quickly discovered the joys of overflowing a cup! I have a light flow compared to most of my women friends, so I never had that problem before. I was emptying a completely full MCUK every 2 hours. Not good! So I went shopping. Thanks to the lovely comparison charts on this community, I opted for a small Lunette Selene. Now I can get away with 4 hours on my heaviest day before it overflows. I can live with that. The Lunette is harder to pop open compared to the MCUK, but there seems to be less suction. At least, after the IUD I tried to be careful of the suction with my MCUK and it took a lot longer to break the suction and remove than the Lunette. I've also cut the tab about halfway off my Lunette, and I haven't had the poking problems I had with my MCUK. For some reason, though, my menstrual blood often seems to have a smell from the Lunette that I never noticed with my MCUK. I have no idea why that is, but it's not horribly offensive nor does the smell linger on the cup, so I'm not worried.

But, this brings me to this period! My period was dragging its feet and was refusing to come. I was getting red dribble for a couple days and I finally said, "enough is enough!" and bought some fresh parsley. I've found parsley tea and a parsley pessary work wonders to make a late period show. And because I *was* dribbling a little bit of blood, I didn't want to just insert the parsley and leave it, It would have leaked! So I stuffed my Lunette full of parsley and inserted it. I hardly have to fold either cup for insertion, so the fact that it was full and not easily squishable didn't bother me. The parsley stuffed cup wasn't in terribly long, maybe 4 hours. I was worried the cup hadn't sealed, being so full of fresh parsley leaves, and would leak. I also had some parsley tea that day and lo and behold the next day, the floodgates had opened! So, good. Then I had to empty my Lunette a bunch, and one time while doing so, I noticed that funk I mentioned earlier. After rinsing my cup off (I don't use soap anymore except for right at the end of my cycle before boiling) I sniffed it, to make sure the funk hadn't lingered. And I could still smell the parsley from the day before! It sure smelled nice and fresh. I was surprised. But I'm wondering if anyone has ever thought to use parsley to get rid of smells on their cup? Perhaps stuffing the cup full of fresh parsley and then boiling? Or allowing it to soak in warm water? Is that insane? I know parsley is recommended as a breath freshener after eating, but maybe it would work as a cup freshener, too.

Mods: I tried to tag it, but if I left any out or tagged incorrectly feel free to fix that. Sorry!

Hello all!

Every now and then we get the slew of questions about can I use cups doing this, that, or the other activity, and the answer is usually yes, you can. However, I didn't remember anyone asking about riding roller coasters, and a quick search through the tags and memories confirmed that we'd discussed it briefly, but never really said yes or no definitely, so I thought a quick post might be in order.

I went to my favorite theme park yesterday, on a heavy day of my period, rode all the coasters, and my Divacup did just fine. Nary a leak. So, that in mind: roller coasters are a-ok with a cup in, if that's your cup of tea. :)

Just wanted to share that in case this question comes up in the future!

So ideally I would want to get a Lunette Selene, however with the current FDA trouble and higher costs, I am not sure. My second choice is a Lilac Lady Cup which I can get for roughly $26.80 with coupons and color sales, compared to the $45 cost of the Lunette and the difficulties with the FDA.  So, should I compromise gripper ridges, tab stem, and a larger capacity for the $20 difference? Also would the prices go down when the FDA drama is over and when will the drama end?

It's now shipping to the Britain, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and etc. Still not to the USA... I'm crossing my fingers!

http://fleurcup.com/paiement-livraison.html

Hello Ladies.

I'm fourteen, five foot one, 110 pounds, tiny framed, and can't put in a tampon.
However, the cotton-y feel does bother me with those, so maybe, just maybe this will be better.

I've been reading posts on this site for about six months,
but have yet to purchase a menstrual cup.
They seem great, but I have had doubts with my ability to put them in, etc.

However, now i'm willing to take the needed time and focus on insertion.
I'm in an intensive cheer camp right now, and periods and cheer is bad enough,
without going through pads and cheer.
So, i'm going to order one, hopefully today.

