Maca, Agnus Castus & Raspberry Leaf Tea - together?

[LilSnowflake]

Hi all!

Can Agnus Castus (aka Vitex / Chasteberry), Maca AND Raspberry Leaf Tea be taken together at the same time? (ie the same cycle) for TTC?.
Or will one of them cancel out the positive effects of one of the others?
Is this a good cocktail for helping improve fertility in general & boosting chances of conception?

I came off BCP (Microgynon) 25/12/10 so havent been trying for very long, but as i was on BCP for over 4 yrs, during which i only had a couple of withdrawal bleeds (due to taking the pill back-to-back with no breaks - eek!) i feel as though my reproductive system is sluggish and may not be working at peak fertility just yet. I understand it takes a while for everything to get back ins sync after long periods on BCP but i just want to help it along a little, and encourage my body to ovulate successfully.... especially as i need to get pregnant ASAP before my OH goes away to work for a long time.

I spotted a small amount of brown last weekend (CD25) and had bad period-like cramps for 2 days, but no proper AF.
Today (CD 31) i started cramping again and AF seems to be coming (hopefully!) as i have a light bleed, but its a browny-red color. I just hope it turns into a proper AF bleed tomorrow.

Before BCP i was fairly regular, normal-heavy flow with a short to average cycle length. I've never missed a period, had a light period or spotted inbetween periods, so this past couple of weeks have been a bit worrying.

Id like to take some herbs, vitamins etc that will help to encourage a healthy reproductive system in general, help me to ovulate successfully at the right time, improve the quality of my eggs and increase my chances of conceiving.

I currently take:

Vitamin B6 - 50g
Royal Jelly - 1000mg
Pregnacare Pre-Conception (his & hers)
Baby Aspirin - 75mg
Vit C - 1000mg

I gave up smoking, drinking alcohol and caffeine 26/1/11, and i eat a healthy diet containing lots of veg, fish, chicken, nuts, seeds etc.

I've already ordered Maca & AC - but should i order Raspberry Leaf Tea too?

Is there anything else i could take to help us TTC successfully too? xx

 

[LilSnowflake]

Anyone? xxxx

 

[Kadan82]

Hi! I take maca, vitex, and raspberry leaf together. I've done a lot of research and have never found anywhere that says you shouldnt take together. I also take b complex and aspirin. It's only my 2nd cycle on the supplements so I can't say whether they help with conceiving personally but with everything I've read it seems to def help. The only thing I've seen that you shouldn't mix is soy or clomid with vitex. Good luck and lots of baby dust to you!!

 

[arianne]

Hi! I take maca too and was wondering if i can take agnus cactus at the same time

What is your experience from taking agnus cactus?
Also, what is raspberry leaf for?

 

[Kadan82]

Hi! I take maca too and was wondering if i can take agnus cactus at the same time

What is your experience from taking agnus cactus?
Also, what is raspberry leaf for?

Hi arianne! Yes you can take those together, they all do different things. This is my first cycle taking maca. But last cycle was my first for vitex and I OV'd on cd 18 instead of 22-23 and my cycle went from being 32-33 days to 28. I also take b complex vits which is suppose to help regulate your cycle as well. I'm hoping that between the vitex and vit b that my LP will increase. I've heard it can take a few months for everything to start working though . The raspberry leaf is suppose to tone and keep your lining and uterus healthy.

 

[arianne]

Thank you kadan!!
Where do you get the raspberry? I think that is what i need!! I think my lining is weak!
That's good to hear that vitex helped regulate your cycles! I always ovulate early and have long luteal phases, so hope it helps adjust them a bit!
Good luck with everything!!! How long have you been trying? I started ttc in july last year and it feels like an eternity

 

[Kadan82]

I got my red raspberry leaf at a health food store. But I couldn't find the tea, I just got the capsules. I think this next time I'm going to order tea online, supposedly the tea is suppose to work better. I don't know if you take aspirin but it is suppose to also help with the lining. I just recently began taking them once a day.
How early do u OV? Its much better to have a long LP than a long follicular phase! So u probably don't want it to change a whole lot.
We have been ttc #1 since last June so you and I have been trying close to the same amount of time. Do you have any kids yet? I know it seems like forever but then I see some women on here who have been ttc for years ! That would b so hard!

 

[LilSnowflake]

Thanks Arianne & Kadan -

The wait is agonizing isnt it? - Im terribly impatient and its the lack of control of the situation that drives me crazy the most - not being able to control our own bodies is so frustrating! I guess thats why we do all this research into supplements etc - it helps to think we're doing SOMETHING to make a positive difference to our chances of conception.... Well, at least that's how i feel anyway!

My Raspberry Leaf Tea arrived today, so i've had about 3 cups of that - plus i bought some Nettle Tea last night from the Supermarket b/c i heard that was good for fertility too (dont know why?) so ive been guzzling that down today too. For someone who doesnt like herbal teas im not doing too bad today, LOL amazing what we're prepared to do to get a little miracle in our tummies

I've also been taking the Baby Aspirin, Vitamin B6 and some Evening Primrose Oil for the past 2 or 3 days too. As its AF time i have noticed heavier bleeding (tmi, sorry) and watery-er (yuck!), not sure if this is to do with contracting the uterus or increasing bloodflow or what? Hope im not soing something wrong taking it all during AF?

Ooh and ive been taking Maca today too.

Im starting to think i might stop the B6 and Evening Primrose Oil though, b/c i read they can delay ovulation and i dont want that to happen. I wish i knew exactly what my body needs - i dont want to take too much, or take supplements that arent suited to my body/cycle.

I only gave up BCP 25/12/10, had withdrawal bleed 28/12/10 and then my natural AF arrived CD30/31 of my 1st contraception-free cycle. But i did have some cramping and spotting CD 25 which made me think maybe something wasnt working properly.
Guess i'll just ahve to do OPKs this cycle and HOPEFULLY (*prays* im ovulating OK.

If everything is pretty 'normal' with my cycle, should i still be taking all these supps?

Sorry for the long message - im just so confused and desperate to conceive ASAP, as we've been waiting to start trying for 8 yrs! - and i feel like ive been waiting forever!

Thanks for any advice - and babydust to you all! xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[arianne]

I got my red raspberry leaf at a health food store. But I couldn't find the tea, I just got the capsules. I think this next time I'm going to order tea online, supposedly the tea is suppose to work better. I don't know if you take aspirin but it is suppose to also help with the lining. I just recently began taking them once a day.
How early do u OV? Its much better to have a long LP than a long follicular phase! So u probably don't want it to change a whole lot.
We have been ttc #1 since last June so you and I have been trying close to the same amount of time. Do you have any kids yet? I know it seems like forever but then I see some women on here who have been ttc for years ! That would b so hard!

Thank you Kadan! I just bought mine!! I was able to find it in a tea form
I bought baby aspirin last cycle, but I am still nervous to take it, as it is medicine... so maybe I'll wait a couple of cycles before taking it...
The earliest I ov was at cd9! which I thought it was really early... but it usually is around 12 I think...
This will be my first one, what about you? I know it feels like years! sometimes I feel really crappy for this whole thing not happening yet....

Good luck!!

 

[arianne]

Hey lilsnowflake!! try to relax and leave the "need to get pg asap" behind... that sometimes can stress you out and be worse... it seems that you just started.. so take it easy... I understand you though, I was exactly like that when I started (july 2010) and I was soooo desperate for getting pregnant ASAP!!! it was driving me crazy... after 3 months of no luck I got really sad and down... so now I try to be calmed and relaxed about it... because this ttc thing can consume you really bad...

Good luck!!!