Non consistent

Hello, I would like some advice please...I use the smaller sized Mooncup UK and in general, it works great except for the spontaneous leaking! I have been using it for just over a year and very rarely does it not leak some of the time during the cycle. I am beginning to wonder whether it could be a number of things but I'm not sure..

The cup is easy to insert and remove now even though I am a virgin, but it does tend to move up to its natural place, after insertion. I find that if I do cardio exercise it starts to leak or even if I'm in some kind of awkward position. I immediately empty the cup when it starts to leak only to find that it's only got a small amount of contents, bearing in mind that there have been times when it hasn't leaked even though it's full! About exercise leaking, I can also see the trail of blood that has come up and over the rim which I assume is from the jumping around and it's so frustrating because I thought the cups were suitable for exercise.

I do have a theory but I'm not sure it makes a difference...I sometimes find that with some cycles, the consistency of the blood changes (normal?) so when it's thicker I have less leaks and when it's thinner it leaks more as it may be more slippery? Also, I experimented by filling the cup up with water and it leaked from one of the holes...when I dried the cup completely (and I mean bone dry) I filled the cup up with water again and it didn't leak from any of the holes so I don't know whether it's damaged or not-I bought another mooncup not long after I bought the first cup for that reason but I haven't used it since as I found it also leaked sometimes.Ahh! Do I need to buy another brand of cup=( maybe that's less squishy that the mooncup? Don't know if that's even the problem though...

Thanks in advance for any advice given. It's much appreciated!

Sometimes a different brand can help, but I usually encourage a person to try everything possible before getting another one.

Do you know where your cervix is? If its low, it can cause leaks by taking up a lot of space in your cup. For an example, see this video I made:



If that's the issue, cups with more capacity can help.

If not, it sounds like it could be an angle issue. Especially since there are times when it leaks, and times when it doesn't. You can see if wearing it more parallel to the floor, or more slightly angled up helps. Some of us go straight back toward the rectum (vaginally), and some slope upward a little more.

I'm not so sure if its a size issue. Being a virgin and using a small shouldn't be a problem (usually). It is quite normal for the texture of the blood to change from day to day. Most women find that there is a lot more mucus and clots during the heaviest days. The rest of the time, its rather thin, and even a bit darker.

You an also see if its a sealing issue-- try different ways of inserting. Some women find they get a better seal is they insert the cup witht he folded crease facing tot he side, or better yet-- downward. Nobody is really sure why this is, but it could be because the front wall of the vagina bulges a bit, which doesn't really encourage a fold crease to round out.

If changing angles and insertion methods doesn't help, then its possible a cup with a little more firmness or better capacity might help (if its a cervix issue). Fleurcup (large or small) or large Lunette are fairly firm, and have pretty good capacity. Even if its not a cervix issue, sometimes firmer cups can help with leaks.

Sometimes its just the shape of the cup that works for or against your body. Cups generally fall into 2 shapes: Flared rim, and sublte rim.

Flared rims are: Keeper/Keeper moon Cup, UK Mooncup, Femmecup, Meluna, Flerucup.

Subtle rims are: Lunette, Ladycup, Yuuki, Divacup.

Miacup is "somewhere in the middle", I would say.

Some people find that a different shape can help too. I've seen people who only leak with flared rims, or only leak with subtle rims. Just giving you a few options or ideas you can consider, if angle/insertion tricks don't help. If you need to know any details abotu other brands, let me know

Hi, thanks again for the information I have been considering another cup, but since I was last on here, I have been trying to find out as much as I can about the other brands (I've got two UK Mooncups already so it looks as though I'll need to save up again!)

I do like my Mooncup and it would seem like such a waste not to keep trying to make it work for a bit longer (I should try different folds too.) The only thing is the times when it sometimes leaks when I sit up or when I'm jumping about exercising, so I think the solution may be to get a softer cup?

The reason I think this is because maybe my muscles are pressing hard against the cup/holes when I'm moving about, therefore releasing the seal, so maybe that's why it can lose suction, even if only temporarily. Perhaps a softer cup would be more flexible and more resistant to pressure...Or perhaps it's the flared rim that's the trouble...
Do you know which cups are squishier than the Mooncup? (not too sure if the Mooncup is considered to be firm or soft since I haven't used any other brands to compare)

Another thing as well is that I can twist the cup once it's inside so it must be sealing properly initially...

Maybe I'm being too fussy and I should just be grateful that cups even exist but I guess there's no harm in trying to find out more about stuff!

Thank you

Normally a cup won't leak with movement, but I have heard of a couple of cases where it did... Its an interesting theory you have too, about a flexible cup being more forgiving to movement. Hmmmm... That might be worth looking into.

I actually do have a stifness comparison list at the bottom of my measurement chart in my WordPress blog. Here it is, this way you can see which are the softer ones:

http://menstrualcupinfo.wordpress.com/cup-stiffness-comparison-chart/

I found that my softer ladycup was more forgiving than firmer cups of the pressure from my coughing last month. You might be onto something.