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Vitex Angus Castus - Reviews/thoughts/experiences needed!!!

26 replies

louise182 · 01/01/2013 19:09

Hello,
I have been ttc with my fiance for ten months.

Since stopping the pill in Januaryi have had irregular periods. My doctor put this down to stress.

I have heard angus castus can assist with regulating periods, i would be ever so thankful if anybody can provide their experiences on this to help me make a decision whether to try it it not. Thanks in advance for any help !

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ESussex · 01/01/2013 20:08

I'm watching this thread in anticipation. I came off the pill (mycrogynon) 3 months ago but have not yet had a period. Although not actively TTC yet (hopefully this year at some point) I want to know I'm ovulating.

I'm taking vitb6, folic acid and evening primrose oil, and homeopathic sepia. I've going to see my Dr this week but I'm pretty sure he'll fob me off with 'give it another 3 month's', so I'm looking at Angus cactus too. I'd love to hear people's experiences, and also how long it took to get their first af.

Thanks

Ps. Sorry to hijack your thread

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ESussex · 01/01/2013 20:09

*castus

Flipping autocorrect

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tearsofrobertsmith · 01/01/2013 20:20

Hi there, my experience so for has been positive. I bought mine from Holland and Barrett and began taking them around October 9th. My cycle has been ridiculous since coming off the pill two years ago- from anything between 60 to100+ days apart. No apparant reason. When I started taking them I think I was about 60 odd days in from the last period. I have been taking them religiously morning and night since then. First period since beginning the agnus castus came on November 1st. I dont know if they helped bring it on sooner. However my next period came 35 days later!!!!!!!! So I am very excited to see when the next one comes!!
It is recommended that you seek advice before taking these as it is a powerful herb but my experience so far has been promising.

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milktraylady · 01/01/2013 20:29

Hi I have a really great story for agnus castus.
Always had hideous PMS, but a regular cycle, but never got a positive ovulations test. ttc & no luck after 18 months.
went to see a herbalist nutritionist guy, he took a full medical history. he said my prog/ oest was out of whack & needs put right.

So took agnus castus & milk thistle (mt was to help liver deal with the extra prog the aguns was getting rid of). about 5 drops of tincture of each every day.

results- after 3 months PMS was totally minimised.
another 3 months and got 3 positive ovulation tests & got preg on 3rd one (6th month of taking the herb tincture).

So obviously i am a big fan- wasnt ovulating- then did & got pg!

I went to the Tesco Nutri centre in Essex, there are a few around the country- they seem to employ at least one properly qualified herbalist you can ask for advice.

good luck & dont dismiss the power of herbs- after all, all our drugs came from them originally, then big pharmas got in on the action coz they can make money.

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louise182 · 01/01/2013 20:44

Thanks so much for your positive replies!

ESussex - No probs, it helps to speak to someone in the same boat!

Tearsofrobertsmith - Thats brill, sounds powerful! I am due to see my doctor again soon so I will run it by him!


Milktraylady - Thanks so much for your positive words, you have given me hope!!!


Bit of my background info - I took my last logynon contraceptive pill (after 6 years of taking it) at the end of January 2012, I had a short withdrawal bleed within a couple of days and went on to have normal regular periods in March, April and May.

I then started to get bad acne on my face and did not have periods in June, July, August, September and October, but had a very heavy painful period that started on November 27th and lasted 6 days.

During the time I was missing periods I visited my doctor (around August time) who arranged blood tests and a pelvic ultrasound scan straight away for me as he suspected PCOS due to my acne.

The blood tests were completely normal, though the scan showed 'an appearance' of PCOS/shadowing. My doctor reassured me as the blood tests were clear he was not concerned and put my problems down to stress, and said my ovaries had 'paused' because of this. I agreed with this as I have just bought a house and been under pressure with moving, and work is not a nice place to be at the moment due to impossible targets and a very difficult manager which is making me feel quite stressed.

