11-03-2016, 01:34
saw palmetto?
December 8 2007 at 7:37 PM britney (no login)
Hi my name is Britney. I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a herb called Saw Palmetto. I know it's used for prostate problems, but I hear it can help women, by enlarging the breasts? I'm 16 years old, 5'6, about 120lbs, and I'm only a 34A. I haven't noticed any growth for a few years and I could really use some advice on what to do. Has anyone tried this herb and had any success with it? And could anyone explain what the extract is, as I think it would affect the amount of saw palmetto I have to take?
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 8 2007, 9:45 PM
Hi Britney,
Saw palmetto is for reducing testosterone - you probably only need this if you have acne / male pattern body hair / facial hair, and if you do have these things you should get checked for polycystic ovaries. Saw palmetto also risks weight gain and cellulite.
At your age it's a gamble as to whether you've definitely finished developing. Personally I haven't grown much in height since I was 11 and boobs since about 12-13. I did grow a little bit more age 17 on microgynon contraceptive. If you haven't finished developing herbs could prevent you natural development as they are weaker than your own hormones but will take up space in the receptors in the body tissues preventing your own hormones from being used. If you have finished developing your choices are herbs / suction / massage + foods / peuraria mirifica (another herb but very strong - probably should wait until you're 18-21) / bovine ovary (carries low risk of BSE and is literally powdered cow's ovary which sounds a bit nasty - last resort / implants.
Suction should work if you're very diligent and willing to put in a lot of hours long term, it also gives swelling so you can pump your boobs up (you will need less hours to get swelling as your body adapts). Massage is good with everything except suction and stimulates the breasts and improves circulation (and can also grow the size of the lobes which would store milk if you were pregnant which may give some increase in breast size). Herbs work well for some people and not at all for others - beware most breast growth pills which are expensive and contain very little of anything. The most used product here is wonderup (you can find info about this on the reference page). It comes from Europe so you will have to pay £75 + international shipping for 3 months and it will probably take at least 3 months to notice any change never mind totally finish with it - some people notice growth in a few weeks, some people use for months with no change, there was also one person who did grow but didn't start growing for 11 months so difficult where to assume it's not working.
Herbs affect people differently in terms of weight gain / weight loss / bloating / irregular periods / headaches / dizzyness / acne / better skin etc in the same way some people get on better with contraceptive pills than others. Read through some stuff on the newbie page + reference pages to get an idea of where you want to go or if you'd rather wait a bit. Increasing protein in your diet to be 30% of your daily calorie intake, drinking 2 litres of water and taking omega oil supplements should help with any method you try. Rather than describing everything you could try I'll leave you to do some reading and you can post specific questions when you know what you want to do....also have a look through old posts as often if you just ask a question like "what herbs should I take?" or "I'm new where do I start?" everyone will ignore it as people keep asking the same things....good luck x
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 9 2007, 9:55 PM
Wow Louise thank you for all of that information I really appreciate it! I do have excessive body hair so I was hoping that Saw Palmetto would straighten that out and help with increasing my breast size. I'm not to familiar with all of these products and methods, so I will look through old posts and see if I can find other answers to my questions. Also, I would go get tested for a hormonal imbalance, but my mom gets all worked up when I try talking to her about these things so I dont know who to go to =[
But thank you again for your help.
If anyone has anymore input about this please let me know!
Thanks.
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 6:24 PM
Hi Britney,
You should definitely see a gynaecologist or endocrinologist about the body hair because it could be a sign of hormonal problems. Mine gave me metformin (anti-diabetic tablet, because polycysticovaries risks diabetes in future) and Dianette contraceptive to reduce testosterone. This improved the body hair in a couple of months - I waxed it and a lot less grew back. Dianette is bad for you in terms of risk of blood clots though so discuss this with a doctor. If you're young and healthy, non-smoker, with no family history of vascular problems then should be ok.
Do you get acne / bad period pain / pain at ovulation / back pain / put on weight around the waist?
All these are signs of polycystic ovaries. I first went to the doctor about bad period pains when I was 15 but didn't get a diagnosis until I went somewhere more expensive aged 25!
hopeful88
(Login Hopeful88)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 6:51 PM
Having symptoms of PCOS doesn't necessairly mean one has it though right, like period pains lots of girls get and the acne but it doesn't mean they have it? I know we talked about this before, but I still haven't gone in to get tested for it or anything... If you have PCOS does this mean you won't be able to have kids? I often think about and fear that when the times comes I will definitely be someone who can't have any...
