Menu

Tulpie

by
(Australia )

Hi there,
Would love to get some advise on whether your body can regulate "man made unbalanced hormone levels?" meaning:

I took vitex for three weeks after suspecting I have low progestoron. Breastfed a year and got pregnant two months after stopping. Miscarriage at week 8.

I was VERY dumb to just take vitex 20 drops, without measuring official hormone levels (saliva) nor advise from any health care expert. Just took advise from a friend and took it for tree weeks.
Then I read it can cause blood clots so I stopped immediately. I am 40 now but had a stroke at 27, recovered in full but need to be careful w blood clotting. Not on medicine anymore for three years.

Then it started... Two weeks later, all around abdomen and hips at least 2-3kg.

Immediately read every single google page and all your forums.
Made a blood test appointment only to realise that it needs to be saliva so Tomorrow back for test (but it's day 24 of 29 cycle). No other symptoms, been emo since birth so that has prob nothing to do with it. Ok mood, little irritable, sleep well. Bowels not working well though. Results not till next week.

My question:
Do I have to get back on some hormone treatment or can I trust my body to go back to the levels where it was before vitex (as I don't think the deficiency was that much or radical). I basically caused the unbalance with takin vitex and stopping abrupt. Basically I don't think naturally my hormone levels were so unbalanced - I did it to my self (amd sooooooooo regret!!). Can my body regulate back to where it was before or do I need something for it?

The most radical part of fluid and fat increase has died down a bit but still going on, just not as radical (3kg in 2 week).

My diet is extremely healthy and exersize 6x per week since I was 17.

An other question: how long does it take to form a fat cell/ eg. How quick is it all going to be fat? I guess fluid is easy to loose once balanced but how muh of it is fat? Can you form fat in a few days and does that go on in my particular case or would it go less as my normal levels are more balanced then now? Period due on day 29, but no idea what will happen.

Wray Please can you advise or some one else?

Thanks heaps

Comments for Tulpie

Click here to add your own comments

Sep 02, 2012
 Tulpie
by: Wray

Hi Tulpie Vitex isn't man made, it's a herb. But it doesn't contain progesterone and won't increase your levels either. It's official name is Agnus castus, and it has been used for many problems which women suffer from, PMS, mastalgia, menstrual irregularities, fibrocystic breasts, increasing lactation and more, see here. In days gone by it was used by monks to reduce sexual desire, hence it's name 'chasteberry'. It can also reduce prolactin levels, prolactin is an inflammatory hormone and can cause tender breasts, see here, and luteal phase dysfunction, with subsequent problems in embryo implantation, see here. But because it has a mild oestrogenic action, levels of 17 beta-oestradiol can increase. One study found mild ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome occurred in the luteal phase, see here. If prolactin levels are high both progesterone and the amino acid tyrosine are very affective at suppressing it. Agnus castus doesn't contain progesterone. It's active constituents are the essential oils limonene, cineol, pinene, and sabinene. The iridoid glycosides aucubin, agnuside, and eurostide. The flavonoids casticin, kaempferol, quercetagetin, orientin, and isovitexin. And the diterpenes vitexilactone, rotundifuran, and 6-beta,7 beta-diacetoxy-13-hydroxy-labda-8,14-dien. It also contains several essential fatty acids, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. If your symptoms are not that bad, I'm sure just waiting it out will be the answer. The saliva tests will give you a clearer idea. Because it's a weak oestrogen, it could possibly account for your fluid retention. I've no idea how long a fat cell takes to form. The rapid weight gain from oestrogen is usually water retention, this doesn't take long to go. Take care Wray

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Progesterone faq.

Share this page:
Find this page helpful? Please tell others. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Search over 8,400 pages on this site...