Ways to continue using Diva Cup

Hi CC - I wonder if you also have a rectocele (very common to have both). Because rectocele is notorious for pushing things out, like a tampon for example. I could barely keep one in, during the last few pre-menopause years. I had no idea why, of course.

I never used a diva cup, maybe others can chime in with some suggestions. You can experiment, though I would imagine there is a certain placement that maximizes catching the flow, that you might not be able to mess with too much. Good luck and I hope you get a better answer than this! - Surviving

I've not used a diva cup so can't speak from personal experience. However from what I've seen via youtube - it looks as if mestrual blood is collected in the cup which is inserted into the vaginal passage & then taken out, emptied, cleansed & reused if/when needed. My main concern is that a healthy vaginal passage is flat & closed, like an elevator door. I think the diva cup would keep the vaginal passage open & therefore take the female anatomy away from healthy correct position & functioning. I personally would not recommend it.
Love, wholewomanuk

I recently purchased two cups to try. One is a small and the other is a large. I slept with the large one and it was awesome. No leaking or needing to change in the middle of the night. During the day its another story. I have a cystocele and a rectocele and they have managed to push the cups out. It feels just like when a tampon is right at the opening of the vagina. So uncomfortable. As we speak I am just using cloth pads for right now. I am wanting to find the right cup, but don't have enough money to just buy a ton of them. If you find something that works let me know please.

Berry

Dear Crunchy Christi...,
Even though I was having the last of my periods when I started with WWPosture, I did notice that after a while living in the posture, when I wore tampons they DIDN"T fall out on the way to the car from the front door as before WW ...pretty much after I had put them in... ( I ended up wearing pads until my experiment above worked)...

I used tampax with the applicator and they don't expand widthways like other brands. I did have to use 2 side by side on heavier days after having children to stop leaking...but latterly needed only one as periods became much lighter...

I haven't experienced the use of diva cups however I would have tried them if I could have.

All the best,
Aussie Soul Sister

I am post menopausal, but tried the cup to evaluate how it functioned as a pessary. The rim is too weak to be supportive. Others have tried the cup and stated that it was successful for support. Results appear to vary person to person.

Most people with rectocele especially, will find these things uncomfortable and tending to push themselves out, but Soul Sis makes a good point - this should be less of an issue as you get your posture under control and the organs sitting a bit more forward. I too am post-meno and didn't get the chance to experiment with this, but I did have issues with tampons in the last few years before I understood what was going on with my body. - Surviving

I don't have an official diagnosis, but I believe I have a mild cystocele and mild to moderate rectocele . I first got a diva cup in between children about 5-8 years ago. It worked great for it's intended purpose, but I did notice it was a bit too long and I did the trick where you turn it inside out (after cutting off the stem). This helped a lot as my cervix gets low during menstruation. Not sure if it did that before I had kids.

As far as pessary IDK for sure. I do notice that everything feels better when I am using it (and it stays in). I have only tried the diva, but there are SO MANY brands and materials out there now that I think I will try something different. I am looking at really short ones now, ones that are firm too and I will see if that helps. At the very least I have another option for menstrual control. :D

Actually one of the things that made me start to wonder is that I can no longer use an Instead Cup, which I first discovered when I was 19 or so, long before children. I loved them! But then couldn't find them for a while, and then I had kids. But I tried some about two months ago and it didn't work. I figured out the problem was that I can no longer 'hook' it behind my pubic bone. Because of the cystocele I think. So it can't sit where it needs to sit. But cups made of stronger stuff sit differently and as long as they are beneath the cervix they can still collect as intended.

IDK which brand you got, but generally the small size is intended for teens/early 20's who haven't had any kids, and the large is for everyone else. The thing about a cup is you have to have a proper fit, it's kinda like a bra; you can have an improper fit and have it sorta do it's job, but it will be much more comfortable and work better if it fits right. With cups the two measurements are diameter and length. If you can see or easily reach your cervix you need something short (if it's less then 2" you can't wear a cup at all generally, not without it sticking out completely), if you can reach it with a finger easily it's normal, and if you can't reach it without squatting it's high. Most cups are in the mid 50mm range and then have a stem for higher cervix and people who don't want to 'dig' too much, but can be cut if you like. For the diameter 'large' are usually in the mid 40mm range and small is in the high 30s to low 40s. The small most likely won't work for people with prolapse. Falling out, leakage, etc would probably happen.

I am currently looking at buying one that is suppost to be firm, short length, but the same diameter as the cup I have now.

Thanks ami for some helpful information. I have no personal experience here, but some of our members who are still menstruating have noted somewhat better luck with internal menstrual products since they've been doing the Whole Woman work. It does stand to reason that moving the organs forward towards something more akin to their normal pre-prolapse alignment, would make a difference here. - Surviving

It's not so much safety that's likely to be an issue if you have prolapse, but rather discomfort and effectiveness. You should consult your doctor, if you have uterine prolapse, it's quite unlikely you'll find a cup that will sit comfortably and catch the blood, especially if your cervix is very low. You can find such cup here

I have removed your link, as it is against our forum policies to allow new users to come on seemingly to promote or sell a product. If you want to tell us who you are and what brought you here (prolapse I would hope) and tell us what your questions are, then we might be a bit more inclined to let you share what you have found helpful - but only in the context of the Whole Woman work, because that is why this forum exists. - Surviving

I started noticing problems keeping tampons in post childbirth and then tried a cup. At times it was amazing, at others terrible: uncomfortable as it would protrude and although sometimes I could push it back up more and more times it felt like it was butting up against a block. That's when I realised I most likely have a rectocele and anterocele. I joined a menstrual cup group on Facebook and it was actually somebody there that pointed me towards Whole Woman. I'm so glad they did. I saw my GP but in supine she said she couldn't feel anything. She also gave me a positive pregnancy test so the issue of cups wasn't relevant. Before I became pregnant I was looking into prolapse friendly cups and there is a short version of a normal size cup. We have very sadly lost our baby in the second trimester so am back to facing periods. To be honest at the moment I feel scared to try and have resorted to pads. After reading the comments I think it could be worth to try a shorter version in WW posture and see how that feels. I think WW UK suggested that it might not be a good think to stent open the vagina...what do other people think? Many thanks.

I am having a mini vacation next weekend with my husband up at the lake and think I am starting my period early! I have been so regular but almost a week early this month. I just bought a diva cup and am hoping it will work well as I don't want to deal with tampons while swimming and boating. I did wonder if it would stay in place but I don't usually have problems with tampons falling out so fingers crossed!
I tried it on and it felt comfortable but I may cut the tip a little bit. I don't think it keeps the vagina open anymore than tampons and it actually seems more hygienic to me than tampons.
Will let you know how it goes!