[zinnia]

Hello, I've been working on my program. Been at it for about 2-3 months. Notice little if no changes. Wondering if I should change something or keep going.

From what I've learned on here I believe I could be estrogen dormant (negative experience with PM, serve cramping, hot flashes, light-headedness, dizzy spells, migraines, even vertigo.), low progesterone (have a butt with no belly and small breasts), high testosterone (muscular body type & minor hirsutism, body feels good taking SP)

Roughly, my plan:

days 1-4
nothing

Days 5-14
PM 500mg x1
SP 900mg x2
MSM 1000mg
Vitamin-C 500mg
L-Arginine 500mg
Spearmint tea 2x

Days 15-till period
PC x2
FG 610 x2
SP 900mg x2
MSM 1000mg
Vitamin-C 500mg
L-Arginine 500mg
Maca 525mg
Spearmint tea 2x

Massage 20 mins
Noogle - 1 hr.

This cycle i skipped PM altogether. Leaning more toward raising progesterone levels and lowering testosterone.


-Something I noticed is more intense cellulite. I've always struggled with cellulite but never this severe. Could that be the SP?

-Also I want to remove or switch from FG because I used to breast feed and I dont want to re-lactate. Wild Yam? Or nothing at all?

-I also struggle to gain weight.


I scour this site but manage to confuse myself. I dont want to fall off. I joined for the community and it doesn't do me good if i dont reach out <3

Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you.

Avatar was me during nursing, 34C & goal

First pic is me in the same green bikini my start - 32A / Black bra 32A no padding
[attachment=10561][attachment=10562]

[EllaC]

Gosh you looked big during breastfeeding!
I don't like advocating herbs but since your already taking them, I think the saw palmetto most def be contributing to cellulite. And it's a really high dosage you are taking, 320mg was the most ever dared to take.
As for fenu I really don't think it would cause you to lactate, i think it would kinda help as you clearly had great luck b feeding.
The massaging etc is good. I too struggle to gain weight big time but a good protein powder always has me up one kg while I'm on it.
I think you'll do well. Leave the pm if it makes you feel sick. It's pretty common around here.

[zinnia]

Gosh you looked big during breastfeeding!
I don't like advocating herbs but since your already taking them, I think the saw palmetto most def be contributing to cellulite. And it's a really high dosage you are taking, 320mg was the most ever dared to take.
As for fenu I really don't think it would cause you to lactate, i think it would kinda help as you clearly had great luck b feeding.
The massaging etc is good. I too struggle to gain weight big time but a good protein powder always has me up one kg while I'm on it.
I think you'll do well. Leave the pm if it makes you feel sick. It's pretty common around here.

Thanks ella!
Yes, they where big but the were so uncomfortably hard and most of the mass was round and at the top. They never really grew outward. Least in my mind.

Yes agreed with you, herbs are powerful and should be approached with caution. For me I believe something in my body is out of balance, which is why i choose to take herbs. I have an appointment scheduled and I want to see about testing. In the meantime, I air on caution and really listen to my body.

Oh no! I wasn’t hoping it wasn’t the SP because when I first started my journey in this I was only taking SP. I felt so well on it that I would take just for the balance it made me feel. This makes me very sad! I work so hard to reduce what little i had (messaging, diet, and exercise). What can I do? I don’t really want to stop taking SP but i also don’t want cellulite.

Ella did you breastfeed? my first or second week of FG dosing gave me the strong sensation of “let down” I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Could that have meant I was waking up the ducts for lactation or growth? When I massage I sometimes find wetness. I’m not sure if my body is always producing just a little bit of fluid in the breast glands or if it has something to do with the herbs. I should mention though, before I ever started taking herbs and roughly 2 years after I stopped nursing I notice I could force out tiny bits of fluid. Leads me to wonder if I never fully “dried up”, if i ever will, or if herb taking will prolong that. I started nursing late 2011 stopped early 2013 still finding fluid to this day. I am riddled - Anyone having similar situations?

Yes massage has been nice to me.

I have been terribly under weight since nursing. I eat healthy foods. I try taking protein shakes but I never finish them, and at some point I have to force myself to take sips of it when I am thirsty but I just don’t want it. Do you have that problem? Any ideas on how to get my intake or about 2000 healthy calories a day to gain? I keep falling off.

Thanks ella, yes I don’t think PM is for me.

[hannah]

I have the same problem with protein shakes...lol they just make you so bloated..I just eat many slices of sausage during the day after and between my meals.
Further I know what you mean with not completely dried up,mine swell 4 cups bigger the night after giving birth..they were as hard as rocks and i couldnt move my arms therefore I decided not to breastfed.But still 1.5 year later now if I squeeze my nipple a little oil or white sometimes a bit thicker like white paste comes out off it..
You look good btw

[EllaC]

Hi.
Yeh I breastfed but not for long, i too lost soomuch weight after giving birth i couldn't function and BF was too much for the weight i lost.
I/we here started a weight gain thread, if you go into my profile and look under my posts you will see it further down.
I take pea protein which is less allergenic and by rights you shouldn't experience any bloating - i think i do but everything makes me bloat!
How has SP made you feel good? Sorry if you mentined it earlier..
Maybe reduce the dosage, i say SP might be the cellulite culprit because i studied up hard on SP and it seems to be really touted as a food based aid for sick and convalescing people, must be the nutritional profile, plus ive read many many times girls complaining about cellulite in thighs after SP, that wasn't the case for me, but then i never really took it for long.

As for the leaking, i have seen it before on a medical programme a women who always leaked milk, they dismissed it as normal. I wonder if you are really high in prolactin? i know i wasn't and that's why i failed at breastfeeding, taking fenu might stimulate yours further causing the letdown feeling? That's my guess. But you'd need all the relevant hormones raised to actually produce milk as ive been told so the let down feeling probably wont translate into suddenly producing milk you know? This is my "opinion" only anyway

You sound like you know what you are doing and good on you, getting hormones checked is the most important step otherwise we are just guessing.

