* Herbal Remedies & Supplements for TTC

Thanks Deb this has been VERY helpful. I will be trying Vitex soon when my bub stops BF (she was a clomid baby) and all this info has been great.

Just a quick update
I have been charting cycle for around 10 months. I've always had between 28-30 cycles. Only upon charting did I realise that I was ovulalting on day 18 and only having 10-12 days LP. As I wasn't falling pregnant, I read up and discovered vitamin B6. I started taking this around October last year, my cycle went from ovulating on day 18 to day 17, then 16 and this last cycle was day 14. This happenend in a matter of months. I can only give absolute positives re this vitamin. This last month was my first on Vitex. I only took it after ovulation. I don't know whether it worked or not as they say it takes a few months, but I got a BFP so I'm happy. Can't say whether the Vitex played a part in it but it may of helped, the Vitamin B6 certainly did it's job and I recommend it to anyone with irregular cycles. It's also suppose to help in pregnancy for morning sickness, so it obviously it a safe vitamin as well. Hope this helps.

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could push me in the right direction. Is there any herb or vitamin I can take to bring on my Ovulation a bit quicker? I seem to take a while longer than normal - CD 18, CD 22 and CD 30 the last 3 cycles. All blood tests were normal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.:help:

Hi Mindy

Some of girls talk about vitex but it should only be taken from advice from a naturopath.I'd consider visiting one at your loal pharmacy/health food shop. You said you ovulate late but is your lp(lunar phase) at least 10-12 days long?WHat I mean is when you ovulate say on day 18 do you get your period 12 days later every time?If your lp is the problem then it might be better to make an appt to see your gp as they might be able to help.

Goodluck!!

Hi Kirsty, My LP is alright I think - always at least 10-11 days, with this cycle at least 13 days so far. I am just concerned as to why the egg is taking so long to release...to my knowledge CD 23 or even CD 18 is a bit too long, and I want to get the 'ball rolling' :confused: sooner if I can.

To be honest if your ovulating late but your lp is still at least 10 days then really there is no problem. Your body is doing the right things just a bit later then 'the norm'.Remember not everyone ovulates smack on day 14, everyone is different.I got pregnant with DD after ovulating on day 18 and this pregnancy it was day 21!It can happen and it will.Goodluck hun.

Thanks so much Kirsty, you have calmed me down a lot. xx

My cycles have been in the 30-40 day range. My LP is at 14 days, so its always when I actually O that changes.
Theres all those things, like stress, i found being not stressed as well changed my cycle! lol too.

Hi Mindy
Six months ago I too was ovulating on day 18 and having 10-12 lp , was told by ob's that THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS AT ALL. All the same, I also starting taking vit b6 Oct last year, my cycle went from ovulating day 18 to 17. 16 and last cycle 14 (which I conceived). I also took Vitex for the last part of my cycle this month only. Probably too early for the vitex to work but I'm sure the Vit b6 regulated my cycle some how. It was worth a try for me.
good luck

Hi Mindy.

Ovulation on cd30 would be fabbo for me! I did have that for a few cycles and now I have no clue whatsoever - cd49 and no EWCM yet (cripes - didn't realise I was that far into my cycle!). I'm starting agnes castii (aka vitex) tomorrow, I think I've got a pretty large dose from my homeopath (two tablets a day at opposite ends of the day, dose 30 - but 30 whats?). Again, my hormones are perfectly normal (I have had 2 seperate bts about 6 months ago now). Assuming I O'd when I thought I did last cycle I thought it was cd32, but no AF until cd56/1 (so a 55-day cycle) - that LP was a bit long! Ah well, just have to bd all the time when TTC, huzzah, as clearly my egg-catching abilities are in question.

I have been told by my local nurse (at the GPs) that a longer cycle isn't a problem, nor is an irregular one (just a little more frustrating when TTC), so not to worry. Doncha just love that advice?

(Just realised - if last AF was a lie I'd be over 12 weeks pg now with no knowledge of it... long cycles suck big time! Go see a homeopath about this!)

Macca root, is awesome it comes from the fertile mountains of the Andives, all herbal stores sell them, it has a very high success rate!!!

Thanks so much everyone, really appreciate all your replies. So, do you take Vit B6 all throught the cycle, or only on certain days...and what about the Vitex?

