GRRRR! SO frustrated with my DivaCup! HELP!

I love my Diva Cup. I love the practicality of never having to pick up tampons at the store. I just love it to bits and pieces but by the end of my period it ends up making me sore as hell for days. I've tried SO hard to find possible causes for this but nothing is working.

I wash my hands throughly, making sure to get rid of all the soap, before putting it in my vag. I boil my Diva at the end of every cycle, and sometimes wash it in rubbing alcohol before I boil it. I trimmed the stim ALL THE WAY off (which makes it a bit more difficult to remove my DivaCup.) I think it's literally chafing the hell out of my vagina. And, the saddest thing is, I'm almost positive I do everything right but when it gets near the end of my period my vag is upset again. It takes days for it to heal after my period, too.. which means no fun for me.

I've narrowed it down to these two: I either am too sensitive down there to poke around that much in vagina or I have a terribly rare allergy to silicone. I might have to go back to tampons because I just plain cannot stand pads. Mostly because my flow is soo heavy for the first two days and a DivaCup usually can't even hold it in there for over an hour or so.

Has anyone else ever run into this problem? It's making me miserable. I force my DivaCup up there every cycle hoping that it'll turn out better and this reaction has almost never failed to reach my vag.

GRRRRRRRR.

 

oooh that doesnt sound so good. I would recommend you stop using the cup until you find out what to do... Other than that i really dont know what to do.

 

Noo, *whimper*

 

umm im a dood,, but,, what is it made of?? latex perhaps? if so,you may be allergic to it. its not uncommon...

oh i see you said silicone,,.. ya may be allergic...

 

Yeah, I've heard everything about silicone, though.
Ranging from "nobody's EVER allergic to silicone" to
"yeah, it's a fairly common allergy."

Oh well.. I'll live.
It's probably part of the reason why my cramps can be unbearable.

 

the chaffing can probably be solved by using a lubricant, maybe? I know that at the end of my period-I get really REALLY dry and it hurts to do anything down there. I don't have a diva-yet-but I suggest trying it...maybe you're just really dry

 

It's never happened to me with tampons,
it all started after I bought a Diva.
Sure, it's a possibility, but right now I have no lube.
And I always use water.
But, hmm, maybe you're right.

 

Plus, it's almost like it brings on yeast-infection-like symptoms the days after my period. Itchyness, dryness, inflammation. I know it's related to my DivaCup, but I'm not sure if it's even because of chafing. I'm so confused. I'll probably just have to let go of my DivaCup because of it. Rats!

 

that's what I was going to suggest... give it a try before you give up entirely

best, best brand (that I've tried anyway) is pjur eros. A little goes a long way.

 

Alright. Next cycle I'll try the lube.. and if THAT doesn't work then I'll give up. Thankyoo guys! Now I just have to purchase some lube.

 

is the diva cup worth getting? I'm planning on getting one really soon because tampons are making me sick due to the fibers

 

DivaCup is definitely worth getting. Almost nobody has problems like I've been having and it's comfortable, convienient as hell and, unlike tampons,you can wear it at night. Soo much better than pads.

 

I have a Diva Cup, which I can not use do to the exact problems you are explaining. Basically, I get the equivalent of a yeast infection every month from it. Tried it for 4 months straight, and every month it was the same thing.

I finally went to my doctor. She said that she has seen 3 other women with the same problem from using the same type of product. Its an allergy to the plastics in the product.

I can't use latex condoms for the exact same reason... so if you have a latex allergy "down there" you probably shouldn't get the Diva Cup.

I agree that it totally sucks. I hate pads and tampons, but there isn't many other options out there for us HEAVY flow girls.

 

Damn. Are you sure that's what it is? I never knew I had a latex allergy before never having been confronted with latex down there. Plus, I read up that Divas are less likely (if not almost impossible) to cause an infection being that they're medical grade silicone. But you sound a lot more convincing than me, and I guess I'm just in denial. Well, fuck. That rules out trying another type of menstrual cup. Thanks, though.. that actually helps me a lot.. it's nice to finally have an answer, it's been plaguing me for quite a bit now.

I think I'll end up trying one last cycle with it, and see if there's ANYTHING else I can do to make this better.. although I really hate putting my vag through that kind of pain again.. fuuuccck.

 

I feel like such a whiner but this sucks. My vagina is majorly pissed off at me.. ouch.. and I'll probably have to switch back to those damn, dirty tampons.

 

you know, I feel the same way after my cycle ends with my DivaCup. It's amazing, and so practical! (It's already saved me $150 and several pounds of landfill)

My solution is to wear a cloth pad at night, and use it during the day. That way, my yoni has a resting period. I feel the chafing is due to all of the friction of the lip on the yoni wall, which is so sensitive to any motion, let alone touch.

 

you could also try using the divacup just during the first two days that you mentioned were very heavy, then switch to other period products and see if that reduces the chaffing etc

 

I cannot use the divacup, it also does the same to me, I'd rather stick with tampons anyway. They are way more comfortable.

 

I know this is an old post but as I am new to the divacup and recently just started having similar problems i wanted to share my experience for other women. I started using my diva cup about 4 months ago. I loved it from the very beginning. Like most i had to trim the stem and also had to get used to insertion but once i got that all down everything was great. then last month toward the end of my cycle i started having serious problems. like chills and burning down there. so i took my diva cup out and waited to heal. I knew i was sensitive down there already as i have had previous issues with other silicone "objects" but it had been awhile and i thought maybe i didn't wash it properly. so this month i tried my divacup again. just wearing it a day. same thing. irritation and burning. that was enough for me. and i have boiled it and washed it with mild soap as recommended. ????? i guess no more diva cup.

 

Ugh, I think I am allergic to the Diva Cup!! My low back hurts, I am doubled over in pain and have the chills. I think i get inections from it. The first time I used it ( a while back) I ended up spending $2000 at doctors to figure out what was going on. Now I realize it was the diva cup, bc this is the second time I've used it and the second time it's happened. I think i might need to go to the doc today to get antibiotics.