Friday, August 16, 2013

Follow-Up Friday: Njoy Eleven

~I received this item at a discount in exchange for an honest review.~

How I felt about it then:
My Njoy Eleven came at the beginning of June.  I remember my barely contained excitement when I was finally able to order it, being shocked and delighted at just how big it really is when it arrived, and then the sad meh feelings that followed use.  It was supposed to be the perfect vaginal toy for me, but I found it to be just fine.  Not rock-your-world awesome, but not crushingly disappointing, either.  It was decent if I was particularly in the mood for it, but mostly it just sat in it's beautiful bag.  My main complaint was that even though it is curved for G-spot stimulation, the curve and shape weren't quite right to do anything more than occasionally brush past my G-spot.  Like many women, I need a bit more of direct pressure/rubbing on my G-spot than just flirting with it.  In short, it was just OK, but for such a very pricey toy, I expect better than just OK.

How I feel about it now:
A few days ago, Husband offered to operate the Eleven for me.  It had been a while since we used a vaginal toy in our intimate time, so I said yes even though I wasn't crazy about the Eleven.  As soon as he started using it on me, everything changed.  The Eleven jumped from meh to wow!  When I'm using it just by myself it's almost impossible for me to be able to hold it at the right angle, and even if I get there, I can't hold it for long.  The Eleven becomes too heavy and awkward.  However, when Husband used it on me at a different angle (that I wasn't able to achieve alone), my G-spot received much more stimulation.  The downside is that since the Eleven has no give to it, whatever partner is handling the toy has to be careful not to insert it too far or too roughly to avoid some very painful sensations.

Revised Final Thought:
When using the Eleven alone, it's still just meh.  With a (careful) partner, the angle can be controlled better and provides much better stimulation.  For me, it's still mildly disappointing since I can't get reliable stimulation unless Husband is controlling it, and that's only going to be occasionally.  For the most part, it just takes up space by my toy box.

~I received this item at a discount in exchange for an honest review.~

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Kegel Project: The Final Report

The Kegel Project is officially over!  What you want to know is whether the participants improved and by how much.  The following is an individualized explanation of the improvements from each volunteer.  At the end of this post is a quick list of all the improvements reported.

K (That's me)
On the first day of this project, I could barely squeeze and hold for 5 seconds. I really struggled to get there, but by the end of the first week, I was able to squeeze and hold for 30 seconds comfortably. By the end of the second week, I was able to get to 40 seconds. In the third week I started my period and discovered my MoonCupUK stayed in place so much better than before and I no longer had any urinary leakage during hard sneezes. At the end of fourth week, I was able to squeeze and hold for 2 min 20 seconds before I, quite frankly, got bored and stopped timing. That's quite a far cry from the short 5 seconds that I was able to do in the beginning.

Stronger muscles has led to changes in the bedroom. Husband can feel my muscles tensing so much more now and I can achieve vaginal orgasms easier than before (although there was no change in clitoral orgasms). And—get this—I now have mini-orgasms (minigasms?) from just squeezing my PC muscles. Talk about a bonus!

Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock
By Day 3 of the first week, Princess CBH was having less accidental urinary leakage during workouts. That's only three days in. By the end of the second week, she was having even less accidental leakage with less effort and felt that she could squeeze her muscles “closer.”

Since starting the project, she has much less urine leakage when sneezing, coughing, and exercising. Although she still has to remember to squeeze her muscles when she has to do any of those things, she doesn't have to work as hard at it.

Princess CBH would like to add that during the project, she started a diet and exercise regimen and lost 10lbs by the time the experiment was over.  It's unclear whether the exercise and weight loss affected her Kegel strength, but for thoroughness let's include it.

Sassy
At the beginning of the first week, Sassy could only squeeze and hold her PC muscles for 3-5 seconds, sometimes even just 1-2 seconds. During the second week, she'd try to squeeze and hold for 5 seconds, but when she relaxed her muscles, she found that her muscles had already released. By the end of the third week, she was able to hold for 10 seconds, but the hold weakened over the seconds. The third week was also when she discovered that working the PC muscles during intercourse gave pleasant sensations, where there was no difference in sensations before the project. By the end of the fourth week, she was able to hold fully for 10 seconds.

Ivana Meisterkegel
When Ivana started, she was only able to squeeze and hold for 3 seconds, but by the end of the first week, she had jumped up to 5 seconds. Halfway through the second week, her muscles were feeling tighter and her hold time jumped to 7, which then jumped to 15 by the end of the fourth week. She reports that her muscles feel much firmer during intercourse and she feels like it's easier to pull the muscles up “higher.”

