Hello and welcome! I'm new as well, and just starting.
I'm not taking the red clover (yet) but I'm also taking the saw palmetto and the white peony. Here's my combo so far:
Saw Palmetto, 900mg one dose, then 450mg in a second dose
Fenugreek, 3000 mg split into three 1000 mg doses a day
Fennel, 1440 mg split into three 480 mg doses a day
White Peony (10% Paeoniflorin I think), 500 mg daily
Hops, 340 mg daily
Cimetidine, 200mg daily
I've been looking at the red clover but hadn't ordered any yet.
With the exception of taking extra saw palmetto (one extra capsule), everything I've listed is at the recommended dosages on the bottles that I bought. Like you I'm cautious about liver damage or blood clots- Didi mentioned the PM- yeah I am staying away from that for the time being, though I might try a cream later on. You might have already noticed PM and licorice are two that can do some real damage if you get too crazy with them. PM has given members here blood clots, if I'm recalling threads correctly.
Slow going, with the herbs, by all accounts as Didi said. I haven't been taking my regimen for too long, but I do feel a bit.. fuller. But nothing I'm willing to call budding. But it's been less than a month for me. I'm thinking herbals might work well and faster than expected on me, because I'm coming from a position of probably already having low T levels. Of course this is all assuming I don't get impatient and get hold of estrogen creams- something I'm already considering.
The cimetidine is part of a acid reflux regimen, I take a PPI in the mornings, and an H2 blocker at night, and cimetidine has the best track record of gynecomastia as a side-effect. I mention that because the desire for breast growth has caused me to not just look at what sort of supplements to buy, but what other things can I do, or switch to, that are more likely to have breast growth as a side effect? Like the cimetidine- I have to take something for acid reflux; I'm not taking anything I can't take with cimetidine (like warfarin), so I should incorporate that (instead of one of the other '-dine's). I get the impression that with the herbal approach I have to think much more of every little nudge that eventually tips the scale and causes budding. I have varioceles- that's known to lower T (in my mid fifties I even had hot flashes)- partly because of blood supply, and maybe also because extra heat- well, I'm wearing warmer underwear these days, again, little nudges. Herbals are hormonal coercion, not brute force, it definitely seems from everything I read here.
Quote:maybe adding 600mg fenugreek to it aswell
Add the fenugreek! I think there's a thread here- need to find it again and update- where someone stated FG was making them feel a little fuller right behind the nipple (not actual budding, just more volume) and already I'm inclined to agree, I seem to have a little more volume- but then it could be something else I'm taking. Still, it's not going to hurt to try- far as I know FG is fairly safe, I mean the directions from the manufacturer have me taking 3g a day, and if it seems safe I'll probably go up on that after a while.
Don't discount essential oils- I'm using lavender and tea tree, both of which were linked to gyne in teenage males, which I'm not but I'mma gonna try it anyway, ha. I do a lot of massaging with those, cut with coconut oil. I don't have sensitive skin so I'm immune but undiluted essential oils have a reputation of not playing well with others.
Good luck! And I love the photo, by the way- you do have a nice shape already...