Diva Cup alternatives?

[capemom]

I have been using cloth pads and a Diva cup since since my cycles returned after the birth of my 3rd child - so about 3 years. I am a complete convert and will never go back to disposable products. I don't mind using pads mostly, but occasionally it is nice to have the cup as an option. I just can't love my Diva cup. I have tried. It leaks (not badly, but some). I don't think I am getting a great seal - it comes out very easily without having to break the seal. I can turn it and it feels open when inserted, so I can't quite figure it out. I have difficulty urinating with it inserted - it feels like it is pushing on my urethra.

In the last couple of months, I have started having pain in my urethra - it is constant and mild. Occasionally it flares up and becomes pretty intense. I assumed it was yeast, but a recent trip to the gyno proved that wrong. The pain will sometimes affect the front wall of my vagina too. The doctor does not know what is causing the pain and is trying various things including antibiotics and steroid cream. I'm thinking I should have gone to a urologist instead, but it is hard to know sometimes as all the parts are so close geographically.

I'm probably being irrational, but I hope the Diva hasn't caused whatever this pain is coming from. At any rate, I'm looking for alternatives. Any of you with experience with multiple cups want to comment? I've considered the sea sponges, but I would rather use a cup.

[mollusk]

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[doudat]

Nevermind, I hadn't read the whole post!

[MoonStarFalling]

I was just looking into this a couple days ago. There is a Live Journal group for menstrual cups that was very informative. I don't think your pain issue is uncommon at all. I decided to get a Lunette cup on ebay.

[loon13]

Okay, I'm going to address a couple of points in your post:

First: comparing menstrual cups. There is a great website here: menstrual cups. This gal has compared every menstrual cup out there. Some I didn't even know existed. (I'm considering trying a Lunette.) So it's a good spot to go to if you're not happy with the Diva.

Second: I have had the Diva and the Mooncup (UK). I can tell you from personal experience that the Diva is much longer than the Mooncup. The Diva used to be annoying to me in that because it was long, I could sometimes feel it at the vaginal opening. On the other hand, I felt I could wear it longer than the Mooncup because it could hold a tad more. I tend to empty the Mooncup more frequently.

Third: Regarding leaks. I too can turn it once it's open. I think as long as it's open and it covers your cervix opening, your seal is good. I personally still occasionally have some leaks, but mostly in the beginning of my cycle, when it tends to be heavier. I just usually wear backup.

Fourth: pain. I sometimes get pain too, but my pain is sore vaginal walls. It's seems to be that when I wear the cup too long I get sore. I think I tend tend to sometimes unconscioulsy clench down there as if I'm holding the cup in. I do empty the cup of course but I sometimes just give myself a break by taking it out for a few hours and just using a cloth pad. Again though this seems to happen to me mostly in the beginning of my cycle when it's heavy.

But you described your pain as being in your urethra and that you are having trouble urinating when you wear the cup. The Diva does tend to be a bit less flexible than other cups but I'm not sure it should be pressing that hard on your urethra that you are having trouble urinating. If it is, you just might be that sensitive to wearing the Diva cup. But I'm thinking it is something else.
Since you say you've been checked out for a yeast infection and if your pain is constant (even when you're not in your cycle, I am understanding that right, I think?) I would certainly follow your instinct to go to a urologist or your regular doctor first check for a UTI and rule that out.

Good luck! We're thinking about you. Please let us know how everything turns out.

[Leta]

I use a diaphragm as my menstrual cup. I have heard that they can lead to problems with UTIs, but I have not found this to be the case- I did suffer from UTIs when I used disposables, however.

Has your doc determined if you have UTIs or if it's something else?

Honestly, you are smart. It may be the Diva- not as an indictment of Diva Cups, but everyone is different, yk?

Good luck figuring this out.

[doudat]

Re: pain in the urethra
I get that pain sometimes too, and it makes me want to pee so what I do is I just remove the Diva and reinsert it. The discomfort tells my I didn't insert it correctly. It needs to be pushed in horizontally and not vertically, if that makes sense.

[~Denise~]

It very well might be your Diva cup. The Diva is of a similar width for most of it's length, and depending on your anatomy, it can put pressure on your urethra, which can cause problems there and further upstream. Try a cup with more of a bell shape: more narrow except for a flange at the top. Alternatively, try a softer silicone. In addition to the excellent site mentioned above, see community.livejournal.org/menstrual_cups and look for the tag "urinary tract infections".
Also, community.livejournal.org/menstrual_cups/1285963 has a table of the shape of the 10+ cups out there.

[ParisApril]

I used to have a diaphram and I was having problem after problem with yeast and bladder infections. Once I stopped using the diaphram the problems went away. So I've never really considered a diva cup to be an option for me. I knit myself some tampons out of dish cloth yarn. They work great!

[Climbergirl]

I had a Diva cup and I could never get it out without hurting. It was just too stiff for me to use.

After reading a ton on the web, I bought a Lunette. I LOVE it! It is not as stiff and it breaks suction a lot easier than the Diva cup (which is good because I have an IUD).

I used to have a fairly light flow but with this IUD (or maybe the fact that I am not using birth control pills for the first time in oh, say, 16 years), my flow is HEAVY. So, I have to dump the Lunette a couple of times a day but it does pretty well.