RC/HBWR: Great results on attacks, but shadows keep returning

[victorp]

Hi everyone!

Last year, I started using RC/HBWR seeds to bust my cycles, and it has been a success: I’ve only had to use oxygen to abort an attack a handful of times since then. However, while the frequency of attacks themselves has dropped by 90%, the shadows/onset of a cycle has become almost ever-present, if that makes any sense.

Before, my cycles usually occurred in late April/May and/or September and lasted 3–4 weeks with daily attacks. Last year, when I started using the seeds, I had to bust in February, May, July, September, November, and December, and I got another shadow today. Given that each cycle lasts a few weeks, this has felt almost non-stop, with only a few weeks off in between.

Since the pattern changed after I started busting, I’m wondering if this is some kind of tradeoff: little to no pain each cycle in exchange for near-constant shadows. I’m wondering whether this is something that’s expected or not. Don't get me wrong, I am somewhat happy with such a tradeoff, as anything is better than going through an attack, but this experience is still qiute stressful. 

I usually take the seeds every 5–7 days until the shadows are gone. I started small last year, using fewer than 40 RC seeds and 3 HBWR seeds, but later increased that to 80 RC and 6 HBWR (taking 6 was an overkill, never again). Any recommendations on how to get a bit more success with busting? Should I "upgrade" to MMs?