[mochaccino]

My BE frustrations have bubbled over into my dreams lately. The latest one was very strange. For the most part, they aren't nightmares, just weird freudian craziness. I'm tempted to call this latest one a nightmare, but I didn't actually feel scared while having this dream. I actually think it's pretty hilarious. I may as well warn you that this is going to be waaay TMI. This probably much more more than you want to know about my psyche.

It was extremely hot in my house the other night, even with the AC running. I was sweating heavily down my chest and just about everywhere else. I dreamt that I woke up feeling soaked and looked down my blouse and saws that I was covered in strange foamy milk. I went to the bathroom to see if I was lactating and started palpitating my nipples to see if I could squeeze milk out, at which point both my nipples fell of leaving me with smooth Barbie boobs. I went down to the kitchen, still topless and nipple-less and ran into one of my friends in my kitchen. I don't know how she got into my house in the middle of the night. She started screaming and saying that she would drive me to the hospital. I just stared at her like "What's your problem?". I told her to calm down and then popped both my nipples into the freezer. I told her that it's fine and that "they" would just sew them back on later. She apparently felt that this was good enough explanation, so I casually put on a shirt and we went out to eat or something.

Anyone else have any weird boobie dreams/nightmares? When I ever I get stressed out about it I have the weirdest dreams.

[mochaccino]

I forgot to say that I've switched to using a combination of FG extract, coconut oil and DMSO as my batter. I think the use of DMSO probably makes heat unnecessary. Does anyone know of any reason why this wouldn't be the case? Using my "heat sock" is always a pain, but especially when it's sooo hot.

[Doll]

ROFL YOUR DREAM IS HILARIOUS!!! God, I better not stress too much about this boobie stuff, either. I've been having the craziest dreams lately already (and no, not even from my maca).

[mochaccino]

It can't believe it's been 9 months since I started BE in earnest. So far, I don't think Ive gotten any lasting results. My boobs have gotten a little bigger, but probably only because of my 10 pound weight gain.

I do have a few things to report, but nothing earth shattering. First off, I finally gave in and bought StHerb cream, but I haven't received it yet. I also bought flaxseed oil to replace my fish oil this cycle, and I also plan not to use wild oat this cycle. I doubt leaving my SHBG levels alone will make a huge difference but it can't hurt to try a different approach.

I plan to go on a very strict low cal diet until my friend's wedding 2 months from now. Im a bridesmaid, and Im pretty ticked at myself for gaining 10 pounds this year, so I decided to put weight loss ahead of BE for the next 8 weeks. Ill be eating nothing but non-starchy vegetables until then. That means no grains, beans, fruits, or peas of any kind. I'll only be eating genuine veggies, meaning the kind that toddlers spit out, such as spinach, asparagus, mushrooms etc. If I fail to meet the bare minimum protein intake necessary on any given day, I'll have a single serving of extremely lean animal protein like a cheesestick or small fat free yogurt. This diet will NOT be good for BE, and neither will the rapid fat loss. It may not make sense for me to continue my BE efforts for the next 2 months, but I just can't bring myself to stop now, before having had any gains. Im hoping that it will be possible to keep my current small A cup while going back to a 34 band, but even that goal may be wishful thinking.

[mochaccino]

I have had an issue lately that I wanted to post seperately because I was afraid it would get lost in my last long post. My libido has plummeted down to basically nothing and been that way for my entire last cycle. Before that it had been gradually weakening but it wasn't a huge difference so I ignored it thinking it might be only temporary. Sometime around the beginning of the last cycle it suddenly drastically dropped, but I didn't want to freak out and drastically change my regimen. I waited it out hoping my body would naturally adjust but it hasn't. I want to get my normal libido back of course, but Im also interested in what this says about my hormonal profile, especially in regards to BE.

What might be wrong with my hormones? I know most people will automatically say low testosterone, but is there any other sort of hormonal imbalance that could cause this issue? I just want to make sure I consider every possibility. If I do gave low testosterone, what might have caused it?

[lled34aa]

did you notice the drop in libido around the time you changed your diet to low calories? if so, that could be the reason why.

[mochaccino]

I haven't even started the diet yet :/

[Isabelle]

Hi mochaccino,

Hops is a notorious libido killer, but it's very sensitive to dose. Taking 20 % less could have an effect already. If you are still drinking spearmint tea, that makes two anti-androgens. For me, that would be too much.

Progesterone and progestins contribute to female libido too. Try increasing fennel for a day.

There are ways to meet your target and keep your breasts: cans of tuna in water, increasing fenugreek, and snacking on carrots.

[mochaccino]

I still haven't decided what changes I'm going to make to my herbal program in regards to the libido issue. I might even take a break from all herbs next cycle since I'm still going to be dieting strictly at that time, and I will have run out of most of my current stash of herbs. I'm not sure I want to buy more of the herbs just yet.

