Consider adding question about pain
I’m in my late 30s, and a few years ago I went through chemotherapy. Before that my medium diva cup was great, except it was hard to get a hold of it to remove, and could have used a longer stem (or a loop, I just learned about those on your website, thanks!). After chemotherapy, I found that my vaginal wall was much thinner and very fragile. At first I couldn’t even stand inserting a tampon. I had terrible pain just from the ridges of the dry tampon. After 2 years, I was able to tolerate tampons again, but the diva cup is just too much to handle. I’ve even tried discs and had the same problem. The slight imperfection caused by the silicon being injected into a mold leaves a tiny ridge around the edge of the lip. To my finger it is nothing, to any other part of my body it would be soft and flexible, but when I inserted the cup or the disc it was incredibly painful and felt like I was being cut by that tiny ridge. Another year and I can tolerate it while inserting, but I don’t feel it anymore while it’s inside. However, tolerating the pain while inserting it is not ideal! I’m looking for a cup that’s softer and smoother, with no ridges on the lip or the stem, etc. Would you consider adding a question to your quiz about whether inserting a cup is painful, maybe in the section about what people don’t like about their current cup, maybe additionally adding questions to narrow it down to edges being painful, or the size feeling too large even when folded, snapping open too hard, etc? I feel like I will try softer cups and see if that works for me. After that I’ll try smaller ones. However, it would be great if I had a bit of help with my tender bits finding a good fit, lol. Thanks!
My father just finished his first round of radiation and chemotherapy, so your post stood out to me. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve gone through so much at such a young age. But it’s nice to hear that you are getting through day by day.
If you ever come across a cup with a rough seam, you can try using a nail file to smooth it down. I’ve done that to a couple of rims (on the top and on the side), as well as several stems after I’ve snipped the un-needed length.
I had a really, really good look through my cups and inspected the rims, and ran my fingertips on the grip rings.
However, the cups that I think might be a softer and smoother option, are not the same “V”-shape as the Diva. If you are specifically looking for a cup that is a “V”-shape, please let me know and I’ll see what else I can come up with.
Venus Cup – The length of the body is about the same as the Diva Cup model 2 (large), but the stem is slightly longer and can be trimmed down if needed. The grip rings aren’t rings that go around the base of the cup as you normally find. It’s more of a geometric, flower, design that has a low profile and is rounded.
The base of the Venus Cup is rounded instead of tapering to a point to hold more capacity (47ml to the rim). If the higher capacity is not needed, the size small may be sufficient (29ml to the rim). Although the body is shorter, it has the same overall total length as the large at approximately 71mm (with the stem).
Comparing the two large cups to each other, the Venus Cup is slightly softer.
Kind Cup – This is an ergonomically shaped cup for easy and comfortable placement. This cup has no outer markings, not even grip rings, and the seams are barely visible. Although this cup has a shorter body, the stem has extra length for easy location and to help aid in retrieval.
Bella Cup (Korea) – To be honest, a cup made of this type of silicone might be your best bet for smooth insertion. It doesn’t have that ‘peach fuzz’ finish and might slide in without any ‘drag’. The Bella Cup has no outer markings and the grip rings are more like two frosted rings around the base that are flush with the body. While these cups aren’t as popular anymore and a little harder to find these days, they are still offered online. This cup would be the closest in shape to the Diva Cup but slightly shorter (comparing the large).
As for the cup quiz, I don’t own this site and I’m not going to answer for them, but making some quizzes on my own I found out that too many questions or variables can tip the point scoring system in the wrong direction.
Good Luck! <3
Red Herring
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*I do NOT own this website and I do NOT gain profit from sales from the products or brands that I’ve mentioned here.