Anyone used Agnus Castus After Coming off the Pill?

[MintGreenLife]

Would love to hear your experiences. I've been off the pill for 3 months now, and my general research says to allow 3 months to see if your hormones kick back in.

I'm on cycle 3 off the pill, and while I've been getting AF I've either been ovulating very late with a really short luteal phase, or I've not been ovulating at all.

Thanks in advance x

I just tried it for 2 cycles. My LP is usually 11 days (which isn’t terribly short but would like it longer) but it has been as short as 9 days. I’m now 12 cycles off the pill and it’s been a steady 11 days pretty much.
When I took AC all it did was move my ovulation 2 days late but my LP was unaffected so I’ve not bothered with it since.
My last cycle I took evening primrose oil up until ov and my LP actually got to 13 days which has never happened before so I was happy with that. Don’t know if it was the EPO or a coincidence but I’m taking it again this cycle.

I did and it worked for me. However, I didn't get my period at all prior to trying Agnus Castus.

@Nat4392 thanks for your reply :) it's tricky as at the mo I don't know if I'm dealing with not ovulating at all or a short luteal phase. If I am ovulating it's not until CD30+ and then 3/4 luteal phase, so obviously something is pretty out of whack. That's interesting about evening primrose as I've just started taking it and have noticed a bit of an increase in my CM already. Do you remember what Agnus Castus you were taking and how much?

Thanks @user1471523870 - did you carry on with it after you got your period? I don't want to do anything wrong at this stage as our situation is slightly complex - we had to postpone our wedding due to covid and so decided to focus on TTC instead, but now we have rearranged our wedding for September next year we have a fairly small window in which TTC would work, otherwise being heavily pregnant or having a new born puts a bit of a spanner in the works. Trying to decide whether it's best to leave my body to do its thing, or try and help it along in the hope we may catch in the next couple of months...

@MintGreenLife I used this one from amazon. I just took one a day rather than 2 as I was worried about it truly messing up my cycles

@Nat4392 brilliant thanks - this is the one I have in my shopping basket on Amazon x

@user1471523870 hi, just wondering if you might be able to answer an Agnus Castus question for me? After six months off the pill and only being able to identify ovulation once in all that time, I decided to try Agnus Castus. I think I ovulated yesterday after a positive OPK three days in a row and a temp rise this morning. Did you stop taking it after ovulation? I only took it for five days before I ovulated (hopefully) and am thinking now that's been achieved I would stop again until my next cycle if no BFP. Any advice would be much appreciated!

I personally continue using it after ovulation due to it helping progesterone production.
If you got the brand above, it's only 1/4 of the dosage that studies are based on (recommended dosage is 20mg in the morning, this isn't easily available due to herbal medication limitations). It's unlikely that the AC actually helped ovulation here because it's takes a good few weeks to work.

Hello! I am sorry I didn't notice your previous reply, my apologies.
I used to take AC only until ovulation and then suspend it until the following cycle two weeks later. I think I read somewhere you were not supposed to take it after ovulation, but it's been many years since I was researching it and advice might have changed.
For me it worked wonders and it restored my fertility in a way (my son has then been conceived by IVF and I had a loooooong fertility journey, but unrelated). I still think my first and only natural pregnancy occurred because I took AC!

@NoCallerID thanks for your reply :) I might be getting this completely wrong, but I am taking the brand above and the tablets are 400mg each, but you mention them being 1/4 of the dosage at 20mg, so not sure how that adds up?

@user1471523870 thanks for getting back to me :) as you say advice seems to be really mixed about whether to take it after ovulation or not! Apparently it increases LH which causes the corpus luteum to secrete more progesterone, but surely if that's the case then it's not needed after ovulation as the corpus luteum is already formed?! I don't want to do the wrong thing and cause myself any issues were I to get a BFP, but equally don't want to hinder my chances in case my body needs an extra boost of progesterone post-ovulation... so tricky.

@MintGreenLife it's very confusing as they use the higher number, which is the weight of the actual fruit. What should be on there is the EXTRACT. So the Tablets above are actually around 3.8-4.1mg extract. But studies are based on 20mg extract. (Don't be tempted to just take 4-5 capsules - I tried and it made me feel sick 😂)

julietocallaghan.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/agnus-castus-and-pms-dont-buy-it-from-boots-or-holland-barrett-if-you-actually-want-it-to-work/

@MintGreenLife if you look on your AC bottle, there's the THR symbol on it. :-)

@NoCallerID oh wow, totally didn't realise that! So taking one of the tablets above is actually a really low dose then? Well if the AC hasn't actually helped in such a short time, I'll be very impressed with my body for actually ovulating at a somewhat decent CD - last time I ovulated several cycles ago it was CD40+, whereas this time it was CD25 :) thanks so much for explaining to me!

