Newbie with Agnus Castus Question

[Nancy66]

Hello everybody. I'm a long time lurker and thought I would finally dip my toe in the water.

I'm 41 and TTC for the first time. Yes, late I know but circumstances meant I couldn't try earlier.

I had my day 3 and day 21 blood tests done and the results were good - very good in fact. FSH level of 6.9 which, I understand, is good for an old bird like me! LH was fine and progesterone was high.

I had a 28 day cycle and ov on day 14 - so, text book you could say. At least it was.

I kept reading about how wonderful Agnus castus was and how fertility enhancing it was so I started to take it - last month my cycle jumped to 32 days and this month I didn't even ovulate.

Needless to say I have stopped taking the wretched stuff but just wondered if anybody else had experienced anything similar ?

I really wish I had just left well enough alone and am worried I have done some damage.

Nancy - I took it one month in desperation because I have a really short luteal phase (only 8 days). It was the only month that I didn't ov. Now I know that typically women have 1 out of 10 cycles without ov but I was very suspicious and didn't take it again!!

You really must consult an expert when taking (or thinking about) agnus castus.

I hope that your body sorts itself out.
X

Thanks Coggy

I did actually get dosage guidance from a naturopath but clearly it isn't for me....will just leave things to Mother Nature from now on!

Ideally the advice of a medical herbalist should be sought re dosage of such products as natural does not always mean safe.

I would not think you have done yourself any harm by taking this for only a short period of time.

What was your LH level like in relation to your FSH, was it higher or lower?. Both LH and FSH need to be compared to each other.

You may not have actually ovulated on day 14 if you had a 28 day cycle; ovulation is not an exact science and a person can ovulate earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle.

Has the quality of your eggs been determined?.

Repeated blood tests should be done to determine if there is any hormonal abnormality. Also your man should be tested at the same time your investigations are taking place to ensure there are no male factor problems.

Thanks ATM

My FSH was 6.9 and my LH was 3.1

I've only had the one blood test done so far - and this will only be our third month of TTC. Given my age I don't expect things to happen quickly.

My partner is 10 years younger than me and if I haven't got a BFP in the next 6 months I will ask him to get his sperm tested but I think it would be unfair at this stage without giving it a decent 'shot' so to speak.

I don't know about having the quality of my eggs analysed - I thought the FSH result was a good indicator of this?

I had my my ovaries and uterus scanned and everything was ok there.

I'm pretty sure I didn't OV this month as I tested from CD 10 to CD 18 and didn't get a positive....previously I have always got a smiley face on CD12

Hi Nancy

Would say that gynaes normally like to see couples after trying for six months without success if they are over 35.

Your man's tests should be done when your investigations are taking place. It is little point testing one person without the other. I can see why you want him to hold off testing for the time being but it is a good idea for him to be tested sooner rather than later.

OPK's work on two misleading principles; namely that women only have one rise in LH every month and that such a rise is immediately followed by ovulation. Both of these are not true. I would therefore counsel laying off the opk's, not waste your cash on such things and buy something else instead!.

What else what you recommend?

Unfortunately my partner is away a hell of a lot with his job - if he was around every night I prob wouldn't bother with the OPKs.

I know you can do the temperature charting but that's always seemed like a real faff to me - is it more reliable than OPK?

I'd neither recommend OPK's or temp charting; both can be unreliable methods, many gynaes do not take notice of such charts primarily because they can be so unreliable. Apart from that, both methods can cause stress in their own right.

I would stick to the blood test results to give you a more accurate picture.