A compressed flat spring diaphragm showing the folds in the latex dome
High-vac diaphragm play: Returning readers will remember that I’ve written about the advantages of wearing a flat spring latex diaphragm (better heat transfer characteristics and it’s nearly impossible to under-thrust) for dive-sex and about the amazing feeling that I’ll call ‘cervical grip’ when wearing it with the dome under significant vacuum while diving or in a hyperbaric chamber under positive pressure. You can get a somewhat similar effect with a silicone (Ortho or Milex) diaphragm, but because a silicone dome is thicker and less elastic the amount of stretch to be had with a latex dome is far superior and the voids left unfilled by a silicone dome can cause painful squeeze.
In my experience as a cervical barrier fitter less than half the women correctly fitted with diaphragms have the vaginal wall structure that will allow developing and retaining a very strong vacuum in the dome. Diaphragms for the rest will work perfectly well for vanilla sex when spermicide is used in the dome, but their rugae – the transverse ridges that allow the vagina to stretch during childbirth - will not allow the rim to seal tight enough to sustain a high vacuum. A woman having a pronounced post-pubic vault and soft thick rugae is an ideal candidate to wear a latex diaphragm and achieve a high vacuum in the dome to enjoy its cervical grip even without penetrative sex. I thought high-vacuum diaphragms would be of primary interest to the young rich Europeans at The Lorelei, but it turns out that a few menopausal guests, whose rugae are atrophied, find their diaphragms often seal very well, and love them as much as reproductive age women. The older ones seem to like the clandestine masturbatory aspects of wearing a ‘fisting’ diaphragm (more about them below) w/o the mess of being mounted by a man regardless of how magnificent his body. With the availability of multi-bed hyperbaric chambers small groups of friends in this amazingly erotic fetish can all insert and establish the vacuum in their diaphragms before they go hunting men or just clubbing.
High-vac ‘Fisting’: It’s not nearly the experience of having a partner’s fist in your vagina, but still there is a lot to enjoy. With a strong vacuum in a latex dome the membrane will be stretched down over the cervix filling all the voids in both posterior and anterior fornix. In a properly fitted diaphragm the rim never fully opens because it is gripped by the muscles in the vaginal walls and the flat spring rim will not fold at a right angle to the plane of the rim so it provides a stable base to take the strain of the stretched latex w/o deforming. The folds (shown in the photo accompanying this entry) will be stretched out to fill the anterior fornix and flatten the rugae on the anterior wall causing the dome to be stretched upward putting pressure on the bladder as though the woman is being fisted by her diaphragm. So empting the bladder prior to inserting a diaphragm for high-vac play is very important. Under vacuum the dome also puts pressure on the woman’s G-spot causing some of us to become aroused and far more easily taken to orgasm by inserted fingers, vibrator or a thrusting penis. The problem with using a latex diaphragm for high-vacuum applications is that the dome failure rate is quite high for diaphragms in use for more than six months.
Latex fatigue dome failures: In high-vac dome-fisting applications the domes of properly cared for latex diaphragms will rarely tear, but will develop a thin spot or spots which will fail during use and in some cases no thin spots can be seen when checked just prior to failure. What we recommend for escorts and individual clients using latex diaphragms for high-vac applications is that regardless of how structurally sound a latex diaphragm appears to be during a stretch test no latex diaphragm should be used for high-vac play for longer than six months.
Women who enjoy high-vac diaphragm play usually use another method for contraception, typically hormonal; the pill, patch or shot, but some few have IUDs inserted or are menopausal. Since a silicone gel is used in the dome to reduce the likelihood of rugae squeeze the lube also reduces the possibility of the IUD strings sticking to the diaphragm and being pulled out when the diaphragm is removed. I of course wear an Oves cap under my fisting diaphragm. With a flat spring under high-vac I can compress the rim with my muscles and caress my G-spot in a solo orgasm so intense it’s addictive.
Establishing dome vacuum: This discussion assumes the woman has been tested and found to have the necessary pelvic anatomy to retain a significant dome vacuum at ambient atmospheric pressure. The woman should be on another effective method of contraception if a sexual encounter is anticipated in case there is a dome failure. She should also take a decongestant an hour ahead of her chamber appointment if she is prone to ear and sinus pressure equalization problems when diving or cycling in a hyperbaric chamber.
