Vitex to regulate long cycle - quick help please

[GeCon]

Hi,

I need some quick help please.

If I want to regulate long cycles with Vitex, I take it from CD1 to CD14, right?

:think:

[rainbowflower]

yes, that should work :)

[GeCon]

Any idea/experiences how soon after stopping Vitex ovulation can happen?

[atomic sagebrush]

argh sorry I only just now saw this.

yes that's just right!

[atomic sagebrush]

Any idea/experiences how soon after stopping Vitex ovulation can happen?

mine was within 1-3 days

[GeCon]

It has been a week now since I last took it and still no sign of ovulation. Fingers crossed it will happen soon.

[rainbowflower]

how are you checking for ovulation?

[GeCon]

how are you checking for ovulation?

We are not attempting this month, so I am not too worried about knowing before I ovulate if that makes sense as long as I know when I have ovulated afterwards.

But I am using the CBFM, which I know can miss your Peak. It is also only the 2nd month of using it again, so it might not give me any Peaks anyway.

I have had EWCM on and off for the last week, but I am also temping and haven't had a thermal shift yet.

Sigh!

I have always had long cycles and last month I didn't ovulate till CD42, so I guess anything earlier than that would be an improvement. But I suppose still BF'ing our son at night is not exactly helping matters either.

[rainbowflower]

We are not attempting this month, so I am not too worried about knowing before I ovulate if that makes sense as long as I know when I have ovulated afterwards.

But I am using the CBFM, which I know can miss your Peak. It is also only the 2nd month of using it again, so it might not give me any Peaks anyway.

I have had EWCM on and off for the last week, but I am also temping and haven't had a thermal shift yet.

Sigh!
that's lucky then :) are you TTC next cycle?
I think the temping will be the most reliable way, unless you use OPKs alongside the CBFM too

[GeCon]

Don't know if you have seen the bit that I have just added:
"I have always had long cycles and last month I didn't ovulate till CD42, so I guess anything earlier than that would be an improvement. But I suppose still BF'ing our son at night is not exactly helping matters either."

We are hoping to TTC next cycle, whenever that may be.

I agree about the temping. I was thinking of not temping this time in order not to stress too much about things, but I think I'd get more stressed not knowing what is going on and if and when I have ovulated.

I have some OPK's too, which I might use next cycle, but we'll see.

[rainbowflower]

oh, no I didn't see that bit. When I was BF I had really really long cycles too. We night-weaned at 1 year and also started taking vitex and vit B6 (for luteal phase defect) and within 2 cycles both were sorted

[GeCon]

We weaned during the day rather than night as we are co-sleeping and it was more convenient for us not having him ask for a drink all day and knowing he could only have it at night. AF did return when we stopped the feeds during the day, so I guess it did sort of work although I realise that night-weaning is more effective for the return of fertility.

Did you have the luteal phase defect before or was that due to the breastfeeding? I am also interested to find out the length of my LP this cycle with the help of charting.

[rainbowflower]

night weaning is more beneficial to fertility than day weaning because that's when hormones are highest, but any long stretch would help. After we night-weaned we were only doing 3 feeds a day - first thing in the morning, afternoon, and evening right before bed. The afternoon one switched to a bottle of cows milk shortly after, and I kept up the other two feeds a day during most of my pregnancy.

I had a short luteal phase before pregnancy - 11 days. So not a defect length, but some doctors would say it was too short.
At my shortest when I was BF I think it was just 3 days, and that was with ovulation very late too (CD35ish). It was 5 days the cycle before we did the night weaning. And with Vit b6 and vitex too it was 12 days two cycles afterwards (longest ever!). I conceived the following cycle.

[mommymachine]

Is Vitex safe while breast feeding? I just had a miscarriage and I want to get my cycles back right as we want to TTC in May:)

[rainbowflower]

there's no evidence either way they haven't tested it... but many including myself and Atomic took it whilst BF and our LOs are fine (or seem to be anyway). I took the vitex immediately after a BF session to reduce the amount that would get into the milk

[mommymachine]

Thank you! How much did you take? Each one is 400mg did you take 1 or2 a day?

[GeCon]

Thank you! How much did you take? Each one is 400mg did you take 1 or2 a day?

Mine are 400mg each. I am taking 2 capsules twice daily, so 4 in total (as instructed on the pack). What does the dosage say on yours?

[rainbowflower]

I took one 400mg a day the first cycle and did see improvements even with that, and took two a day the second cycle

[GeCon]

I am pretty chuffed this morning as I woke up to a Peak. :) The 1st Peak I have ever seen on my monitor. Means that the Vitex has hopefully reduced my ovulation from CD42 to CD26. Woohoo!

Does that mean though when I take it again next month, it might bring ovulation day forward again?

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi thanks for your patience. I'm sorry but we just don't know. It may bring O forward, keep it the same, or return to normal. Vitex likes to be tricky.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you! How much did you take? Each one is 400mg did you take 1 or2 a day?

I'd stick with 800 mg total for the day, poss. up to 1200.

[atomic sagebrush]

Is Vitex safe while breast feeding? I just had a miscarriage and I want to get my cycles back right as we want to TTC in May:)

I believe it to be safe while BF because chimps eat it in the wild. I took it while BF twice, once for 2 weeks while accidentally pg (I had what seemed to be AF and assumed I was not pg but actually WAS, pls. everyone test every month before resuming supps even if you are 100% sure you're not pg) and both LO's seem normal. :)