@user1471523870

Did AC bring your period on after coming off the pill? If so how long had you not had a period before you tried AC?

@MintGreenLife neither did I for a very long time!! 😂 I used to take the ones you've got (successfully shortened my cycles to av 36 days and fell pregnant with DS) now I've discovered this and am taking the 20mg ones I've ovulated CD16/17, but not pregnant yet.

@NoCallerID how funny! Did you carry on taking them until you got your BFP? And if so did you stop as soon as you got your BFP, or taper off slowly? I've only taken one a day (instead of two) for about 5 days - two days after I started I got a positive OPK, so was very impressed, but now realise my body may have managed to ovulate by itself! That's great you are ovulating at a nice CD :) how long have you been trying for your second?

@Moocher90 unfortunately not - I've been off the pill 6 months and in that time I've had 5 cycles after my withdrawal bleed - one lasted 55 days, and that's the one I successfully ovulated on and seemed to have a normal luteal phase, the others were 30 days, 37 and 32. The first two I think I may have ovulated with an extremely short luteal phase (fairly common first two cycles after stopping the pill) the fourth cycle I think was anovulatory as I had EWCM right up until a surprise AF, and never had a clear temp shift. Are you struggling with your cycles post-pill? I only started taking AC 5 days ago and ovulated yesterday (or so I hope!) x

@MintGreenLife I haven’t had a period yet and it’s been 6 weeks off the pill. I’m just concerned and I’m trying anything I can. I bbt and monitor my cervix but chart and OPKs I have done so far are white. I didn’t know if I started using AC if it might kickstart a period

@Moocher90 I'd give it a go if I was you... you've got nothing to lose.

@MintGreenLife this was 2017 - I stopped after my temp spike and got a BFP at 10dpo. For baby #2 we didn't do anything and conceived straight away again (#1 was first cycle TTC too). However this pregnancy ended in a termination for medical reasons. It took me a long time to get my cycles back due to retained product, so had to have a MVA. We started trying again immediately and had 3 CPs, then a cycle just no lines at all and am now in my TWW.

@NoCallerID hmm maybe I should stop taking them now then (had my temp spike today) just to be on the same side. Am thinking about upping my vitamin B 6 though as heard this can help in the luteal phase...or maybe I should stop messing around and just see what happens! Problem is I'm not sure if I have a normal luteal phase or not, as the one cycle I did ovulate it's not entirely clear when ovulation day was, and then the other cycles where I think were anovulatory also could have been ovulatory with a very short luteal phase. Which my charts were clearer! Would you mind if I post the one where I'm sure I did ovulate and you can see what you make of it?

Sorry to hear about the termination and CPs, that doesn't sound easy. Will keep my fingers crossed for you for this cycle!

@Moocher90 6 weeks isn't too bad. I suspect if you haven't ovulated yet you probably won't get AF any time soon, but you could try AC to see if it helps? x

@NoCallerID meant 'wish' my charts were clearer!

Of course, go ahead!
How long is your LP usually? Which app are you using? I've used kindara (free version) for years and they have a great community where you can share your charts and lots of experienced ladies can help with any questions!

@NoCallerID thanks, chart is attached. This is the only chart I have where I can clearly see I have ovulated. At first I thought ovulation was on CD36, but then my BBT was all over the place and I was still getting EWCM, so then I thought CD41 as that was my last day of EWCM, but someone else said to me they thought later. If CD36-41 then that would mean I had a good LP. I have no idea about my LP as ovulation isn't clear on my other charts. Thanks for the tip re Kindara ☺️ X

Chart didn't attach for some reason x

@MintGreenLife hmmmm, that's a difficult one. I'd go with CD45 for ovulation as you're missing the 3 high temps before. But then again, I'm not a pro. I've read "taking charge of your fertility" by Toni Weschler and really recommend it! It's the bible of FAM. Personally I would start using OPKs once you get fertile CM.

@NoCallerID I know it's such a tricky chart isn't it! Why did my temp spike so much right before ovulation, so confusing. I've read that, as well as it starts with the egg :) I may recap them both. Really hope I have a clearer chart this cycle and a normal luteal phase! I tend to do OPKs throughout my cycle until I think I've Ov'd, problem with that chart I sent you is I thought I had already, so I stopped using them. This cycle I had a positive Friday-Sunday and then my temp spiked this morn, so hopefully ovulated yesterday x