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 10:05 PM
When I say period pains I sometimes had to take a day off school / work the day I came on and I had abdominal, back and knee pains that I'd been going to the doctor for years over. I had pains at the time of ovulation, a week - week and half before my period then for the whole week of menstruation. My cycle was long, about 4-5 weeks between periods which were light but over about 10 days, I was 30 lbs heavier, had acne, got sideburns and was beginning to get chest hair, I also was a total PMT monster. The pill fixed this 95% in about 3-6 weeks so I knew it was a hormonal problem. PCO deosn't mean you can't have kids (MomXseven has PCO + endometriosis and has 7 kids!), but you are less feritle as a lot of PCO women don't ovulate (the eggs don't release properly and become cystic), more prone to miscarriage and low milk yield. The studies done with fertility drugs + metformin look amazing though - I think more than 50% women got pregnant first month. PCOS is the syndrome consisting of all the above symptoms +/- actual ovarian cysts, also usually includes high testosterone, low SHBG (protein which should bind testosterone thus inactivating it), FSH/LH ratio of either 1:2 or 2:1 (can't remember which way round) and insulin resistance which is where your body makes insulin then ignores it so excess sugar converts to testosterone and risks type 2 diabetes. Definitely have a scan if you have these sot of symptoms but you can have the syndrome without any actual cysts so if you get a negative scan push for some blood tests - my doctor gave me painkillers and antibiotics and that was it. I suspected a hormonal problem and asked for the pill saying I wanted it for contraception.
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 12:20 AM
I dont have bad acne and I'm quite thin, but I do think I have alot more hair then I should have, my arms expecially. I have hair all over and by that I mean ALL over(stomach, back, chest, etc.) but it's blonde, just like peach fuzz, but it's a little more than that. I've had a sharp pain in my lower back for the longest time which only effects me when I'm laying down, or bending over. I dont know if that's the type of back pain your talking about. I've had bad mentrual cramps to the point where I'm in tears, but that's not too frequent. I still dont know how I'm gonna convince my mom to take me to get a hormone test. Like I said she gets angry when I try talking to her about this stuff, just telling me nothings wrong. But I'll give it another try.
Also, If I do take the Saw Palmetto pills, will that have any negative effect on me expecially with my age and can I still take the ones labled for men?. I really think I am done growing, I havent grown anything for the past 2 years. Sometimes I feel like they're just getting smaller.
Hopeful88
(Login Hopeful88)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 12:22 AM
Oh okay, I don't think I've had such severe symptoms in the past but this is all good info to keep in mind, thanks dear
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 7:18 PM
If it's just saw palmetto on the ingredients then it's fine if it's labelled for men (it's meant to be for prostrate problems + male pattern baldness!). I'd try booby food + extra protein + massage + omega oils before you try anything hormonal. Also some people get weight gain / cellulite from saw palmetto so personally I never tried it, some people have found pumpkin seeds or stinging nettle root (important it's the root not the leaf) instead, spearmint tea is also supposed to be good.
With the saw palmetto I think the extract you asked about is like concentrated juice from the berries. See if you can find the extract strength of any particular product and that will give you the equivalent amount of whole berry, so then you can clearly see how much you're taking.
In terms of body hair, what you have doesn't sound so bad as long as it's blonde, I've always had that blonde fluff but started getting a few dark manly hairs and went straight to the doctor! Google 'hisutism' if you want to find out what problem hair growth looks like.
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 16 2007, 3:20 AM
Ok I'll try the boobie foods and massage before I try any pills, however I havent seen any saw palmetto pills besides the ones used for men. Is there any certain technique in the massaging that can help?
& I looked up that hair syndrome thing in google & woah I dont have anywhere as close to that. So thats one less worry for me!
Thank you again ladies!
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 16 2007, 4:57 PM
Have a look at the GY Help thread at the top of the massage page, also the Pansyclub massage technique at the front of the forum and Tigerlily / Fengshui's personal program pages. Also a few months ago there was a thread "Tigerlily - rephrasing of your massage technique" if you look back through past posts or use the search to find it.
Sarah
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 18 2007, 8:26 AM
I have been taking saw palmetto as one of the herbs in my program. But I just realized there are saw palmetto berries and saw palmetto extract. What's the difference and which one should I take and how much? Can someone please enlighten me?
Thanks.
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 18 2007, 6:14 PM
I think the extract is like concentrated juice from the berries so it should be the same stuff. See if you can find the extract strength, they are often 4:1 but I have some that are 10:1 and 15:1. Once you know this you can divide your intended dose by that number to find how much extract you need. E.g. if you wanted to take 1000mg and it was 4:1 extract you would only need 250mg of extract (roughly 250ml).