Before starting to take the pill in my early teens, and during taking it, my periods were regular as clockwork and I had no problems. It was only when I stopped taking it I was presented with these problems.

I was hoping finally having a period on November would mean the start of my cycle slipping back to normal, and I am now waiting for my next period to start, but am a couple of days late. I have done a pregnancy test which was negative. I know it is only a few days, and am trying not to worry or stress as I know this will not help! I dont want to go several more months with no periods and I dont want to keep pestering my doctor!

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milktraylady · 01/01/2013 20:56

that sounds like quite alot to be dealing with-
Hi if I was you I would find a herbalist to advise you on what you can do to support your hormones getting back to normal, plus support your body with the stress it is dealing with.

are you using the ovulation testing pee sticks? i found them great to find out when my fertile time really was, plus was i actually ovulating at all?
it was day 10, then moved to day 14 by the 6th month. so for months we had been getting the timing wrong duh!

and although it was awful to get lots of negatives ov tests, it was better to know i wasnt going to get a positive preg test that month. 18 cycles of hoping was seriously bad for my head :(

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louise182 · 01/01/2013 21:09

I tried ov tests a while ago but my head was up my arse with my cycle so difficult to work out that i gave up. If im being totally honest sex was affected by all this... We didnt do it as often as we should in recent months, it seemed like all the worry and stress drragged us down. However, new year new start!!!" super healthy diet started, promised to draw a line and start ttc with a more relaxed approach. I really just want my cycle back to normal its driving me mad!! :-(

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MurderOfProse · 01/01/2013 23:08

It's helped me - increased my luteal phase, brought ovulation right forward, helps with side effects of hormone imbalance so fewer spots, mood swings etc.

It doesn't work for everyone and for some people it can make things worse. But after ten months, you may decide it's worth giving it a go. I did mainly because I knew it would take forever (if at all) to get any help from my doctors etc.

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ESussex · 02/01/2013 09:54

I'm just wondering (as at the moment I have no idea when or even if I'm ovulating) did you take Angus Castus throughout your entire cycle? Or upto ov or af?

Also if using ovulation sticks did you use them everyday until you got a +ve?

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milktraylady · 02/01/2013 10:39

Yup I took it & milk thistle every day. (brand Bioforce)
And for about 3 months I started ov testing at day 5 to make sure I didn't miss it. And it showed I was ov day 10.
The sticks are v expensive tho

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MurderOfProse · 02/01/2013 19:17

I took it throughout my entire cycle, and for the first three months of pregnancy (weaned myself off slowly from around 10 weeks when the placenta takes over hormones)

However that is not for everyone. There has been no testing on the safety of agnus castus in pregnancy - from what I read it theoretically should be fine, but it's entirely up to the taker. The reason I took it is because I was sure agnus castus was balancing my hormones and if I took it away, especially suddenly, the result could be bad.

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justalilmummy · 02/01/2013 19:21

I tried agnus castus to try and kick start my periods in order to etc baby number 2.I have always had very irregular periods ( my last one being well over a year ago) I was taking them for 2 months and I fell pregnant and am currently 8 weeks! I'm not sure if it was that I was finally going to come on naturally or it was the agnus castus but if it was then they are absolutely fab!

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justalilmummy · 02/01/2013 19:21

Ttc not etc! Silly autocorrect :-)

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louise182 · 02/01/2013 20:00

Thanks for more helpful replies! I feel lots more informed now! I have actually started my period today! 35 days since the start of my last one. First consecutive period after six months of none! Would anyone recommend still trying agnus castus or playing it by ear naturally??

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justalilmummy · 02/01/2013 20:29

I would wait and c if u have another one next month and if not give them a try

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OrangeLily · 03/01/2013 01:23

I've been thinking of this too. Came off implanon in August. Had a bleed a week later. Since then my cycles so far have been 66 days, 35 days and I'm now on day 49 of current cycle. Is it worth a shot or should I see my doctor first?

