[solome]

wow zara, i have to give you praise for this treasure trove of resources. i know it takes a lot of time and focus so think it’s great and i wanted to acknowledge you for your toil and enterprise. btw, i got home early and pumped for 30min, off for 20 and back on for 20 and omg …i swelled so much. don’t tell bettie. haha ..the swelling lasted for about a half hour, i loved it …i swear as time goes by, i believe i swell more and more. anyway, i’ll be going through all this resource for quite awhile ..thanks for your good work. solomé

[---]

I didn't know that Red raspberry had progesterone properties. I have been taking it all cycle long. Maybe I'll reserve lower doses for the first half of my cycle and increase during after ovulation. 

It's also interesting that licorice is a phytoestrogen but lowers estrogen? From Lotus notes I believe I read that it is "Anti-androgenic and activates alpha and beta estrogen receptors and blocks 5-ar." It also increases progesterone by reducing breakdown. Sounds like a balanced NBE herb god!!!!! 

I've seen you talk about EPO before and I really want to try it now that I read about it being so good for NBE across the board. Do you use it both externally and internally? 

Also I LOVE that seed cycling idea. I'm going to be ALL over that soon. 

I've been taking a kelp, ricebran, vitex mixture everyday and after reading kelp can lower estrogen I'm wondering if I should just leave that mixture for my luteal phase so I don't repress the estrogens I'm taking. As well as excluding the Bustea! since it contains licorice. What do you think?

I haven't started use of my EPO just yet, but I plan to use it during my menustrual and maybe follicular phase. Not entirely sure yet, lol. But I bought the capsules and I just plan to use it eternally to nourish my liver and also provide some other health benefits. I still need to research more though. 

That seed cycling does sound pretty cool too! I know I've started sleeping with an eye mask for luteal to try out the lunaception and I think it has been helping me to get better quality sleep.

I think perhaps it would be wise to leave out kelp and use it during luteal. But the bust tea is highly progestogenic so I would probably keep taking it during luteal. Licorice has been known to raise progesterone according to studies, but that is one of those herbs has conflicting studies. I really like the tea and the ingredients though, so I think I will probably repurchase it. 

xoxo

[---]

wow zara, i have to give you praise for this treasure trove of resources. i know it takes a lot of time and focus so think it’s great and i wanted to acknowledge you for your toil and enterprise. btw, i got home early and pumped for 30min, off for 20 and back on for 20 and omg …i swelled so much. don’t tell bettie. haha ..the swelling lasted for about a half hour, i loved it …i swear as time goes by, i believe i swell more and more. anyway, i’ll be going through all this resource for quite awhile ..thanks for your good work. solomé

Thank you so much, Solome. Not gonna lie, this started off as a pet project for me and kind of spiraled out of control. It took me a long time to write up and research, but once I finished I knew I had to share it and I'm glad I did. I figured it might be of some help to others, and any chance I get to share what I discover I'm going to!   Thanks so much for acknowledging it, it does make me giddy to know that it is appreciated!

[bettie32]

wow zara, i have to give you praise for this treasure trove of resources. i know it takes a lot of time and focus so think it’s great and i wanted to acknowledge you for your toil and enterprise. btw, i got home early and pumped for 30min, off for 20 and back on for 20 and omg …i swelled so much. don’t tell bettie. haha ..the swelling lasted for about a half hour, i loved it …i swear as time goes by, i believe i swell more and more. anyway, i’ll be going through all this resource for quite awhile ..thanks for your good work. solomé

I read that, Solome!!!   Ha ha,  don't worry. I'm actually ok about it now. For some reason (dense tissue maybe?) swelling is just not happening but I'm focusing on other things now! Diet, supplements, essential oils....

Speaking of essential oils Zara, I bought some sage essential oil to massage on my breasts during luteal but I just got the regular ol' sage oil. Is clary sage something else?? Oh no, I hope it has similar properties...I thought clary sage was an elegant way of saying sage 

[---]

I read that, Solome!!!   Ha ha,  don't worry. I'm actually ok about it now. For some reason (dense tissue maybe?) swelling is just not happening but I'm focusing on other things now! Diet, supplements, essential oils....

Speaking of essential oils Zara, I bought some sage essential oil to massage on my breasts during luteal but I just got the regular ol' sage oil. Is clary sage something else?? Oh no, I hope it has similar properties...I thought clary sage was an elegant way of saying sage 

LOL, you're hilarious Bettie! But unfortunately clary sage and sage have different properties and I'm not sure they are interchangeable in their breasts benefits. But sage oil does have benefits on its own, though it doesn't seem like it has any effects on hormones.

[bettie32]

LOL, you're hilarious Bettie! But unfortunately clary sage and sage have different properties and I'm not sure they are interchangeable in their breasts benefits. But sage oil does have benefits on its own, though it doesn't seem like it has any effects on hormones.

Oh noooo! haha 
Luckily I haven't opened the bottle yet. I would have been massaging this plain old sage oil on my breasts like a fool  

Thank you Zara x

[---]

LOL, you're hilarious Bettie! But unfortunately clary sage and sage have different properties and I'm not sure they are interchangeable in their breasts benefits. But sage oil does have benefits on its own, though it doesn't seem like it has any effects on hormones.

