Instead cups for TTC?

[myk]

there were some threads about this a long time ago, but they're locked.

has anyone used Instead cups? it looks like a Conception Cap pictured here:
http://www.conceptionkit.com/s-14-conception-kit.aspx

we seem to have some "spillage" issues whenever i move (even slightly), and i thought this might help. if you've used it before - is there any way of knowing whether it's inserted correctly to contain, rather than block, semen? we've been BDing naturally but then i was thinking inserting a cup afterwards might help keep everything where it should be.

any input/success stories would be greatly appreciated!

[~Adorkable~]

from what i understand most of the sperm is held in a gelled semen and is probably fine even if you feel a bit leak.
it liquifies after about 2--30 min and can leak at that point but thats fine, the good ones have already went inside the cervix.

i dont know if it would help or hurt much. but i would make sure that it is very very washed, i would be concerned about plastic residue being bad for the spermies

[jeminijad]

I have heard of them being used as collection devices, then inserted directly up next to the cervix, rather than just inserted after BD.

There is no scientific basis to this, but I can imagine that they would be useful, maybe in conjunction w/Preseed, if you had a hostile CM environment. Swimmers would still have to penetrate the cervix, but at least they wouldn't be dying off the entire length of the vaginal canal.

Also maybe if you have questions re sperm quality... maybe some sperm need more time, in which case the cervical cap idea makes sense.

FWIW I did this for the heck of it while TTC before. We did conceive DD from that act, but there is no way to know if it helped at all, as it was the first cycle trying.

[Lyndzies]

I used it! Inserted it right after, while still lying down. Success!!! (after 7 well-timed cycles... so no way to know if it helped, or I just conceived in the "average" window, regardless).

Good luck and feel free to PM me.

ETA: you may want to practice putting it in while lying down as a trial run before the "real deal" as it can be a bit awkward.

[finnegansmom]

OK. I need more info. How long do you leave it in for, and do you get up afterwards with it still in?

I just googled it and it said they can be bought at CVS and rite aid? hmmm I may need to go the drug store asap.

[karmab]

the ladies on the ff message boards like them. but i did search charts using them on ff one time, and their success rate was lower than the avg, so i changed my mind about trying them. that might be because by the time you get around to trying them, you've likely already been ttc for a while anyway (unless you are inseminating,) and there may be other issues?

[Lyndzies]

Originally Posted by finnegansmom

OK. I need more info. How long do you leave it in for, and do you get up afterwards with it still in?

I just googled it and it said they can be bought at CVS and rite aid? hmmm I may need to go the drug store asap.

I got mine at CVS (I live in the Philly area). If your drug stores don't stock them, I think you can also buy online.

You can leave them in for up to 12 hours... so if I used one in the evening, I'd usually leave it in while sleeping and take it out in the morning.

I will share one thing, and it's probably TMI and some of you may think it's gross, but it's the ONLY thing I did differently the cycle I conceived. I took the cup out after about 10 hours, but there was still quite a bit of fluid in it (admittedly, a lot was probably EWCM). I poured what was there into a fresh cup and inserted and left in for another 8 hours or so. When I took THAT one out, there was hardly anything in it. Since the swimmers can live for quite awhile in the vagina and in fertile fluid, I figured it couldn't hurt!

Again, sorry if TMI! (But not much is on these boards!!!)

Originally Posted by karmab

the ladies on the ff message boards like them. but i did search charts using them on ff one time, and their success rate was lower than the avg, so i changed my mind about trying them. that might be because by the time you get around to trying them, you've likely already been ttc for a while anyway (unless you are inseminating,) and there may be other issues?

I'm not sure they have a large enough representative sample of women using cups vs not in order to make a conjecture about the success rate... but your hypothesis seems reasonable.

[Tummy]

I have a very dear friend who tried to surrogate for a couple. They would come to her home, he would, um, well ya know, in the Instead cup and then she would insert it. They did this for MANY cycles and she never conceived!

[Stevi]

I used the Instead Cup a few times as a recepticle to carry and then hold the sperm in. I liked it. I also like using them for AF, but can't seem to find any locally.

Anyway, it's worth a try, the only thing to watch when using it after BD, is to be sure you "scoop" as you insert it, so that you are holding most of the sperm in, and NOT blocking the sperm out!

[TrishWSU]

Originally Posted by Tummy

I have a very dear friend who tried to surrogate for a couple. They would come to her home, he would, um, well ya know, in the Instead cup and then she would insert it. They did this for MANY cycles and she never conceived!

