First time posting here. I've done breast saline infusions 4 times now and on my last one a couple days ago I accidentally performed an experiment on myself, so I thought I would share.
I always use pure saline, but I had 2 bags of Saline 0.9 + Dex 5% in my box of supplies. I had just started the infusion and realized that oops, I'd used 1 bag of pure saline for one breast, but saline + dex for the other breast! I had never used dex before and thought of just disconnecting and cancelling my play for the day, but then decided this was the perfect opportunity to try dex and see exactly what it does.
I immediately ate 2 bananas because I remembered the muscle cramp issue others had reported here due to low potassium.
I also remembered that most people say to use half as much dex as the amount of saline you can take, due to swelling. So I adjusted the drips so that the saline was infusing twice as fast as the dex. On my last infusion I'd taken about 700ml per breast, so I figured I would shoot for the same amount this time: 700 of saline and 350 of saline+dex.
While it was infusing I couldnt help but notice how the saline hurt (that stingy/achey pain) and how the dex didn't hurt in comparison. Night and day, really. I also noticed that they both expanded at an amazingly similar rate. I checked the drip rate constantly because it was hard to believe the saline was flowing twice as fast as the dex - they were growing at the same rate. I kept checking constantly and they grew pretty much the same as usual. When I'd take 700 saline in one breast and 350 saline+dex in the other, I stopped and sealed up as usual.
After the sting wore off and they softened a bit they really were the same. Like, amazingly so. The dex breast did not continue to expand. Over the course of the day of play they also shrunk at the same rate. I'd heard that dex lasts longer but that was not the case at all in this instance. I checked constantly. The next day they were both basically gone.
My biggest takeaways:
I was shocked at how the 2:1 ratio was so spot-on. I would have expected at least some lopsidedness but there really wasnt any and I checked thoroughly and often!
I was surprised the dex didnt last longer - people say it lasts longer than saline but it didnt for me.
I was surprised that the expansion pretty much completes during the infusion, not afterwards.
Hope this helps someone as yet more data. I need to thank everyone here for sharing their experiences - I would never have tried this without all of the amazing information here shared by generous people. Its now my favorite activity
