Diva angst

[3isEnough]

Ladies, I'm about to break up with the Diva. I want to love her, I really do, but she is a total beyotch and frankly, doesn't treat me with the compassion and respect I expect in a friend.

I've been using it consistently for probably 5 months nows and in that time I've probably had 2 days where I've not had leakage. Two freakin' days!! All the rest of the time she gives me issues.

What am I doing wrong? I've read various threads regarding leakage, but everyone seems to have different issues. I also have bookmarked the page with the photos of the different folds, so I'm aware of those and have tried a few but haven't tried every single one yet.

I generally use the C fold and it all seems to go in fine. I can't twist it, it seems like the suction is too strong to do that. I've tried it the regular way and inside out with the same leaky results. I've tried inserting higher and lower, but again, leakage.

I was reading threads today that seemed to suggest I find where my cervix is located. Um, how exactly do I do that? I tried feeling around and had zero success finding anything. So now what?

Please, help me salvage this relationship!!

[AngelaS]

Are you sure it's popping open once you insert it? I can't turn mine either, but I can run my finger around the bottom end and tell it's open.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Hmmm..being able to turn mine is how I confirm it's in correctly. If it's not in correctly, it leaks. Are you emptying it often enough so maybe it's overflowing or does it leak no matter how light the flow? I think I'd work on getting it to turn so you know it's open and the seal has been established.

[veronica]

OK....I'm a newbie and only tried it two days this past month. It was the mid-late part of my cycle and I have a heavy flow. I did not have leaks. I did the fold where you bring down the one side into a triangle. It seems to want to pop open fairly quickly so I sort of turn it as it went up into place. A couple of times I was sort of unsure on how good the turn was but it worked.

[Kymberley]

Are you inserting it too far in? The only times I've had problems with leakage are when I insert it waaaay up there. I'm sorry I'm not explaining this very well. Maybe someone else can chime in for me?

[pastrygirl]

If I can't turn it, it's not in right and will leak. I usually tug on it a tiny bit and push it back into place, then try to turn again.

[3isEnough]

Are you sure it's popping open once you insert it? I can't turn mine either, but I can run my finger around the bottom end and tell it's open.

Well, it *seems* like it's popping open, but the leaks occur nearly every single time so I guess it's not totally open? Maybe a different type of fold would help ensure it's totally open?

I tried running my finger around it earlier today and it seemed like it was open, but maybe not.

[3isEnough]

Hmmm..being able to turn mine is how I confirm it's in correctly. If it's not in correctly, it leaks. Are you emptying it often enough so maybe it's overflowing or does it leak no matter how light the flow? I think I'd work on getting it to turn so you know it's open and the seal has been established.

Yes, I forgot to mention it's not an overflow issue at all. The leakage happens no matter if it's nearly empty or not.

I think you're right about working on ensuring it's totally open, that could very well be the problem. I read somewhere today that if you rinse it with cold water (vs. hot/warm), it makes the Diva a bit more rigid and so it's more likely to pop open when inserted. I tried that, to no avail.

I think I'll try a different fold. Maybe the 7fold or that one where both sides get folded down a bit.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[3isEnough]

Are you inserting it too far in? The only times I've had problems with leakage are when I insert it waaaay up there. I'm sorry I'm not explaining this very well. Maybe someone else can chime in for me?

Yeah, I totally know what you mean. I thought that was my problem originally, being too high up. I was really confused because I had read about the stem of the cup being too long for people and I thought "huh?" because my stem wasn't even showing. But then I eventually figured out it needed to be a lot lower. So now I mostly turn it inside out and try to keep it as low as possible but still comfortable. Doesn't seem to help on the leakage front.

[AngelaS]

I essentially do a punch down fold and then I can typically feel it pop open.