Mentrual cup is causing my cervix to prolapse. Can a different shape or size prevent this from happening?
hi, I know my body very well and I’m also a health professional. I started using a mentrual cup 1 month ago and immediately had problems. It was trickier to insert than I imagined and even trickier to remove. I’m 46 years old, had two children in my late teens, early twenties so over 24 years ago. I regularly do pelvic floor exercises but still have a low cervix at times. I wear an IUD.
What is happening is that the cup is moving high up and suctioning around my cervix and then pulling it down. As the cervix and part of my vagina wall is drawn right down into the cup it is really hard to break the seal and causing cramps when I wear it. This does not feel healthy and the cervix is sitting unusually low when I eventually get the cup off. I’ve read plenty of blogs where advice says the cup can’t possibly cause so much suction to cause problems but this is my experience. I checked my cup and it only had two holes for breaking the seal, I have now added a further 4 so have 6, the four I added are slightly larger too, I used a leather hole puncher so they are true holes, but the same problems occurred this month even more so. I turned the cup 360 once inserted and ensured it was comfortable and well placed but it still travelled up and attached itself to my cervix and drew it in ( my cervix and vaginal walls are a little loose from childbirth so allow this movement. Sometimes certain activity can cause a temporary prolapse of my cervix which causes cramping until it settles down and moves back into position. This is the pain I am experiencing when wearing the cup). My question is will a different size or shape help? I think my pelvic floor muscles are in quite good shape for my age. I really want to wear a cup but don’t want to cause myself internal damage or stress to my connective and support tissue.
the cup I bought was a daisy cup size 2 off amazon. I now know this is a copy not a branded cup and wondred whether a different shape would work better for me.
Hi There!
I totally know what you mean when you say your cup seals so tightly that your inside feel like they’re coming out with it! I’ve experienced a few cups that have done that to me. I had to adjust the way that I remove my cup, but since they still give me problems and is more of a chore, I have moved on to other cups.
First of all, I don’t think this is a good shape for your low cervix. The Daisy Cup is a “V” shaped cup which normally works better with a medium to high cervix. If you had a size 1, it might have been more comfortable but I understand it might not have the capacity that you need.
When you remove your cup are you pinching the base to remove it or do you insert a finger to collapse the rim? You might want to try to collapse the rim to break the seal if you haven’t. With the cups that gave me problems, I had to collapse the rim before removing my cup or I could feel my cervix come down with it ?
You can also try to turn you cup inside out to see if it shortens enough to fit comfortably.
You might want to try a bell shaped cup. It will allow your cervix to sit inside of the cup with out compromising all of the capacity.
If you have a heavier flow, there are some higher capacity cups (even for the smaller size) that will give you some extra wearing time like the Venus Cup. This cup has a softer base which will be easy to pinch and help release the suction it creates, IF it creates a strong one.
I personally have not experienced too strong of a seal with any of these bell shaped cups: Super Jennie, Venus Cup, LaliCup, Fleur, Sckoon, Lena, Juju, Bella.
I’m happy I’m not the only one. Three years ago I started using a menstrual cup the first month was fine, there was a lot of suction and hard to break it. The second month I had a prolapse and had to get a complete hysterectomy. I think it was my cup.
The FemmyCup has a lot of suction. I’m currently in pain. When I tried to remove the cup on Wednesday night my cervix was inside the cup and it had suctioned my cervix. When I started pulling on the ring it felt like my cervix and my uterus were coming out of my vagina. I went to the doctor on Friday and I’m going on Monday again.
Ladies who pulled down your cervix with this. I’m curious to know what your outcome was? This just happened to me 1 week ago. Femmycycle, low-cervix model is what I used. I’m 31 and have had one vaginal birth. I had no issues whatsoever with prolapse prior to using this cup! Now after the original episode, my cervix has made it’s way down all by itself on days that I’m active, and by active I mean walking or standing for 4 hours out of the day. This is a nightmare to say the least. I’ve seen two gynecologists. One recommended a hysterectomy and the other was more conservative and recommended Physical Therapy and a pessary. I can’t describe in words what I’ve been going through this past week. I’m young, active, and want to have more children, but this cup has taken my life away!
I never ever write comments in threads on the internet, but this is close to home and I feel it needs more attention.
I, too have had a minor prolapse caused by a femmycycle cup last year. 33, no children, strong pelvic floor.