This is how both of my surrogate babies were conceived (and one that I m/c.) Only after he, you know, in the cup it was sucked up in a syringe, then I squirted the stuff inside me and put the cup in to "hold" everything in. We'd do the inseminations at night so I left the cup in all night and took it out in the morning. Of course "natural" insemination (i.e. BD) will get the semen where it needs to be much better than a syringe can, but the cup can't hurt to keep it in place.

When you put the cup in you should be able to feel your cervix in the center (filmy) part of the cup with the hard rim all around the outside of it.

Oh, FWIW the first baby took 2 cycles to conceive, the second (m/c) took only one, and the third took two cycles. Can't say if the cup had anything to do with it, but I don't think it hurt anything either.

[finnegansmom]

Thank you for the answers and totally not TMI. It's worth a shot, I mean, clearly what I'm doing now isn't working so....
Maybe I'll pick some up next time I'm at the store getting Midol and tampax.... bah.

[myk]

thank you for the answers!

i don't find them difficult to insert (i've used them for menstruation), but i have a hard time reaching my cervix so i have no idea whether or not it's hooked around the right way. and i can't imagine trying to contain semen within it, while inserting! man you must be talented

i've given it a try once and there seemed to be nothing in the cup after. like maybe a teaspoon of fluid, including whatever my body was producing at the time. maybe this means i'm just having spillage during normal withdrawal, but i can't figure out why it's happening, except if it's a position thing (and we're only able to BD in one position so that'd be a hard thing to cope with).

[MommyMatsumoto]

I'm going to try using these next week and just fyi, I got them at babyhopes.com with free shipping.

[CLH_X3]

How big are the cups?

finnegansmom - Im also thinking about trying them for my next cycle (already spotting so af will be here soon) cant harm right?

[MommyMatsumoto]

Originally Posted by CLH_X3

How big are the cups?

finnegansmom - Im also thinking about trying them for my next cycle (already spotting so af will be here soon) cant harm right?

They are pretty large... at least they are much larger than I expected them to be. I'd guess the Instead soft cups are about 2" in diameter, but that's just a guess.

[CLH_X3]

MommyMatsumoto - Thanks!

Now this may just be me but I have no idea how i would personally be able to do that

Seems like hard work getting it up there and in the right position? Ahhh

Has anyone been a bit like me, tryed these and it work ok ?

also I cant find anything called the conception cap over here.... Are there ok to use?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Instead-Soft...2619241&sr=1-2

Oh and I just read on a website about people who use the instead cup take it out after a couple of hours and then put in a lime juice covered tampax to ttc for a girl! ..

[monica3674]

I used them in TTC both of my daughters along with preseed. I'd put it in after DTD and leave them in the rest of the night.

Good luck!

[MommyMatsumoto]

Originally Posted by CLH_X3

MommyMatsumoto - Thanks!

Now this may just be me but I have no idea how i would personally be able to do that

Seems like hard work getting it up there and in the right position? Ahhh

Has anyone been a bit like me, tryed these and it work ok ?

also I cant find anything called the conception cap over here.... Are there ok to use?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Instead-Soft...2619241&sr=1-2

Those are exactly the ones I use (just for the first time yesterday!) and it really wasn't as horrible to deal with as I thought it was. My hubby tried to put it in for me after BD, but I had to make sure it was in place. But just make sure when you put it in that it's facing the right way or it will be harder to get out. My hubby put it in upside down yesterday and I didn't want to take it out and fix it because I didn't want to lose any of the swimmers so when it came time to get it out I had to use a little determination.

I would go ahead and try them if I were you. It doesn't hurt and you can leave them in for 12 hours. I, personally, didn't have any discomfort and totally forgot it was in there. Oh, and I know that it looks big (and it is), but you pinch the sides together and put it in and then it opens up so it's really not that hard to get in. I hope this helps!!

Edit: I got mine at babyhopes.com and they offer free shipping all of the time so that's an added bonus!

[Hesperia]

I've been using my DivaCup to catch the swimmers, but recently bought a pack of Instead Cups.

I hate them! They are huge and awkward, and slip out. I found them easy enough to get it, but when I moved they stuck out a bit. Want to know something totally TMI?
I had to pee in the middle of the night (post BD), and urine got into the cup because of the small lip that was protruding (even after I jammed it back in). The cup didn't hurt or anything, just seems to big for me.

Anyways, I only tried them once, so I should really give them another go, but am scared. I felt I pushed around the semen too much getting them in too. I've been using cups for about 8 cycles, and we aren't pregnant yet, so I'm off them this month. I hope to have 5 cups to sell by next cycle