My first time with The Sponge ....

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

If anyone has ever used the sponge before, please tell me if this is normal ...

Yesterday I used the sponge for the first time. Afterwards, I asked my boyfriend if he could feel it, and he said that he could feel it moving around, and that he sometimes was over it and sometimes under it (if that makes sense ...). So my first question is does it normal move around that much? and does it moving around make it less effective? I swear, when I put it in it felt like it was in the right place.

Also, since you need to leave it in for a while, I went to sleep with it in and woke up about 5 hours later with a little leakage, and an itcy clit. I went back to sleep, and when I woke up and tried to take it out ... well, basically I could barely reach it, but not enough to grab it, and I most definatley cound not find the string (which was easy enough to reach when I put it in the night before--I ended up having to have my boyfriend reach in and pull out, as he's got super long fingers :P). So, I'm also wondering if this is a common sponge experience. I just don't understand why I can't comfortably reach the end of my vagina, and why the thing was so darn hard to get out!

Comments

[so-says-ali.livejournal.com]

My BF said the sponge felt exactly like vaginal tissue. Could YOU feel it moving around? Is it possible that your boyfriend mistook sponge for tissue or visa versa?

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

I don't know ... that's a good question. I didn't feel it at all, but he IS used to what it feels like without it, so I guess I'll have to ask him.

[so-says-ali.livejournal.com]

Anecdotal advice-- I'm not trying to say your boyfriend doesn't know what vaginal tissue feels like-- but I found that when I had inserted the sponge hours before sex, it warms up to body temperature. it fooled my bf pretty well. I had trouble removing it the first couple of times, but I found that vaginal tissue hurts when you poke it and sponge doesn't.

I hope this doesn't sour you against using the sponge... it takes practice to get used to.

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

Were you always able to use the string to pull it out? I counld find the sting, so I tried to pinch the sponge itself and pull it out, but my fingers kept slipping.

[pradagrrrl.livejournal.com]

Your story is the reason why I've never tried the sponge.

[pinkgatorgirl06.livejournal.com]

heheh yeah i stick to familiar tampons

[kaelstra.livejournal.com]

...but tampons are bad birth control? :P

[pinkgatorgirl06.livejournal.com]

haha i thought it was for period stuff

[pradagrrrl.livejournal.com]

hehe..

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

Oh, I meant the contraceptive sponge, not the period sponge!

[pradagrrrl.livejournal.com]

i didnt even KNOW there was a period sponge

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

I thought you thought that I was talking about this (http://www.goddess-within.com/786035000429.html) :]

[riotonthestreet.livejournal.com]

ugh, i was just about to say that too.
I don't like the thought of anything like that - something that goes up the vagina and i have to reach in and grab that doesnt have a string protruding from me.

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

o my! Well at least I feel reassured that I'm not the only one! I just had to laugh, though when I stood up and looked in the mirror after digging at it to see my hand covered in white foam, and then asking my boyfriend to try. I don't think we'll be using the sponge again soon....

[kaelstra.livejournal.com]

Personally, I wouldn't use it for my sole method of birth control, if for no other reason than the website states that it's only 89-91% effective at preventing pregnancy when used as directed. It's likely that the 91% is "perfect use" with the 89% being more around the 'normal' use area.

Now with condoms, sure. But I'm super paranoid about getting pregnant.

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

I actually use FAM as my primary form of b/c, right now we are experimenting with differernt sorts of non hormonal b/c back up methods.

[xxchloroform.livejournal.com]

Occasionally me and my boyfriend use a sponge as back-up. I had a pretty awful experience with one breaking in my body, but that was less the sponge's fault and more human error. I still highly recommend the sponge as back-up, despite the problems.

Anyway, in my experience, it doesn't and shouldn't move around. It's supposed to be over your cervix, where the sperm will go into the sponge, contact the spermicide, and die. I agree with the above poster who suggested maybe your boyfriend just couldn't tell. I know my partner knows the inside of me better than anyone, but he really can't tell where it is and what it's covering. If you're worried about it moving, I'd recommend sliding your finger in to check. If you cannot feel your cervix, then the sponge is in the right place. Just rub around where your cervix usually is; if you inserted it as the directions say, it'll feel like a lump covering the back of your vagina.

It's possible that the sponge didn't soak up all of your partner's fluids or that the spermicide was leaking. You might even be a little sensitive to the spermicide in the sponge if it chafed your clitoris.

In the future, if you decide to use the sponge again, this is how I remove it. I sit on the toilet, put my fingers in, and I start to squeeze like I was having a bowel movement. Eventually the muscles in the vagina will push the sponge towards the opening. When you can, grab it by the string and very SLOOOWLY pull it out, making sure it's not caught under your pubic bone. It IS possible to tear the sponge, so be very gentle with it. Except for that one time, however, I have never experienced Inter-Vaginal Sponge Destruction, so I think it's sort of a uncommon thing.

Good luck! I hope you give the sponge another chance if you enjoyed it beyond these problems. Stay calm and follow the directions and you'll be able to handle removing it in the future. ;)

[twentymilehike.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I really appreciated that :)

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, your Sponge experience sounds pretty similar to mine, except my boyfriend said he couldn't feel it at all. I'm quite sure I put it in the right place, but afterwards it definitely wasn't where I left it. It leaks white foam and for the day afterwards I had yellow-ish discharge that was itchy and gave my poor vag an illness feeling until I got my period two days after use (sorry for the TMI). I could never find the string either, I just grabbed the sponge and yanked. I know it says on the directions to leave it in for 6 hours, but 6 hours seems a little excessive to me, especially if you're only using it as backup to a condom or something else. It just seems like extra time to leave it in there and cause an infection or something.

So yeah, your Sponge experience sounds pretty normal. I guess it takes some getting-the-hang-of.

[feelingcold.livejournal.com]

-squat, and bear down. often i can't find the string, but i also shove the string up over the sponge when i put it in. relax and remember there is nowhere for it get lost up there.

-you might have suction going on between the sponge and your cervix. if you are pulling on the string, and the sponge doesn't want to move, stick a finger under the sponge to break the suction.

-your cervix can move a lot in a few hours, as long as you can't feel your cervix, you should be fine. don't worry that the sponge is in a difference place, just make sure it's covering your cervix.

-sometimes it makes my vagina itchy and unhappy for a few days. i am not a big nonoxynol-9 fan. it is the main reason i use the sponge infrequently.