Vitex?

[milly29]

What is vitex? I'm in the uk so wondering if its a us product? X

[HopefulMonster]

Vitex is a herbal supplement, also called Agnus Castus. I'm in the UK too, I get mine at Holland & Barratt (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=4&prodid=449&cid=164). It helps to regulate your cycles if there is any hormonal imbalance (too long, too short, late O etc) but if your cycle is already regular it can really mess it up, so keep that in mind because a lot of the time it can cause more issues than it fixes!

Also I only take 2 tablets a day, not 2 twice a day like the bottle says because it has fixed my too-short cycle without needing to double the dose.

Hope that helps xxxx

[Butterfly Spirit]

When you get it you need to take a pregnancy test to ensure that you are not pregnant. Usually ladies start it on cd 1, but I took it around day 3 or 4 because I wanted to make sure I wasn't pregnant. So, I took it in the morning with the rest of my supplements 2 400 mg capsules. From there I took cheapie opks .. like 2-3 a day to make sure I did not miss the +surge. Once it looked like I was about to get a positive (it was fading in /pretty dark) I hopped off..so probably about 4 days before you expect you ovulation, stop taking the vitex. And then you do not take it again until AF comes again. You do not want to take it while pregnant or even from +OPK to AF because it can cause problems with your developing baby.
Look for Nature's Way brand. It may not be over there but that is the one that I took. Best of luck to you! :)

[GeCon]

Here is the essay, which you may find helpful.

http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-girl-best-practices/1094-vitex-faq-share-your-experiences-here.html

[milly29]

Oh brilliant, it's Agnus castus. I used that when u was ttc my ds2, is it supposed to sway pink then? I used to take it from af to o and stopped. I have long cycles 35 days and ov days. 24/25 will taking this also shorten my cycle? X

[Violet_]

It may change your cycle. I could make your cycle longer or shorter, both is okay. It's the changing of your cycle, whether that be shortening or lengthening it, that changes up your hormones and sways pink. It shortened mine and I was having 34 day cycles. I took it from CD5-13, then jumped off and ovulated on CD15 (previously ovulated between CD-20-22). For other people it lengthens their cycle. Either is fine, it's the changing it that sways pink.

[GeCon]

If you have long cycles you should take it from CD1-14 "tricking" your body into ovulating soon after.

For me this brought ovulation forward from CD44 without to CD26 on Vitex, so 12 days after last taking Vitex.