[charrr]

oh this is so exciting! i am very happy for you! i can't wait to hear all about your adventure. i love traditional medicine. thank you for the long detailed post! looking forward to your posts. thanks for opening my eyes to this. i checked online and found lots of good results. i think you will do fine girl!

[JoyfulBreasts]

Thanks Char! I am hoping for the best!

So, I've had 4 appointments so far. I do feel tingles throughout my breasts after each acupuncture treatment. And I do feel soreness in my breasts in between treatments. I don't see any improvement visually yet, but I do feel a difference. When I cup my breasts with my hands they don't feel completely empty as they used to , they still look deflated so far but I feel volume in my breasts now. So that's exciting! Especially since she said I should start seeing a difference on the 6th or 7th treatment. At that point, treatment isn't quite over yet, it takes 10-20 treatments. But I should start seeing some visual improvement and it will give a good idea as to how well it will work for me. I'm really hoping it works well for me.

On a side note, the acupuncture is also helping me physically. I feel so much more energy and happiness. I'm grateful for that too.

[JoyfulBreasts]

I'm sooooo excited!!! I decided to measure myself today and I'm 31.5", woo-hoo!!!! This is good, considering when I measured myself before my first acupuncture appointment I was ALMOST 30"! I've had 4 acupuncture treatments and I've been on the Chinese herbal formula she gave me for about 2 weeks. Also, considering I shouldn't see an improvement till the 6th or 7th appointment, I'm so incredibly excited! I think this NBE method is working best for my body! I will measure and take pics after next week. I did take before pics, showing how flattened I had gotten, but I can't find them on my computer and it got erased off of the disk when I uploaded it to my computer. So, once I find it I will post it.

My breasts are feeling pretty achey lately, but nothing severe, just uncomfortable. I'm so happy I'm responding so well to it! My breasts feel fuller but they still look deflated but not as bad.

YAY!

[JoyfulBreasts]

Hi! So I just realized that next week will be when I'm done the first 7 appointments (which is when you're supposed to see the beginning of growth) and it's also 4 days before my period is due. So instead of taking a picture then, I'll take the pictures on day 8 or 9 of my cycle to make sure that what you see is real breast growth and not pre-menstrual swelling. Also, I know some people say that their measurements are not always accurate, so I'll tell you what I'm doing to ensure it is accurate when I measure. First of all I'm always using the exact same measuring tape, I ensure the part on my back is always exactly the same and that when I measure the part where the two ends touch and I look at the number is always at the same spot, I also ensure I'm using the same amount of ....I'm not sure how to explain but what I mean is that I'm not measuring it tighter one time and looser another, it's always the same. Also, I always make sure that when I measure I'm warm and relaxed, if I'm cold my breasts and nipples will naturally get a little smaller. So...I'm very careful in my measurements to ensure it is accurate and done in the same way each time. Also for the pictures, I'm always taking the pictures in the same room and position. I want to see the real progress.

So, to update, my breasts have been getting sore from time to time. I'm still measuring at 31.5", but my breasts do feel firmer and fuller...they were literally like empty skin before this. So I'm really pleased! My nipples are looking less folded over, my breasts feel and look like they are more lifted, so I'm happy to get the lifting. I go in for 2 more acupuncture treatments next week and then go down to once a week the following week. I'm expecting it to take a few months for the acupuncture treatments to reach the full results, so I'm happy with what I'm getting already.

I'm sticking with using this bra size calculator http://www.85b.org as I think it's accurate, for me it matches for what bras fit me at the lingerie stores. So according to this, at my lowest right before acupuncture treatment I was a 32AAA and now I'm a 32AA. Not bad considering it's been less than a month! That's 1 cup size, so that gives me hope that I'll get to a good B or even a C.

[Violet Rose]

JoyfulBreasts,

Thanks so much for your informative posts! I feel like I've learned a lot, and I'm very happy for your success so far! I truly hope you achieve your goal.

I had the same problem after breastfeeding. I only had one child and breastfed for 7 months, but after that I was so deflated and empty looking; I completely empathize with what you are feeling. The appearance of my chest was nothing short of depressing and even shameful (to me, anyway). My wonderful husband has been so supportive through all of this and he always says he loves my breasts just the way they are, even when I think they're hideous.

I've been using the Brava device for almost 7 weeks now and I have definitely seen results. When I started I was a 34AA or AAA, and now I am a full A; they also look infinitely better - not saggy and deflated anymore but actually perky, yay!!! I had also been considering introducing herbs into my regimen since all I am doing is the Brava, but now I'm not so sure...One thing I've learned from reading all these posts is that everybody is different and everybody's body responds different to all of these remedies. Now I am thinking that I won't mess with what I have if it's working, which it seems to be.

Some time in the next couple days I intend to post pics of my progress so far. I'm anxious to hear about yours, too! I never would have thought of acupuncture, but hey, if it gives results...that's what we're here for! Good luck to you!