Vixenish Kitty
Vixenish had what the other volunteers called “PC muscles of steel.” In the first week, she was already able to squeeze and hold for over a minute, when the other volunteers could only make it to a few seconds. Even though she was starting from a place where other volunteers were hoping to eventually be, she still showed fantastic improvements from that first week.

During the second week, Vixenish and her husband experimented with her muscles by seeing if she could use her muscles to keep him from pulling out during sex. Her husband reports that he could definitely feel the muscles. In the third week she tried to do her Kegel exercises during sex which in turn gave her husband pleasurable sensations. The third week is also when she found that she could use her exercise trampoline with no leakage for the first time. She did another muscle test and found she could now squeeze and hold for 2.5 minutes. That's more than double the time from the first week!

Vixenish reports that she was surprised at how fast improvements came with what felt to her to be little effort. She had thought that doing your PC exercises was like working out 5 times a week. We're all supposed to do it, but...[insert the excuses we all have here.] Kegel exercises, though, were quick, easy, and simple to work into a schedule.

Pepper
Pepper was another volunteer that was starting from a place of strength in comparison to some of the other participants. She started out being able to squeeze and hold for a full minute, and in the second week she tried to squeeze during sex and discovered it produced strong orgasms. By the end of the fourth week, she no longer experienced urine leakage when sneezing and her DivaCup stayed in place better during her period.

Elasta O'Kegel
In the first week, Elasta could only hold for 3-4 seconds. By the third week she was able to squeeze for 5-6 seconds.  During that week, she tried to Kegel during intercourse, but didn't notice a difference. By week four, she was up to 7-8 seconds. Like Vixenish, she was also surprised at how fast improvements came.

Honey Ryder
Honey's results were a little different than the other volunteers. She was able to squeeze 2-5 seconds at a time during the first week and stayed at that level all four weeks. She was never able to squeeze any longer and got even weaker during her period week.

Sounds pretty bleak, right? Well, it's not. Honey did show improvements, they just didn't manifest as longer squeeze times. She reports that she's had a weak pelvic floor all her life, and working her muscles produced a really strange sensation. If you remember what it felt like when you started doing your Kegels (or if you haven't started, try it now), you know what sensation she's talking about. She felt this sensation for almost all of the project, but by the end, that strange, uncomfortable sensation vanished because she is, in fact, getting stronger. In addition, she feels she can lift her pelvic floor “higher.”

Final thoughts:
I'm amazed at the improvements everyone has shown.  Every single person showed improvements from that first week.  In addition, I've compiled a list of every improvement reported at least once:
  • Being able to squeeze muscles longer and harder
  • Being able to squeeze "higher"
  • Being able to squeeze "closer"
  • New, pleasurable sensations for the female participant during intercourse
  • New, pleasurable sensations for the male partner during intercourse
  • Easier orgasms
  • Better orgasms
  • Reduced or eliminated urinary incontinence during exercise
  • Reduced or eliminated urinary incontinence when sneezing or coughing
  • Reduced feeling of weakness in the PC muscles
  • Menstrual cups fitting better
If you haven't started a Kegel regimen, this list and the above explanations should give you a reason to start.  Better sensations and orgasms?  Reduced, eliminated, or prevented urinary incontinence issues?  Better fitting menstrual cups?  Ridiculously easy to fit into your schedule???  You have no reason not to start.  Put an alert on your phone.  Add it to your calender.  Leave a note on your bathroom mirror.  Whatever it takes to remember to do your Kegels!

The Kegel Project Week 4 Update

Here is the final update of the Kegel Project!  4 weeks of Kegeling, and every person showed some sort of improvement.  Some volunteers are leaps and bounds from where they started, and some only showed slight improvement.

The following is the routines followed this week.  Tonight or tomorrow, I'll be posting a solid look at the improvements each person made.  Why not now, you ask?  Because it would be a really long post.  And now, the Week 4 routines!

K (That's me)
Day 21-24: Squeezing on and off throughout the day.
Day 25: Wore Ami 2 for 3 hours while running errands.
Day 26-27: Squeeze on and off throughout the day.
Day 28: Squeeze and hold for as long as I can; 2min 20sec.

Princess Banana-Hammock
Day 22-28: Busy schedule; intermittent Kegels.

Sassy
Day 22: 100 pulses.
Day 23: 20 squeeze and holds.
Day 24: 100 pulses.
Day 25: 50 pulses and 10 squeeze and holds for 5 seconds.
Day 26: Skip.
Day 27: 100 pulses and 5 squeeze and holds.
Day 28:100 pulses, 20 squeeze and holds for 5 seconds. Notes: can now hold for 10 seconds.

