Been troubleshooting for months. Every cup leaks. So frustrated.
I’ve been using menstrual cups for almost 5 years total. The first one I used was the Diva cup size 1. It worked mostly well for me, but would leak on the first day or two and sometimes at night. After having had that for a while, I decided to replace it with a different kind of cup to try to find a more perfect fit. Unfortunately I threw the Diva Cup away, big regret now. I haven’t had a cup work consistently for me in the first 2 days of my period since.
The next cup I tried is the Pixie Cup in Large. I thought if I got large it might fix the leakage issue but this did not work. It leaked more than the Diva cup ever did. Sometimes I felt like I was unable to get the cup to open, it would feel completely crushed inside of my body. This led me to think maybe bigger wasn’t the way to go. So next I tried the Pixie cup in small. I also identified at that time, that I think my cervix might be off to the side a bit, or move often during my period. In the past I couldn’t find it at all, but now it feels fairly low and off to the side.
The next cup I tried is Pixie sent me their Luxe Large to try. However I think the material is too soft, as I can’t get it to open up inside me at all. It just stays crushed and kind of flat.
I also tried the Lily cup in size large. With this cup, I did feel like I was able to get it open and that it had a good seal, as it was tough to pull down on. A couple of the times on day 1 of my cycle I felt like it really worked, but I would still get some leakage down the sides. And then at night it has gone horribly and leaked a lot even when it felt like the seal was good.
I’ve tried the U fold (what I always used to use with the Diva), the 7 fold, and the punch down fold.
I’m really at a loss and I feel like I’ll never get this to work again. I don’t know what to do because I’m suffering but I really hate tampons and don’t want to go back. I have tried softcups and they also leak for me.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I would say out of all of them, the Diva Cup was the one I had the most success with. Just not enough success for me to automatically think I should buy it again, since I still experienced some leakage, especially at night. I would say the leakage on day 1 or 2 is more than what I would think is residual blood.
I have used a soft cup (like the Flex type) and that has been successful but only on a very light day or for a shorter amount of time, then it tends to leak too.
I would say I definitely think a firmer material would be better, but it can\’t be so firm and big that it won\’t unfold.
I\’m pretty lost about the cervix questions, I have only felt mine a handful of times and used to think I couldn\’t find it at all (leading me to also think it\’s probably high).
As for your specific questions:
Which cup felt the most comfortable while wearing it? – None of them felt more or less comfortable, but on the Diva Cup I did have to trim down the stem. The only thing I have ever experienced any discomfort with is from stems. One of the Pixie Cups had a round ball on the end and I didn\’t really like that.
Did you ever feel that you had trouble reaching any of the cups to remove them? Small vs large size. – No significant issues.
Did you have any bladder or bowel sensitivities while wearing any of the cups? The Diva is a medium firmness cup while the Lily (body area without spines) is a soft firmness. – This is hard to say because I have IBD which my period aggravates. I don\’t think I have noticed anything in particular coinciding with a cup.
I took a menstrual cup matching quiz before which said I should get either the Saalt or Lunette (I think it was Lunette, whichever one is similar to Saalt) but I am unsure if I should go for a smaller or larger size. Leakage tends to make me think I should go bigger, but trouble opening makes me think I should stay small.
I would love and appreciate a recommendation. Saalt would be particularly easy for me to acquire since they sell it at Target.
