Any Advice on Vitex?

[rockstarlove9]

So i am currently on cd67 and my period is 38days late. I have been to the doctors and had both a urine and serum hcg so i am sure i am not pregnant. I got off the depo shot in october and my period has not completely regulated yet. I had two periods one in decemeber and one in january around 28 days apart and had thought it had regulated but i was mistaken. The only thing i have had since my january visit from AF is light spotting when i wipe a few times and few days of having blood tinged mucus but no actual period. So i am thinking about trying to vitex because i know that it is supposed to help start your period and help with ovulation. The doctor told me that if i didn't get a period by JUly to come back and see her and that just seems like an unreasonable amount of time to wait so i wanna try and get it to come on. Does anyoe have any vitex sucess stories, horror stories, or advice when it comes to take it. All information is welcome...

 

[rockstarlove9]

so due to extensive online research, and my own personal experience from past use i think ill start my vitek journey tomorrow. Im super excited and praying she brings about AF and hopefully ovulation to follow. That would be the greatest thing ever. I'll be posting updates to this thread for anyone who cares to see a journey from start to finish. All comments welcome... wish me luck...

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Hi rockstar, whilst I can't comment quite yet on the vitex thing I thought it rude to read and run!
Hope vitex works well for you, I must admit I have heard such promising things about it. I myself started it 9 days ago so won't know it's effects just yet.
I myself have very long cycles since finishing the BCP, my longest cycle so far was 74 days I think. I really hope this brings some sort of rhythm as I am going to find it so much harder to concieve when there are so muchess opportunites.
Let me know how you get on with it. I think it's causing me slight stomach upset atm but I will persevere as I want shorter cycles.
How much are you going to take?

 

[rockstarlove9]

HopefullyOpto...

I bought 500 miligram pills and i'm gonna take twice a day once in the morning and once at night and just see how i fair with that. If that doesnt mess my stomach up to bad i may start taking it three times a day but im gonna do further research on the advised dosage before uping it to the 1500 per day just to be safe. Besides stomach upset are you noticing any other symtomps? And a 74 day cycle? that's incredibly long i mean im pretty close as i am at cd67 right now the longest one i can ever remember having in life. I will definitely let you know how it goes im hoping that the pills will hurry along and jump start my period... wish me luck and good luck to you

 

[HopefullyOpto]

I wish you luck with them, I would start on the dosage you mentioned and see how you get on,
Another symptom that I didn't mentioned was a flare up in my spots/acne it unfortunately seems to have appeared all over. Whilst I normally get flare ups post ovulation I don't normally get it at this point in my cycle which is making me doubt whether I should be taking it as it could be possible exacerbating an oestrogen dominance...??
You shouldn't let this discourage you though as everyone is different and 80/90 percent of woman that have taken it have had success.
I think I might force the doctor for a blood test and then evaluate the findings so I can work out if it's a good thing for me to take.

 

[MrsB87]

Hi rockstarlove and hopefullyopto,

I have been taking vitex for around 14 days now! Started taking it on cd1 up until cd14. I've been taking 1000mg every morning and I haven't really been having any side affects, apart from quite bad headaches/migraines last week! Don't know if this helps at all or if either of you have gone through this too!

Good Luck xx

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Hi MrsB thanks for yor response, nice to hear you haven't had any side effects apart from headaches. Thankfully I haven't had headaches/migraines just the acne flare up. I'm on cd11 now and started cd1, I am really hoping that the spots start to clear and it helps me ovulate as the wait it extruciating!
MrsB do you usually have log cycles?

 

[MrsB87]

Hi hopefullyopto! Not sure about my natural cycle length yet. I only came off bcp 14days ago and then went straight onto vitex to help get my AF back. Been on bcp since I was 16 (I'm 27 now) and had very normal 28day cycles while I was on it. Thinking about maybe introducing dong quai to get my AF back. Are you taking anything else apart from vitex? Xx

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Hi MrsB I'm taking various supplements like folic acid etc.
I have heard that taking Vitex too soon after BCP is not advisable as you don't actually know your cycle is problematic until your first few proper cycles.
Did you have irregular cycles before BCP? I only started taking vitex as my cycles were and have been completely out of whack.
I'm at the doctors asking if they can give me some blood tests as my levels must be wrong because I am ovulating so irregularly.

 

[Mer1623]

Hi rockstar. Just joined this page today and wanted to comment because I'm hoping to start vitex as well this month. Been off Bcp for almost a year and have had really long/irregular cycles since. My first cycle was 65 days and has since dwindled down into the 30s but I'm not sure if I am infact ovulating. Was reading about herbs and alternative remedies and came across vitex this morning. I have been taking Maca and just bought some raspberry leaf tea. Let me know how the vitex goes - any side effects, etc.

Hope you see some benefits and will be thinking of you!

 

[1nceUponATime]

Hey Rockstar--

I know how you feel, as I am on CD 90! I think I have different issues, because I honestly rarely ever get a natural period......I did two months of vitex with no success. I have read it works miracles for other girls on the internet, and it may very well do that for you, but don't be like me and put all your eggs in one basket. I went into it thinking that it was going to fix everything, and it didn't really do anything.