The flat spring latex diaphragm is checked for obvious signs of latex fatigue. If none are found silicone gel (we use DiveGel+ which includes a spermicide) is applied in the dome to lubricate the cervix and prevent rugae squeeze, then the diaphragm is inserted and checked to ensure the cervix is under the dome. Then the client goes into the chamber with an attendant and the pressure is increased by the desired amount
Over time we have found that a pressure of two atmospheres (the equivalent of a dive to approximately 30 feet), which puts a vacuum of about -14 psi in the dome, is sufficient to cause the dome of a Reflexions diaphragm to be sucked into all the voids on the anterior wall and surrounding the cervix. This can take a few minutes depending on how well the client adjusts to the pressure cycle and if the vacuum holds when the chamber is returned to ambient pressure. It’s a weird feeling having the vacuum push on the bladder and grip the cervix and it can take a bit of getting used to even by fisting diaphragm fetishists. Once the client’s diaphragm is under vacuum and she is comfortable she is free to leave the chamber to continue her day.
Exclusivity: High-vac dome play had, until recently, been limited to dive-sex, or a very few airline cabin attendants who could insert their diaphragms while still at altitude, but with the availability of multi-bed hyperbaric chambers at Adolph’s club, Splash, his resort/spa, The Lorelei, and another at his deep dive training facility the ability of guests to walk around during daily spa or shopping activity while enjoying the tight cervical grip of a latex diaphragm is available to those women with the necessary pelvic anatomy and money to afford it. In addition to pelvic anatomy the number of possible high-vac users is limited further because many women can’t stand the continuous pressure, the ‘cervical grip’, of the dome. It just freaks a lot of women out to have continuous pressure on their cervix. So with the small number of women, who are actually aroused by the feel of their cervix gripped by a fisting diaphragm under vacuum as a prelude to sex, the circle of women interested in the fetish is quite small and they often form close and lasting friendships.
Side effects/problems: Of course with latex diaphragms they can’t be used by couples either of whom have or develop a latex allergy, but aside from that: As mentioned earlier the dome under vacuum puts pressure on the bladder and cause the need to urinate frequently so we recommend that women prepping for a high-vac experience avoid diuretics, such as coffee.
We are finding that prolonged continuous use of a latex diaphragm under high-vac can lead to exhaustion, vaginal muscle soreness and the possibility of tears in the rugae if not lubricated with a silicone gel. Another problem can be releasing the vacuum in the dome when the wearer wants to remove her diaphragm. The hard flat spring rim has been pulled tightly against and seemingly buried in the soft tissue of the rugae making the rim very difficult to get a finger under to break the seal and fingernails can easily tear rugae. What works well as a removal aid is a flat handle ice tea spoon. The spoon can be warmed and the tip of the handle lubricated and inserted carefully under the anterior rim just behind the pubic bone. It’s not as difficult as it sounds and it just takes a time or two to develop a removal technique that works for you.
Like wearing negative rise shoes to stretch the achilles tendons after spending hours in pointe-shoes, the use of Ben Wa balls for toning before and after wearing a diaphragm at fisting vacuum is highly recommended as the vacuum can stretch the wearer’s muscles and if not countered with toning exercises may result in reduced vaginal grip.
High-vac and death rubber: I find it especially erotic to wear a latex diaphragm that I’ve harvested from the body of a woman who died while having sex. Returning readers will recall that any rubber apparel or devices I harvest for my own use I call ‘death rubber’. When we found that the life of a frequently used fisting diaphragm was only six months I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to harvest enough FS latex diaphragms in my size to keep me supplied. However, because there is a high turnover of Towel-Girls at Splash and because many of them are tall show-girls moonlighting there a very high percentage of them wear my size diaphragm for fetish encounters. So far enough of them have run into difficulties – usually during exotic off-prem encounters - that there has been no shortage of death rubber. Fisting diaphragms are a niche market, but since the demand for latex flat spring diaphragms is increasing - from young escorts offering fetish encounters - I think with the usual casualty rate in that line of work I should have a steady supply for my personal needs.
And just what size diaphragm do you wear if I might ask? I suspect that you would use a 70mm or perhaps a 75mm diaphragm due to your excellent vaginal tone and with all the conditioning and Kegel workouts you do.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the underwater lactation series?
Jim
Hi Jim, welcome! You'll remember that a diaphragm is fitted to fill the distance from the posterior fornix to the back of the pubic bone when the woman is unaroused.
DeleteActually, I wear an 80mm for contraception and flow control primarily because I have a long vagina for my size and OB history since I've never been pregnant and I'm only 5'4". Although you are correct I do have superior vaginal muscle tone. I haven't seen the underwater lactation series you mention. Please ask if you have more questions.
Jill
Jill,
ReplyDeleteRe: the accompanying pic, a diaphragm in your shoe does not do much good! Likely uncomfortable as well.
Anon: 80 mm is probably the most common size for a "mature woman." I, too, wear a size 80 having begun at 16 with a 70mm and moving up to a 75mm about two years after. My third was an 80mm and that is what I still wear today a few decades later. Also with no children but a quite active sex life, especially in my early twenties. Although few women are using diaphragms these days, several of my patients, mostly 40 yo+ still use them and most are wearing eighty mm.
