I have been learning lately, that not only is a good fitting chastity device crucial for long-term comfort, but that it can actually change over time! I wrote a tiny blurb in my last post (Left To My Own Devices) about how recently I have been noticing a bit of an issue with the very bottom of the cage kind of rubbing a sore spot on the scrotum. I had just a tiny bit of an issue with this early on with the Queen’s Keep, but had found that keeping things lubricated and sort of “free-flowing” would solve the problem, and I hadn’t had any issue with that in quite a long time. Lately though, it has been happening again, and it seems like none of my normal little tricks are working to make it better. MOST of the time it isn’t too bad and I barely even notice it. Until I do notice, then it can be difficult to get comfortable for a little while.. I have had to go so far as to take the cage off and put a band-aid over the sore spot in order to keep the cage from rubbing it too hard; and as my last post indicated, at the worst case I even had to leave it completely off for a couple days to heal.
My first thought was that perhaps I should have gone with a little bit larger gap between the base ring and the cage of the Queen’s Keep. With the plastic devices that I had used previously, I was always used to going with the smallest available spacer, so when ordering the Queen’s Keep I opted for the smallest gap of only 1/4″. The standard gap from Mature Metal is 3/8″, so I was wondering if I had that little bit of extra space then maybe it would push the cage out enough that it wouldn’t rub anymore? My only real concern with that was making sure that it didn’t create a large enough gap for a ball to be able to sneak its way back through.
With that in mind, I sent a note to Mature Metal to see what it would take to get a new base ring with a slightly longer locking post (which would create the larger gap). I explained my situation and why I was asking for this, to see if perhaps they’ve seen that issue before and might have a different solution. In her response, Mistress MM asked if there was any kind of “burning” under the scrotum; because if that is not happening then the gap is the correct size. I had NOT felt any burning, so I guess that may not be the problem.. She then asked about the cage/ring in general, if it slides down at all, wondering if the ring might “now be too big.” When completely flaccid, it should only be possible to slip one finger tip under the ring, up to the knuckle. I can actually get TWO fingers in there, even much further than the knuckle, but I never really thought much of it because I do happen to have very skinny fingers!
I did leave the cage on with the smaller ring all that night though, and the next day at work, and again for a second night in a row… During the day while I was up and active, it would get a lot easier to deal with and I thought I might be able to handle it, but as soon as I would lay down it was not good at all. I kind of felt like a complete chastity newbie again, just getting used to wearing a cage for the first time! I tried to tough it out for a while, but by the end of the second night with very little sleep I had to call it quits. I took the cage back off and saw that now it had been rubbing in brand new places, starting to leave a nice half-circle in my skin right where the whole bottom half of the cage had come to rest. I had to go back to the larger ring, taking care to have a strategically placed band-aid so that it wouldn’t keep rubbing more in the original spot, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.
I contacted Mature Metal again, describing my experiences now with the smaller ring. It did seem like possibly the correct diameter now (it wasn’t cutting off circulation by itself) but when the whole thing was put together it was far too tight! I actually DID feel some other sort of sensation under the scrotum while wearing it that way too, which I couldn’t really describe very well but thought that it could very well be the “burning” feeling that she had previously described. So with all that in mind I was back to it being a possible “gap” issue. Perhaps when going down a size on the ring, it was necessary to increase the gap size to make up for it? I asked Mistress MM about that, and her first response was that I should immediately STOP using that ring if it was that painful, as we certainly don’t want to do any permanent damage! She also agreed that it sounded like we could stand to increase the size of the gap between the ring and the cage.. They could increase it either a full size or 1/2 size, but her recommendation was to go with a full size (which I believe will end up being about ~1/4 inch extra).
So that’s my current state, just sort of “getting by” with a ring that seems to be a bit to large, while waiting for my other ring to arrive back from Mature Metal and HOPEFULLY fit much better now! It kind of surprised me that I was able to wear the larger ring for so long without any real issues at all (including a stint of 4 continuous months with no break from it!) but then all of a sudden it would start rubbing.. According to Mature Metal though, that is a pretty common occurance. Apparently your body actually does adjust/adapt over time, and it is often necessary to keep making small adjustments like that as you go along.. Now I know!