Vitex

[zoe77]

I bought some vitex today.  500mg.  Do you take it every day?  Is there a best time of your cycle to start?  The box says not to take while pregnant or lactating.  Is that the general warning they use for everything, or can you really not take it while lacatating?  Or will it just lower your milk supply?

[BeachLove]

From all that I have read about it, the only threat is that it lowers your milk supply. In my experience, it definitely does do that!

I've been taking 1000 mg daily, but I've read all over the internet that some women take as low as 100 mg/day. It varies pretty widely.

Many people take a break from it during AF, to let the body do it's own "cleansing" so to speak.  It seems that most women either stop taking it immediately when they find out they are pregnant, and some take it in smaller doses through the end of the 1st trimester.

I personally was having such irregular periods, that I started taking it as soon as I bought it (a month and a half - 2 months after last AF). Within a week I saw my CM start to follow the pattern that it would in a normal cycle.

Hope that helps!

[zoe77]

Thanks for the info!!  Sounds like I should start after AF.  Should be here any day now if I'm not pregnant (which I suspect I'm not).  I'll try 500mg a day for the next cycle.  I've read that it can take many months to make a real difference.  Maybe the decrease in milk supply will get us on the path to weaning which is what I suspect needs to happen for me to conceive again :(

 

[gr00vymama]

I take Vitex and have taken it in the past while breastfeeding.  It never caused me any problems with milk production.  I take it all month even during AF.  When I have skipped it during AF it seemed that the next cycle I was more estrogen dominant, my hormones were a bit out of whack.   It has really helped me regulate my hormones, the first time I took it I was going through ppd and really needed to get my hormones balanced.  Once I stopped nursing and got in balance I stopped taking it.  I recently started again as I seem to be estrogen dominant again and am hoping to conceive soon.  Good luck to you!

[zoe77]

Thanks gr00vymama.  How many mg do you take?

I decided to start today.  I hope it helps.

[gr00vymama]

I take 1000mg a day, 500 2x a day.  The one I take is a full spectrum so it's broken down like this, 375 mg chaste tree berry, 125 mg chaste tree berry extract (0.5%).  Chaste tree berry is vitex so look for both when buying it.  Some companies use "vitex" some use "chaste tree berry".  The brand I have always used is Planetary Herbals.  I do work in a health food store so we have a pretty awesome selection of high grade supplements, and I get a discount

[zoe77]

I bought this one by Gaia Herbs:  http://www.gaiaherbs.com/products/detail/668/Vitex-Berry

The box says it's 500mg of Chaste Tree Berry (Vitex agnus-castus) and 3mg of 0.6% Agnuside (from Chaste Tree Berry).  I'll take another 500mg tonight :)

[gr00vymama]

Perfect!  Gaia is a GREAT company!  We carry a ton of Gaia's line in our store.  And that sounds like the right breakdown also.  Good luck!

[zoe77]

Great, thank you!!  I hope it works.

[zoe77]

I was just told that vitex can lengthen the first half of your cycle.  This does not sound ideal.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

[gr00vymama]

I have never heard of that and it's never happened to me.  But it certainly wouldn't be good if that happened.

[SKJ2011]

Not sure about the follicular phase effects, but just saw this and looks promising http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8369008

[SKJ2011]

Also, this might be of interest too http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17211965

[zoe77]

Thank you, those are both very encouraging!!