caligirl's routine

[caligirl]

june 29, 2006
third day, second cycle.

hi wahaika,
i forgot to skip day 14 on cycle one...my mistake. can i put progesterone cream to clear receptors on this day too?

after my first cycle, a couple of things noticed are:
1) my luteal swelling begins day 13, so this day i skip!
2) my breasts are smaller than they were before my period but still larger than when i began be.
3) i am not experiencing pains a lot, often, or significantly and what i feel may be pains are really hard to tell what they really are sometimes. i wonder what i can do to tweak this...i know i can't bring on pains...maybe i'm the type that doesn't experience pains much...but i would like to experiment a little this month to see if an alternation in my methods will bring on different or better results.

any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

*edit*
i'm about to switch over to greenbush's pills (fenu, wy, sp). should i ramp up those pills or just replace my current with greenbush? since the greenbush fenu extract in joyful1's routine seemed to make a difference, i have an odd feeling that it will be the same with the pills. i don't want to stall if the greenbush pills are more potent because of better quality or whatnot.

my rash is still there. it's under my left boob in the sweaty "crevasse". it's slightly raised and very itchy there. i will go to a doctor to get it checked out if it doesn't go away in a another day or so. i don't think it's there because of be...but i've never had a rash there before.

have a great day!

[Wahaika]

caligirl,

Once you start your routine, no progesterone cream. There are exceptions. If you want to incorporate progesterone cream into your routine, do it on day 1 only. You can also use it to fix cycle problems but it you are not having any problems in that area then you might want to avoid it.

Skip day 14 or later up to 17, not 13. 14 is probably the best.

You might be one of those that does not feel growing pains a lot. All you can do is to tweak. Lots of tweaking would be good for you to do:
* You learn to listen to your body
* As you grow you need to adjust, and someone your size needs to be right on top of that.

The Greenbush herbs could be more potent that what you are taking now, but they are probably also more mgs per capsule. I would say that you need to ramp those up. If you are having touble then you may need to ramp up in 1/2 capsule steps.

On the rash, yep see a doctor. If it is an allergic reaction, you will want to figure out which herb may be causing it and replace it with something else. If it is infectious, then you want to take care of that right away. I would definitely suggest talking to Fawn. She has 20+ years in the health food field and may have an easy fix for you.

my 2 cents, Good luck!

[caligirl]

june 30, 2006
day 4, second cycle.

hi wahaika,
how should i go about taking the greenbush herbs? should i ramp down with the pills i used from cycle 1 and then ramp up all over again using greenbush? today i took my morning set of pills with the old pills i had from cycle one and took greenbush's pills for my afternoon dose, same numbers of pills. i added one more sp pill in the morning (non-greenbush) and had more noticeable pains for longer periods of time all morning. couldn't feel the pains anymore after i took greenbush in the afternoon, although i probably just need to get used to greenbush's pills.

here are the potencies and numbers of pills i used for cycle 1 and the first 4 days of cycle 2:

-nature’s way fenugreek: 610 mg/cap x 5 pills/day
-solaray saw palmetto berries: 580 mg/cap x 4 pills/day
-the vitamin shoppe wild yam: 500 mg/cap x 3 pills/day

i also started drinking 25 g of whey protein isolate to see if this will help out with my routine. thanks again!

[Wahaika]

I would say just keep doing what you are doing. The dosages are close enough to each other.

[caligirl]

july 2, 2006
day 6 cycle 2

hi and thanks wahaika. i've been taking the same # of pills for greenbush as i had for the pills i used the first cycle. the pains are very slight now, however. i did feel more pains with the pills from cycle one. i'm probably not giving greenbush enough time to kick in. i hope i'm not stalled. i'm almost at my max dosages...just need to ramp up wild yam...i might wait for ramp up though.

my body had a good reaction to the addition of sp but the pains went away after i switched to greenbush, which could mean one of two things: 1) my old pills work better for me or 2) i have stalled due to the better quality of greenbush herbs. i will ramp down a little to make determine if the greenbush herbs are more potent or not. as of right now, i am taking:

-5 fenugreek, 2 for breakfast, lunch, 1 for dinner
-4 saw palmetto, 2 for breakfast, 1 for lunch and dinner
-3 wild yam, 1 for breakfast, lunch, dinner
-2 red clover, 1 for breakfast, lunch
-1 borage oil, right before bed

breakfast, lunch, and dinner do not mean with meals.

i will ramp down my fenu, sp, 1 pill type and 1 capsule per day and wait for my pains to come back!

i measured myself today. 1/4 inch growth. this does work! gl to all.

[caligirl]

july 5, 2006
day 9, cycle 2.

since the last time i've posted, i've tried ramping down greenbush, 1 type of herb at a time, 1 pill at a time, in case i had stalled. no matter what i did with greenbush, ramp up or ramp down, i couldn't get my pains back. after a few days with little to no pains (much less than cycle 1), i've decided to wait off on using greenbush. call me impulsive but it's a gut feeling that i have. maybe it's the potency, maybe it's the quality, i don't know. i am just not experiencing the sensations i had during cycle 1. i've been massaging regularly too. so sad i couldn't get better results. i should and will give greebush more time, though - i will do a fresh ramp up with greenbush after my 1 month break and see if that makes a difference.

i will go back on my cycle 1 pills. i'm going to reorder solaray only though, since taking more solaray sp gave me wonderful pains. i am going to try fennel and cut out the red clover (ramping down, of course) too!

oh, summer is here and it's so depressing that i can't wear the cute bikinis and tiny clothes. but be is much more important to me for several personal reasons + i've come too far to stop now! but here is my tentative plans on losing weight:
-during my month breaks, do cardio 2-3 x week
-after i finish be, maybe try nutrisystem or food to go. going on a diet based on calorie reduction/glycemic index seems like a better alternative for me. since i am at my univeristy during the week, the pre-packaged meals will be more convenient for me as well. and of course, only 1-2 pounds a week. will try lipoderm-y in conjunction with the program.

thanks for reading!

