I've been keeping a close eye on my data and noticed that things have been slowing down. It's also been almost a full year since I had checked my hormone levels. For anyone who is interested in trying any natural method, two things are essential. Getting to know your hormones and getting to know your cycles. For the cycles, I recommend using one of the many "natural family planning" apps. This requires dedication since you need to take and chart your temperature every day at the same time. This reveals all sorts of data. Once you know when you ovulate, you can get a pretty good sense of where your hormones might be during the cycle. The app I use can actually predict my cycle dates at this point, and I no longer take the daily temperatures.
I also tested my hormones using a saliva based hormone test. These are pricey, but they're available online. It's worth the cost. Why load your body with estrogen if you're already estrogen dominant? That would be pointless. When I first started, I assumed I could just take a bunch of fenugreek and see results. That was not the case. I'd swell up, but I'd lose most of it as soon as my cycle ended. When I started to pay attention to my hormones, I would still see some cyclic swelling and shrinking, but I would keep more and more each month.
This became very evident once I looked over my data. Due to recent life drama, my science got shoddy. As a result, I noticed that I was feeling less sensations and seeing less results. Recently, I decided to try pueraria mirifica. This is supposedly the strongest herb for breast growth, but I was skeptical. Curiosity got the best of me, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I had been told that this herb needed to be synced with the cycle, so last month, I waited for ovulation then took it until the "red tide" arrived. I was surprised that I did not feel much of anything, but I also kept taking fenugreek. CRITICAL ERROR! When I tested my hormones, I was all out of sync. People assume that conditions like hypertrophy and macromastia are caused by having too much estrogen. This is not the necessarily the case... it's the body's sensitivity to the circulating hormone levels that can spark the growth. I was still gaining, but it was closer to what I'd see without taking anything at all... tiny little fractions of an inch. This showed me something was broken.
For this current cycle, I took it as directed-- from cycle day one for 14 days, then a break for a week (which luckily corresponded with a mandatory herb break due to surgery), then I went back on it. Normally, I'd continue to take fenugreek during the break, but I was not able to. I was able to stay on Vitex, which likely helped get things back in sync from the previous cycle's overload. Supposedly, this break allows ovulation to happen, though the literature is not consistent as to whether it's necessary. While on PM, I cut fenugreek, licorice, and anything else that might interfere. I also continued vitex/chasteberry (a phyto-progesterone) to help balance things out, and my usual omega supplement. I also made sure to drink a protein shake at least 1-2 times a day and massaged when possible. In the afternoons, I'd take my Omegas, and a dropper of Goat's Rue just to keep things interesting. ;-) I saw an uptick in sensations and soreness. My pictures from late October to early November show changes. They're nudes, so I won't share them here!
Due to stress, I've been getting bad heartburn. I am fond of eating curry or thai food in the afternoon, so I decided to take cimetidine then. I've read in some articles that this is also a powerful anti-androgen, but I did not expect anything to happen. Yet, the past few days have been insane... I have not felt anything like this in a long time... constant deep aches that alternate with itching, redness, heat, and an obvious difference in size. It's not lactation... they're dry. I'll be curious to see what happens in the weeks ahead.