Peeing with a Menstrual Cup: The Urge to Purge
So you’ve finally converted to a menstrual cup. Congratulations! You’re taking big steps in choosing the best period options for your body, wallet, and the planet.
You’ve started bleeding, in your cup goes, and then wham! Wait – “How do I pee with this thing in?!” or “Why do I always feel like I need to pee when wearing a menstrual cup?!”.
These are two very normal reactions of new period cup users.
Luckily for you, we’ve got answers and tips to help guide on your menstrual cup journey and peeing.
Can You Pee with a Cup In?
To put it simply, yes, of course. Depending on your flow, you can wear your menstrual cup for up to twelve hours. As you can imagine, it would be a pain in the butt – or vagina – to have to take it out after time you had to urinate.
For women and people with vulvas, there’s a whole lot going on in one small area, which can make things feel complicated when adding an extra product to the party.
I’m sorry if this is painfully obvious, but pee and period blood do come out different holes. That’s not to say that having a cup in your vaginal canal can’t impact your peeing habits, or vice versa. This is because the bladder, urethra and vagina are cozying up real close to each other.
Find The Right Cup and Position
If your menstrual cup is making peeing more complicated, or giving you any anxiety, you’ll want to make sure that you, one – have the right cup for your body, and two – make sure it’s in at a comfortable position.
If your cup feels like it’s taking up too much space in there, check out this menstrual cup size guide, you may need a new one that fits you better.
You can also try wearing your cup lower in your vaginal canal, so it puts less pressure on your bladder, or readjust it until it feels like it’s in a prime position.
In some cases, it may just be a new sensation that you get used to after a few wears.
Will it Fall Out When I Pee?
Your cup is designed to stay in place when you pee, but of course – accidents happen.
If your cup does happen to fall out, and into the toilet, just be sure to properly sanitize it before reinserting, to prevent a nasty infection from bacteria that live in toilets and urine, like E. coli and Staphylococcus.
For people who tend to pee outside, or have squat toilets, versus sit down ones, this may cause your cup to be more likely to fall out, because of the angle of your pelvic floor muscles and vagina.
If the toilet scaries are still getting to you, again you can take it out when you pee, but who wants to go through that hassle?
What about The Urge to Pee?
Your cup is nestled in there and stays put when peeing, but the pressure on your bladder, is making it feel like you need to go all the time!
Like we mentioned, you may need to try a different cup or reposition it, but if you’re still experienced the urge
Here’s a little advice from people who have urinary incontinence or feel like they need to pee all the time – fully void. This means trying to fully drain your bladder every time you pee. Go to the bathroom, do your business, stand up to change the position of your pelvic floor muscles, and then try to pee again. This method should give you some relief, whether or not you have a cup in.
Don’t Hold it In
Your pee that is, not your cup, that holds itself in.
If you’re feeling like you need to pee more with a cup in, don’t torture yourself, let it out! Some people find themselves needing to pee more on their period, menstrual cup or not. This is because of a drop in the hormone progesterone. This hormone can cause water retention, aka bloating during your pre-menstrual phase. When it drops, you’re no longer holding on to all that water, and you may need to pee it out much more often than usual.
Holding your pee in can lead to uncomfortable urinary tract infections, which when left untreated can turn into bladder or kidney infections. Yikes!
Listen to your body and let it out when nature calls.
With all that going on, you may be wondering about sex with a menstrual cup, specifically squirting. If you can pee with a cup in, you can most likely squirt as well – if that’s what you’re into!
Menstrual cups are meant to make your life easier, but of course everyone’s individual anatomy requires different care when it comes to periods. It may take time to find the right cup and routine for your body and cycle, but when you do – there’s no turning back!
Natasha (she/her) is a full-spectrum doula and health+wellness copywriter. Her work focuses on deconstructing the shame, stigma, and barriers people carry around birth, sex, health, and beyond, to help people navigate through their lives with more education and empowerment. You can connect with Natasha on IG @natasha.s.weiss.
Hi,
Its my first time to use menstrual cup today is 3rd day and today m feeling constant urge to pee
What can be the issue, also I have diabetes but i dont think it’s related this is happening just today on 3rd day of period, I tried removing and reinserting cup but still same
Hi Rhicha! I’m so sorry that you’re experiencing that – can I ask, is it only a feeling you have once inserted or also when not inserted? If it is happening at all times, you may be experiencing a urinary tract infection. You can read more about the symptoms here, but the only way to know for sure is by seeing your doctor. But don’t worry! It’s a very common occurrence for many people, and is generally not serious as long as you seek medical attention.
Hi
It’s happening only when i use/insert cup, this month I got the urge on first day itself, I literally gave break to use cup now, will try later again
Ok, what happens if your cup unseals every time you pee? What’s the solution for that?
Hello,
thank you for reaching out to Intimina! We can recommend trimming the loop along the ribbed base of the cup. I am sending you the picture. Please do contact our Customer care if you will need any additional help.
Kind Regards,
Hi! Thanks for this article! Glad I’m not the only one with this issue 😉 My other problem is that my bladder cannot empty completely with the cup in. Standing up, relaxing, and then trying again doesn’t help much. Any suggestions for voiding completely? or is there any danger if I don’t?