Well I took Vitex and B6 last cycle. 1 tablet of each every morning. My cycle is normally around 34-35 days, so i was quite shocked when AF came at day 29. Horrible witch, at first I thought it might have been implantation bleeding as it was about 8-9 dpo and I'd had none of the usual cramping, headaches etc i usually get before AF arrives. But unfortunately it was full blown AF which has been ongoing for 10 days. (I've seen the dr about this and she feels it's a hormonal imbalance)

I am thinking the Vitex and/or B6 might be responsible for the lack of cramps and headaches as both mention on the bottle they help with PMS. However, it didn't help with my Luteal Phase (i know this may take time) but, could it be the reason I got my period so early? I have never known my cycle to be so short. :confused:

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone on the forums. I am finding them so useful and a wealth of info. This is my first post so thanks! A couple of questions

Is green tea safe to drink during TTC and pregnancy? I am trying to cut back on coffee!

What are peoples thoughts regarding what multi vitamin is good pre-conception and when should I start taking one? There seems to be so many on the market promoting different benefits. What are people using? I will be TTC in December 2006.

Thanks

Hello Jenhome, hope you don't feel we've been ignoring your question. If you go to my posting "TMI warning - CM", there's some advice about green tea. I've been drinking it since :)
Good luck with your TTC journey.

Green tea as far as I know is fine while TTC.
It does lower you BP though, so you need to be careful in pregnancy.

Green Tea is fine during pregnancy. You can get decaf Green Tea as well. Green Tea has the effect in some women of increasing the amount and quality of fertile CM.

The thing you need to be sure of though is that you increase your intake of Folate if you DO drink Green Tea as studies have shown it to deplete supplies of folate in your body.

Be aware too that the "generic" dosage of folic acid is recommended as 400mcg (micrograms). This is only the correct amount in an ideal world. Folate is necessary to help the prevention of neural tube defects and can possibly also be beneficial for good implantation (according to recent studies).

Hope that helps.

Lisa

Hi everyone

Thanks for the advice. Its been really helpful and I will look into suggestions.

Jen

Anybody want to add?

Hi ladies,

If anyone had any info on Vitex I would love to hear about it. I went and bought some yesterday and started taking it today but would like to know if any one has had any sucess using it. I am currently taking a break from TTC for a few months and haven't had a period since we withdrew my FSH injections due to having too many follies and since I have PCOS I don't get a regular period. My longest cycle was 89 days and that was ended with Provera :wall: I was really hoping that this combined with some weight loss might see a return in AF although I am not holding my breath but I want to try all options. And if anyone has had any luck using anything else to bring on AF (other than Provera) can you please let me know also.

TIA

I used Vitex as I had a feeling my progesterone levels were low. I had come off the BCP and the cycles that followed had luteal phases where my temperature would drop about 5-6 days after ovulation. I read about Vitex on the net and started taking it at CD5. Instantly my temps levelled. I know people will say herbs take a while to work, all I can say is the day I started taking it AF petered out (normally would have it till CD7) and the days that followed I had level temps. After O my temp stayed high and I got pregnant on that cycle. So for me it worked. Would also like to add I started taking B6 later in that cycle as well.

Hey KT girl

Just wanted to say that I often think of you and are continuing to hope for your dreams to be fulfilled.

Wishing you all the best...you deserve it!

Hi Kt, I tried it for about 3 months and it did nothing for me. But I don't have pcos or the same probs as most people who've had success with it - my problems are more physical than hormonal.

I'd give it a try if I were you though, you never know, it might work. I've also heard taking the B6 with it is a good idea.

Thanks for your replies girls.

Willow- When is this wait over??? :pray: for you

Monnie- Thanks for thinking about me. I am so glad that everything is going well for you. I can't beleive you are 13 weeks now. Wow that went fast :bellyrubs: for you

Cherryrose- Glad that it worked for you. I am really hoping it will do something for me as well so I will keep my fingers crossed :crossfingers:

Maybe I should get some B6 as well. Hmm I am going to be full of vitamins soon, I have still been taking folate as well as a multi vitamin for women, now Vitex and possible B6. Oh well it is all good for you.

Thanks again ladies.

