Here's a new thread for all your Keeper, Divacup, and Mooncup-related questions about rubber and silicone menstrual cups.

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Laurel Lemming
Scarleteen Advocate

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'You've got the eyes of ten women. Not in a jar! I wasn't accusing you. I just mean your eyes are really nice'-coupling

also, how far inside you did you get it before it opened up? i slide mine in using primarily my thumb, and to get it in the right place for me my thumb almost goes entirely inside me.

So try pushing the cup in a bit further before you let it unfold.

When you take it out, don't pull on the tab - pinch the base of the cup and pull on that. That breaks the suction, and encourages the cup to naturally fold itself a bit to come out of your vagina more comfortably.

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Milke, with an L, Mrs BD to you, RATS, TMNTP, MF, CWCD, WAOTA

I was just in an apartment in Austin for four days with my boyfriend and all of my guy friends. I finished my period while I was there, and I put my Keeper in my travelling bag, where I promptly forgot about it.

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Milke, with an L, Mrs BD to you, RATS, TMNTP, MF, CWCD, WAOTA

Silicone is basically odourless, and sterilizing it should get rid of any body fluids that might conceivably be clinging to it.

Your best bet might be to e-mail the company you got it from and ask them - sounds like something's not right, and if it's faulty they should be able to give you a refund or replace it.

Nifty tip though: I've always had trouble wiping it out. Toilet paper gets stuck on it or all the fluid doesn't come off. So the easy answer is to just carry a water bottle into the bathroom with you and rinse it off into the toilet. I also found it was easier to insert when a bit damp, so the water bottle helped with that too. So if you just designate an empty water bottle as your "Keeper Bottle" then you can clean it off in the stall and no one will ever even notice. For times when you're away from home, those little one pint bottles they sell now work fabulously. Fill it up and stick it in your purse or backpack and you're all ready to go!

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Originally posted by Faeryprinces:
Has anyone had experience with using this in college? Is it awkward to have to clean it in front of all the other girls in the huge communal bathroom?

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The funny part is, I checked my mailbox here at school and my boyfriend was with me and he asked me what it was...and we're in the middle of the commons and he's like "Open it!"...I didnt feel like grossing him out and telling him what it actually was haha

That way, you have a chance to get the hang of it before you add "large amounts of blood" to the picture .

So yeah, I'll have to give a whirl at it when I go home this weekend for easter. I think I'd feel more comfortable with the whole dry run thing in my own bathroom rather than the communal one here at school!

My experience has been that it's really simple to use once you get the hang of it, but can seem impossibly fiddly the first few times.

In particular, a folded Mooncup can spontaneously unfold itself and ping! across the room in an impressive way.

I tried to fold it all tight and small and cylindrical like the picture shows in the instructions, i used a little bit of lube like you guys suggested and I was relaxed (and definately excited to try it out...as odd as that sounds!! haha). I dont know what i'm doing wrong really...is it something i have to get used to? I mean, i've engaged in sexual intercourse with no real problems, (well it does hurt a little upon entry, but then i'm fine.)

I dunno, i mean, I look at this divacup now adn think, "wow, that is HUGE"...i didnt think this would be so difficult

Hmmm ... Okay, here's a bunch of suggestions to try:

1) Lots more lube.

2) Keep practices very short (lots of friction caused by repeated insertion and removal is not good).

3) Check the angle. As with tampons, angling it towards the small of your back can really help.

4) Devote some practice time to folding it (and holding it folded) before you try inserting it. Obviously, the smaller you can get it, the better. I've found it's possible to squish a Mooncup so that it's about the same dimensions as two fingers.

So I used more lube than last time...well A LOT more lube, i coated the entire upper half with a really gooey dripping amount(it was all over!). I folded it all tight(practiced a few times folding and holding before i lubed the cup).

I have to admit, I hadnt really thought much about postioning the first 2 times i tried over the weekend, but I took special care in thinking about angle and postioning this time...and with all that lube, it just went right in! It was also a lot easier to twist too

So I walked around for about 10 mins with it in, sat down, bent over... did a deep plie', lol. I basically did everything i could think of to "test" to see if i could feel it. The only thing was, the little stem pinched a bit, so I have to trim that i guess. (would you suggest trimming the whole stem? or just half of it?)

Then I decided to try removal...eep, this was interesting. I have read the threads here about all the interesting little things that go on when using a menstral cup, but it definately did not prepare me for the sounds that were going to come from that thing losing its suction!(i had all i could do to not burst out laughing at the first little squeege ). So it hurt a little bit trying to get the cup out, mostly because of the suction i think, it reminded me kind of like a bottle of lotion. you know how you squeeze the bottle and the lotion releases, but when you let go if you're not careful it will suck all the lotion back up? Well, it definately felt like the cup was sucking me back in...so thats going to take some more practice!

When i finally got it out, it was so slippery that it flew out of my hand. NOW i understand completely what you said about how the cup can just go flying (and dont worry, i was sure to wash it after it hit the floor!)

only time i get those is when i remove it and have little or no blood/fluids in it -like when i use it on a day i'm expecting my period, but it doesn't show up, or when i'm just bleeding a tiny bit at the end.

something additional about angling: i've found that for me, when putting it in i need to angle and slide in downwards first to get past the tissue at the very opening of my vagina, then once past that sliding it upwards and back goes fine. if you're problems are at the entranceway, some fiddling with such things should find what your body likes...

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it just went right in!

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Yay!

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So it hurt a little bit trying to get the cup out, mostly because of the suction i think,

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I've found that the trick is to bear down with your muscles then grab the end of the cup itself (not the tab) and pinch it. That breaks the suction.

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would you suggest trimming the whole stem? or just half of it?

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The stem doesn't have any essential function at all - it's just there to help you find the end of the cup and get you past that initial "Ohmigod it's lost forever!" panic .

So once you're feeling confident with inserting and removing it, feel free to trim off as much of the stem as you need to to get comfy.

Yesterday was my first day with my divacup and actually having my period. This little things is SO easy. I cant tell I have it in, I even slept with it in last night, no leaks! It's amazing...I will never ever wear a pad or tampon again..lol Now I sound like an infomercial. But hey, its good stuff!

I havent had any problems getting it in...the first time getting it out was a little different, but I'm still learning . hehe Other than that, no problems what so ever!!

I have been using a Mooncup for ages now, they are FANTASTIC, they changed my periods so much because now I don't have to worry about leaking or having to change all the time, they don't irritate and I don't have to worry about the dangers of tampons.

School only ever taught us about commmersial tampons and pads, I didn't know any differant untill I started to research, found all the alternatives and discovered all the dangers about tampons, as well as started to research more into womens sexual health.

They have changed my life so much I am now a Menstrual activist, I do a lot of work publicising the 'alternatives' like cups, cloth pads, Natracare and sponges as well as try to educate more women of the dangers and issues involved with menstrual products and ALL the choices open to them.

Is everyone still enjoying their divacup / mooncup / keeper?