I don't normally do this, but I consider this a public service announcement.
I really wish people in this circle would quit touting agnus castus. This evil weed made me annovulatory (for the first time in many years) and caused a 49 day cycle that only ended due to 10 days of high dose progesterone pills to bring on menses. It did the same to two of my friends.
My ob/gyn doctor STRONGLY recommends against it -- she says it has made many of her patients annovulatory and is particularly bad for anyone with PCOS because it increases LH, which is already elevated in PCOS.
I see women in this circle continuing to take it and wondering why they have problems. The people on this site who tout it are doing many women a dissservice.
Anyone who ovulates normally should not be taking this herb because it will more than likely screw up your cycle.
Of course, if you don't O on your own, you have nothing to lose.
I didn't mean to alarm anyone. If you already take vitex and it works for you, then I wouldn't stop it just because some others have had bad effects.
I meant to draw attention to the fact that it doesn't work for everyone and it's wrong for herbalists (or even some docs) to recommend it as a panacea for infertility, when we really don't know how women will react to it.
As far as I'm concerned, it should come with a warning label. However, if you've been tested and know you have HIGH estrogen and normal or low LH and don't ovulate, then it just might work for you and might be worth a try. From my research, these are the types of women it works for.
It shouldn't be taken by women with PCOS, low estrogen, elevated LH or anyone on ANY type of infertility med, as it counteracts the effects of fertility meds.