I decided on the Lady Cup (in Lilac) because it's the smallest.
However, the website and ordering is hugely confusing.
And I have a few general questions.

First off: getting one:

Do the colors make a difference?
Is their website the only place that sells them?
How long does it take to ship (i'd really really really like to have it within a week)?
Are there any US stores that carry them instock? Can you give me some examples?
And if there isn't another option explain how to order off their website, please!
+What should I order? Cleaning gel? 

Second off: getting it in & out.
What are good folds to use?
Good positions? 
Can I try putting it in when i'm not in my cycle?

How do I attempt to get it out?
Cleaning it?

General comments?

Thank you all so much in advance.
Love, Luckyy23.

I am a new Divacup user. I just purchased it last week and used it for the first time last night. All went well so I decided to try it at work today. I didn't get it in right this morning and was having some leaking, so I decided to take it out and reposition it while I was at work. When I put it in it seemed to unfold, then as I pushed I felt the cup fill with air and the air push into my vagina. I know that air in the uterus can be very dangerous. I am wondering if there is anything to worry about with it pushing some air up there, then suctioning so it can't come back out.

Any thoughts? Has this happened to anyone else?

And completely, and utterly loving it! Just realised when I was talking to a friend about menstrual cups over at IRC. :D

Oh, and I come bearing a question.

I'm no good with maths or translations, so how does one translate using 3 pads a day during a cycle into capacity needed in a menstrual cup? The chart gives it me in ml, but I'm hopeless in estimating how much a girl would need. Am asking because a friend did.

Thank you!

I keep toying with buying another Lady Cup since I liked the "trial" one I got when they were selling off the faulty batch. I'm considering the green and the orange colored ones, and I'm wondering if anyone has photos of these so I can see better what they look like and not just the fancy promotional shots, especially if you have a photo of one next to a normal uncolored cup (any brand).

Also I think people have said they can find Lady Cups cheaper on eBay, but I'm not sure what search terms you use since "ladycup" as one word turns up nothing, "lady cup" as two words turns up bras, and "menstrual lady cup" also turns up nothing. Is there a specific store on eBay that I should be looking at?

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,


Well, first off let me just say how excited I am to finally be using this wonderful thing called the Diva Cup :) !!!

I started it yesterday, put it in no problem and removal was hard the first time but i got the hang of it :)

The only thing is... I have reaaaaaaaally bad cramps! I mean, I usually have cramps during my period but they are SO painful right now and are never this bad. Is there a reason for this? Did i put it in wrong? I know it's opened and I don't feel it.. there isn't any leakage either... Is my body just getting used to the cup or something? ahhhg it hurts.

Other thing, it's so messy when I take it out! I know it's obviously going to be messy but do you guys have any tips to make it less messy? It's hard because the sink isn't close and then I'm trying not to make a mess everywhere!

Anyways, sorry if these questions have been answered already somewhere, I was just in a lot of pain and didn't really have the strenght to browse!

Thanks!

And small UK Mooncup too.  GOT IT!!!  :o)  (Thanks!)

And also anyone with the other newcomer cups please too!

Please measure the inside diameter of your cups for http://community.livejournal.com/menstrual_cups/1761229.html

Once I get those three two popular cups measurements, I'll add the new chart to the charts post.

THANKS!

I bought my size 1 Diva at the end of April and have tried again and again, whenever I could, to insert it. No luck! It's been three months and I have never once been able to insert the thing inside my seemingly tiny, tight vagina. I've decided that no, the cup is NOT for everyone, and that appeals especially to virgins. Damn those of us who never shove foreign objects inside our privates.

I'm giving up. I'll be leaving for the drug store and the wonderful world of pads as soon as this is posted.