December 8 2007 at 7:37 PM britney (no login)
Hi my name is Britney. I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a herb called Saw Palmetto. I know it's used for prostate problems, but I hear it can help women, by enlarging the breasts? I'm 16 years old, 5'6, about 120lbs, and I'm only a 34A. I haven't noticed any growth for a few years and I could really use some advice on what to do. Has anyone tried this herb and had any success with it? And could anyone explain what the extract is, as I think it would affect the amount of saw palmetto I have to take?
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 8 2007, 9:45 PM
Hi Britney,
Saw palmetto is for reducing testosterone - you probably only need this if you have acne / male pattern body hair / facial hair, and if you do have these things you should get checked for polycystic ovaries. Saw palmetto also risks weight gain and cellulite.
At your age it's a gamble as to whether you've definitely finished developing. Personally I haven't grown much in height since I was 11 and boobs since about 12-13. I did grow a little bit more age 17 on microgynon contraceptive. If you haven't finished developing herbs could prevent you natural development as they are weaker than your own hormones but will take up space in the receptors in the body tissues preventing your own hormones from being used. If you have finished developing your choices are herbs / suction / massage + foods / peuraria mirifica (another herb but very strong - probably should wait until you're 18-21) / bovine ovary (carries low risk of BSE and is literally powdered cow's ovary which sounds a bit nasty - last resort / implants.
Suction should work if you're very diligent and willing to put in a lot of hours long term, it also gives swelling so you can pump your boobs up (you will need less hours to get swelling as your body adapts). Massage is good with everything except suction and stimulates the breasts and improves circulation (and can also grow the size of the lobes which would store milk if you were pregnant which may give some increase in breast size). Herbs work well for some people and not at all for others - beware most breast growth pills which are expensive and contain very little of anything. The most used product here is wonderup (you can find info about this on the reference page). It comes from Europe so you will have to pay £75 + international shipping for 3 months and it will probably take at least 3 months to notice any change never mind totally finish with it - some people notice growth in a few weeks, some people use for months with no change, there was also one person who did grow but didn't start growing for 11 months so difficult where to assume it's not working.
Herbs affect people differently in terms of weight gain / weight loss / bloating / irregular periods / headaches / dizzyness / acne / better skin etc in the same way some people get on better with contraceptive pills than others. Read through some stuff on the newbie page + reference pages to get an idea of where you want to go or if you'd rather wait a bit. Increasing protein in your diet to be 30% of your daily calorie intake, drinking 2 litres of water and taking omega oil supplements should help with any method you try. Rather than describing everything you could try I'll leave you to do some reading and you can post specific questions when you know what you want to do....also have a look through old posts as often if you just ask a question like "what herbs should I take?" or "I'm new where do I start?" everyone will ignore it as people keep asking the same things....good luck x
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 9 2007, 9:55 PM
Wow Louise thank you for all of that information I really appreciate it! I do have excessive body hair so I was hoping that Saw Palmetto would straighten that out and help with increasing my breast size. I'm not to familiar with all of these products and methods, so I will look through old posts and see if I can find other answers to my questions. Also, I would go get tested for a hormonal imbalance, but my mom gets all worked up when I try talking to her about these things so I dont know who to go to =[
But thank you again for your help.
If anyone has anymore input about this please let me know!
Thanks.
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 6:24 PM
Hi Britney,
You should definitely see a gynaecologist or endocrinologist about the body hair because it could be a sign of hormonal problems. Mine gave me metformin (anti-diabetic tablet, because polycysticovaries risks diabetes in future) and Dianette contraceptive to reduce testosterone. This improved the body hair in a couple of months - I waxed it and a lot less grew back. Dianette is bad for you in terms of risk of blood clots though so discuss this with a doctor. If you're young and healthy, non-smoker, with no family history of vascular problems then should be ok.
Do you get acne / bad period pain / pain at ovulation / back pain / put on weight around the waist?
All these are signs of polycystic ovaries. I first went to the doctor about bad period pains when I was 15 but didn't get a diagnosis until I went somewhere more expensive aged 25!
hopeful88
(Login Hopeful88)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 6:51 PM
Having symptoms of PCOS doesn't necessairly mean one has it though right, like period pains lots of girls get and the acne but it doesn't mean they have it? I know we talked about this before, but I still haven't gone in to get tested for it or anything... If you have PCOS does this mean you won't be able to have kids? I often think about and fear that when the times comes I will definitely be someone who can't have any...