Another question: you mentioned repositioning the cup so there’s less pressure on the bladder. Any tips on how to reposition the cup? Once mine is in, the suction is pretty strong. I can move it in/out but it’s very hard to change its angle or exactly where it sits.
Thanks in advance!
Hi!
The cup should sit comfortably when inserted correctly so it shouldn’t interfere like this at all. This could mean that your cup isn’t positioned high enough, and to do that you just need to find a fold that works for pushing the cup as high as possible before letting it open to form a seal. Another reason why this would happen could be that the cup is either too wide or too long for you. I’d recommend checking out different folds first and seeing if you can insert the cup higher. To adjust it once it’s inserted, you just have to push along the edge and break the seal then reposition it. If you still experience the same issue after you do this, you can reach out to our Customer Care email and let us know which cup you have, and we’ll be happy to offer as much info as we can or help you find a cup that may suit you better.
Best regards,
Hello I’m using a cora cup and this is my 2nd time ever using it and it makes my bladder hurt uncomfortable and make me wanna pee but I don’t need to go I tried. And idk what’s wrong because I think I’m on the lowest size and idk if it’s just cramps.
Hi Tracey,
we are sorry to hear this but we can not help you with Cora cup. You should contact their customer care and ask for help.
Have a great day!
Hi, it’s my second cicle with the cup and I feel it puts pressure on my urethra, so it’s more difficult to pee and it’s pretty uncomfortable. Problem is that I’m using the smaller one. What would you recommend to position it better so this doesn’t happen? Thank you!
Hi Anita,
“Our cups are made from ultra-soft silicone to prevent any kind of discomfort and pain while in use, so you should not be feeling pain if the cup is inserted correctly. I understand that your experience has been unpleasant and I would like to help you get the most out of your cup if you’re willing to give it another try.
The pain could be caused by the cup being pressed against your cervix or a more sensitive part of your vaginal tissue, which can very often cause cramps or discomfort. If it’s up against the front wall of your vagina, it could be putting pressure on your urethra or your bladder and causing you a bit of pain. What you can do here is use a clean finger to feel around the cup once you start feeling a bit of pain. Then you can try out different positions/placements for the cup to ensure that it doesn’t rub up against that spot.
If the cup is pressing against your urethra, you can try pushing it up a bit higher to alleviate the pressure.
Another cause for this pain could be that there is not enough air above the cup as this would cause a stronger suction. With any menstrual cup, it’s very important to allow enough air to flow behind/above the cup in your vagina to make sure the suction is as gentle as possible. After you insert and get the cup positioned, you can insert your finger up along the side of the cup to the rim and press a bit on the rim to allow air to flow up.”
Hello! So i switched to a cup today and it was a smooth experience. For good measure i also wore a pad in case it leaked so it would be less messy. The pad was clean throughout so clearly i had inserted the cup properly. But when I peed whilst wearing the cup, a bit of blood also came out along with the urine. And later when I checked, i found a small diluted blood stain on my pad. There weren’t anymore leakages after that, but only when I peed. Why is this happening and how can I prevent this? I want to permanently switch to cups as it’s a very hassle free experience. I just need to get rid this one issue.
Hello!
thank you for reaching out. I’m sorry to hear you are having issues with your cup, but please know that it can sometimes take a few cycles to find what seal and position will suit you best.
The reason for this issue could be different depending on which INTIMINA cup you are using. If it is one of the Lily Cups in question, it is possible that your pelvic muscles contract in a way which causes the cup to break a seal once you go to the toilet. If that should be the case, we recommend taking this time to reposition your cup and if needed, empty it and position it back inside, making sure that the seal has formed. On the other hand, if you are using the Ziggy Cup; it is possible that the position you are in and the muscles contracting cause the disc to slide down slightly, causing some of the collected blood to leak out.
The Ziggy cup doesn’t rely on forming a seal so in this case, it is only needed to reposition your Ziggy cup so that is tucked higher up the pubic bone.
I know it can be a bit frustrating, but I’d like to assure you that you will find the right technique – it might just take a little bit of time.
Good luck and have a great day!
Hi, it’s my first time using a cup and I’ve noticed that it makes it more difficult to pee when I’m wearing it. Does this mean I need a smaller size? I’m using Lily compact size B.
Hello Jo! We typically recommend the B size for users who have given vaginal birth or have a weaker pelvic floor. If this is not the case here, then it’s possible that the cup is slighty too big, or it’s just pressing on a certain spot. You can try to adjust the insertion and position the cup higher or lower than it usually sits. I suggest you experiment with it to see if a different position will help with this!
Hy, I am a beginner ..I bought my menstrual cup two months ago I’ve be trying to insert.. whenever I insert my urine gets into the cup..why?
Hello Laya! It shouldn’t be possible for any urine to get inside the cup as the urethral opening is located outside of the vaginal canal, where the cup gets inserted. If you inserted the cup while you didn’t have your period, it’s possible that the liquid you saw in your cup was just regular vaginal discharge which is very common and normal.