[caligirl]

july 12, 2006
day 16, cycle 2

on my cycle 1 herbs, i began to feel pains again. then, i skipped day 14, took my normal amount of pills, and the pains were gone. i am now ramping down to see what the problem could be.

i've been unintentionally losing weight and my boobs are staying the same. the 1/4 inch i gained is still sticking, whether it be to the internals/externals/tea. also, i've dropped red clover, so i am not sure if this is why i feel and look thinner. but just to be safe, i am going to apply lipoderm-y to my trouble spots to make sure my breasts do not shrink.

it's difficult to stay on the be program. i expect results sooner than later and it's depressing to deal with the fact that be is like an ascending roller coaster ride - in the end, most do increase, but we have to go through many, many ups and downs along the way. i just have to remember that i have grown, even just a little, and this is better than what i started off with. i really do believe that if tweaked right, the correct routine will yield great results for any woman. it's just finding that routine that's hard.

i am over 50% done with cycle 2. to be honest, my cycle 1 and 2 dosages have fluctuated a lot, due to experimentation with dosages and ramping up when i wasn't supposed to (i just followed the chart, when i really should've followed my body's reactions). since i have the right brand of pills that works best for me, i might just ramp down to 0 or whenever i feel pains again and then ramp up cycle 3. i will also try adding fennel to see if that'll make a difference.

[caligirl]

july 17th, 2006
day 21, cycle 2

i have ramped down to 3 fg, 3 sp, 3 wy/day. my pains have come back. i will continue to ramp down, however, and start voer again in cycle 3. i do not want to lose these pains again. luteal swelling this month has been very minimal. last month's luteal swelling seemed almost unreal because my breasts were so swollen and moreover, painful.

i tried lipoderm-y once this week, just to see what it smells and feels like. it tingled and it smelled like very strong, more potent vapor rub. did it flatten my tummy (where it was applied)? of course not, and i didn't expect anything. i exercised on my treadmill to create a calorie deficit. instead of exercising, i am going to create my calorie deficit by watching what i eat. this i will begin after cycle 3 and see how that goes.

[caligirl]

july 29, 2006
day 1, cycle 3

pains without taking pills? how is that possible...well that's what's been happening. the pains came again after i took my 1 fg pill for the day, since i'm re-ramping. i have grown and have not lost any, even after ramping down to nothing. not taking bustea, rc and even thinking about not taking wy anymore.

[caligirl]

august 18, 2006
day 21, cycle 3

i've been experiencing pains on and off. the pains are not that big of a concern for me anymore. i wrote in my second or third post that with a bra on, i measured at 36.5" overbust. now with my bra on, i measure 38" overbust. without a bra, 1/10 of an inch under 39" overbust. either i don't know how to use a tape measure or i've grown.

so now i finally look my size. - 34d. the progress is slow, when pains or other growth signs are not present, i get extremely discouraged. but in the end, it is worth it. i'm planning on holding off on my weight loss until next summer, latest. by then, i'd be in time for a break from be and hopefully i'll grow a few inches more.

now about what's been going on since last cycle - cycle 2 was weird, i'd switched brands of pills mid cycle and i think that's what threw me off completely. for the rest of cycle 2, i ramped down all my pills to 0 and was even off pills completely for a few days. i did feel pains even when i was ramping down/off pills.

cycle 3 - from the luteal phase of cycle 2 to the first half of cycle 3, my size did not change. i've kept this growth and my breasts have not shrank. my breasts are swelled slightly at the moment, since i'm in the middle of my luteal for cycle 3. my weight throughout these past few months have stayed relatively the same.

i've been ramping up ever so slowly this cycle. if i feel any pains, even the slightest tinge, i keep my pills at their dosages till the pains subside. i do not want to stall and have to ramp down again. i haven't even taken my wy yet...will do that tomorrow.

[vxandraxv]

Congrats!!!!

[caligirl]

sept 4, 2006
cycle 4, day 8(?)

thanks xandra!
i've been losing track of my cycles. i skipped day 1 but i can't exactly remember when that was.

i've been extremely bloated and tired lately. i am considering taking papaya enzyme pills for be. other than that, not much has changed. changed wp to solaray brand. i am seeing nice results with this brand. will try nature's way next.

measurements still about the same. not in luteal phase and i've kept the growth. measurements don't matter as much as what i see in the mirror.

weight has not changed much which is both good and bad. i need to tone up for a friend's wedding. i am not sure what i am going to do.

[caligirl]

sept 12. 2006
cycle 4 day 16

skipped day 14, sore breasts. switched wild yam to solaray. i don't know if it makes a big difference...wild yam doesn't seem to make a difference at all for me. increased breast pains by raising saw palmetto dosage. still feeling pains on: 2fg, 2sp, 1wy per day, so i will keep these levels until the pains completely subside.

[caligirl]

so i began my ee on the 18th. i am experiencing the same luteal swelling but i felt long, painful soreness in my breasts for the first time around the 16th-17th. the pain is still here - not sure what the cause is. herbs never gave me that side effect before and i first experienced the pains before the ee. i've been eating voraciously as well.

[caligirl]

pain in the tops of my breasts is apparent. i have short, stinging sensations. breasts are extremely sore. period is still not here...today would be day 5 of my new cycle but my period never came! i followed the faq directions and kept taking my herbs until i was ready to begin ee. maybe the transition from herbs to no herbs caused this? pretty sure i am not pregnant but will check anyway.