[anonymousacupz]

Has anyone pumped for many years? Have you seen an drastic change in blood pressure or experienced any other vascular issues? This is my main hesitation with the pumping process.

[Happyme]

Has anyone pumped for many years? Have you seen an drastic change in blood pressure or experienced any other vascular issues? This is my main hesitation with the pumping process.

You will have a BP and clotting problems with the PM estrogen programs. Not from pumping.
Bobbi

[ShelaVenna]

Has anyone pumped for many years? Have you seen an drastic change in blood pressure or experienced any other vascular issues? This is my main hesitation with the pumping process.

You will have a BP and clotting problems with the PM estrogen programs. Not from pumping.
Bobbi

I second what Bobbi said. I can’t think of any reason why pumping would affect blood pressure, but estrogens absolutely can affect blood pressure in a negative way. Most phytoestrogens are probably too weak to be an issue, but PM may be an exception. It’s hard to say. Animal estrogens could possibly be even more dangerous, not that I’m saying no one should use them. I do think a lot of people underestimate potential risks just because these treatments are “natural”. The “stronger” an estrogen is, the more dangerous it can be.

Pumping obviously has its risks too. If you pump too hard (well past the point of pain), especially if you’re not using any padding, you can give yourself a blunt crushing injury to the artery in the front of the shoulder, similar to the kinds of crushing injuries people get in car accidents but a lot milder. I tried to figure out what the result of this kind of injury would be, and got pretty confused. As far as I can tell, It can definitely cause pain, numbness, and reduced motor control in the arm, which are the same symptoms you’d expect from pinching the nerves in the front of the arm. We have one member who damaged the arteries and nerves in her armpits, and if I remember correctly, her only symptoms were pain and difficulty while using her hands and arms. The effects were bad enough that she saw multiple doctors and had physical therapy, IF I’m remembering correctly. That’s a big “if”. My memory sucks. I don’t think the injury was debilitating, meaning that I’m pretty sure I don’t remember her losing her ability to work, or do basic chores and personal hygiene, etc. Having said that, “not debilitating” is a long way off from “no big deal”. If anyone knows who I’m talking about, please link to the thread where she explains what happened. I assume it was her personal program log, but I’m not sure. 

Her experience is not a common one, so don’t be too terrified. Not to put anybody on the spot or be presumptuous, but there are a lot of people on the Noogleberry pumping forum who obviously pump for fetish reasons, and clearly see the pain as a positive thing. They pump really, really hard and often, and basically none of them have managed to damage their nerves or arteries. These people are almost all men, and a few trans women, and they’re often a bit overweight, which is relevant because the wideness of their shoulder and the extra “biological padding”, in the form of fat and chest muscle, in their armpit areas makes it much, much more difficult for them to seriously damage that area IMO. The thinner, and more narrow shouldered a person is, the more dangerous it is for them to pump at high pressure, especially without padding. That’s just my personal opinion. I still think the amazing lack of injuries on the Noogleberry forum, despite the rampant over pumping, should be a huge reassurance for you, and also the fact that I can only think of one woman who ever needed to see a doctor for nerve and/or artery injuries caused by pumping.