Failing at mooncup

[Inatightsqueeze]

So this is my second period trying out a mooncup. By the end of my last one I thought I had it nailed, but this time I just can't seem to get it right. It's either painful or leaking.
I struggle to get it to pop back into shape after inserting it. I've even lost it at one point (God bless Dh)

Has anyone any tips on where I'm going wrong?

@Inatightsqueeze
I 100% recommend speaking to their helpline, they are really good
How are you folding it to put it in?
I have to sort of wiggle mine to get it to unfold sometimes.
If its leaking is it definitely the correct size? Not necessarily going by the box, the guidelines dont always work.
How is it removing it, does it come out very easily? Maybe it's too small? Or if it goes missing and gets stuck it could be too big.

We are all built differently so all advice will vary. Hopefully you'll get a range of experiences here, and something will work!

I insert it as high as it will go, then give it a twist and tug back down. That seems to help the seal, and helps me check it has fully unfolded- it can sit in a squashed position and be useless.

On me, it sits so low as to not need a stem at all. But it works.

I'm wearing the bigger size due to age and the fact I have 2 kids.
I have tried both folding it in half as well as bending the rim into the middle.
I can get it in but can't seem to get it in the right place. It seems to naturally go high up but then I risk losing it. I haven't trimmed the tail as I struggle to get a grip of it as it is.
So disheartened as I had it nailed this time last month.

Try putacupinit's website and you tube - they have a ton of tips and guidance. It may be that a mooncup isn't right for you. It also may be too big. The sizes are guidelines only.

I have 2 children. The bigger one was far to big. It ended up working its way do high up it was impossible to retrieve ( and incredibly painful). But it may well be right for you.
I twirl or jiggle it when I put it in to make it pop out (try folding it almost in half and in half again as it pops put easily that way for me) then pull it down a bit. Try to get it a bit lower down, if it's going do high up it might no be sitting square on hence the leak. They are supposed to sit lower down the vagina than tampons.
If its lower can you feel the rim poking you at all?
I think a good tig into position will help.

Can you feel your cervix? I found that sometimes the cup would go up the side of the cervix so it didn't catch blood and was hard to get out. Positioning it exactly over the cervix is essential.

menstrualcup.co/your-cervix-and-menstrual-cups/

Can I also ask a question? I understand that I’m supposed to pinch it to break the seal when taking it out but I struggle to reach to do that and often just tug it out by the stem. And then worry that I’m going to give myself a prolapse by sucking everything out! There must be a way to break the seal that I’m missing

Thank you. I've readjusted as it was hurting. It's now as low Dow as it can be without being felt. Just hoping it doesn't leak.
I never realised the suction could cause a prolapse. Is that really a thing?

I have never felt the suction was anywhere near strong enough for a prolapse.

Keep going, it's worth it! I remember weeping in the loo because it was All Going Wrong.

Mine leaked a bit for a while at the beginning but I wore a thin pad. Eventually the leaking stopped as I got more proficient. Sometimes it would pop way after I put it in, making me jump, but eventually it all worked out.

The stem made me sore so I cut it off. To get it out you bear down, like having a poo.

Eventually it becomes second nature so do persevere - and don't worry about the small problems, they'll sort themselves out.

Ok sorry, I was slightly exaggerating when I said prolapse but I am struggling to break the seal and I do worry a bit that pulling it out without breaking the seel isn’t good for me, as there is a kind of vacuum. Does anyone else go it difficult to break the seal properly?

Kind of wiggle and twist it to break the seal. There's a knack to it.

When inserting it it can be helpful to push it in most of the way and then bear down onto it, your body kind of guides it into position. No idea if this is official guidance but it works for me!

If your struggling to get it out, do you try a very deep squat (not just sitting on toilet - all the way down)? That makes mine pop to the surface.

You're not your

Thanks, I’ll try the squat and wiggle
And twist!

Seems I wasn’t wrong about the prolapse!
Bearing down is wrong. Some helpful Advice here
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-51805689

I can't use them- always painful regardless of a few brands. Not sure if it's because I have a backward tilted womb- Tampax always hurt too.

I used to have issues getting mine to pop open, what I found worked was popping it open against the opposite wall of my vagina.

I do a punch fold which would mean the punch down bit should be against the front wall of my vagina (belly button) and instead I reverse it to pop open against the back wall of vagina. I hold the cup in my right hand and punch it down with my my finger of my left hand to get it in the right position.

I also use a cup with a ring rather than a stem. I tried, ring, stem, ball and different squishyness of the silicone. I measured a lilliets tampon to figure out what length cup I needed, I cannot use Tampax as I can feel them as they expand downwards. I watched a massive amount of comparison videos on sizes etc before choosing my cup.

Never bear down to remove it. This has been covered today on BBC news about causing prolapse.

I can't link it just now, but there is an article on the BBC news page today about mooncups. Apparently they can cause a mild prolapse in some women. The article said that they aren't regulated either.

I hate to say it but I never hit the hang of a mooncup. I tried 3 different brands.

I never got it in place properly which is weird because I used to wear a diaphragm fit contraception back in the day. It also used to cause me unbelievable itching,

I had to give up eventually. I now use resauable pads.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51805689

That was a link to the article on menstrual cup and prolapse

The prolapse link is what i resurrected the thread to post! As I said earlier in the thread, I felt like I was pulling and dragging and was at risk of sucking everything downwards. Seems I wasn’t wrong

I still want to use the cup though, they’re so good. Just need to get better at removing I guess