Checking for latex fatigue is very important. I encourage patients, with latex or silicone, to bring their diaphragms with them for their annual checkup so I can check them. I still have my first 80mm, a Koromex coil spring, from my most active sex days - with a tear in it. I was simply doing a stretch test and it ruptured. A contributing factor, in addition to its frequent use, was that I was requiring my partners to wear condoms. Jill often warns against this because of "latex grab" - latex condom against the latex diaphragm could remove the condom. It also causes premature wear of the diaphragm, as I demonstrated. Because latex is a vegetable product, it degrades simply with age and this is what makes the regular stretch test so important. I have had to fish for a disappeared condom on occasion but it usually had to do with the fit and not with latex grab. I think.
Flow control is one reason women wear diaphragms. I have used that on occasion but generally do not worry about what my partner thinks and simply bleed away. As a younger woman, I sometimes used a diaphragm to hide my period, especially on first dates. Finally decided that, about the time my bra came off, I would mention that I was bleeding. If that ended activities, that also ended that dating relationship. I love period sex and have no reason to hide it.
Jill, so glad to have you back. I must admit I have some catching up to do as I spent most of the past month in Rwanda. Surprisingly good internet access but still not what we are accustomed to in Europe. I have missed your comments.
Hi Brenda,
Delete>a diaphragm in your shoe does not do much good!
LOL! How droll… I agree that a diaphragm in a shoe isn’t an effective use! I used that photo to give readers unfamiliar with how the dome of flat spring diaphragm folds when the rim is compressed an image of a partially folded Reflexions. For most women the rim of a properly sized and correctly inserted diaphragm never completely opens so there are almost always folds in the dome. So when I discuss how the folds are stretched by the negative vacuum to fill all the voids the anterior fornix and stretch and flatten the rugae on the anterior wall readers will better understand what I’m talking about.
Of course wearing Reflexions with the dome under significant vacuum isn’t how it’s supposed to be worn so I shouldn’t complain and six months of hard use under those conditions can be seen as a long time. We have both commented on this in earlier posts but, there really can be a strong psychological attraction to wearing a diaphragm. For me it’s Reflexions. The dome is so wonderfully soft and flexible. The comfort and feeling of being safe and secure with my cervix safely behind the latex dome is an amazing feeling! And of course there are other plusses. Under-thrusting a correctly sized Reflexions is very difficult and can’t be done w/o the wearer realizing it not to mention Reflexions can be worn effectively for flood insurance during dive-sex far below the 30 feet at which other rim styles will deform and leak. I have to imagine most wearers are in thrall to the comfort and range of activities allowed by their Reflexions on so many levels. Written out it sounds a bit over-the-top to be in thrall to ones FS latex diaphragm, but it works for me. One simply has to love it! They just must!
Yes, latex grab and the wear on the dome of a latex D from lack of lubricant can be troublesome if the couple is serious about avoiding a pregnancy. I rather like being able to pull condoms off my partners. I’m especially good at it when wearing only an Oves. Even when a lover is wearing the proper size and is using a performance enhancer so he won’t wilt I can do it if he can reach my cervix. I let him hit my cervix and if I rotate my hips the pre-ejaculate in the reservoir is forced back around his glans where I can use my muscles to spread it further down his shaft as he continues to thrust into me. Then magically he slides out and it’s skin on skin. By that time if he realizes it he doesn’t want to stop which is fine with me.
Well, there was the time the very attractive father of one of my students and I had an intimate encounter during negotiations for a business deal. He was careful to wear a condom as his wife has the money in the family. I knew exactly when the condom came off, but he was so distracted by what I was doing to him that he either didn’t know or couldn’t stop. However, when he pulled out and saw he had finished in me while bareback he was terrified that I might conceive by him. I was fertile at the time, but my Oves was screwed on tight and I was in no danger at all. He insisted I fish out the condom and give it to him (no blackmail evidence in my hands other than what he left inside me I suppose) and wanted me to have a precautionary vacuum aspiration. I wouldn’t do it unless I tested positive for hCG which I test for routinely each week. After my period came he was able to relax. I know his wife and she asked if I knew what was worrying him and I said I thought he might feel the terms of our business deal were more in my favor than his and she seemed satisfied.
I like a wide seal Milex Omniflex for flow control. It’s not perfect by any means and as you mentioned with your menopausal friend and her Surgi-Gel, the flow can leak out around the rim if it's thrust into if the dome is too full. Emptying ahead of time minimizes that problem.
