Sea Pearls useage?

Hi Sue,

I'm so glad you're feeling better.

As for the sponge...wet it, try KY jelly, try trimming it as a last resort, and if that doesn't work...call it a worthwhile experiment. I have primary UP like you and cannot use the sponge. However, women like April with primary cystocele find them terrific. Can't know until you try it.

:-) Christine

Hi Sue,

The thing about the sea sponge is that you need to be very comfortable with your body to use it. By this, I mean, you need to insert it so that it is positioned over your pelvic bone. When inserted correctly, it will not come out (except for those rare exceptions like when you have a b.m.) so be careful then. But, sometimes not even then! Otherwise, they should be extremely comfortable and NOT feel like a tampon at all -- especially if you have it cut to the correct size for your body! Hope that helps! Be well, April

WOW! That makes sense, April...I think I'll resurrect mine and try positioning it as you advise. THANKS!!!

Hi Christine,

You're more than welcome! I hope this helps for those of you wanting to try the sea sponge, but have trouble positioning it. It really is a great help, especially when standing a lot. Also, you can clean it after each use with some lemon essential oil and water. This method works great, gives the sponge a renewed fresh scent and seems to preserve the life of the sponge (rather than using hydrogen peroxide which tends to break things down.) By the way, I have heard that in Paris they use lemon essential oil to clean the hospitals. It makes great sense -- something that works well, yet is non-toxic! I'm all for that! Happy New Year everyone!Take good care.

That sounds confusing to me. Wouldn't that mean placing it fairly high? I'm not sure I'd be able to reach it to get it out.

I've tried using these a few times, and they always cause me to secrete a lot of clear liquid (very annoying). I used to have the same thing to a lesser degree with tampons though. It's almost like my body is trying to get rid of the foreign objects. ;)

Hi Zandria,

Like I said, you need to be very comfortable with your body in order to insert and use them properly. Not everyone can do this, and that's okay too. Whenever I've used tampons in the past, they always seemed to want to make their way out of me too. However, I felt they had the opposite effect on me, they made me really dry up! Plus, except for the natural healthfood store version, they are all bleached. Another reason not to use them -- who needs bleach in their body? But getting back to the sea sponge insertion. If you insert it while bending over at the waist, knees slightly bent, insert it up and over the pelvic bone. It shouldn't be hard to find it in there to retrieve it, unless you are squeemish about it. I haven't noticed any more discharge than normal while using them either. If you can't retrieve it, you could try pushing slightly like you are having a b.m. while in a semi squat position over the toilet. I mean push enough just to make to sponge come down. I never have trouble retrieving mine, as I just go in and get it! But again, not everyone feels that comfortable doing this. To me, it's worth it not to have that heavy, falling out feeling all the time. Good luck! Take good care,

When i used them, i found wetting them helped make them feel soft and whilst the first day they felt like an uncomfotable tampon, just repositioning made it unnoticable.

To position it properly with my 'cele (a cystocele/urethrocele) i had to go onto all fours so that it sat outta the way and pop it in.

Again wierd once or twice, easy after that.

However i really don't get much of a bearing down senstation at all so i stopped using them.

Hi Ladies,
It's been awhile since I've added my tips! I find that down on all fours works for me with the sea sponges. But I was using peroxide to clean them. Where do you buy the lemon essential oils, and also how do you use it? Thanks, Nancy

I can't get the sea pearls in??? Does that mean they are too big?

Any help appreciated.

Hi Mommynow,

You can trim the sea pearls to size. As long as you don't cut them in half -- trimming to fit your body is just fine. I often trim mine. I noticed that some were extra large and some small. I guess like everything else, one size does not fit all! Try trimming and using the position of bending at waist while in a semi squat. Also essential oils are found in healthfood stores. GNC probably won't carry them, but most Mom & Pop type healthfood stores will.

Take care,

Hi Nancy,

The essential oils are usually sold in the Mom & Pop type healthfood stores. I don't believe you can buy them in a GNC type store. You can use either lemon or tee tree essential oils to clean the sponges. I feel that the hydrogen peroxide breaks down the sponges really fast. Use a few drops to soak them in and rinse thoroughy, air dry and they will be clean. Take good care,

Oops -- I forgot to say soak the sponges in warm water, and just add a few drops of the essential oils for their disinfectant properties.

Thanks ladies, I will get the oils!!!!Nancy

April -

For some reason, I never got around to checking back about this (can't imagine how that would happen with a 13mo old, haha). I'm surprised at your description. It sounds as if it's meant to be placed right by the cervix, like a diaphragm. I wasn't putting it that high! Maybe that was my problem. I'm a little concerned about having to push to get it out though...I avoid all bearing down these days.

I've used a diaphragm as well as the Instead cup (same concept) and they are sometimes hard for me to extract. It isn't a matter of being squeemish; my fingers just can't always get a hold of the rim enough to pull them out. So I think I might have to modify the sponge (tie a string on it or something) if I try using it that way.

Another thought...isn't it a lot roomier in that position? How would it not leak??

I read in the pamphlet that comes with them to tie a piece of floss onto it for easy extraction. But be careful when you pull because the sponge is delicate.

Hi Zandria,

Regarding inserting the sea sponge up and over the pelvic bone. I really don't think you should need to bear down to get it out, that was just a last resort kind of option if you can't get it out by reaching in to retrieve it! I did see that you could tie a string to it, ala tampon style, for easy retrieval. That's always an option I guess. I am so bad about knowing exactly "where everything is located inside" YIKES makes me feel like such an airhead sometimes. I guess if everything else is in place, except for the cystocele, then yes you would be placing the sponge close to the cervix. When I insert mine, I put it in high up and over to the left where a little pocket seems to be. This seems to work really well to hold up my cystocele. I hope this was helpful to you!! Good luck -- I'm sure it'll all work out for you. Take good care, April

It's interesting that you say such positioning helps to hold up the cystocele. My cystocele is closer to the outside. I have to push through a bunch of tissue to get to the position that you describe (just past the pelvic bone). If I place the sponge there, I don't think I'm effecting/touching the cystocele at all! Go figure.

(I'm trying it now after having dealt with a big mess with an Instead cup...I am so frustrated by this whole situation! Periods used to be so much easier...)