Ivana Meisterkegel
Day 22: 5 sets of 10, holding for 10 seconds each.
Day 23: 4 sets of 10 squeeze and holds, holding for 12 seconds. Notes: She's very excited about the vast improvement from the beginning!
Day 24: 4 sets of 10 holding for 12 seconds.
Day 25: 4 sets of 10 holding for 10 seconds. Notes: Period showed up and felt weak.
Day 26: 4 sets of 10 holding for 12 seconds.
Day 27: 5 sets of 10 holding for 12 seconds.
Day 28: 5 sets of 10 holding for 15 seconds. Notes: not as much urine leakage; feels like muscles are firmer during intercourse and feels like it is easier to pull the muscles up higher.

Vixenish Kitty
Day 22: Miss.
Day 23: 50 pulses.
Day 24: 50 pulses.
Day 25: 50 pulses.
Day 26: Miss.
Day 27: 50 pulses.
Day 28: 100 pulses.

Pepper
Day 22: 50 pulses.
Day 23: 50 pulses.
Day 24: 10 sets of pulses throughout the day.
Day 25: 10 sets of pulses throughout the day.
Day 26: Miss
Day 27: Miss. Notes: DivaCup stayed in better during period.
Day 28: 10 pulses.

Elasta O'Kegel
Day 22: 10 squeeze and holds for 7 seven seconds each, rest, then 4 squeeze and holds for 10 seconds each.
Day 23: Tried to Kegel with a partially full bladder; unsuccessful.
Day 24: 8 squeezes for 7 seconds, 2 squeezes for 6 seconds.
Day 25: 10 squeezes for 10 seconds each.
Day 26: Miss.
Day 27: Miss.
Day 28: 10 squeezes for 7-8 seconds each.

Honey Ryder
Day 22: Miss
Day 23: Miss
Day 24: 20 slow squeezes, 5 two second squeezes. Notes: still feel weak.
Day 25: 10 slow squeezes, 10 squeeze and holds for 2 seconds. Notes: Period ended and felt stronger.
Day 26: Miss
Day 27: Long squeezes, pulses, and elevators for about 5 minutes. Notes: After period ended, felt stronger. Couldn't hold it for longer, but felt like she could lift it higher.
Day 28: Repeated Day 27.

Stay tuned for later when I'll take an in depth look at the improvements!



Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Kegel Project Week 3 Update

On Monday, we ended Week 3 and began Week 4, which will be our final week.  This is an update after Week 3.

Good news so far!  Everyone at this point is showing some sort of improvement, whether it be less urinary leakage, better sex, or just being able to squeeze their muscles for longer periods of time.  The bad news is there were a lot of missed Kegel sessions this week from many participants (myself included) due to health concerns, stress, and really just life getting in the way.  Shall we see how this week went?

K (that's me)

Day 15: Miss
Day 16: Squeeze on and off throughout the day.
Day 17-21: Period; squeezing intermittently on and off.
Notes: I use a MoonCupUK during my periods, but I also have menorrhagia (in short, really heavy periods that are kind of nightmarish), and always end up leaking around and past the cup, although the cup catches most of it. Without the cup, during certain times in my cycle I would not be able to leave the house. Since I started working my PC muscles more often, there is much less leakage around the cup and it seems to fit better.

Princess Banana-Hammock
On vacation all week; intermittent Kegel exercises during nursing sessions (Princess BH is a nursing mother).

Sassy
Day 15: Miss
Day 16: Miss
Day 17: Miss
Day 18: 50 pulses and 10 squeeze and holds.
Day 19: 50 pulses and 10 squeeze and holds.
Day 20: 100 pulses
Day 21: 50 pulses, 10 squeeze and holds.
Notes: Improvements! Can now hold for 10 seconds, although hold weakens as it goes. Tried to Kegel during intercourse and found it gave pleasant sensations, where before it didn't feel any different.

Ivanna Meisterkegel
Intermittent Kegels all week.

Vixenish Kitty
Day 15:10 squeezes. Notes: Kegaled while having intercourse; husband approves.
Day 16: Kegel exercises during intercourse.
Day 17: 5 to 10 slow pulses. Notes: Was able to use exercise trampoline with no leakage for the first time!
Day 18: Wore Je Joue Ami 3 for 3 hours.
Day 19: Miss
Day 20: 50 Squeeze and holds
Day 21: Muscle check- can now hold it for over 2.5 minutes!
Pepper
Miss all week.

Elasta O'Kegel
Day 15:10 squeezes of 5-6 seconds each.
Day 16: Miss
Day 17: 10 squeezes for 10 seconds, 2 “elevator” attempts (went so-so).
Day 18: Miss
Day 19: Tried to Kegel during intercourse; no differences noticed.
Day 20: Miss
Day 21: Miss

Honey Ryder
Day 15: 20 slow (2 second) squeezes.
Misses for the rest of the week due to trouble with muscles during period.

Stay tuned for next week when there will be the final update and in depth notes on improvements from day 1!