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To all the supportive ladies, thank you
July 4 2007 at 11:06 PM diana (Login Diana1978)
SENIOR MEMBER

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I am done. i had started another cycle and ended t with a long welt on my right cleavage area. I have gotten so many compliments lately without my huge swelling, i could care less about getting another cup increase. i will nurse this wound, which is getting better. and be happy i got what i did. i have also learned what my bikini's look like full, so i have started making pads that i sew on myself. oh well. i am happy to have gotten fuller. good luck to all. my domes are completely shot, too.



Author Reply
lexy
(no login) i had that too July 5 2007, 1:20 AM


for a while during my 3rd and 4th week i kept getting something like that. long swollen area that sometimes looked like an alergy. i was afraid it would leave a mark cause since i kept wearing the domes it never went away. and it was god damn itchy.

anyway i decided to change my routine:
- i had a few skin preps left so i used those until i found a spray that creates a protective layer and it also sticky. that also helps considering the glue on my domes is almost gone and i kept losing suction before using that. i'm in europe and the spray is french called tensospray. anyway there must be similar products on all markets i guess.
- i started disinfecting my skin with alchool before wasing it really good previous to ataching the domes.
-i take more time cleaning the domes with baby shampoo. before i was afraid i'd damage the glue more but now i don't care.

so, if now or later you decide to give it another try i hope this helps. what i do now solved all my skin problems. all i get is the red marks caused by the pressure that go away in 2 hours. my skin is clean and i don't get itchy while wearing the domes for 14-18 hours a day or after taking them off. for me this really worked.

good luck to everybody



misskatherine
(no login) Re: To all the supportive ladies, thank you July 5 2007, 2:27 AM


diana, you have been very inspiring for all us enjoy your beautiful, fuller breasts!!!



Seri_Flamehair
(Login Seri_Flamehair)
SENIOR MEMBER Domes July 8 2007, 7:21 PM


Diana you did buy the domes direct from brava and they are supposed to let you purchase one or two more sets. Sounds like you like the extra umph you can get so why not buy a set of the xlarge/wides and do your occasional boost? I am looking at buying a new set here soon mine are still working but not that sticky anymore.



diana
(Login Diana1978)
SENIOR MEMBER Re: To all the supportive ladies, thank you July 8 2007, 8:33 PM


Well its partly that i dont have the money for new domes. and partly this welt had, it hurts now and is Infected. ugh. gonna get it looked at tomorrow.



diana
(Login Diana1978)
SENIOR MEMBER Re: To all the supportive ladies, thank you July 10 2007, 12:54 AM


well. I was put on antibiotics for the infection, seems it was a gland that got infected after the extreme pressure and it should clear up the cyst. And i will be starting birth control pills for my periods for excess estrogen. ugh. maybe that will help? good luck to all.

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livinonaprayer
June 12 2008 at 9:22 PM kay (no login)

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i also have the bumps that you were talkin about. i have one underneither my left breast. its VERY sensitive! it feels kinda like a rib poping out and looks like a bruise. thats the only thing that hurts. sometimes the center where the two domes meet is sensitive, but thats all. im glad that bump that you had went away. i was worried that they were perm too. i am trying to fight through the pain though cause 17 weeks is alot to put in for nothing.



Author Reply
livinonaprayer
(no login) Re: livinonaprayer June 13 2008, 1:20 PM


Mine was under the left breast too. It was on the rib and I could feel the lump and it would move slightly when touched. It was very painful, but it does go away when you stop completely. Mine would have been where the silicone rested, no plastic even touched it and it did not help to raise or lower the domes. It think it is the pressure of the domes just resting on that area. Mine was actually worse when I was sleeping on my back and would wake me up a lot. Once I was up and moving around, it helped to not have as much pressure on it. If you can, maybe you can get in more hours in the early evening and morning if your is also worse when you are on your back.



kay
(Login kay84) Re: livinonaprayer June 13 2008, 3:40 PM


omg!! thats so weird. that is to a tee the exact same thing that i am going through!! i am happy to say though that last night, for some unknown reason, was the first night with no pain. i put it on at 11 pm, slept threw the whole night (waking up for random reasons) with no pain. and this morning still no pain! im loving it!! the pain is def worse like you said when i lay down, but it pretty much goes away when i am sitting up. im hoping i have more and more nights like last night with no pain!!! fingers crossed!

oh and i measured last night to see if i was growing, i am 1 1/4 inch bigger on each breast!! so thats gotta be a good thing!



silv
(no login) Re: livinonaprayer June 13 2008, 11:03 PM


Good to hear your pain is going away and you have grown! Keep up with the good work!