I was strongly considering buying a Brava. On Ebay, I watched a complete Brava system with a smart box sell for $315 with free shipping about a week ago. I'm absolutely kicking myself for not buying it. On the other hand, it will be nearly impossible to buy replacement filters and cups for it when they inevitably run out or break.

I've decided I'm going to give snoogling (sleeping with the noogleberry) another go. Knowing what I know now, it should be much easier than it was the first time around when I ended up giving up on snoogling. I still doubt it will be possible to do it for a full 8 hours, but I'll try my best. I just bought Cica Care reusable silicone gel scar sheets to use for padding under the domes. I also bought a zip-up 34D sports bra to hold the cups in place. I already own some very unusual bag clips which are exactly like the clamps typically used for tubing. When I noogled in the past I also learned to grease my skin heavily with vaseline, position the cups for the most comfort, and, most importantly, sleep on my back without going absolutely bonkers (I'm normally a side sleeper). I really, really hope that all of these things combined will finally make snoogling practical. If not, then I just wasted $100 dollars on silicone sheets. That stuffs not cheap Wish me luck!

[mochaccino]

I feel like I've been searching around in the dark trying to figure out what changes I can make to the herbal part of my program. I'm almost completely out of my current stash of herbs and I don't think I can bring myself to buy the Greenbush kit again. It still seems possible that there's a version of the Greenbush program that would work for me, but I don't think I can keep making small variations, hoping to stumble on something that works.

I've been considering trying Chiyomilk's program since I first heard about it ages ago, but I still have a lot of questions. The vast majority of women who use only PM and cycle it, experience a roller coaster of swelling throughout their cycle but no long term growth.

Chiyomilk took B-up Drops during the second half of her cycle, but the dosage of herbs in B-up is extremely low. It may have the lowest daily dose of any BE pill I've ever seen, because not only does it contain everything but the kitchen sink (and some of the ingredients are probably useless) the packaging directs you to take only one pill a day. As far as I know, Chiyomilk followed the package directions. That makes me wonder whether the herbs were actually contributing anything to her program, but like I said, women who only use PM rarely retain any growth. I have no idea what to make of this

Ginie used Chiyomilk's program very successfully, so I've been looking through her program for ideas as well, but it's brought up even more questions.

Other things that confuse me:

1) Ginie used PC but Chiyomilk did not. Also Ginie used PC only rarely, so I don't know for sure that helped, and it may have even detracted from her program although she still grew very well.

2) Ginie used PM cream but Chiyomilk did not.This may not be important, but it would mean that Chiyomilk took a lower over all dose of PM, and dosage could be extremely important.

3) Both women took placenta. Chiyomilk used pig and Ginie used lamb. There's very little evidence either for or against placenta of any kind. As far as I know, there's no clinical studies whatsoever showing what, if anything, dried placenta does to human hormone levels (but I could be wrong). This doesn't mean that it doesn't work, only that it hasn't been tested, leaving me with almost nothing to go on. It seems possible to me, that it could have effects similar to other hormone rich organs like bovine ovary. If that's the case, then it might have had a huge impact on their programs, but I need to take a look at their doses, search for new studies, and think this through a little more. In other words, placenta could have been the key to their successfull PM programs or it could have contributed nothing at all. I'm baffled again

4) Chiyomilk seems to have massaged heavily and religiously. I'm not sure how much Ginie massaged. It's possible that the massage increased Chiyomilk's prolactin levels enough to actually make a difference in the over all scheme of things. Because PM suppresses prolactin, this part of her program may have been extremely important, then again it may have contributed nothing but firmness. It's very difficult to say. If I were to try to increase prolactin I would rather use an herb like Goat's rue rather than do constant intense massage. Then again, neither Ginie or Chiyomilk used any prolactin increasing herbs other than what's contained in B-up Drops, and the amount is vanishingly small.


Here's what I might do:

PM pills during the first half of my cycle.

PM cream either throughout the month or only during the first half. I have not decided. It's not true that PM cream does not work systemically. At least some of it must be entering the bloodstream and that is something I need to take into consideration.

PC cream during the second half of my cycle but probably only once every 3 months. Ginie took it only once every several months and she is the only person I'm aware of who grew on PC cream who did not have a hormonal disorder of some kind. I don't know if she took it for 2 weeks or only one week per cycle. Does anyone know?

Goat's rue and fenugreek during the second half of my cycle. I may also take an extremely low dose of my other Greenbush herbs just to use them up, but I'm not sure. I might skip the other Greenbush herbs and limit myself to an extremely low dose of FG, as little as 1000 mg. This would be a lot closer to what Chiyomilk and Ginie were effectively doing by taking B-up. If I take the Goat's rue, I'll buy the extract pills from Motherlove and take whatever is recommended on the bottle.

I also may or may not take placenta at all. This is by far the "if-iest" part of my program. Does anyone have any evidence that it affects hormones?