Agnus Castus

[eurochick]

Well despite my reservations, on the recommendation of my acupuncturist, I am giving it a go.

I am a bit apprehensive because a) I have a pretty regular cycle at the moment and am ovulatingso I really don't want to mess that up and b) I tried it years ago to regulate my cycle and I remember it making me feel distinctly odd, i.e. a bit loopy. But I am still not duffed despite 7 cycles of perfectly timed swi and around 2 years of not preventing, so I am giving it a go.

If anyone fancies sharing their agnus castus experiences (positive and negative) please do!

Ps - If anyone has any snake oil they want to sell me at the moment, I would probably snap it right up....

Ooo, I'm interested in this too!

I took this once quite a few years ago for PMS. I thought I was going to die, I never felt so ill in my life with stomach cramps. Maybe I just had a bad reaction to it but I would take advice first.

I had very good experience with it this cycle - I have PCOS and crazy long cycles (55-60 days) and this cycle I took Agnus Castus tincture (20 drops in some water) morning and evening until ovulation. I ovulated 10 days earlier than previous cycle and it reduced my UCL to a much more manageable 38 days.

CD2 here and will definitely be doing the same this time.

A friend of mine who is not ttc uses it for PMS and says it worked wonders for her too in that respect.

buggerlugs my acupuncturist is also a herbalist. Nonetheless, I do have my reservations. I don't recall it messing my cycles up when I tried it for PMS years ago so hopefully it won't now. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience on it.

That all sounds good, Poppyjen. My acupuncturist is hoping that it will bring my ovulation forward a bit and help lengthen my luteal phase.

It does seem to be a "marmite" herb - people either swear by it and credit it with sorting out their PMS or getting them PG or curse it for messing up their cycles.

How have you been getting on with it eurochick?

please don't take it, i took it and had a mc, not sure whether it was the agnus castus but i'd never risk again x

Sorry to hear that blue.

Floydie I am getting on fine with it. I am no longer feeling woosy. I am approaching ov and have been having more ovary twinges than usual so maybe it is doing something.

I've been taking it for a few weeks now (up until ov) and seem to be ok :) no side effects or anything. I'm hoping mainly it will help with my horrible pms but also spotting that I experience a few days after ov up until AF xx

wrote a long post earlier and lost it - grrr!

But in brief, I am considering this myself, after a recommendation from a friend (like me 40+) and after discussion with my acupuncturist.

bluebell, so sorry about your MC, but I doubt it was due to anything you did or didn't do :(

Have read various opinions and guidelines, some say to take in first half of cycle and stop at ov, some say to take throughout cycle and only stop when you get a BFP. Any opinions here?

My acupuncturist advises taking it throughout the cycle for me, but like you I had seen guidelines and opinions advising both.

thanks euro, are you taking the tincture? Where did you get it? Was just going to go to Neal's Yard, but would you suggest elsewhere.

Yes, I am taking the tincture. The brand is Nature's Answer. It was the one my acupuncturist recommended.

I got it in the hippie place well being centre in the basement of the Hale Clinic (nr Great Portland St tube), which is just around the corner from where I get pins stuck in me. It was the place she mentioned she knew they did that brand.