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my second time around...
February 29 2008 at 5:52 AM herekittykitty (no login)

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so i just finished my first week of my second round of brava and things are going well, to my surprise. the first time i used brava was almost 4 years ago and i had to quit early because of bad skin damage. i had the usual irritation and customer support told me to use the pantyliners which actually made it worse (i think the cotton material, while soft, wasn't stuck to my skin so it rubbed). i tried everything to keep going but in the end i was more worried about scarring so i stopped (luckily there was no permanent damage). it was such a negative experience that i never thought i would try again (but i kept everything anyway). fast forward 4 years...

had baby #2 and breastfed for over a year. the deflation was shocking -- even more than with baby #1. i literally look like a teenage boy now. i am desperate but not desperate enough to get surgery (at least not yet). dusted off the brava boxes and decided to give it one more shot using some of what i learned last time and from this forum (THANK YOU!). i decided my goal would be to avoid irritating my skin at all costs. i wiped my skin with a no alcohol no fragrance baby wipe (aplenty at my house!), used the no sting prep and put the domes on. the first night was horrible, as expected -- between the pain on this one point on my sternum (had this the first time too) and the back pain i couldn't sleep at all. but boy was it worth it the next morning! my breasts looked great! i washed them with this very gently aveeno baby wash, pat them dry and applied aveeno baby lotion. it's only been 1 week but so far so good. the only glitch has been bumpy deep red marks about the size of my thumb on both sides, near my armpits (luckily the skin didn't break yet). i slathered them with a&d ointment and desatin (learned a few things about treating diaper rash in the past 5 years), but couldn't figure out how to get dressed for work without getting desatin everywhere. i recalled that the last time, customer service recommended i use these things called moist burn pads (which area available at any drug store). they're these wet jelly-like pads that protect the skin and keep it cool and moist. so i bought some (they're pricey -- about $8 for a box of 4) but they did make my skin feel better (put a pad on my sternum which helpefd relieve the soreness). feeling ballsy i decided to try the water method (part of the reason being that the heat inside the domes was really uncomfortable). bought the catch valve and extra tubing and with some trial and error (and swallowing water), managed to get the domes 3/4 full. i could see the difference immediately -- my right nipple was touching the dome! i tinkered with the pressure and slept that way all night. one thing i realized was that the pressure really impacts back pain -- i had to release a lot before i was able to sleep. in the morning my breasts were much larger but to my horror, the red patches were dark purple! i guess the pressure caused bruising. the next night i covered the patches with these silicone scar patches (they really stick so i wasn't worried about friction). they worked to protect those areas but i decided to forgo the water until my skin recovers. i will note that the water vastly improved the suction of the domes -- i could barely get them off my chest in the morning (normally, they pull off without my effort).

now that i'm used to the airlock, i have been using that while i'm awake and the smartbox while i sleep (i don't trust that i will wake up if i break suction). one minor mishap this morning: i dropped my smartbox! it literally flew out of my hands. it seems to be working but when i shake it, i hear a rattling noise -- can't be good right? any advice?

thanks for listening to my dissertation! i felt it was the least i could do after learning so much from other people's experiences.

one more thing: i am going on a trip next week and do not plan on lugging brava (lugging 2 kids is more than i can handle). based on what i've heard, i bought the noogleberry system and hope that it will make up for some of the brava time lost. anyone else tried this?



Author Reply
Louise
(no login) Re: my second time around... February 29 2008, 7:46 PM


I dropped my smartbox too! It did still work but I didn't trust it after that so I just used the airlock. If you have a one way valve (check valve) then after a little while and every so often through your session you will be able to suck out more air and still be comfortable because the swelling is taking up more room in the domes so you need to remove some air to keep up the pressure. This allows you to get the domes on tighter and mine never fell off while I slept (I used a home made airlock for about 24 weeks), I was even able to sleep on my side or my front with a cushion under my stomach in the narrow XL domes.

Ignore what customer service tell you about skincare, just use whatever you feel comfortable with. If you use thick white zinc cream like you put on the baby's rashes it will make the sticky come off the domes - this is such a relief! They still stay on fine if you suck them on tight and there's a lot less irritation when the surface is smooth. I'm almost nervous about getting a new set because I'll have to have them sticky at the start and it made me itch.

I would say that taking the Noogleberry cups and the pump will take up the same room in your bag as taking your Brava domes and home made airlock. I took 2 sets of domes and 2 airlocks to fly long haul and was glad to have them with me. To avoid getting the domes covered in fluff put them separately into large size ziplock freezer bags and sellotape shut. If you get the air out of the bag you can fold the plastic bag into the dome and use the space to pack a few pairs of socks or something. You won't need the drying racks, you can just put the domes back in the bags and not close them fully or wipe the inside with tissues until they're dry and seal them in the bags.

How many weeks did you manage the first time? Did you get any results?



Louise
(no login) Re: my second time around... February 29 2008, 7:49 PM


p.s. I'm a total sucker for all these things so I have the Brava set, the BB, the Noogleberry, the electronic massager, pills, magnets, gym equipment etc etc...Make sure you try the Noogleberry at home first as the cups are a lot less comfortable and a lot harder to keep on - I just could not get a seal even though they are smaller in diameter than my BB cups which fit ok.