[Zoie]

Hi,
I am looking for any persons that have used Brava for Breast expansion.

I've been with the system for 6 weeks.

I've found I'm losing weight! 136 lbs (started at 144 lbs). I don't feel hungry, though. I am 5.7 (that is about 69 cm)
I'm incredible dry, especially at night. I do Hydrate, but can't seem to keep up.

Am I doing something wrong? I know that if I keep this up, I will definitely not do well with the Expansion system, according to Schlenz and Kaider, 2006. They say if you lose more than 5% of bweight you will not gain fat in breast. Or, equally importantly, gain the vascular physiology.

Thoughts? What are the foods that work with increasing breast fat with the Brava system? Anyone out there that knows this system and have used it to their advantage?

Female, healthy, but... getting into my 50s.
Zoie

[Zoie]

Hi again, any Brava users.

I did re-read the Khouri, Schlenz, Baker et al 2000 paper on the first cohort of Brava users (back when it was 10 wk and 10 hr, recommended), and discovered that on average the women in the study did lose weight, initially. Indeed, the plotting of weight has been AMAZingly similar to my own (I'm glad to know "I'm average!"). So that problem was answered --and apparently that weight reduction will not do too much damage to the process or the end game.

The dry mouth mystery was solved, too! After reading several posts on how antithetical caffeine is to breast growth, I dropped my 2 c coffee at night (something that typically makes me sleep, rather than the contrary). Sure enough, the dry mouth stopped, and so did the frequencies of night toities. So that was a wonderful suggestion by the host of BNcontributors --to avoid caffeine. I remembered, too, years ago while 'main lining' coffee as a grad student (one to two pots a day), I'd had a mammogram and was horrified to discover that my intake of caffeine showed up as numerous small caffeine cysts on my breast tissue on the radiograph! I stopped caffeine entirely after that for about 6 yr and in the next mammogram, sure enough, the cysts disappeared. So yeah, caffeine has a real breast tissue affinity, and that probably isn't great for encouraging breast fat (as so MANY have said on this forum).

Wonderful that just a couple of nights can show a complete reversal of symptoms --but well I guess I shouldn't be too amazed.
----

Since Brava company has decided to pull support for its non-surgical users, I figure that this thread could serve as one gal's journey, and hopefully others, on Brava's scientific / biological merits or otherwise.

[Zoie]

    To all that want an alternative to the Brava smart box:

Amazon sells the Ht1890 Digital Air Pressure Meter and Manometer

Rise HT-1890 Professional Digital Air Pressure Meter & Manometer to Measure Gauge & Differential Pressure ±13.79kPa / ±2 psi / ±55.4 H2O
circa $45, free shipping.

The airlocks and air connectors are bought at noogleberry --comes with the larger tubing, which can slip over the smaller Brava tubing and the tubing that domes with the manometer.
   
   

The system holds the pressure steady, so that once initially set at -33mmHg you can expect it to still be in the -25 mmHg range after about 3-4 hours and -20 mmHg after 7 hr (providing you don't break the vacuum seal).

[Zoie]

Okay, This new post summarizes my take on the research that has been conducted on the Brava using an experimental model: the mouse .

The MOUSE models are both on how static tension forces plays a dynamic role in promoting adipogenesis.

The first paper is by Lujan Hernandez et al 2015 --this one includes our Dr. Roger Khouri as an author and it is one of three mouse model papers I’ve read that have specifically tested the Brava principle, i.e., the notion that static tension forces on volume of breast tissue can induce adipogenesis. All papers positively support the Brava principle.

Lujan- Hernandez et al’s conclusions, I think, are interesting. Not only do they confirm that the static tension-induced forces enlist adipocytes to the local site, they do so via cycles of edema and inflammation. So the weeks of daily pull and release are what they feel might be important in the overall recruitment of adipose and stem cells of adipocytes, ultimately. Another paper that tested the Brava Principle (I’ve not included it) says static pull coupled with growth hormone stimulation (also created by inflammation, but which they cheat and add GH directly onto the mouse site versus their control without the GH). GH is absolutely the glue that makes adipocytes “stay” and set up shop. I interpret that one to mean that we really do need that collagen production. I interpret this to mean consolidation is all about forming the ‘glue’, i.e., blood supply, nerve supply, collagen --not just fat.

The second paper to follow as I don't think this post will permit two long papers attached.

[Zoie]

The second paper I’m sending, also the mouse model, goes to the issue of adipocyte recruitment as well. But here, the authors are interested in non-use of legs and the accumulation of fat on the lower body (wheel chair victims, older sedentary folks that sit tend to sit their backsides . The author's work uses static positive pull pressure force rather than vacuum, negative pressure, static forces. But it is the same absolute force, and creates identical results, as Khouri et al have argued often.

The paper takes a scientific look at 4 different degrees of pressures (whether it be negative or positive static tension pulls its the degree of static pull you want to focus upon); these are 3%, 6%, 9 % and 12%). The human equivalent of the static pressure envisioned is weight on your gluts while you are spending most of the day sitting: light, heavy heavier and heavier still. For Brava users, I translate this into light static suction at -15 mmHg, medium suction at -20 mmHg, more at -24-26 mmHg more still at 29-33 mmHg.

And if you see the graphs of the tissue cultures, you will note that 12% pull facilitates MUCH greater cell division and recruitment of lipid than does 9%, than does 6 % and then MUCH more than 3%. When they lump the first three in a single group to compare with the 3% static distractive forces, it is highly significant. NB: the cell division number in across the different pulls and the cell size across the differing pulls.

PLEASE DO REMEMBER, this paper is within the frame work of NON-Destructive Pulls (<12% pull). Above this, and the static pull is considered that too great a pull; the tissue will NOT have success in recruiting collagen because the tissue gets so thin that it tears before collagen fibers have a chance to form a scaffold.


So when we compare the paper of my last post and this paper AND the Schlenz/Kaider work, we might summarize as follows:

we have four variables that are key to Brava use:
1. the weeks of use [ more weeks, more volume of breast tissue ]
2. the hours of use [more hours, more volume of breast tissue]
3. the relative tension applied within a range of 15 mm HG, 20 mm Hg, 25 mm Hg, 29 mm Hg and 33-35% mmHg, represents 3 %, 6 %, 9 %, and 12 %, respectively.
4. the final one is the cycles (as suggested in paper 1). Cycles keeps the slight edema and inflammation working to engender collagen and other growth factor effects.

I guess all may be considered relevant when considering Brava use.


Any insights or comments are welcomed.

[suzanzee]

I have done Brava in the past and gotten I would say about a half cup of results.  The silicone started wearing so I threw the system away long ago, not realizing I'd want to do it again, or how hard it would be to find the 2nd time around.  I've called many doctor's offices and the doctor who invented it ... the only place I can find it is on Ebay but it is expensive, and the seller only has manual suction.  I don't know if I trust the seller either.  Do you or anyone know where there is a reasonable and reliable place to get Brava?

I would even rent it from someone for a period of time, if they wanted to keep it in the long run.

[suzanzee]

I have done Brava in the past and gotten I would say about a half cup of results.  The silicone started wearing so I threw the system away long ago, not realizing I'd want to do it again, or how hard it would be to find the 2nd time around.  I've called many doctor's offices and the doctor who invented it ... the only place I can find it is on Ebay but it is expensive, and the seller only has manual suction.  I don't know if I trust the seller either.  Do you or anyone know where there is a reasonable and reliable place to get Brava?

I would even rent it from someone for a period of time, if they wanted to keep it in the long run.