Problems

Are You Having Problems with Your Lunette Menstrual Cup?

I managed to get the cup in, but now I can't get it out! It seems like the cup is stuck inside me.

If you have problems removing the cup, the first thing to do is relax. Breath deeply and slowly while relaxing your whole body, focusing on your vaginal muscles. If you are unable to relax, do something else for a while and try to forget about the cup. You might just need a break to release the tension.

The most common removal method:

Find a comfortable position that will allow you to remove the cup more easily. Many women remove the cup while straddling the toilet bowl. In this position, the vagina is open and while sitting it is easier to relax your legs. The vagina has a natural curve and the cup is usually above the pubic bone when sitting. Grasp the bottom of the cup tightly with your forefinger and thumb and pinch to release the suction. Then gently ease it out.

Methods to reach a cup that is too high:

Sometimes women have trouble removing the cup because it is so far inside the vagina that they can't get a hold of the bottom or stem. In many cases, the menstrual cup moves further into the vagina at night. In this case, you should not try to remove it right after waking up. Wait at least half an hour to allow it to settle.

Squatting (with your legs spread and bent and your heels beneath your bottom) – in the shower, for example – helps open the vagina and bring the menstrual cup down to the opening. At this point, you can grasp the lower part of the cup with your fingers, sit down in the bathtub (if you prefer) relax and remove the cup as explained above.

Another way to bring the cup further down is to push downward using the same muscles as when making a bowel movement. However, when using these muscles, stop pushing as soon as you have a good hold of the cup bottom. At this point, you should relax the muscles to facilitate removal of the cup.

I can get a hold of the stem and the bottom of the cup, but I can’t break the seal get it out.

Even though you should not remove the cup by pulling on the stem alone, the purpose of the stem is to pull the cup bottom down until you can reach the cup bottom and pinch to break the seal.

However, if you still have trouble with removal, try the following method to more aggressively break the seal. First, insert your forefinger parallel to the cup and find the upper part of the cup edge. At this point, your thumb will naturally be positioned at the cup bottom. Then gently press the cup together and grasp the cup with your thumb as well. Sometimes, you will hear a small noise when the suction is released. Pull the cup down. At the beginning, it might seem like you need to pull it with force, but with practice you will notice that this is a matter of technique rather than force. Tug the cup down firmly, do not let go at any stage. When the cup is at the opening of your vagina, press the cup together just like when inserting it, so that no pressure is applied to the mucous membrane.

The key to cup removal is to relax. The cup won’t come out by itself, but it won't take much effort to remove it either. At the beginning, it might seem a bit complicated. But soon insertion, as well as removal, will be easy and fast. The bottom of the Lunette menstrual cup isn’t reinforced like other cups on the market, so you will easily get a hold of the bottom to release the suction.

The cup has now been inserted for ten hours, is there a risk of an infection?

The usage limit of 12 hours is a recommendation, but a longer use will not necessarily cause problems. If the cup is inserted significantly longer, be more attentive to any symptoms of infection afterwards. Also keep in mind that this may put you at a higher risk for yeast infections.

Sometimes I have leakage when I use the cup. I’ve heard that the reason could be that the cervix should be inside the cup.

What is the cervix and when do I know that it is inside the cup?

The cervix is the entrance of the uterus from which menstrual blood flows through a pin-sized hole into the vaginal canal. The cervix is cylindrical or conal in shape and is located in the upper part of the vagina. When touched, it feels like the tip of a nose. However, for some women, it moves significantly lower during menstruation. Since the cervix is usually relatively high in the vagina and the menstrual cup is placed low in the vagina, the cervix remains above the cup. But if the cervix is significantly low, it may be in the cup. Tampons on the other hand are placed further up inside the vagina, just where the cervix is located.

In Lunette diagrams, the cervix is intentionally placed very high to emphasize that the correct position of the menstrual cup is low in the vagina.

Leaks are more frequent for women whose cervix moves lower during menstruation or whose menstrual cup has been inserted too high in the vagina, next to the cervix, or above it. The menstrual cup might also exert pressure on the cervix and cause discomfort and even pain. The best way to evaluate the position of your cervix is leakage - if you have experienced leakage even when the cup has been opened, make sure that the cup is significantly lower than the cervix. In some women, the cervix fits best inside the menstrual cup.

For many women, the cervix descends after giving birth; for others, it is simply situated low in the vagina. If you have given birth recently or more than once, you should exercise the pelvic diaphragm muscles by doing kegels. Keeping these muscles in shape is useful when using the menstrual cup, as well as to avoid incontinence and improve sex.

If you have not experienced leakage and you have not located the cervix, there is no need to try to do so. You are one of the women whose cervix is so deep in the vagina that it does not affect the use of the menstrual cup in any way.