Thank you Bernda! I do so enjoy chatting with you. Can you say what you do in Rawnda? I've Always thought it was a dangerous country.
Jill
Rwanda is not one of the world's garden spots. European women need be very careful but I was working with a group that kept me out of trouble. I have long worked with Doctors Without Borders as a surgeon but am developing a relationship with an American Medical NGO based in Boston.
ReplyDeleteI was chosen for my present position based upon management of small, ill-equipped traume centres. It tunrs out that the Eurocrats were quite wrong and we need more training in epidemiology and infectious diseases. Partners in Health is the premier organization for that. I am negotiating, with DWB, for surgery residencies and practical experience. They respond to most mass casualty situations. For instance, the Pot au Prince earthquake gave me the most intense experience of medical career. PIH, however, has developed the care models for infectious disease and they currently run three hospital and a dozen or so clinics in Rwanda. So, we want to send other nurses and doctors for training with them in Rwanda or the other centres in Peru and Haiti where their models were developed.
In a sense, this is a return to my doctoral studies, rather than medical studies, where I researched public health in the Third World. So, that is what I was doing in Rwanda.
Our "fishing for condoms" comments brought back a memory from just before I left Scotland which is a popular destination for German tourists. One night I received a call from a friend who runs a B&B asking me to come over. A 19 yo German couple who spoke quite good English had lost all their English in worry over a condom that had disappeared. He was given a cup of coffee in the kitchen whilst I dealt with her "lost condom." She was relieved to see it and needed some sex ed which was promptly given. She was also quite certain she was fertile. From what I got out of her vagina, it was the wrong time to be fertile! I had emergency contraception packets (what we used before the "morning after pill," and still cheaper by far) in my bag and started her first dose right then with directions for the second dose. Then I told them to screw themselves silly because she may be feeling poorly for a few days. Three weeks later I received a thank you note. Cute but they were living proof that even in countries with decent sex ed the kids often do not get it.
It must give you a great sense of accomplishment to know you are making a major contribution in a country that has such a great need for your and DWBs (or was it the American NGOs) medical services.
DeleteI am glad your celebration of the solstice went better than ours. Actually, ours went quite well but with very poor attendance. Imagine, the Shetlands where it snows all twelve months of many years not being popular on December 21st! Those few in attendance experienced our historical semi-underground homes and had a good time. Our "feast" was somewhat simpler than yours.
ReplyDeleteI stayed with the local priestess who was also the mother of the young man being initiated. She and I confessed to one another that we had not been virgin at our initiations many years ago. My excuse was that I ad always used a condom and, so, had never had semen in me. She acknowledged that she had. But, she was having a worse dilemma. Her older daughter had been initiated a few years ago and she thought it a good idea to have the developing priestess assist with preparing her brother for the sacred rites. One day she returned home and, by her daughters bedroom door, was hearing sounds that indicated the preparation was going a bit far. She chose to say nothing at the time but was planning to discuss this with her daughter after the solstice celebration. Her son did fine, I am happy to report. A bit quick on the trigger but I kept him in and his second round was adequate. I must admit I found it a bit strange to be taking him in knowing that the last person he fucked had been his sister.
What an amazing relationship that brother and sister have!
DeleteI think I've mentioned it somewhere else in my blog that I desperately wanted the approval of my father when I was growing up. My Mom was killed in an auto accident when I was 7. She was taking me home from ballet school in rural Western Virginia and we were struck by a drunk driver. I wasn’t hurt but my Mom was killed instantly. My father was inconsolable and blamed me. He banished me to boarding school and took to drink. I only saw him occasionally and went home with friends at holidays and some summers. Over the years I schemed to get back into his good graces or at least have him forgive me for something I had no control over. I was young, pretty, and newly proficient with multiple positions of mostly vanilla sex and very naïve. In my mid teens he said I looked just like my Mom and so I thought if I could get him to make love to me I could give him great pleasure and he would forgive me.
He was horrified at the idea and after I made several attempts to seduce him he stopped my visits home all together. I understand the moral taboo of incest, but I was and still am convinced I could have gotten him to see I was blameless for the accident had he just taken me once.
Writing about it I can see how hopeless that idea was, but for a 16 y/o I gave amazingly good sex. I’m still certain that if he had weakened just once I could have gotten him to forgive me. He never remarried and as I mentioned drank himself to death. Well, actually, while driving at night he hit a tree at high speed while drunk.
He knew that I wasn’t his biological daughter, but still took good care of me and loved me in his way. My great uncle John, a mine owner in the area, was my biological father, so it wouldn’t even have been incest! Of course I would have had to be very careful not to get preggers, but I’d been sexually active with male students and a teacher or two for several years so in that regard I knew what I was doing. As I finish writing this I’m crying! Damn!