Wrong size or wrong use?
TLDR: cup uncomfy and leaked, small dent at vaginal opening, moved upwards during sleep, full in 6 hours
Hi everyone!
I tried my first ever cup (OrganiCup Mini) two days ago.
After some struggles and with the help of a hot shower and punch-down fold I finally got the cup in. It was uncomfortable and somewhat painful but I brushed it off thinking that maybe I somehow bruised my labia when I got too frustrated and tried to force it in and failed. I didn’t hear it “pop” open but I couldn’t push it out myself so I reckoned it must be tightly sealed, though I could feel a slight dent on the cup at the top that was pushed by a fleshy thing at the vaginal opening. (sorry I’m so bad at my own anatomy). I could also feel the cup inside of me as well as the stem. The entire stem was poking out of the vaginal opening.
I slept for 10 hours and the next day I woke up with a bloody underwear. My whole panty liner was soaked with blood. The cup moved upwards during my sleep and the whole stem went above my vagina for a little over one knuckle distance. I could push the cup out easily so it’s definitely not sealed anymore (kinda like a C fold but with liquid inside).
I tried once again last night in the shower. Pretty much similar to what I did the first time except this time I heard a “pop”. Still felt the crease/dent near the opening though and still could feel the cup and stem. 6 hours later just now, the uncomfortableness was getting too noticeable and I decided to check my cup. There was a very very minor leak, sort of like a red line on my panty liner. When I pulled the cup out, the blood inside had already reached the highest level marked.
Can anyone share some advice on this? Did I get the wrong size or did I use the cup wrongly, or both lol? Thxx so much 🙂
Hello there!
Thank you for including a lot of detailed information. It really helps when trying to determine what’s going on during your situation. Although I can never be 100% accurate since everyone experiences something different. I can hopefully, shed some light on what might be going on.
With that in mind, I’m going to break down what I read….
First, if you’re having anxieties about inserting/removing the cup, it can make things 10 times worse. Our body will tense up and “tighten” unintentionally and without us even realizing it. It can make inserting and removing the cup more difficult.
I totally understand where you’re coming from. I’ve been this frustrated before and forced my cup in (more than once), as well. What can really help is some water-based lubricant. It makes the cup slide in without any resistance. Placing it correctly is another thing.
I’m not sure if you were a tampon user, but typically tampons aren’t ‘aimed’ anywhere but in. With menstrual cups, it’s a little different. Our cervix is not located straight up and the cup needs to be positioned directly under or right around the cervix. Do do this, aim the folded cup back and down towards your tailbone. The easiest way to do this is while squatting. I know it sounds weird to aim down, but it works.
How to Insert & Remove a Menstrual Cup
New users will be aware of the cup for at least a while. It could be hours, days, or even a few periods, but you normally forget about them throughout the day. However, if the feeling doesn’t go away or you’re uncomfortable, then an adjustment can be made. Feeling the base of the cup at the vaginal opening means that the cup is either too long or isn’t inserted all the way. If a cup is too long, the only thing you can really do is try a small/shorter cup. If the cup isn’t inserted all the way, remove it and try again. If the stem is exposed to the outside, you can trim the stem. But don’t ever trim the stem until you’re sure that you don’t need it. Even at that, only trim it bit by bit until the cup is comfortable AND that you can still reach it.
Read more information about cervical height.
Later in your post, you mentioned that the cup moved upwards to about a little over one knuckle. This makes me believe that you don’t need a shorter cup. I would actually suggest a slightly longer cup or at least the small size over the mini (if you stick with OrganiCup). This will not only help with capacity (whether your cervix is sitting in the cup or not) but will also help you be able to reach the cup more easily if/when it migrates upwards.
Because you mentioned that your whole panty liner was soaked, it leads me to believe that the cup wasn’t positioned or didn’t open correctly. It’s common that if a cup is inserted all the way, it can be placed next to the cervix or the cervix can be in the way of allowing the rim to expand. Wiggle the cup down a bit and then use a finger to push it back up into place. This will let your cervix correct itself.
You can also allow the cup to open a little lower and then push it up. This became my regular way of inserting a cup because it helps get softer cups to open as well as shields my cervix from getting hit by very firm cups.
It could also be a possibility that because the cup migrated higher, your cervix replaced and forced the contents out of the cup. I don’t have the OragniCup mini, but I do have the size small and I know that it doesn’t have that much capacity either.
Spotting, stamping, or ‘red lines’ on your liner or underwear is normally just from excess blood that was on the walls of the vagina or cup while it was inserted. Wiping the stem and grip rings with a wet cloth after insertion will help eliminate this from happening.
“When I pulled the cup out, the blood inside had already reached the highest level marked.” It sounds like you got the cup in the correct position! 😀 Since the cup was almost full at 6 hours with the size mini, again, I would suggest trying a larger cup or a cup with higher capacity.
The OrganiCup Mini holds 17 ml while other average sized-small cups hold around 20-25 ml.
I hope that I covered everything and that it gave you some things to think about. Please let me know if you have any other questions or need me to go into more detail about anything mentioned.
Good Luck! <3
Red Herring
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