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 10 2007, 10:05 PM
When I say period pains I sometimes had to take a day off school / work the day I came on and I had abdominal, back and knee pains that I'd been going to the doctor for years over. I had pains at the time of ovulation, a week - week and half before my period then for the whole week of menstruation. My cycle was long, about 4-5 weeks between periods which were light but over about 10 days, I was 30 lbs heavier, had acne, got sideburns and was beginning to get chest hair, I also was a total PMT monster. The pill fixed this 95% in about 3-6 weeks so I knew it was a hormonal problem. PCO deosn't mean you can't have kids (MomXseven has PCO + endometriosis and has 7 kids!), but you are less feritle as a lot of PCO women don't ovulate (the eggs don't release properly and become cystic), more prone to miscarriage and low milk yield. The studies done with fertility drugs + metformin look amazing though - I think more than 50% women got pregnant first month. PCOS is the syndrome consisting of all the above symptoms +/- actual ovarian cysts, also usually includes high testosterone, low SHBG (protein which should bind testosterone thus inactivating it), FSH/LH ratio of either 1:2 or 2:1 (can't remember which way round) and insulin resistance which is where your body makes insulin then ignores it so excess sugar converts to testosterone and risks type 2 diabetes. Definitely have a scan if you have these sot of symptoms but you can have the syndrome without any actual cysts so if you get a negative scan push for some blood tests - my doctor gave me painkillers and antibiotics and that was it. I suspected a hormonal problem and asked for the pill saying I wanted it for contraception.
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 12:20 AM
I dont have bad acne and I'm quite thin, but I do think I have alot more hair then I should have, my arms expecially. I have hair all over and by that I mean ALL over(stomach, back, chest, etc.) but it's blonde, just like peach fuzz, but it's a little more than that. I've had a sharp pain in my lower back for the longest time which only effects me when I'm laying down, or bending over. I dont know if that's the type of back pain your talking about. I've had bad mentrual cramps to the point where I'm in tears, but that's not too frequent. I still dont know how I'm gonna convince my mom to take me to get a hormone test. Like I said she gets angry when I try talking to her about this stuff, just telling me nothings wrong. But I'll give it another try.
Also, If I do take the Saw Palmetto pills, will that have any negative effect on me expecially with my age and can I still take the ones labled for men?. I really think I am done growing, I havent grown anything for the past 2 years. Sometimes I feel like they're just getting smaller.
Hopeful88
(Login Hopeful88)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 12:22 AM
Oh okay, I don't think I've had such severe symptoms in the past but this is all good info to keep in mind, thanks dear
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 11 2007, 7:18 PM
If it's just saw palmetto on the ingredients then it's fine if it's labelled for men (it's meant to be for prostrate problems + male pattern baldness!). I'd try booby food + extra protein + massage + omega oils before you try anything hormonal. Also some people get weight gain / cellulite from saw palmetto so personally I never tried it, some people have found pumpkin seeds or stinging nettle root (important it's the root not the leaf) instead, spearmint tea is also supposed to be good.
With the saw palmetto I think the extract you asked about is like concentrated juice from the berries. See if you can find the extract strength of any particular product and that will give you the equivalent amount of whole berry, so then you can clearly see how much you're taking.
In terms of body hair, what you have doesn't sound so bad as long as it's blonde, I've always had that blonde fluff but started getting a few dark manly hairs and went straight to the doctor! Google 'hisutism' if you want to find out what problem hair growth looks like.
britney
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 16 2007, 3:20 AM
Ok I'll try the boobie foods and massage before I try any pills, however I havent seen any saw palmetto pills besides the ones used for men. Is there any certain technique in the massaging that can help?
& I looked up that hair syndrome thing in google & woah I dont have anywhere as close to that. So thats one less worry for me!
Thank you again ladies!
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 16 2007, 4:57 PM
Have a look at the GY Help thread at the top of the massage page, also the Pansyclub massage technique at the front of the forum and Tigerlily / Fengshui's personal program pages. Also a few months ago there was a thread "Tigerlily - rephrasing of your massage technique" if you look back through past posts or use the search to find it.
Sarah
(no login)
Re: saw palmetto?
December 18 2007, 8:26 AM
I have been taking saw palmetto as one of the herbs in my program. But I just realized there are saw palmetto berries and saw palmetto extract. What's the difference and which one should I take and how much? Can someone please enlighten me?
Thanks.
Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: saw palmetto?
December 18 2007, 6:14 PM
I think the extract is like concentrated juice from the berries so it should be the same stuff. See if you can find the extract strength, they are often 4:1 but I have some that are 10:1 and 15:1. Once you know this you can divide your intended dose by that number to find how much extract you need. E.g. if you wanted to take 1000mg and it was 4:1 extract you would only need 250mg of extract (roughly 250ml).