[JoyfulBreasts]

Thanks so much VioletRose! I really appreciate your encouraging words

I'm glad to hear the Brava is working for you. I had thought of using the Noogleberry or Brava along with what I'm doing right now. The acupuncture is really been AMAZING for me! But anything I could do to help it along....It seems that more people have success when using something like the noogleberry, but at the same time, I was worried that it might make my nipples larger too or make my breasts even more deflated, since my breasts became deflated from the nursing, and I thought a baby nursing at my breasts might be similar to the action of the device. But I see that you were deflated as well after nursing and that it's working for you. That's very encouraging! I might try it too, it probably wouldn't hurt. I think I'll ask my acupuncturist when I go on in next and see what she thinks. I'm also concerned about the time. I really don't have the time to sit there pumping for an hour or more everyday....

Thanks again for the encouragement, I appreciate it

[Violet Rose]

So far, so good! I actually didn't know about the Noogleberry until after I had bought the Brava, so for a while I was really worried that I had spent a lot of unnecessary money, but I think I made the right decision for me. It looks like the NB is a manual pump, and I don't know how you'd get the suction exactly equal in both breasts. Not that mine are exactly the same size, but they're close enough that I can live with it. And I really don't think that I'd have the dedication to do pumping sessions multiple times a day which keep me from being able to do other things. I really like the fact that I can put the Brava on, forget about it and go about the rest of my evening and sleep in it. I think that a lighter suction for longer periods of time is probably better than a stronger suction for just a couple of hours a day; I've heard stories of broken capillaries and tissue damage from the NB. Plus, I'll be done with this routine in a couple of months, rather than a couple of years. But then again, I've heard from users who absolutely love their Noogleberry, and it works for them. It's such a variable process.

I actually think that the process of going through a tremendous increase in size (from a true A to a large C/almost D) during nursing and then back down again, stretching out the skin, set the stage for the Brava to "fill up" the deflated breast. At least that's what I understand from the research I've done & from my personal experience. The suction of the Brava is nothing like the sucking of a baby. It's uniform over the entire breast tissue and very gentle. I actually like the way it feels. It feels like my breasts are growing bigger, which I guess they are!

I really like this forum & hearing from everyone about what they've tried and what works. It really is very encouraging. And I meant to get some pics posted but I forgot to bring my camera this week (I spend weekdays at school for the doctorate program I'm in), so I guess I'll have to do that next week. Happy growing!

[JoyfulBreasts]

Thanks! So, you don't have to sit and pump with the brava? You mention using it a few hours a day, are you just sitting and waiting or reading, or can you actually go about your day with it on?

Very interesting! I appreciate you sharing your experience. Good luck with your course! Oh, and what a sweet husband you have! I haven't let my husband see or touch me for awhile. He's sweet though, says he doesn't mind or anything and longs to be able to touch and kiss my breasts again (I do too). But he hasn't seen or touched them; it's me, I just felt like I lost a huge part of my femininity and I don't want him to see me this way. But soon...very soon! My breasts are looking better for sure.

[Violet Rose]

Yeah, I just put it on when I'm in for the evening, and then I wear it to sleep. You can definitely do everything around the house (you just have to wear a really big shirt!); you could even go out and do stuff but I would only go somewhere where I was unlikely to see anybody who knew me, like just running a quick errand or something, because this thing makes your chest look ENORMOUS. I guess if somebody saw me who didn't know me I could pass for just having huge boobs, but anyone who knows me would notice the obvious difference right away! I try to wear it for at least 12 hours a day.

I know exactly how you feel about feeling like you've lost your femininity and not wanting even your husband to see you; I've felt that way on and off for years. Occasionally I would get some swelling and then I wouldn't be so embarrassed to show them, but most of the time I just kept my top on during sex. He is so sweet though; somehow he knows to disagree with me when I say my breasts look horrible! He is impressed by my progress though - I'm spilling out of my A bras at the end of the day, and that's never happened before!

Good luck with your program too! I'm glad to hear you're making progress! It really makes such a huge difference in my overall happiness, as I'm sure it does for you too...it's funny, it's such a small thing really, you'd think it shouldn't be so important; maybe it really is less important to guys than it is to us, but still...I just want to look my best, and I'm so glad I've finally found a way to restore my body and feel beautiful again, with clothes or without.

-V.

[JoyfulBreasts]

Well, you've convinced me!

I decided to add pumping to my program. So it's pumping, acupuncture (seems to be key for me) and herbs as additional support (not in huge quantities though), and a high-protein diet.

I decided to order a noogleberry due to cost and only needing to pump for 30-45 min which I can easily do. I'm a light sleeper and think that I probably wouldn't sleep very well with the brava on at night, although it does sound cool that you can just get it done while you're sleeping!

So my breasts feel like they are slowly increasing in volume, which is encouraging, and they have definately lifted. I'm now at 1 acupuncture treatment per week (rather than 2) and will continue at that until end of treatment. [/align]