Cup Question--TMI, perhaps

[amber913]

Love the cup. Love it lots. I've figured out how to make it stay put and not leak. It's great. BUT, I still have to wear a pad with it. (I made my own) I go through one or two (heavy days) a day. I'm pretty darn sure the cup isn't leaking, perse. I think perhaps I'm just...messy, no matter how much I wipe after I empty it, I can't go without something protecting my undies.

My question is: Is this the way it is with everyone? Or am I doing something wrong? (though, like i said, it doesn't seem to be leaking)

[rhiasmum]

I only used my Diva cup about 3x before I got pg. But I loved it and never had a problem with it leaking or otherwise. I guess my only question would be do you have the correct size cup? Since my experience is limited I'm not sure what else to check besides that it's in correctly. Maybe on your heavier days you need to empty more often? I hope you figure it out. I love my cup! lol

[Ola_]

One tip I've heard is to after inserting, run your finger around the outside of the cup to get any blood that was hanging around there.

The other thing that I have found is that sometimes it takes a bit of moving around to get it sealed completely, so that could be happening only after you've been walking around a bit, you know? I normally put it in and then I stand up and wiggle my hips a bunch - usually during this I feel it "pop" open.

There's a good livejournal community on menstrual cups too, maybe it would be worthwhile to post on there too? I know there are different cups so it's possible that there is another that may work better for you, but I'm not sure which to suggest as I don't know much about them. I use cloth liners with my cup also for the peace of mind.

[outlier]

OP, I have the exact same issues as you. I've used my diva cup for three periods now and I always have some leakage, no matter what I do. I run my finger around the side, I insert it different ways, I do the "diva dance," and it always seems to stay a little compressed. Maybe I'm just small down there?

I'm still very happy with it since it's cut way down on the number of pads I go through and eliminated all leaking through my underwear and pants, even at night (and I have fairly heavy periods)!

[MoonStarFalling]

This isn't much help but I have no leaking/bloody pants/blood on TP whatsoever with my cup (Lunette).

[Climbergirl]

I have a Lunette and tend to always have leakage. But since I know that my periods are heavier now due to the IUD (Paraguard), I deal with a little leakage since I am not too keen on changing it at work unless the handicap stall in open (I am still pretty messy about it).

I should try the "diva dance"!

I delivered by c-section but it said to use the bigger size anyway. I did not like the diva cup because it had such incredible suction and I was scared I would pull out my IUD (and that was awful enough getting placed that I would rather not do that again because I pulled out an IUD!).

[amber913]

I've been doing the diva dance (dd dances with me!) and have been changing it more often. I think that like with everything else, the reason for my prob was pure laziness. Things seem...cleaner now.

[pastrygirl]

I always wear a backup pad. I leak every once in a while, if I put it in wrong.

[Mosaic]

Do you leak all the time or only on heavy flow days? My Diva needs emptying every 45-60 min on heavy days, and that just doesn't jive with my work schedule. I think that in addition to it filling up quickly, there was just too much flow to maintain a good seal. The other 5 days of AF, with low-regular flow I have zero leakage problems at all.

But you mentioned it doesn't stay put, and that makes me think that placement may be an issue. It should stay put unless you're doing something that may push it out (BM, for example).

[loon13]

I always wear a backup pad but I really only need it on the first 2 days of my period which are my heavy days. I've been using the cup for a few years now, so I doubt there are leaks. I think it just gets full more often on the heavy days. I actually like having the backup pad so if I can't rush to the bathroom right away.

[lulabelleliz]

Maybe try changing it out more often on your heavier days and see if that helps. Try different methods of inserting to see which way works for you to get the best secure hold.

[aiccerb]

Do you have a peri bottle kicking around? I saw a thread once that suggested using a peri bottle to rinse off any residule blood after inserting. If there is still blood showing on your pad after a little while, you can probably assume your cup is leaking.