Dong Quai?

[Butterfly89]

I have many symptoms of high androgens and low progesterone. Almost all of them, really. I have normal periods so it seems. 28 day cycle. But OPKs, CM, temp are all erratic each month.

My doctor is no help, so I'm researching natural methods. I'm very cautious about taking anything, but so far I have been drinking 2 cups of spearmint tea daily for a little while now and its really helped with hair growth.

However, I've been losing my head hair like crazy lately. Maybe from stress, not sure...

Anyway - does anyone know anything about dong quai? I realize it can cause gastro upset, sun sensitivity, and is dangerous for those predisposed to certain cancers. BUT I hear it regulates estrogen and progesterone. I am TTC and also want to get my hormones in order. I don't take any other medications yet and I don't plan to til after I have my first child at least.

Do you think I should try it? Are there any other risks or side effects you know of or experienced? My research hasn't shown anything major... But I figure the ladies here are probably more knowledgable than other sites. I don't want to do anything to negatively impact fertility.

I know you can't take it during pregnancy so I would stop around a week before expected AF just in case each month. What do you think?

Thanks!

One more question! Does anyone know the content of vitamins and folic acid in Dong Quai? My pretnatals already have rather high folic acid (500 in each, I take one for now and it recommends 2 during pregnancy), so I don't want to overdo it.

 

[mightyspu]

If your doctor is no help, could you ask for a 2nd opinion? What has he tried in order to diagnose you? Or has he diagnosed something and not given you any help?

 

[ice88]

if u have normal cycle don't try dong quai.. it is spesific for irregular period..

some women had great succes with dong quai + vitex on soulcyster forum (u can search it).. they had long cycle before..

 

[itsy.bitsy]

I am taking dang gui and peony (which is simular) and vitex. i have long irregular cycles and dont ovulate and have high prolactin and excess male hormones. only been on them a few months so dont know how it will go yet. can take at least 3 months to show effect. Im also on iron and pregnancy multi vitamin. trying to get healthy. i went to a naturopath for help. different suppliments work in different ways for different problems.

 

[Siege]

Dong quai helped me get my cycles from 15 days to 29 within a month of taking it, I had to stop taking it though as I am now on clomid
Macca is another good herb for fertility, my DH is on it to boost his numbers

 

[Butterfly89]

Hmm, ok. Since I have regular menstruation, I am hesitant to mess with it.

However my doctor said my symptoms sound like I am anovulatory. She claimed there is no way to test hormones, so I said.. yes there is. Lol. And she took blood two weeks ago and has not called yet.

I think I might go to a qualified naturopath and see what they say.

 

[ice88]

Dong quai helped me get my cycles from 15 days to 29 within a month of taking it, I had to stop taking it though as I am now on clomid
Macca is another good herb for fertility, my DH is on it to boost his numbers

hi siege... my cycle shorthen from 74 days to 50 days..
do u mix dong quai with other herbs..? i mix it with vitex and raspberry leaf tea..
yes, maca is good to improve sperm count.. i give my powder form but my DH don't like it.. it taste not good.

 

[mightyspu]

Hmm, ok. Since I have regular menstruation, I am hesitant to mess with it.

However my doctor said my symptoms sound like I am anovulatory. She claimed there is no way to test hormones, so I said.. yes there is. Lol. And she took blood two weeks ago and has not called yet.

I think I might go to a qualified naturopath and see what they say.

Wow she IS unhelpful! Yes there is ways to check hormone levels and to check if you have ovulated! Can you change doctors? And phone and chase those results, check she actually sent them in!

 

[jaydee79]

Hmm, ok. Since I have regular menstruation, I am hesitant to mess with it.

However my doctor said my symptoms sound like I am anovulatory. She claimed there is no way to test hormones, so I said.. yes there is. Lol. And she took blood two weeks ago and has not called yet.

