Diva cup Qs

[AutumnAir]

I got my Diva cup a few months ago but I'm not convinced by it yet. Having a few problems.

1) I cut the little poky thing on the bottom all the way off, but it's still rubbing against my scar and it's quite uncomfortable/painful. I keep pushing it up but it just comes back down again as soon as I stand or walk. Is it too big or too small for me? I kegel quite a lot and have reasonably good pelvic floor muscles, but I can't keep it in permanently with kegels - in fact I suspect it might be the involuntary clenching of muscles that is pushing it out.. Any ideas? What can I do?

2) At times when I'm wearing it it causes a really strong painful ache in my pelvis - like it's in my bones. It gets particularly bad if I'm standing or walking a lot. So bad that it feels like my bones are on fire and I want to rip my pelvis out! The only thing that relieves this is removing the cup or lying down. Anyone else get this? What's causing it?

At the moment I'm only using it at night, when these problems don't matter so much, but I'd like to be able to use it more during the day too. Any ideas?

[tinyblackdot]

Hm....it sounds like its rubbing or pinching your cervix maybe....

Try flipping it inside out and see if that helps at all. I have heard great things about using it that way.

[Piglet68]

I know exactly what you are referring to with #2 and I believe it is also related to #1.

Your cup is not inserted properly. It is likely still folded or bent in some way and this is applying pressure to your anus. That sends a shooting pain through your pelvis. It can be quite painful. I've also had the cup folded and pressing on my urethra - I tried to pee and couldn't.

You need to make sure it has opened after insertion. First, you can run your finger around the cup, near the tip, and make sure it feels circular and not bent anywhere. Second, you can grasp it near the tip and try to rotate it (spin it clockwise or counterclockwise). It should rotate pretty easily. If not, it's likely folded somewhere.

If it hasn't opened it can also be pushed out naturally by your vaginal muscles. This is another sign that it isn't in properly. When it opens inside you, it forms a seal and you cannot pull it out with your hands (or push it out with your vaginal muscles). That's why when you are removing the cup you need to first break the seal.

It takes some practice to get it right every time, but its well worth it.

[~Denise~]

Inside out

Definitely flip the cup inside out. The large sized Diva cup is the longest cup on the market, at 57mm without the stem. (The shortest is 47mm). Inverting it will make it 51-52mm long, and there will be no pokey stem to jab your poor vulva, rectum, or anything else.

The pain might also be from the cup banging against your cervix; a cup shouldn't sit up high like a tampon. However, if your cervix sits low (can you feel it easily when you insert a finger?), sometimes you do end up with the cup up by your cervix where it can get bumped hard. (BTW, for a lot of women the cervix is higher or lower at different points in their cycle, it might be high normally but low when you are menstruating.)

Oh, one more thing: remember that your vagina doesn't actually sit vertically; it's angled back because your uterus is behind behind your bladder. So make sure your cup isn't vertical, but following the angle of your vagina.

[ani'smommy]

For sure angle it back, not up. That made a big difference for me. I didn't really get the hang of it for five or six months -- there was a big learning curve for me.