Vitex

[Unlv3]

Well, sadly I am not pregnant. I am one of the very few that had a false positive. I was really upset, but decided to move on and come up with a plan.

My periods are so irregular. My last one was end of June (6-29) and I still have not had mine as of yet. I am usually about 55 days. Ugh.
I'm thinking of taking vitex to sort of regulating my period. When do you take vitex? The whole time till you get a bfp? Just for half the cycle? I'm confused :) thank you!

[atomic sagebrush]

YOu can't take vitex till you have your period.

What was your doctor's take on all this?? That's very unusual and would seem a chemical, but if it had been then AF would have come usually after the BFP went away.

I did have a true false positive one time with a defective test - had my doubts at the time because teh whole stick turned pink, but when my period didn't come I assumed it was the real deal (was nursing and didn't realize that AF could come and then go away for several more months)

[maidentomother]

Personally, I think it's best to take Vitex every day, not just for part of your cycle - ESPECIALLY if you aren't Oing regularly.

[atomic sagebrush]

And I think it's not best, so we will have to agree to disagree on that. I find it really screws up people's cycles taken daily unless they are willing to take it for months on end to allow their bodies time to adjust (and pray that it does.)

[txmomof3beautifulboys]

Atomic, do you feel like it should be taken at all for girl sway? Still beneficial? I was taking it AF to O, as well as SP....

[maidentomother]

And I think it's not best, so we will have to agree to disagree on that. I find it really screws up people's cycles taken daily unless they are willing to take it for months on end to allow their bodies time to adjust (and pray that it does.)

Well, I do think that for ladies with regular cycles and no apparent LP defect (spotting, short LP) then trying just AF-O (or maybe O-AF?) first may be better. And I also think if you're in a hurry to get pregnant or older, then it's probably best to take it half the time if at all.

But when trying to bring on O or to fix an LP problem, I think it's more effective all cycle long. So we don't completely disagree. ;)

One thing I wonder about, is why you think it's better to take it AF-O vs O-AF, since Vitex seems to boost P and supress E, which mimics the LP more than the FP? Especially in those cases where Vitex inhibits or delays O, and thus taking it all cycle long doesn't work, I would think taking it solely during the LP would make more sense. I can see how taking it in the FP would dry up EWCM but that's about it.

[atomic sagebrush]

I have seen tons of people told to take it all month by various herbalists, back on IG, etc and their ovulation totally stops, and even for those who continue ovulation, they don't get pregnant. Are there exceptions, many, I"m sure. THe reason I recommend what I do is because I want to get the most bang for the least buck (most benefit for the least risk) and while I do think taking it all month long may be mmore effective for swaying, it's too much of a chance to take for the results that vitex has been getting (not spectacular).

The reason I think it's better to take AF-O is twofold. Firstly, most people are taking it while TTC and I do not believe that it's safe enough taken when one may become pregnant, and nor do I think that something that affects levels of estrogen and progesterone, is something that I want people to be coming off of when they are pregnant. So it's partly safety. Secondly it's because the signals that your body gets during the follicular phase are what controls the luteal phase. Taking vitex or B6 in the luteal phase is a day late and a dollar short because it doesn't have time to even DO anything.

Vitex during the follicular phase (bearing in mind we don't ahve a ton of reliable info here) suppresses estrogen production to some extent and this probably frees up raw materials for your body to have on reserves to make progesterone during the LP. So by taking vitex from AF-O, estrogen is suppressed, enabling the body to make progesterone after ovulation when it's needed. PLUS, the body does need to be able to make enough estrogen for the secondary estrogen surge that occurs 7 DPO and if you were taking vitex during the LP, it may suppress that. We need that secondary bit of estrogen to help maintain the lining another few days till the CL breaks down and prog production stops.

[atomic sagebrush]

Atomic, do you feel like it should be taken at all for girl sway? Still beneficial? I was taking it AF to O, as well as SP....

I do think it sways pink, and took it with my successful sway (but dropped it that month because my lining seemed like it was getting poor). I still recommend both V and SP, jsut that we need to go in with our eyes open and the knowledge that they may not be worth the trouble they're causing.