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 09:53

Stress does not cause consistently irregular periods to arise; hormonal imbalances do this. You should have blood tests done to see if a condition called polycystic ovaries (PCO) is present. Another possible cause of irregular periods is thyroid problems.

If your GP is hopeless then change GPs. No point having a GP that you cannot fully communicate with.

Would not self medicate with AC as it can make some hormonal problems worse. If you really did want to go down that route I would seek the advices of a properly qualified medical herbalist beforehand re dosage.

You need to find out exactly what is causing the irregularity though beforehand.

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 09:57

The blood tests were completely normal, though the scan showed 'an appearance' of PCOS/shadowing

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 09:59

Louise

I noted that earlier comment of yours below.

Some GPs are pretty much useless when it comes to PCOS and do not readily recognise it and I would put a crisp £5 note on it that this is what you have.
Stress as I reiterate would not cause your periods to go so haywire consistently, other factors are at play here. I would ask your GP to refer you to a gynae if you have not already done so.

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louise182 · 03/01/2013 10:14

My gp was a gynaecologist previously and told me he was able to prescribe clomid where necessary. He was satisfied i do not have pcos nd i did not have irregular periods before that six month gap.

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 11:54

louise

Sorry but I think this person is giving you the runaround.

BTW what blood tests did you have done and on which days?. It can be all too easy to miss PCOS and many GPs do not readily recognise it even these days.

It seems that this person has no real idea why this is happening so he should refer you to someone who may.

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louise182 · 03/01/2013 13:15

My gp has experience as a gynae. I was tested for FSH, LH, testosterone, prolactin, glucose and thyroid. I wasnt tested at a specific time. I dont think im being given the run around i was sent for a scan and blood tests straight away and apart from shadowing everything was clear!? I was worried my period was late but now i have come on i am actually feeling very happy and positive about it all....

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 13:52

FSH and LH need to be tested and compared against each other on day 2; if that particular blood test was done any later in the cycle the result is meaningless.

Perhaps your GP should refer you back for another ultrasound scan considering that the initial scan showed shadowing consistent with PCOS.

Two things that should be noted:-
The cystic follicles associated with PCOS can and do disappear, only to be replaced by further cystic follicles.
The sonographer can and has to be skilled to recognise a polycystic ovary due to the above point. Also these cystic follicles are very small in size. Another thing to bear in mind is the ovary size; polycystic ovaries can and do appear larger than "normal". A normal ovary in appearance is walnut size.

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AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/01/2013 13:54

Those blood tests ideally need to be taken at specific times during the month and according to calendar days if the menstrual cycle is irregular.

Having such tests done otherwise is a waste of effort.

Also it is quite possible to have periods without actually ovulating, a consistently irregular cycle makes that scenario far more likely.

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louise182 · 03/01/2013 18:27

Thanks for your comments, though I really don't feel this is the case. Looking at the bigger picture I don't really have consistantly irregular periods.

I started my periods at 13, and had regular periods on a 28-30 day cycle every month without fail.
I started taking logynon at 16 and continued to have regular periods with no trouble.
After 6 years taking logynon I stopped taking it, had a short withdrawal bleed within a couple of days then continued with normal regular periods for 3 months.

It was only when I started the process of moving house and started having difficulties at work and began feeling stressed that my periods stopped for 6 months.

The stressful situations are calming down and I feel much better, and my periods seem to be getting back on track. I dont see how you have come to the conclusion I may not be ovulating atall. I wouldnt imagine I would be scanned by somebody that doesnt know what they are looking for.

I have confidence in my GP, especially with his background and the speed in which he arranged for those initial tests, but posted on here to explore natural/herbal options to see if anything like that would help, but mother nature now possibly to be doing her job!

I dont think it is necessary to be referred, or retested at this stage as my body seems to be doing what it should be now. Obviously if I dont concieve within the next few months or have problems with my periods again I will revisit my doctor.

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