[lovely.DDs]

Hey Creature,

having a drop or two is normal even after two years. It happens to me too. You've grown big during breastfeeding. You had enough milk I suppose. Breastfeeding was difficult for me, even I grew 2/3 cup sizes.

[zinnia]

@Hannah
Thank you! Yes exactly! I just simply don’t want it and I am constantly wasting the bottom portion of my shake. I’ve been doing exactly the same, “grazing” as i like to call it. I eat good deathly balanced meals but I confess I am eat things in-between like ice-cream cones, little Debby cakes because frankly when I am full I really don’t want to eat and junk food is the best persuasion. I’m getting better at that though substituting junk with milk and avocados.
Oh yes I remember like yesterday how rock hard my boobs got! I hurt for you getting overnight rock hard boobs I am so sorry!!! Did you keep any breast gains or did it all shrink back?
I didn’t want to think it at first but I am beginning to accept and deal with it: my boobs will be leaky.. my boobs will be leaky…. my boobs. will be.. leeakyy. : /



@ella
I am sorry to hear that. When I started nursing i never really thought of a deadline but my weight loss condition really dropped the hammer on quitting at 18months. Which I am lucky to have that. I understand how hard it can be on our bodies.

I am definitely going to check it out thank you! Pea protein whats a good brand?

Taking SP I felt clear and level headed, energetic, & peaceful opposed to anxious. Amazing I never read too deep on SP - I get frustrated & confused by the muddied information on the internet (thats why i love this site!). Ella, I had taken SP several times inconsistently through the years, wasn’t until now that I have been taking it daily and consistent that I have noticed bad cellulite.

I think you are spot on about high prolactin and the let down feeling since those weeks I was massaging diligently for 10-20 minutes 2x a day. Since I have decreased my massaging I haven’t gotten that feeling. Great thinking!

Thank you for all your insight!



@lovely.DDs
Hi, yes, someone should really write a manual to this things and pass them out at purity so we ladies won’t feel so lost
I am happy to hear its normal, but a little sad too - I don’t know why it bugs me so badly..

Yes i got big. Before breastfeeding I was 34A during breastfeeding I was a 34C/36B depending on production. I think my supply was okay but not great. I would produce only about 3oz a feeding so I had to feed frequently. I had troubles the first 2-3 weeks of nursing with soreness that I think lead to my lowered milk production. You’d think that something as natural as breastfeeding would come more easily then it really does..

After nursing did you shrink smaller or bigger then you where before? I shrank from 34A to 32A but i think its because I weigh less now then I did before.

[lovely.DDs]

Not very sure but I think I shrunk to the way I was but a little bit saggier and with bigger and lightly deformed nipples and areolas. But my shrinkage took probably more than an year and mostly happens when I started going to the gym. I lost about 8cm from my waist and about 2 cm from my bust. However, now with massages and workouts they are lot more perkier and I almost managed to compensate.

Here is a pic of the protein shake that I take. It's very tasty. I've also tried the coconut one of the same brand which was also very good. I do not know if it is healthy or contains junk(never had the time to research on it) but my muscles feel really well with it. I'm taking it about 4 times a week with milk, almond milk or soya milk.

http://www.fitnessdigital.ie/images/prod...-choco.jpg

[zinnia]

Not very sure but I think I shrunk to the way I was but a little bit saggier and with bigger and lightly deformed nipples and areolas. But my shrinkage took probably more than an year and mostly happens when I started going to the gym. I lost about 8cm from my waist and about 2 cm from my bust. However, now with massages and workouts they are lot more perkier and I almost managed to compensate.

Here is a pic of the protein shake that I take. It's very tasty. I've also tried the coconut one of the same brand which was also very good. I do not know if it is healthy or contains junk(never had the time to research on it) but my muscles feel really well with it. I'm taking it about 4 times a week with milk, almond milk or soya milk.

http://www.fitnessdigital.ie/images/prod...-choco.jpg

@lovely.DDs
Thats nice you where able to keep some gains. Are you using any massages in specific? Whats your favorite exercises?

I love your idea of mixing it in with your milk!! I already drink milk its perfect. Already tried it tonight Right now a have vanilla flavored protein but I bet if I got the chocolate I’ll be hooked. I’ll look into that kind. Thank you!

[hannah]

[quote='Creature' pid='162685' dateline='1445793115']
@Hannah
Thank you! Yes exactly! I just simply don’t want it and I am constantly wasting the bottom portion of my shake. I’ve been doing exactly the same, “grazing” as i like to call it. I eat good deathly balanced meals but I confess I am eat things in-between like ice-cream cones, little Debby cakes because frankly when I am full I really don’t want to eat and junk food is the best persuasion. I’m getting better at that though substituting junk with milk and avocados.
Oh yes I remember like yesterday how rock hard my boobs got! I hurt for you getting overnight rock hard boobs I am so sorry!!! Did you keep any breast gains or did it all shrink back?
I didn’t want to think it at first but I am beginning to accept and deal with it: my boobs will be leaky.. my boobs will be leaky…. my boobs. will be.. leeakyy. : /


Oh yours are really leaky as i understand now, mines only do when I pinch my nipples...I'm sorry to hear. Did you stopped breastfeeding cold turkey by NOT stimulating them and bind them into a tight bra? I had to from the ''nurse''. It was that bad that they just sprayed the milk out, they said dont empty them because then they'll start producing more milk and it will take you longer to dry up. Anyhow its better to eat something(junkfood) then nothing right, as long as we feel good

Have you read this alreadysome interesting foods for nbe) http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=19861