Oh noooo! haha 
Luckily I haven't opened the bottle yet. I would have been massaging this plain old sage oil on my breasts like a fool  

Thank you Zara x

No problem girlfriend!! <3

[wagon train]

I didn't know that Red raspberry had progesterone properties. I have been taking it all cycle long. Maybe I'll reserve lower doses for the first half of my cycle and increase during after ovulation. 

It's also interesting that licorice is a phytoestrogen but lowers estrogen? From Lotus notes I believe I read that it is "Anti-androgenic and activates alpha and beta estrogen receptors and blocks 5-ar." It also increases progesterone by reducing breakdown. Sounds like a balanced NBE herb god!!!!! 

I've seen you talk about EPO before and I really want to try it now that I read about it being so good for NBE across the board. Do you use it both externally and internally? 

Also I LOVE that seed cycling idea. I'm going to be ALL over that soon. 

I've been taking a kelp, ricebran, vitex mixture everyday and after reading kelp can lower estrogen I'm wondering if I should just leave that mixture for my luteal phase so I don't repress the estrogens I'm taking. As well as excluding the Bustea! since it contains licorice. What do you think?

I haven't started use of my EPO just yet, but I plan to use it during my menustrual and maybe follicular phase. Not entirely sure yet, lol. But I bought the capsules and I just plan to use it eternally to nourish my liver and also provide some other health benefits. I still need to research more though. 

That seed cycling does sound pretty cool too! I know I've started sleeping with an eye mask for luteal to try out the lunaception and I think it has been helping me to get better quality sleep.

I think perhaps it would be wise to leave out kelp and use it during luteal. But the bust tea is highly progestogenic so I would probably keep taking it during luteal. Licorice has been known to raise progesterone according to studies, but that is one of those herbs has conflicting studies. I really like the tea and the ingredients though, so I think I will probably repurchase it. 

xoxo

Yes I honestly love the bustea! I plan to rebuy it too. I've been trying to drink more tea so its perfect that it has all those ingredients. Although after talking with lotus on another thread, I learned that fenugreek lowers progesterone so now im worried that the tea wouldn't be good in luteal after all. SO CONFLICTED. I also don't know what to take during luteal for estrogen and prolactin now since I was going to use FG for that. 

I would love to figure out how to get better sleep so I may try that lunaception. Although masks usually find their way off my face throughout the night. 

I'll probably introduce EPO into my cycle after my next one. 

Thanks for all the info!

[---]

Yes I honestly love the bustea! I plan to rebuy it too. I've been trying to drink more tea so its perfect that it has all those ingredients. Although after talking with lotus on another thread, I learned that fenugreek lowers progesterone so now im worried that the tea wouldn't be good in luteal after all. SO CONFLICTED. I also don't know what to take during luteal for estrogen and prolactin now since I was going to use FG for that. 

I would love to figure out how to get better sleep so I may try that lunaception. Although masks usually find their way off my face throughout the night. 

I'll probably introduce EPO into my cycle after my next one. 

Thanks for all the info!

I saw that too on Lotus thread that FG lowers P. It does bring some concern to me. I think ideally it'd be better if we could just formulate our own tea blend and cater the ingredients to our cycles (follicular and luteal) so P raising tea and E raising tea. Actually, that sounds pretty cool and I might just have to create something of the sort! 

I had the same problems with sleep masks, but I bought a smaller one that fits a little more snuggly and so far it seems to be staying put! 

And girl you are most welcome! Thanks for sharing all the gems you've uncovered as well!! I so love how everyone is willing to share on this forum rather than keeping their discoveries to themselves! 

<3

[solome]

i’ve been reading about kava  .. it’s for stress and anxiety but many sites say it also stimulates prolactin. there are concerns re: liver so not to overdo it. i found some pharma kava tincture i forgot i had. wow, i get a bit of a rush after drinking a dropper full in water. i’ve been taking it for about a week hoping i will notice some favorable breast response. i hope the increase in swelling was a good sign. also, when massaging, don’t forget you can roll and pinch the nipples in a pleasurable way to stimulate prolactin ..or so I’ve read on various sites but then, i think you may know that.

dear bettie, i know you’ve lamented about the lack of swelling during your noogle sessions but don’t give up on that. i know i didn’t swell much at first. i’m not super consistent with it but it has been 2.5yrs of on/off pumping and i swell more now than before and over a wider area due to the wider domes, even though before yesterday, i didn’t pump for almost a week. i tease but really, don’t give up, i believe you will see something good come of it. all of you are a dream to read. i know you’re determined and i love that you are.
 
oh, also, i've been taking flax seed, half-cup mornings, sometimes nights but i stopped for 1wk. then started a couple of days ago before my noog session with the great swelling. thing is there are so many freaking variables, it's hard to know what caused what to happen ..that is, unless you take notes on everything you put in your mouth, almost everything, and when and what you massaged with and when, what part of your cycle. i've only had one scary breast event since doing this and even then, though i think i know what happened, i'll never know for sure unless i get a mini me with a note pad but it does tend to validate just a bit the idea of taking breaks, monthly or so.

arwen and zari. in my minds eye this is how i see you.