Randomly at the beginning of the pandemic I decided to try the Diva Cup. A Diva Cup is a menstrual cup that is placed inside the vaginal canal and is made to catch your discharge(I know I just lost my male audience). I thought about how much money I could save getting off tampons and night time pads and was sold. I also heard good things about it on youtube. None of my friends had tried it yet so I was going in somewhat informed and somewhat blind.
I made a trip to Target and found a whole aisle worth of menstrual cups. In true Mariyah fashion I went for the "designer" version and started to compare the 2 Diva Cup sizes. I remembered hearing that the size 2 was for women who had given birth so I grabbed the size 1 and checked out.
My period was set to come that day so I figured I could practice a
little before it was in full swing. The instructions say to boil the cup first, so I did. The first insertion took me literally 2 hours. I was trying to figure out the fold of the cup, the placement I felt best to insert the cup in, making sure it didn't go in to far so I could quickly grab it out, and trying not to pinch the hell out of my self with my nails. The winning combination was:"One leg up on the tub, a slight bend of both knees, and c-fold insertion of the cup while pressing down"
This is how they suggest in the directions but truthfully this position was not the best and I rarely use this position now (I will tell you all the position I use further down).
After snapping my cervix and vibrating my entire uterus a good 4 times, I conquered the Diva Cup. I felt so liberated! I could not feel a thing because it travelled pretty high. Life was good, and I knew I would be demanding that all my friends try it.
This was my first day so the cup could have lasted multiple hours, however I was anxious and wanted to make sure I could get it out and avoid a trip to the Emergency Room so I took it out. Getting it out was super easy. You could sit on the toilet and push like you are having a bowel movement until the tip comes all the way down where you can pinch it out. The other option is getting in a squat where your butt is in line with your ankles and bare down chin to chest. You will still push like you are having a bowel movement and your cup will ease its way down.Once it's out, be sure to rinse and then it's ready for use.
I wish I could say the next few periods were easy sailing but honey they were not. The diva cup is thick and firm which has its pros and cons. It is 10x harder to insert during cramping, and you never get use to the cup snapping in place and pissing off your vagina and its homegirls. I also did not have 30 mins to an hour each time to insert the cup which meant I had to have tampons on deck just incase I needed to abort mission. I would suggest keeping pads and tampons around, that way you have options and can feel comfortable walking away from your cup insertion attempt and trying again later.
Now for the positives! Ever since being on the cup I hardly cramp and my 1st day of my period is not nearly as horrible as it formally was. When I am 100% on the cup, my periods are shorter by like a day. If I wear tampons in between cup changes I find my cramps tend to come back mildly and my period lasts the full 5 days. (I don't know what is in those tampons, but my body hates them) I wear pads to bed because after all that poking and prodding during the day my baby needs a break. I heard you can have period sex on the cup, however I wear mines so low now that there is no way for me to partake. Typically while at work I change it once after about 4 or 5 hours. When Im home I typically can go for 8 hours. I have went 16 hours once before and was fine but this was like day 4 of 5 so my flow was passed the heavy part.
I can now insert and remove my cup while sitting on the toilet. For insertion I scoot to the end of the stool and use the c fold method while pressing down to insert. I still push like I am having a bowel movement for removal.
Overall I love my Diva Cup, but I have heard great things about other brands as well. Do your research, and choose the one best for you!
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