Isabelle just mentioned stinging nettle in her post
here
So I'm still kind of on the fence with it, but will continue to use it, both the leaves and the root, but not overdoing it hopefully.
About a week ago I was experiencing a lot of swelling throughout the day which I haven't seen in a while. I've also had some growing sensations like pain since I took a week off from my nuvaring and started a new one.
I've stopped spearmint for now, because I suddenly began to feel a lot of pain in my esophagus every time I swallowed, and doing a little research I found that spearmint (and peppermint) can have that effect (and is therefore not recommended for people with acid-reflux).
I think I was probably overdoing the spearmint tea, as I upped the dose to counter the effects of the increased sugar intake I've been having lately. Spearmint should probably be cycled then.
I have switched it out with Saw Palmetto, and will ramp up slowly, combining it with the (hopefully) anti-androgen effects of stinging nettle to combat my acne issues.
Since stopping the spearmint the pain in my esophagus has lessened a lot, almost gone.
Users have experienced weight gain, especially in the thighs, with saw palmetto which I welcome as I would like to gain some more weight.
I also want to reintroduce Goat's rue to help keep my blood sugar stable, which would help with my acne/skin inflammation, as well as swelling.
I have stopped noogling completely for now, because I don't have time (or I'm too lazy). I have been doing some massages though.
I've stopped almost completely with any tight pushup bras. My breasts feel much bigger throughout the day when they aren't squished flat.
And I removed my nuvaring on sunday almost a week ago as well as skipped a fennel dose, and got my withdrawal bleed a couple days later, so this system seems to be working good for me. I do feel like my boobs lose a bit of swelling each time I've taken my nuvaring out though, which isn't all that surprising maybe. I'm not getting any spotting anymore. yay!