I sewed a new drawstring pouch for my US Mooncup the other day, since the ones they come with are cheap and flimsy. ( Read more... )

I'm currently being treated vaginally with Lactobacillus after a pretty heavy YI. I got my period yesterday, quite unexpected (haven't had one in over two years because of pregnancy/breastfeeding), and was wondering if I can continue treatment while wearing the cup. I have a Mooncup UK. Could the meds somehow harm the cup? I don't think it's very likely, but ya know. Better safe... :)

I ordered my cup from South Coast Shopping online June 6th. My cup was shipped fast and I got great customer service. Open up the cup and there is a crack in the material on the seam. It is right above on of the holes. One of the holes was not punched out either. I emailed both South Coast Shopping and Diva. I got a response right away from SCS and a phone call. I have to say the gentleman on the phone was very pleasant, helpful, and very knowledgeable about menstrual cups. There was only one issue. The seller of the cup can't help with a manufacturing issue. I wish that it was just that easy because I believe the situation would have been solved asap. I got an email from Diva customer service one June 10th telling me to take pictures of my cup and email them. I did exactly what was asked on June 15th so that I could get a replacement right away. However, I asked that hey confirm that my email was received. Well three days later(June 18th), I sent another email with all the information again letting them know that this was a follow up email because I never got confirmation that they received anything. I am still without a new diva cup without any updates on the status of my replacement cup nor if they even deemed it a manufacturing issue. How in the heck am I going to get a replacement cup in the 3 weeks if there has been no determination made?

I wish that I didn't love my diva cup so much. I have thought about getting another cup but none have similar shapes to the diva. I am just so frustrated. I don't know if I will ever order anything sold as a Diva product again because this is the poorest customer service that I have had in a long time. Seriously, I have heard issues in the past with Diva but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am really just frustrated.

Maybe when I get paid in two week, I will just order a different cup. Any other cup companies that I should stay away from solely based on their customer service. I will be going over the comparison charts tonight trying to decide on new cup. I just don't want to have the same issues with another company.

At an estimate, I've been using my small-size DivaCup for about 9 months now. She has been good to me - a couple leaks as I learn exactly what works and what doesn't, but sometimes life is like that.

Then last week, tragedy struck - I left my purse behind at work one night and was unable to retrieve it. It had my cup in it. My period was due any moment.

"No big deal," I told myself. I had given away all my pads, but I had plenty of tampons leftover from the BC era (Before Cup, you know). I would just have to use tampons for a day, until I could be reunited with my purse and my dear cup. No problem, right?

Oh my GOODNESS. I went to insert my first tampon in nearly a year and realized that it's not REMOTELY comfortable. What I once considered a vague, mild twinge of discomfort has become a completely unacceptable painful scrape. I mean, I managed it of course, and put up with it for several hours, but I absolutely couldn't wait to get my cup back. How did I put up with tampons before? How did they convince me to shove this dry scratchy wad of cotton inside of myself? And to pay good money for it! Would that I had a time machine... This point forward, I consider my tampons good for nothing except stopping up nosebleeds.

Anyway, I wanted to thank you ladies because I did an awful lot of reading here before deciding on my DivaCup, and all of the advice and analyses and data-breakdowns and stories were so helpful - I definitely got the perfect cup on the first try. So,I thought I'd let you know you've converted another, and add my bit to the rest.

http://www.sendmonthly.com/

..All I was thinking was 'How about getting a cup? That's even more convenient than you guys! And that's only a one-time cost!'

 Just my luck, my period came yesterday... the worse day of the week for it to come! I waitress and Saturday was a wedding day, which means lots of heavy lifting, lots of running around long periods where I can't stop to take a break. This is my first period with a cup and I wasn't certain if this was the day to try it. But I had been using the cup for several days prior, because I wasn't certain exactly when my period was coming (lots of new girls at work = messed up cycle!) so I decided I was comfortable enough to give it a try (with a pad backup, of course). 

So glad I did! My small LilacCup sealed perfectly and I had no leakage at all! I thinks I've been a little obsessive about emptying it, because I was worried about the small capacity, but otherwise all has gone well. I even went out dancing with everyone after work and didn't have any trouble. Used it overnight too, with no problems. I am so excited!!!!!!

I don't know if anyone is interested, but I might sell my large LilacCup. I bought a mix double pack, really thinking that the large would be better, but the small seems to be a  better fit for me. I'll definately give the large another try (I really want the higher capacity!) but if I can't get it to work, then I may as well pass it on to someone who can use it.