I have had a complete hysterectomy and this is one of the herbs I am taking for estrogen levels, I stil lget hot flashes and am kind of moody, can you tell me what else I should take to help me through this. I am a young 51.

High progesterone levels cause me to be depressed and or moody. So I stay away from anything that mimics progesterone.

I've been taking this for a week and it has been making me very moody. Normally, I'm very even keeled. I'm not pregnant! so I can't think what else it would be. I think it may have an opposite effect on some people like ritalin.

WILL VITEX CLEAN OUT THE UTERUS AND ELIMINATE FIBROIDS

Hi! I'm 43 and have been experiencing heavy periods that last 7 to 9 days..I have no cramping and otherwise feel fine..a little moody before my period. Would vitex be a ggod option for this? Thanks!

My experience might help some here... I'm 'estrogen dominant', my own estrogen production is too much, and I benefit greatly from a progesterone-only birth control. (It took a long time to find a doctor who realized that estrogen isn't a cure-all for all women - once size fits all, anyone?) I figured out that the depo shot was too much, the hormonal 'coil' was way too little, and the insert in the arm is almost enough... but not quite.

Then I figured out that, at the point in my cycle when estrogen has increased/progesterone has sort of flat-lined, and they're supposed to switch (around the time of ovulation, in between periods), estrogen levels are supposed to plummet, letting the progesterone levels build back up... well, my estrogen just kept going up and up, my periods would keep comi ng back, etc, it really threw everything out of whack... (I'll put a link to a really great graph of this at the end.)

SO after messing around with this and that, I'm down to this program - I take Vitex during the three weeks between periods, and I switch to Angelica during my period (or when I'm supposed to start, sometimes I have to jumpstart it). Angelica is great for relieving PMS, cramps, bloating, some headaches, etc, etc. The final tweak was when I 'moved' my period from the full moon to the new moon, using these two herbs in slightly higher doses for a few months (had read many times that healthy women usually have it at new moon and ovulate at full moon.) That seems to have helped as much as the herbs, to stabilized the cycle, calm menstrual symptoms, increase energy, benefit fully from the different types of sleep thruout the month...

These aren't the only things I had to do to feel better all around, just the ones that are linked directly to my period, and everyone is so very different one from another, it really takes time to figure out what we each need. My biggest recommendation is to find a good naturopath, one who spends at least an hour with you, listening to you and helping YOU to investigate and figure things out!

But I can note other things I've benefited from also... Everything started with a nodule on my thyroid, for which I take a small dose of Armour to try to shrink, and I've used other things like Maca and Rhodiola in the meantime to build strength and energy. This being wintertime, I add a little St John's Wort to my Vitex (for SAD), and I take high quality cod liver oil caps for the vit D and omegas... My latest 'thing' is fresh aloe gel from my own plants, as a kind of cleanse/cure going into spring, also to help me get back into an exercise routine... And organic lithium was the key to everything for me (not the medical strength, but very low dose plant-based, so low there's no need to test levels) - being slightly bipolar, just enough to throw me off (like PMS but up and down daily all thru the month), this 'little bit o' nothin' has made me feel like a normal human being for the first time ever. If you feel out of control, like a different person at different times (usually changes several times a year, but can be up to several times a day), there are natural gentle ways to change it like organic lithium, light and/or dark therapy, etc...

Keep learning, keep trying, it doesn't have to become an obsession, it doesn't have to cost a fortune, it just takes reasonably clean, sane living - take care of yourself!

Is it good for men???

For anyone else reading this page, for reference note that vitex can make things worse before things improve. You need to take it for longer than a week to see the benefits. Initially yes, you will see a rise in progesterone due to a rise in lutenising hormone but due to hormone feedback mechanisms, things level out eventually. Plus a lp of the time, it is not a sensitivity to progesterone that causes moods, it is the fact there isn\\\'t enough progesterone and there is too much estrogen! Taking vitex rectifies this, balances the hormones and the moods along with it. But this can take some 4-6 weeks. In the meantime symptoms worsen and then they balance out.

