The Great Mooncup Thread / FAQ

and they must be applicator, the others gross me out. and it is related to this thread, as i wish to move on to mooncups.
TMI i know, but if you cant ask here, then where else?!

Hello...

Got my first moon cup today

Had absolutely no problem inserting it and had no issue with leaking etc but removing it was a nightmare!

It just would not come out and I couldn't get a finger inside to fish it out and pulling on it hurt so much! I'm determined to stick to it until I get the hang of it but I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on removing it easily?? I honestly found it so hard to break the "seal". In the end I just had to give it a hard yank (which was not pleasant ) to get it out. I squeezed the end of the cup like the leaflet says but nothing really happened. Any pulling on the stalk hurt me so badly!

I had no problem fitting it in because it was all folded up, its just the size of it when it's opened up inside me that is the problem.

I'm not a virgin and I have used tampons for years with no problems like this. Not sure if I am doing something wrong...

Any advice...? I am using the smaller size btw.

Thanks in advance x

You should be able to slide a finger up beside the cup and push in the break the seal... It may be a problem of being relaxed when you do it, and not being able to get it out first try may have worsened things. try squatting and then sort of bearing down as you try to take it out- may help!

Good luck- i'm sure you'll love it as soon as you get that issue sorted!

I recommend squatting and then trying to insert a finger to squeeze the top of the cup and ease it out xx

Thank you for the quick replies!

I tried squatting today and inserting a finger to break the seal but I still had a lot of difficulty reaching it. I just feel I'm the wrong shape 'in there' for a moon cup.

In the diagrams they sit very low but mine won't stay that low... once it opens up it just works its way further in.
I haven't even trimmed the stem and I need to do the 5-8 little pushes before I can grab the stem again.
It feels like I'm a a bit too small where it is meant to sit so it goes higher up where there is more room which makes it a hassle reaching it to get it out!
Has anyone else had this problem...?

I'm going to keep practicing though Determined not to quit after paying £20 for it! lol x

How long are you leaving it between emptying it? Also, how active are you? Mine used to leak more if I was active and if I left it a bit too long (on my heavier days I needed to change it ~6 hours)

Thank you for the quick replies!

I tried squatting today and inserting a finger to break the seal but I still had a lot of difficulty reaching it. I just feel I'm the wrong shape 'in there' for a moon cup.

In the diagrams they sit very low but mine won't stay that low... once it opens up it just works its way further in.
I haven't even trimmed the stem and I need to do the 5-8 little pushes before I can grab the stem again.
It feels like I'm a a bit too small where it is meant to sit so it goes higher up where there is more room which makes it a hassle reaching it to get it out!
Has anyone else had this problem...?

I'm going to keep practicing though Determined not to quit after paying £20 for it! lol x

I trimmed the stem off mine, and at first I found getting it out challenging. I actually prefer mine to sit higher up, behind the pubic bone, and that is perfectly ok. I had to learn to get it out. I found I can only remove it if I sit on the loo, bear down and stick my thumb and a finger inside to grab and squeeze the base of the cup. Then I pull it out. I usually break the seal by squeezing. I do have to reach right inside as far as I can though - but I'm comfortable with that. Now I know I can always get it out, with a combination of bearing down hard and reaching up a long way!

How heavy is your period? I have to empty about every 1-2 hours on my heaviest days.

Aside from that, can you feel that the cup is fully expanded? No dents in the side of it? You need to make sure it has popped up correctly.

Not every cup suits everyone. I started out with a mooncup, but found them a bit uncomfy and always got leaks. The Divacup suits me, because it doesn't have such a pronounced rim and has holes very high up on the rim, making leaking less likely if your period is heavy.

I've never left it in for more than 6 hours, I'd usually empty it every time I went to the toilet tbh ... this month I've been fairly active every day (summer camp job), but the last few months less active. I don't really know what it could be

I just bought a mooncup (my SU sell them for a tenner - there was really no excuse!). I just tried it out and it was a little painful at first to put it in, but I sorted it. When I took it out, there was some blood in it. Now, I think I'm due my period and I think I've being having pre-period cramps so hopefully it was just that. I know I'm probably being a bit of a twit, but there's no chance I removed it badly and damaged myself is there? The size of the thing still scares me to be honest!