If you’re in this situation right now, don’t panic! We’re here to help. We’ll take you through a step-by-step guide on how to remove your menstrual cup.

You’ve already made the first and most important step: you’ve stopped aimlessly pulling or searching for your cup and resorted to looking for help. Probably you’re debating with yourself if you should call your gyno or go to the emergency room.

Before you do that, try our guide where we’ll take you through the steps of getting that stuck menstrual cup out.

A step-by-step guide on how to remove your menstrual cup when stuck

Step 1: Take a step back and understand what happened

First and foremost, your menstrual cup can’t get lost inside your vagina, there is a way you’ll get it out. You’re not the first new menstrual cup user that goes through this scare. All of them have managed to get it out again, and many are now happy menstrual cup users despite this first scary encounter.

Also, don’t panic if you’ve been wearing it for over 8 hours. If it’s been in a couple of hours longer than that, nothing bad will happen - it’s not a time bomb that suddenly explodes.

Now that you know that you have no pressing deadline to "get that sucker out," as Clue lovingly said, let’s start the process of getting your Ruby Cup out.

If your fingers feel tired, or your vagina feels a bit sore after having tried to get your period cup out for the past hour, give your body some rest. Have a hot shower, make some tea, meditate, take deep breaths or put on your favorite song and shake it off (though it doesn't have to be to Taylor Swift.)

Also, you really might not feel like it right now, but try to laugh about it - call a friend and share this unique experience with them. Humor makes everything better. On that note, we received this message from one of the Ruby Cup users:

While you're taking your little rest before giving it another go, we're going to fill you in on possibilities why you're not able to take your menstrual cup out. 

Possibility A: You have a short cervix and are using a short menstrual cup

If you’re not familiar with the fact that your cervix even has a length, then read up on that here.  For you to understand this concept right here right now though, let us quickly explain: having a short cervix means that your vaginal canal is longer, and if you are using a short menstrual cup, then it probably travelled up your vaginal canal and is out of reach now. 

Possibility B: You're pulling the stem instead of pinching the cup

If reaching your menstrual cup is not the problem, but much rather it seems stuck in your vagina, or you feel pain when trying to take it out, the next paragraph is for you. There's a small detail that makes all the difference: were you pinching the base of your cup or just pulling the stem?

Your menstrual cup will only come out pain-free if you release the suction that formed when you inserted it. The suction is released by pinching the base of the cup. If you can’t reach the base, you can try to insert your finger next to your Ruby Cup and press it against the wall of your vagina, and then hooking your finger over the rim and pulling it down. This can be messy, but it will get your cup out.

Tip (tried and tested): Try this in the shower, then you don't have to be careful about not creating a mess. Especially if you're a new menstrual cup user and don't know what to expect. 

Step 2: Reach up and pinch your menstrual cup

Now that you know what the issue might be, your intents in solving it will be much more unerring. During this step, your pelvic floor muscles are your best friend and will help push the menstrual cup back down into reach.

Pelvic floor muscles (sometimes also known as Kegel muscles) are the muscles that control your pee and keep all your reproductive organs in place.

You know how sneezing, coughing and laughing can cause a significant period drama? Well, that's thanks to your pelvic floor muscles. If you don’t know how to locate them, try thinking about laughing or coughing while you need to pee... or simply go to the bathroom to pee and try stopping the pee mid-stream.That’s the muscles you’re looking for.

Now, while pressing down with those muscles, reach up with your index and thumb. When you get hold of the stem of the Ruby Cup, don't just yank it down. Slightly start to pull it down while moving it from right to left. The small knobs on the stem of the Ruby Cup come in really handy here.

Once you’ve done that, try to get a grip on the base of the menstrual cup. The grip rings will give you enough support to be able to pinch the base. Then, while pinching, pull out the cup.

Step 3: Still unreachable? Try a different position

Just lifting a leg or squatting down can make all the difference! Follow instructions from step two, while putting one leg up on the bathtub or bidet. And don't forget to breathe and relax, or more specifically here: "unclench" your vagina!

You can also try everything from step two while squatting down. Some people actually call this pose “bearing down,” and it’s basically as if you’re trying to give birth to your menstrual cup. Sounds absurd, but it might just be the trick to get your stuck menstrual cup out.

Step 4: If you're still not able to remove your menstrual cup, seek help

Should you still find yourself struggling to get your menstrual cup out, the last resort is to go to your gyno. Now to be clear, this doesn’t happen often. Mostly, once people are reminded to pinch the base and not just to pull their menstrual cup out by the stem, the stuck menstrual cup is out within minutes.

Shifting position is also very often the game-changer. But if you’re still struggling to get your menstrual cup out, even after trying all the above tips, we advise you to go see your gyno and ask her to help you with removing it.

Important: As some gynos still don’t know about menstrual cups, please remind them to pinch the base of the cup, and not just to pull it out with force.

Once you have regained your Ruby Cup, make sure your gyno does not throw it away. We have a money back guarantee  that will cover you, should you want to change the size of your Ruby Cup or return it and get a refund. But the guarantee only applies if you send us back your old menstrual cup, which we make sure to expose by recycling it in an eco-friendly and sustainable fashion. 

Could you take your menstrual cup out? Great! But... what now?

If you’ve been having troubles reaching your menstrual cup, then your cervix height and cup size have probably been mismatched. If you’ve been using a Ruby Cup Small, we recommend you change to a Ruby Cup Medium, which is slightly longer than the Ruby Cup Small and should be easier to reach if you have a high cervix.

If you are not sure about your size, or you maybe your flow varies a lot, our Duo Pack might be the best option for you.

 

There are also different types of menstrual cups explicitly designed for people with very high/short cervixes, so you could definitely look into those for future positive menstrual cup experiences. If you had problems with removing your menstrual cup because it felt stuck, then it’s all about your brave act of trying again.

Think of it like trying to get used to using contact lenses. The first couple times putting them in and taking them out are remarkably frustrating, but still, you tried again and again until you mastered it. The same thing applies to become a practised menstrual cup user.

Plus, you know you got it out once, so you’ll get it out again! We believe you can do it! And remember the Ruby Cup user who got help from her boyfriend in taking her Ruby Cup out? She tried again, and this is how it went:

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