Weezy,
I'm an Herbalist, and I can tell you that Black Cohosh helps with hot flashes, it is also a supplier of natural estrogen. Damiana, Don Quai, Passion Flower, and Sarsaparilla are especially good for Hot Flashes.
Sat Nam, `(-_-)'
♥Piper♥

I started taking vitex on aug 18 with pygeum and saw palmetto. I talk to the lady at the herb store and she told me that it ok for women to take this because pygeum and saw palmetto is for men but it's ok for women to take, i start it and my period can back. I have not had a period im 23yr and my last one was december of 08 and im taking ramuan. So to all the women out there do not believe some of what a doc says because i have PCOS and my doc put me on metformin and this is not working. I've been on it for 4mo now i just started taking saw palmtto and vitex on the 18 of aug and my period started on the 22 of aug so it working. So get your information on some of these Rx drug because they can make you sick and if you ask a doc about any herb drug they all say the same thing we have not done any study on it well i have and it work VERY VERY WELL.

can vitex help with polycystic ovarian syndrome?

Be aware, vitex can raise blood pressure to its maximum. Women with PCOS tend to be overweight which can cause high blood pressure. Women with PCOS i highly reccomend chromium picolinate. Look ito that.

I had all kinds of things wrong with me for several years, started by a realization of verbal/emotional abuse from my nearest and dearest that had been going on for years but the realization was in 2006. I went into a deep depression and then all the joy in life shutdown completely and I drank all the time to get through it so I wouldn't kill myself while looking for a place to live in that year that the realtors and loan managers were ripping everyone off with idiotic advice.

Everything shut down and as soon as I got out of the terrible situation I still had no sex drive and had lost a ton of hair as well as most interest and drive in all kinds of things, but I managed to keep my co-pilots going. I tried HTP 5, L-Phenylalanine, more protein and it was all kind of, sort of, working. Finally I gave relacore a shot, which has DHEA in it and it really helped things improve but not all the way.

I finally got to see a psychologist who mentioned prolactin levels when I mentioned hair-loss and I figured it would take forever to sort out the kind of blood work she suggested and get it planned so I'd look for an herbal remedy online and found it in chasteberry/vitex. I waited about a week and suddenly had this sense of BEING again. It was like this half of me that had crawled into a cave since 2005 (the last year I was ever happy) and I walked around in a daze, really enjoying things again. I have also had some ovulation pains but I'm stubborn.

My basic point is when you feel bad, not yourself, depressed, cut-off from joy, disthymic, whatever, it very well could be hormonal. Relacore has DHEA and that's hormonal as well as Chasteberry/Vitex. If things are shutting off, even from a major stress or grief I say look into hormonal options (carefully) especially if you have bad reactions to anti-depressants. Everything isn't solved but I've only been taking it for two weeks and I feel a LOT better. A LOT!

I started taking vitex twice a day about a week ago to help rid myself of very large fibroids that were aggrivated by estrogen dominance and stress. One of the side effects that I have noted is a very positive one. I feel a great deal less stressed, and not nearly as moody or depressed! ...Could be because it cleanses the liver of toxins and flushes exess estrogen from the body and regulates hormones. What a nice plus!

I do holitstic counseling on the side and my periods were heavy and I suffered from estrogen dominance and my 22 year old daughter had irregular periods. We got the vitex tincure and let me tell you this- EXTREME CAUTION should be used with this herb. Bi-polar disorder runs in our family and period issues. My daughter is usually a very level person. She stopped taking the drops back in February and sure it corrected the cycle and made it longer for both of us. But emotionally??? HA, it made us VERY moody and she got so severly depressed she had to take time off work. It magnifies any already existing mood problems. We are correcting it with ASHWAGANDHA- this stuff will correct your hormones and moods and get rid of hot flashes inside of 2 weeks. NO more HF's. It is slower acting as far as the periods go. But it has almost NO side effects and is so good for the adrenals and whole body in every way. We threw away the rest of the vitex. If used--very very sparingly.

Hi There
I started taking saw palmetto with lycopene + vitex
It is just amazing
You just need to be persistant
In around one month the acne just goes away
It also helping me to control my hunger
I have lost couple of pounds
I thing it helps people that have hormonal imbalance
Just amazing, and natural :)
It is good to see a naturopathic doctor
She can prescribe the exact dosage, acording to your weight
:)