To stay objective, which is really quite far from how I feel, I believe that the femmycycle is a dangerous cup. In hindsight, it seems obvious if you look at the design in combination with any little bit of drop in the cervix from the top of the vaginal cavity, which leads me to say… shame on this company for not issuing a warning with their product.
I am so glad to know that I am not the only person with this issue. After using a cup a few times, my cervix would be suctioned all the way into it, sometimes as soon as the cup opened upon insertion. Has anyone actually asked a doctor about it? Money is a bit tight and my insurance is basically in case of major emergency only… I wasn’t in any pain, and did figure out how to get the dang thing out, but I’m not sure if it’s safe to continue using a cup of any sort. Maybe a cup meant for a low cervix? Just really hoping someone has some idea if this is actually dangerous, when I asked the manufacturer of my cup they seemed to have no idea what I was talking about and just suggested a softer cup. I have a Lena cup, pretty standard, and am a virgin in my twenties so no pre-existing anything to speak of.
Hi There!
I talked to a doctor about it a couple of years back. I was worried that I damaged myself from all of my pulling while removing a particular cup with no air holes. The doctor said that for the most part, we wouldn’t do any major damage as we tend to stop causing ourselves pain long before anything irreversible or anything that would need medical correction would happen.
Stop using the cup until your cervix corrects itself. By the time I was able to see the doctor (about a week later) they saw nothing out of the ordinary and I also felt like my cervix had moved back up.
If the cup you’re using is still causing issues, I would suggest trying a different shape. Bell-shaped cups, especially with flared rims, tend to get “sucked” in and up more than some other shapes. Sometimes this can cause the air holes to get block off more than normal.
Do you know if you have a low or high cervix?
If you have a medium to a high cervix, a longer cup might be easier to reach to release the seal/suction – cups that are more “V”-shaped with a regular rim as opposed to a bell-shaped cup with a flared rim like the Lena Cup.
If you have a medium to a low cervix you can still find low cervix cups that are bell-shaped but with a regular rim (like the Mermaid Cup Guppy) that will still be comfortable but don’t get sucked in/up as much into the vagina fornix (space around your cervix). You can also check out menstrual discs that are not supposed to create a suction at all.
Good Luck <3
Red Herring
@redherringtv
RedHerringTV on YouTube
I’m 19 no children but i have endometriosis and adenomyosis which both cause MAJOR clotting so pads and tampons aren’t super ideal so i use a cup and i have pulled my cervix almost OUT multiple times and by the time i see a obgyn it corrects itself but i’ve tried so many cups and different techniques to take it out idk what to do anymore:(
Hello There!
First, I have to thank you for sharing that your cervix has corrected itself each time you’ve had issues with it getting pulled down. So many people panic and swear off using a menstrual cup completely after experiencing this a single time. On that note, I’m sorry that it continues to happen to you.
My suggestion would be to try a wider menstrual cup or check into menstrual discs.
A wider cup may give the cervix some extra room and be easier when breaking the seal to remove it.
A menstrual disc is positioned differently and is not supposed to create any type of suction as it’s being removed.
Here’s a link to the menstrual disc page:
https://menstrualcupreviews.net/2020s-best-menstrual-discs-period-discs-reviews/
Good Luck!
Red Herring
@redherringtv
RedHerringTV on YouTube
I actually had this happen with a menstrual disc and have switched back to a menstrual cup with no issues and with my cervix going back up. I am thankful I am not the only one whose cervix has prolapsed because of a menstrual product. Ironically the disc was more comfortable to wear initially than the menstrual cup I had been wearing for years. The menstrual cup was placed low and the disc higher, which initially made the disc more comfortable but over time pulled down the cervix. I am thankful that just stopping the use of the menstrual disc corrected the problem for me.
I’m so sorry to hear that! I normally have a medium to a high cervix and I’ve had to tug on it pretty hard trying to remove a few cups (FemmyCycle was one of them). Every single time was a very unpleasant experience. I’ve even had to ask my partner to assist me while trying to remove one particular cup. Years later and I’m still scared to try those cups again.
Fortunately for me, my cervix corrected itself and no medical treatment was needed. I do notice that my cervix drops down lower since, but I’ve found shorter cups that are comfortable for me to wear during those times.
I now take extra care while testing out a cup without any holes, very small holes, or only two air holes.
Since you still want more children, I would definitely ask a PT if the prolapse is minor enough to repair without surgery.
Good Luck and I’m sorry again that THAT was your experience with cups 🙁