Vitex / Raspberry Leaf Tea

[smilejenn]

I heard a lot about vitex and raspberry leaf tea on the Taking Charge of Your Fertility message board and was curious if anyone over here has tried them. If so, what were your experiences?

[purpleme]

I did take vitex for a while...it delayed AF...

I never tried the raspberry tea though...

[tarheels]

What are you taking them for? Vitex is supposed to extend the luteal phase (which it sounds like it did for pp), but it can take up to 3 months to work. Because this is the last cycle we can try for about a year, I'm doing a B100 supplement and ProGest cream which by all accounts work the first month.

[smilejenn]

Oct 22, 2012 6:50:56 GMT -5 tarheels said:

What are you taking them for? Vitex is supposed to extend the luteal phase (which it sounds like it did for pp), but it can take up to 3 months to work. Because this is the last cycle we can try for about a year, I'm doing a B100 supplement and ProGest cream which by all accounts work the first month.

I have a shorter luteal phase, along with a long period with spotting on both sides. I've been reading quite a few success stories on the other forum when using Vitex and raspberry leaf tea for both reasons, along with women who seem to get pregnant faster when taking the supplement and tea. I haven't heard much about B100, but I've been taking a complex B along with 100mg of B6 (under OB's advisement for morning sickness issues with any future pregnancy), and they haven't impacted my cycle.

[tarheels]

My period's only about 2-3 days long, but I spot for a total of 10-12 days. Have you talked to your doctor about low progesterone? That's my next step, but like I said, if this cycle doesn't work, we have to stop for a year for school, so I'm not worried about taking that step now. I'm going to see what effect, if any, the OTC progesterone cream has on me.

B100 = 100 mgs of each B vitamin. Which B complex are you taking? There are essentially 3 on the market. "Super B complex", which actually isn't super at all - it's entirely too weak for this purpose - it only has like 3.5 mg or 2.5 mg of various B vitamins. Then there's B50 and B100. My reading said B50's the minimum you should try for this. Because of my cycle being so weak (I start spotting 6DPO), I'm trying B100.

My reading also said NOT to take high levels of B6 by itself (or nearly by itself). My reading said B6 needed equal amounts of B12 to be effective. That B6, when taken in disproportionally high ratios to the other B vitamins, will cancel out the other B vitamins, making the whole thing null. Has your reading said anything about that?


I've heard good things about vitex, I just don't have the time to wait for it to work right now. Will you post here with an update on your cycle?

[genet313]

I take Vitex and B6 (and a bunch of other supplements my acupuncturist recommended). I also do acupuncture. I also take an OTC progesterone cream sometimes.

I don't have LP issues (my norm is 12-13 days), but last November I tested as having low progesterone (7.2, docs want to see over 10 7DPO on a non-medicated cycle).

This is my first cycle taking the supplements. I had my progesterone tested - it was 22 at 7DPO. Yes, 22. I'm sticking with the Vitex.

Also, I used to have tons of spotting before my period - I got pregnant, had a miscarriage, and had to have some fibroids removed after the miscarriage. I no longer spot. Not saying fibroids are the cause of every spotting issue, but they were definitely the cause of mine. A quick U/S can be a useful diagnostic tool.

[smilejenn]

Oct 22, 2012 13:53:16 GMT -5 genet313 said:

I take Vitex and B6 (and a bunch of other supplements my acupuncturist recommended). I also do acupuncture. I also take an OTC progesterone cream sometimes.

I don't have LP issues (my norm is 12-13 days), but last November I tested as having low progesterone (7.2, docs want to see over 10 7DPO on a non-medicated cycle).

This is my first cycle taking the supplements. I had my progesterone tested - it was 22 at 7DPO. Yes, 22. I'm sticking with the Vitex.

Also, I used to have tons of spotting before my period - I got pregnant, had a miscarriage, and had to have some fibroids removed after the miscarriage. I no longer spot. Not saying fibroids are the cause of every spotting issue, but they were definitely the cause of mine. A quick U/S can be a useful diagnostic tool.

Thanks for your reply! What dose of Vitex are you taking? My brand suggested taking two pills a day for the first month or two, and was curious if that's the recommendation you followed.

Thanks for sharing your story regarding fibroids. I actually had a couple ultrasounds this summer that turned up negative of any abnormalities. It's possible I may have one, but since we wanted to start to TTC soon and because my doctor was confident that nothing harmful was wrong, we got the green light to attempt to get pregnant for the next 6 months before doing any invasive further investigating.

[genet313]

Oct 22, 2012 14:32:52 GMT -5 smilejenn said:

Oct 22, 2012 13:53:16 GMT -5 genet313 said:

I take Vitex and B6 (and a bunch of other supplements my acupuncturist recommended). I also do acupuncture. I also take an OTC progesterone cream sometimes.

I don't have LP issues (my norm is 12-13 days), but last November I tested as having low progesterone (7.2, docs want to see over 10 7DPO on a non-medicated cycle).

This is my first cycle taking the supplements. I had my progesterone tested - it was 22 at 7DPO. Yes, 22. I'm sticking with the Vitex.

Also, I used to have tons of spotting before my period - I got pregnant, had a miscarriage, and had to have some fibroids removed after the miscarriage. I no longer spot. Not saying fibroids are the cause of every spotting issue, but they were definitely the cause of mine. A quick U/S can be a useful diagnostic tool.

Thanks for your reply! What dose of Vitex are you taking? My brand suggested taking two pills a day for the first month or two, and was curious if that's the recommendation you followed.

Thanks for sharing your story regarding fibroids. I actually had a couple ultrasounds this summer that turned up negative of any abnormalities. It's possible I may have one, but since we wanted to start to TTC soon and because my doctor was confident that nothing harmful was wrong, we got the green light to attempt to get pregnant for the next 6 months before doing any invasive further investigating.

I take 2000 mg. Check the dosage on the bottle, it may be one, two, three, etc. pills.