I think I might go to a qualified naturopath and see what they say.

hiya there i saw your post about dong guai jeezzeee at first i was looking fr dong guai about using it to ttc,,, have you thought maybe about going to a chinese herbal doctor for getting a second opinion thats what i did i eventually stopped taking the chinese herbs becuse they were 2 expensive i was bioling dong guai etc with agnus castus mother wart safflower etc to help but eventually i just went to a mormal health shop and asked for agnus castus dong guai cuz i not only wanted it for my periods but ttc,, eventually i went back and she said dong guai is ment for menopause,pmt but if i was ttc she said dong guai wasnt the one to take agnus castus was the one to take (vitex) if your ttc i guess everyones diffrent tho for diffrent cirmcumstances cant say iv helped much saying this but hope you find a solution to your probs best of luck

 

[jaydee79]

Dong quai helped me get my cycles from 15 days to 29 within a month of taking it, I had to stop taking it though as I am now on clomid
Macca is another good herb for fertility, my DH is on it to boost his numbers

hi siege... my cycle shorthen from 74 days to 50 days..
do u mix dong quai with other herbs..? i mix it with vitex and raspberry leaf tea..
yes, maca is good to improve sperm count.. i give my powder form but my DH don't like it.. it taste not good.

hey u mention maca u mean maca powder my OH is taking horny goat weed and zinc i think maca powder is a form of horny goat weed not sure on that one but iv also heard it can increase count

 

[charlie_lael]

I know green tea is really good to increase CM and help sticky beans stick, plus it makes when you ovulate very obvious. I love green tea.

 

[sharebear]

I don't know if it has helped yet, but my wonderful husband just made me some dong quai yesterday night! I didn't even know what it was until he said he was going to make me a "miracle brew."

To give some background, I just got off BC in July and had a chemical pregnancy in August. The bleeding from my chemical was weird in that it only lasted 1.5 days and was super light. AF came again this week and I had strange brown spotting beforehand and the actual bleeding has been somewhat weird/light as well (sorry if TMI). I began getting concerned that the BC had screwed up my hormones and/or periods, so DH made me some dong quai. We've read that some people recommend not taking it during menstruation if heavy bleeding is a concern, but since that seems to be the opposite of my concerns right now, I'm drinking it during AF anyway. I'm hoping it helps regulate my cycles!

 

[SillyTay]

I don't know if it has helped yet, but my wonderful husband just made me some dong quai yesterday night! I didn't even know what it was until he said he was going to make me a "miracle brew."

To give some background, I just got off BC in July and had a chemical pregnancy in August. The bleeding from my chemical was weird in that it only lasted 1.5 days and was super light. AF came again this week and I had strange brown spotting beforehand and the actual bleeding has been somewhat weird/light as well (sorry if TMI). I began getting concerned that the BC had screwed up my hormones and/or periods, so DH made me some dong quai. We've read that some people recommend not taking it during menstruation if heavy bleeding is a concern, but since that seems to be the opposite of my concerns right now, I'm drinking it during AF anyway. I'm hoping it helps regulate my cycles!

How did he make it? I just bought a bottle of extract capsules from a health store. I've recently come off depo and am trying to jump start a cycle (I'm a rare one, I actually WANT af to visit! haha!)

 

[RNVB]

I know I'm responding to an old thread and most of the ladies who participated on this discussion got pregnant, but I wanted to add my 2 cents of advice.

I'm one of those healthy but has "unexplained infertility." Every test came back normal so I turned to alternative therapy as I was not comfortable fir assisted reproductive therapies. I have been undergoing acupuncture treatments for the past 1.5 months and I have been seeing improvements in my health. I told my acupuncturist that many times my periods are early but never late. So he prescribed Dong Gui: 4 tabs after BF and dinner. He gets the tablets from China and packs them here in NS, Canada. It costed me $15 + tax for 100 tabs. I forgot to ask him for how long I should be taking this herbal medicine, so I will inquire about when I go in for a treatment again this week. Depending on your energy levels and other symptoms, a Chinese herbalist or naturopath will prescribe a the exact dosage and strength. I know this from experience with Ayurveda that even though these are plant-derived meds, it is always recommended to visit the doc who specializes in TCM and get a prescription best suited to your body.

The medicine bottle reads that there are other Chinese herbs along with dong gui herb. Sometimes other herbal concoctions are used with the main ingredient to act a catalyst or increase the power of the main ingredient or for other reasons - similar to western medicine.

Today is CD1 so I will post on this thread again about this after this cycle.