Takig Vitex with no break, even if pregnant?

[HopefulMonster]

I'm really really torn as to what to do about the vitex.

Quick recap - I'm taking vitex to lengthen a short, rubbish cycle (approx 24 days, used to be 28-29 days pre-preg). My cycle has been shit ever since having my LO. It's never gone back to normal.

My temps before vitex were very low compared to how they used to be, both before and after O, and the temp shift wasn't ever very big either.

I've been O'ing early on cd12, and having a 10-12 day luteal phase. I used to have a textbook cycle - O cd14, 14 day LP.

First month on vitex I have O'd cd14 which is perfect. Stopped taking the vitex once O was confirmed by my temps, but straight away my temps dropped like lead. Started taking it again and they fixed. (This is during my luteal phase). Carried on taking it and ended up with a 13 day luteal phase, making a 27 day cycle overall.

Now I'm ttc the beginning of june. I'm worried that my cycles are perfect ON vitex, but the minute I stop it (say I stop at O) I won't be able to keep any pregnancy because there's something off with my hormone levels that I need to keep taking the vitex to fix - does that make sense?

I was only intending to take it A-O but based on this first month it seems that I desperately needed whatever it is doing. The difference was that huge.

Should I just keep taking it? Should I stop at O on the month of our attempt and hope for the best? Am I worrying over nothing? Should I see the doctor or give it another month or what?

Thanks very much for your time xxxx

[Kazz2011]

If you are really worried, I would go to your doctor and have your progesterone and hormone levels tested and speak to him/her what they suggest you should do.

As for taking vitex during pregnancy there are conflicting results on taking it during pregnancy. I know quite a few girls that took it during their whole cycle and even when they found out they were pregnant and either stopped immediately after their BFP or slowly weaned off them over a few weeks.

For me personally I won't take it ever again for a full cycle/ during pregnancy. I took it while pregnant in 3 of my pregnancies and all 3 ended in m/c (2 of them I stopped immediately after a BFP and the 3rd time I weaned off it). I am now only taking it from AF-O.

Good luck and try not to stress as TTC is stressful enough as it is.

*babydust* *babydust*

[HopefulMonster]

Thanks Kazz, I'm very sorry to hear about your mcs - that is exactly what I am scared of happening. Not because of the vitex as such, more that the vitex will level my hormones out, and stopping it at O or weaning off it after will change my levels so much that a mc is inevitable.

To have my hormone levels tested, should I stop taking the vitex? I've had 2 mmc myself before my LO was born and while I know there's always a chance such a thing will happen, I'd never want to have to go through that again if I can help it.

[rainbowflower]

vit B6 and vitex can together extend LP. You really must not take vitex in the 2ww if TTC as you mustn't take it when pregnant!
take it until OV and then see how long your luteal phase is. As long as it's 10 days or more you don't need to worry, ideally it would be 12 days or more. I conceived twice (within 2 months both times) with an 11 day LP, so a shorter phase doesn't necessarily mean you will struggle.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would not take the vitex into pregnancy no matter what. Kazz already said it very eloquently but my way of thinking is that you're trading a fear that something may happen, for something that is much more likely to cause something to happen.

At ovulation, your corpus luteum will take over and make the same or greater amounts of progesterone than anything the vitex could be doing. And the vitex may have even made it easier for the CL to do that job. You just need to rely on your CL at that point to sustain a pregnancy.

Look at it this way (these numbers are just illustrative :

1)Taking vitex in the FP and stopping just prior to O - vitex raises prog from 0 to 10, then you stop it at ovulation and your CL starts making 20 units prog - enough to sustain pg and more than the vitex alone was making. Body registers increase in prog and thinks "this is a viable pg I will hang onto it."

2)Taking vitex into pregnancy - Vitex raises prog from 0 to 10, then you keep taking it and your CL starts making 20 units of prog, total of 30 units prog. Then you stop the vitex (because you cannot and should not take it into the first trimester, regardless of what you read online it is just not smart) Maybe your CL can compensate because your body should be making more and more as the days go by, but it's also very possible that your body registers the stoppage of the vitex as a drop in prog levels and thinks, "oh-oh, prog dropping, there is something amiss, maybe this pg is not a viable one and I better end it now before I waste any more resources maintaining it".

[pink carol]

Hi, Atomic, after such a long time!
We plan to begin our attempt in about two weeks.
I have been taking one pill vitex (Natural Way, the one you recommended) all cycle since I had my stillbirth in July and have found it has done wonders to regulate my cycle. It was never close to hectic, but O Day could happen anywhere between day 14 and 18. Now O Day takes place religiously Day 13, and I even have mittelschmerz for three days before, so I have a pretty good idea when ovulation is about to take place.
Since my obgyn also has me on progesterone supplementation (vaginal capsules) from day 3 after confirmed ovulation for 10 days after, I was wondering if it would be okay to take, let's say, vitex from AF till 3 days after ovulation and then stop the vitex with the guarantee that the progesterone will pick up where the vitex left off when we begin trying, in case I got pregnant?
I don't want to risk a miscarriage but I suppose a couple of days of vitex past two days of ovulation should not represent a big risk.
The idea is that supplementing with progesterone before ovulation is absolutely confirmed, delays ovulation, so you really have to have at least three high temperatures before beginning the supplements.
A big hug and thank you for your answer!

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi Carol! Glad to "see" you!!

No, you need to stop the vitex just before you ovulate because otherwise you may never ovulate - the egg just kinda stays in there and twiddles her thumbs LOL.

You will not risk a miscarriage by stopping the vitex just before you expect to ovulate and then starting the prog 3 days after O - that's the way it will work best with the natural workings of your body.