After coming off bcp, I took (liquid) Vitex for just over 3 months which was enough to get my cycle down from 35-45 days, to 30 days on the dot.

I do recommend it if your hormones are a bit out of wack.

I got all excited after reading these posts and did some surfing on Vitex - planning to buy some - then saw that it reduces the amount of FSH you produce. So since my problem is I'm NOT producing FSH, it's probably not suitable for me. *sigh*

Hi ladies,

Why is it again that we shouldn't drink green tea while TTC. I know it is not an issue for me at the moment as I am on a break from TTC but for when we start trying again I would like to know. Also is Camomile tea ok?

Hi Kate - thats weird.... I heard you SHOULD drink green tea while TTC, something to do with the antioxidents or something improving cervical fluid. I'm not an expert though. You hear so many things. I got Kaz Cooks Up the Duff book yesterday (I'm not UTD yet) and it has a whole section on herbs to avoid, essentail oils that cause miscarriage, and vitamins too. She says that Vitamin A is the worst... it can bring on AF apparently. Good luck hun

I think its OK to drink green tea in the lead up to a bfp but i know there is something about not drinking it afterwards...?? I think if you google green tea pregnancy you might find the answer..HTH

Lisa

I've heard green tea can boost your fertility - not that it helped us! I don't see why you wouldn't be able to drink camomile tea...

Thanks ladies. I will have to do some searches on google. That would be great if it did boost fertility. I need all the help I can get lol. I do take a little extra folate as well because I take the normal folate every day and also a womans multi that has folate in it as well.

Thanks again ;)

Mrs P, it still might be good to try it for a few months if your cycle isn't regular. Then stop when it is.

You can't take it while you're pregnant anyway so you can't take it forever :)

I told an aquantance that my husband and I were trying to get pg. She told me that she conceived while taking Black Cohosh and Dong Quai. Doctors had told her she would never have a baby but two months later she was pregnant. She also told four other friends about this combo and all of them conceived as well.

I looked it up to see why these herbs would help with fertility. I've heard about Black Cohosh helping women with menopause. Turns out these herbs give the body the building blocks it needs to make female hormones. So it's just assisting your body to do what it does normally.

Well, It worked for me too after taking the herbs for just one month. I just took a home pregnancy test last night and there were definately TWO lines :dance: . I've had one m/c so I'm really nervous. I breasts have been sore on and off and I haven't had any m/s. I should be 5 weeks. Any words of encouragement are welcome. :pray:

Firstly Congratulations on seeing those two magic lines. Well done. I am sending you heaps of :stickyvibesboy: and wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months.

I hadn't heard of this combo but I will definitely be going to get myself some of that. Can you just get this from the chemist or perhaps a health food place? I have just started taking Vitex and I also take a multi vitamin and folate. Does anyone know if it is ok to take all of these things together? Perhaps I should check with the chemist when I am in there.

From what I've read, the people who are really happy with Vitex are the ones with irregular or anovulatory cycles. It is probably worth a try if you are in that situation.

I took it because it was prescribed by my naturopath but I am still not sure why she decided I needed it. I was already ovulating and my cycles were fine ... 29 days or thereabouts. All it did in my case was interfere with ovulation and lengthen my cycle.

Just adding to the herbal rememdies thread.

Just combining with the herbal supplements thread.

Hiya...
I just found this thread... Great!
I am in my third month off BCP, which I took for 14 years with not a scare in sight....
I vagely remember normal cycles prior to BCP, but ut was so long ago...
Anyway, I am currenly Oing on CD22 and have a 10ish day LP, but with some spotting prior.
Anyway, I was thinking about taking vitex to try and bring O forward, and to lenghten my LP, but I have also read that it can prevent O.. Hmm...
Can anyone offer any advice? or should I see a Natropath and disucss?
Thanks!!!

Sorry Ruf, I have noooooo idea... I'm so new to all this! But i have a question for the girls who know about herbs and vitamins etc...

I though i remembered my natropath saying something about a vitamin that increased CM? Anyone know what that might be?

Well I've decided to go see a naturopath myself and find out all about the herbs etc mentioned in this thread. My appt is next week so hopefully she will have some good advice on *natural* ways to help AF return and my cycle become more normal! Fingers crossed...