[pear]

Being a first time user of PM from day 1 to 17 I took 2x 250mg, and then  on day 18 I increased to 2x 500mg. Today is day 21 and I am considering doing the 3 weeks on 1 week off cycle. As a new user  is it time do start the cycle now,  or should I wait longer and  continue with the present dosage for now without a break because I'm so new to PM?

In other words: is the cycling of PM for more advanced users?

[michelle street]

Not knowing your body weight, 500 mg does not sound like enough to bother taking a break from, what brand of pm are using?

[pear]

Hi Michelle

Last time I got weighed,  some weeks ago,  I was around 180 pounds. To be clear since day 18 I've been on 1x500mg morn and 1x500mg eve.   The PM is from https://www.pueraria-mirifica.co.uk/

[HelloDiDi]

I have done the 3/1 week cycle btw. But not on such small dose. I cycled the dose too, started at 500mg, then ever few days upped it with additional 500mg until peaking on the day 12 and then back down again. I'm on my sixth cycle now if my memory serves me right. But I can't say which one is better, to keep it constant or cycle it. I should do a test, keep going say three months without break and see how it goes.

There seems to be lot of different ways to approach this, my guess is that its all about the individual and there's only one way to find out. To me the 500mg dose seems so little you can easily just keep it going. For me the things seem to really kick in when I surpass 1500mg a day, but this is highly subjective from what I've heard. (I got the leg cramps when I went over 2000mg/day on the third cycle.)

[Nipply Russel]

I get leg cramps if I take 1x 500 for a couple of days at a time. I'm experiencing slow, steady growth at about 5x 500 per week. I realize that I'm unusually receptive to PM but my point is that not everyone is the same. That being said, in my opinion, you should hang at your current dosage for a couple of months and see if buds develop, hair growth slows, fat starts to redistribute, sexual response changes, etc. before upping the dosage. If changes start to happen on your current dosage, there's no reason to start upping your intake. I know it seems like a long time to wait, but this is a marathon, not a sprint - your body requires sufficient time to start changing itself, just like "real" HRT.

I'd skip the breaks for now - just keep it steady until you see what's going on.

By the way, there's a study out there somewhere that states that higher levels of PM actually inhibit breast development. I wish I could locate it again. In the meantime, there's a bit about dosage in this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5127102/

[pear]

I get leg cramps if I take 1x 500 for a couple of days at a time. I'm experiencing slow, steady growth at about 5x 500 per week. I realize that I'm unusually receptive to PM but my point is that not everyone is the same. That being said, in my opinion, you should hang at your current dosage for a couple of months and see if buds develop, hair growth slows, fat starts to redistribute, sexual response changes, etc. before upping the dosage. If changes start to happen on your current dosage, there's no reason to start upping your intake. I know it seems like a long time to wait, but this is a marathon, not a sprint - your body requires sufficient time to start changing itself, just like "real" HRT.

I'd skip the breaks for now - just keep it steady until you see what's going on.

By the way, there's a study out there somewhere that states that higher levels of PM actually inhibit breast development. I wish I could locate it again. In the meantime, there's a bit about dosage in this study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5127102/

Hi NR

i haven't noticed any untoward side effects so far. I'm happy to take things slowly. My sexual response has already been greatly affected by the reishi, green tea and spearmint I'm also taking. I think the biggest affect I noticed on the 500mg of PM daily was the mental affects. I really liked it  especially in the first week as it was a real buzz. Now I've stepped it up to 1000mg daily I am beginning to become more aware of   the physical affects  and they  are starting to look promising even though it's early days.

[wee2er]

Being a first time user of PM from day 1 to 17 I took 2x 250mg, and then  on day 18 I increased to 2x 500mg. Today is day 21 and I am considering doing the 3 weeks on  1 week off cycle. As a new user  is it time do start the cycle now,  or should I wait longer and  continue with the present dosage for now without a break because I'm so new to PM?

In other words: is the cycling of PM for more advanced users? 

Hi Pear,
Think we are similar just starting out on a hopefully exciting journey.
I've been on PM gel from the same supplier as you and I am amazed at the changes I've had in just a few weeks. Maybe I'm really lucky as I can feel a definite change in structure, a much firmer mid section and the start of tubes.
I hope you have the same response to the gel as I've had as it's really encouraging.
I'm just starting on PM supplements, so have done a week on 500mg/day and have just upped it to 2x500mg/day (spaced 12-hrs apart). From my research I think 1000mg/day is such a low dose that I'm not going to bother taking any breaks, unless of course I feel something odd is happening, such as leg cramps or anything else that's unusual, like lots say on here, listen to your body.
I also take Omega3 fish oil, VitC and VitD3 along with green and/or peppermint tea.
It's really exciting to think what can be achieved, I'm not looking for fast changes (although very happy with the fuller feeling and changes I've had) so it's a long race not a sprint.
If you ever want to chat to another UK guy drop me a PM.
Good luck and slowly bit by bit we will fingers crossed, get there.

[pear]

Being a first time user of PM from day 1 to 17 I took 2x 250mg, and then  on day 18 I increased to 2x 500mg. Today is day 21 and I am considering doing the 3 weeks on  1 week off cycle. As a new user  is it time do start the cycle now,  or should I wait longer and  continue with the present dosage for now without a break because I'm so new to PM?

In other words: is the cycling of PM for more advanced users? 

Hi Pear,
Think we are similar just starting out on a hopefully exciting journey.
I've been on PM gel from the same supplier as you and I am amazed at the changes I've had in just a few weeks. Maybe I'm really lucky as I can feel a definite change in structure, a much firmer mid section and the start of tubes.
I hope you have the same response to the gel as I've had as it's really encouraging.
I'm just starting on PM supplements, so have done a week on 500mg/day and have just upped it to 2x500mg/day (spaced 12-hrs apart). From my research I think 1000mg/day is such a low dose that I'm not going to bother taking any breaks, unless of course I feel something odd is happening, such as leg cramps or anything else that's unusual, like lots say on here, listen to your body.
I also take Omega3 fish oil, VitC and VitD3 along with green and/or peppermint tea.
It's really exciting to think what can be achieved, I'm not looking for fast changes (although very happy with the fuller feeling and changes I've had) so it's a long race not a sprint.
If you ever want to chat to another UK guy drop me a PM.
Good luck and slowly bit by bit we will fingers crossed, get there.

Thanks
wee2er

I haven't tried any gel or cream yet. I want to be more clear on what the PM capsules are doing for me first.