 

[HopefullyOpto]

Hi 1nce sorry your cycles are so long, my longest since coming off of BCP was just shy of 80 days.
Did you have any negative effects from vitex? Or did it just not work at all?
Have you been told a reason for such long cycles, my doctor is mean and won't give me any blood tests so I don't know how bad my PCOS is or whether there is an additional reason for not ovulating frequently.
Tbh I am giving vitex a go in the vain hope that it will stimulate something, all that has happened this far is a acne break out on my back, headaches and a sore stomach at the beginning, I'm giving it a chance till I finish the bottle and if I haven't ovulated by then then I won't take them again as I don't think they are agreeing with me.

 

[rockstarlove9]

Hi rockstar, whilst I can't comment quite yet on the vitex thing I thought it rude to read and run!
Hope vitex works well for you, I must admit I have heard such promising things about it. I myself started it 9 days ago so won't know it's effects just yet.
I myself have very long cycles since finishing the BCP, my longest cycle so far was 74 days I think. I really hope this brings some sort of rhythm as I am going to find it so much harder to concieve when there are so muchess opportunites.
Let me know how you get on with it. I think it's causing me slight stomach upset atm but I will persevere as I want shorter cycles.
How much are you going to take?

I started with 1000mg in the morning and may up the dosage after a little while. not sure yet though.

 

[rockstarlove9]

Hi rockstar. Just joined this page today and wanted to comment because I'm hoping to start vitex as well this month. Been off Bcp for almost a year and have had really long/irregular cycles since. My first cycle was 65 days and has since dwindled down into the 30s but I'm not sure if I am infact ovulating. Was reading about herbs and alternative remedies and came across vitex this morning. I have been taking Maca and just bought some raspberry leaf tea. Let me know how the vitex goes - any side effects, etc.

Hope you see some benefits and will be thinking of you!

Well so far my boobs have been really sensitive (the nipples) and sore (the actual fatty part) sorry if thats tmi. i've also been experiencing some cramps that are kind of increasing in intensity which makes me think af maybe coming soon fingers crossed. An today i noticed some spotting but that has been happening since around my first missed period so im not sure if that means anything at all. Good luck. I've used vitex before and i know it made me ovulate i didn't get to take advantage of it but hopefully it works the same this time. Good luck to you. I have heard women comment about having acne flare ups and headaches as a side effect as well but luckily i havent had any of that.

 

[rockstarlove9]

Hey Rockstar--

I know how you feel, as I am on CD 90! I think I have different issues, because I honestly rarely ever get a natural period......I did two months of vitex with no success. I have read it works miracles for other girls on the internet, and it may very well do that for you, but don't be like me and put all your eggs in one basket. I went into it thinking that it was going to fix everything, and it didn't really do anything.

don't give up on the vitex just yet from what the pill bottle says it can sometimes take up to 90 days to be effective sometimes longer from what ive read on the internet its taken some women as long as 180 days for it to be effective. Have you tried uping your dosage.

 

[rockstarlove9]

So i have been taking 1000mg of vitex for the past 5 days in hopes to put an end to my never ending cycle. as of today i am at cycle day #72. So here's a little progress report.... since starting the vitex ive noticed my boobs have been a little sore and my nipples have been a little tender. Last night i noticed a lot of cramping when i laid down, i mean it was really annoying just mild cramps nothing major. and then this morning i had light spotting and it has since stopped. well ill give you another up date in a few days...

 

[rockstarlove9]

so last night after work idk why but i decided to up the dose and took another 500mg. Then this morning i took the whole 1500 mg. Patience is so not my virtue and I really want af to come already. Ive noticed an increase in the cramps and also in my cm. Its been watery. I'm wondering if maybe since i started what i guess would technically be mid-cycle (even though it was cd68 when i begin taking it) if it will work by causing ovulation and then bringing on the period, From research i have done it says you cant really have a true period without ovulation just an estrogen bleed and i do remember last time that i took it i noticed ovulation before i ever had a period. So will see, i mean if this now 73 day cycle turned into a bfp ( i realize that is totally delusional but a girl can dream right?). I can't wait until something happens. Im on the cusp of losing sanity here.

 

[KylasBaby]

It's popping in for a sec. This little one is a vitex baby . I took 1600/day in the am on an empty stomach not eating for at least 30 mins. I started it on around cd50 as I hadn't ovulated. It made me ovulate and brought on AF. I conceived next cycle! It made me ovulate on cd20. Which is technically a bit late, but it's great when you don't ovulate on your own. I continued taking it through the first tri then started weaning by 1 pill a week and was off it at 16 weeks. No issues from it and a textbook pregnancy. Love vitex!

 

[rockstarlove9]

kylasbaby,
OMG you just gave me hope... i guess this is technically my first cycle taking vitex and im not exactly sure what its doing if anything. Like i said in prior posts i have noticed some activity but i don't know what if anything that activity means. How long after you started taking the vitex did it take for ovulation and af to come if you dont mind my asking?

 

[KylasBaby]

I don't have my fertility friend app anymore so I don't know exactly, but it was like 2ish weeks after I started taking it that I ovulated. Maybe 3 at the most. Then my period came less than 10 days later, but I expected that as I ovulated so late. Next cycle I ovulated cd20 and conceived. The short LP was just bc everything happened so late. Got my BFP at 9dpo before AF was even due. I think like a week before it was due. Had no issues.