Nature's Way Vitex; 400 mg; Non-GMO Project Verified; TRU-ID Certified; 100 Vegetarian Capsules, Pack of 2

WOW! I seriously cannot say enough about this herb! First off, I am an RN, and don't recommend people taking things without first researching it. I spent weeks researching this product, after finding out about it through an online forum about PCOS.I have always had irregular periods since I was 17. Before that, they were always right on time! What changed? Well, docs always told me I'd grow out of it, and cycles would regulate. Yeah, ok. Well, into my 20's and in nursing school, I started having a bad time with huge clots, periods that would last for weeks, no periods at all, spotting in between...you name it! Docs said i was stressed, and it was then working nights (post nursing school), that messed up my hormones. Yeah, ok. Birth control was ALWAYS their go-to treatment, and that was never something I really felt comforable taking.So the years ticked by. I still continued to have problems. Into my late 20's, I started experiencing cystic acne. I never had acne, ever, even as a teen. What changed? Well, I was still working nights, but moved out of state, used well water compared to town, got a little older, diet was better (eating mostly organic, less processed foods), and yet, acne kept worsening. Late winter 2014, my acne got progressively worse, and stayed that way till Fall. My face is completely scarred up, my periods continued to be irregular! Somethat HAD to change! I had been diagnosed with a heart condition and was taking meds, along with levo for my underactive thyroid.So, I finally started doing research to see if my acne could be caused by a hormonal imbalance or thyroid condition (even though my labs were normal). I stopped taking my levo (for 2 weeks-which I don't recommend without a doc approval), but I was so fed up! I had suffered with acne (with no remedy) for 2 years, with 9 mos of severe, scarring acne. No one wpuld listen to me. They kept brushing me off! I was told I could see a derm or endo. Yeah, ok. To be given a bandaid patch over my complaints to shut me up!? As an RN, I was so fed up with the medical community. So, I resolved to take matters into my own hands.I started researching my symptoms, wanting to get to the bottom of them. That's when I discovered Vitex. Herbs can be very dangerous if used in the wrong way, so I was nervous about taking it. But after research and reviews here on amazon, of women with similar complaints, I decided to give it a shot. Stopping my thyroid meds for 2 weeks did slightly help my acne. But it didn't completely go away. My doc switched me to synthroid, with no real changes. She recommended BCP for the acne and irregular cycles. Yeah, ok. But WHY am I having these problems?! I went in one day and specifically requested to be tested for PCOS. But, all my labs were normal. All my hormones were normal. What was wrong? I didn't want a patch. I wanted to get to the bottom of my issues. So, I took matters into my own hands and ordered Vitex.Wow. What a wonder drug! I hadn't had a period in over 2 mos. I read that Vitex takes a while to work. But within a week, I had a period! I started really keeping track, and keeping a journal of each day. 32 days later, another period! Then 32 days later, another! Then another! I mean EXACTLY 32 days! Not 31 or 33. Crazy, right?!My periods have been normal too. Not long, not scant, not heavy. But the normal light then heavier then lighter kind-you know, the ones we're supposed to have?! 2 weeks ago, I turned 31. I have been on this herb for 4 months. I still can't believe it. I have suffered with irregularities since I was a teen, and haven't had this many normal periods in 15 years! 15!!!Without further testing, I won't know for sure if i have PCOS. I also have experienced some pelvic pain with each period since summer. But that was also before starting vitex. I told my doc about it. She had never heard of it. She told me to keep taking it, if it was working for me. Yeah, ok. I would anyway, whether she approved or not. It works for me.I still suffer from cystic acne and the resulting scars. But, it has gotten better. Before, I'd get 4-6 new cysts every day! Now, none to maybe one. It has improved greatly.I am to see an endo for the period problems and acne. But, I may see a naturopath instead. I don't see as a medial professional, when something like this herb exists for women like me with female issues, that will within months, improve our quality of life greatly, then why don't we prescribe this?! Yes, vitex isn't the go-to cure all drug for EVERY woman. But it CAN help many of we sufferers. Why not give it a shot? I was the woman who wore a pantiliner or pad EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE for years, because I never knew when or if I would start my period. It would literally come out of nowhere. No symptoms, nothing. "When was your last period, ma'am?" "Well, uh, let me see... yesterday. Then 2 weeks ago. Then 3 weeks ago." Yep, that was me!So, my fellow female trouble sufferers, Vitex may or may not help you. However, do your own research. And DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT allow your doc to make you feel inferior for researching or using google. It is a wonderful resource. Do not a accept BCP as your only option, if you don't feel they are the right option for you. You know your body. They do not. BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! i hope this can help give you your life back. I will re-review when I've been on Vitex longer. Best of luck my fellow women! (P.S. I think it also helped me lose weight by helping to rebalance my hormones. An added bonus, but it is NOT a weight loss drug.)

PREGNANT! 32 and I have been trying to conceive for right at one year. I came off the birth control pill and didn't get a period. After 100+ days, my dr. finally put me on Provera to induce a period. We then found out that while I got the induced period, I wasn't ovulating naturally. Enter Clomid. I took four cycles (two at 50mg and two at 100mg), and only two even got me to ovulate (one of the 50mg, one of the 100mg)! I was monitored throughout (bloodwork, transvaginal ultrasounds), and they found out along the way that I have (thin) PCOS - the little ring of pearl cysts were visible. How do they treat PCOS? Clomid. There were horrible side effects from those, and I wasn't getting any closer. At one point, I even did 10 weeks of acupuncture (so expensive!). I got a consult at an RE who said she would treat the exact same way. I chose to go off medicated cycles when I finished on in November, so I could be sane for the holidays (no counting cycle days or making dr appts? Heaven!). So, once I went off, I researched PCOS and Vitex seemed like it could help regulate my hormones. I bought this in Dec 2014. Well, it must have worked like a charm, because about two months later, I am happily 5 weeks pregnant (my first pregnancy!)! I actually had asked my dr if they would let me do a monitored cycle (with transvag ultrasounds) on a non-Clomid cycle before going back on Clomid. So we could see my follicle developing - I had three ultrasounds in a week, finally ready for ovulation on cd20. They gave me a trigger shot to force ovulation (weren't sure if my body would do it and didn't want to miss the opportunity), so I would have ovulated on cd21. During that u/s, they noticed that my lining was a bit thin so I stayed on progesterone for 14 days. At that point, I still had a positive pregnancy test. I went in for beta blood tests (to make 100% sure it was increasing and not just leftover from trigger shot) and pregnancy was confirmed - and now I am staying on my progesterone until week 12 (since my lining was still thin, and it can help prevent me from miscarrying due to that).Before this, I was super healthy so there was little I could change in my everyday life - healthy weight, low blood pressure, not diabetic, low stress, eat very healthfully (cook 5 nights a week from scratch, lots of organics, esp. dairy, meats without added hormones), switched from plastic storage containers to glass, exercised, etc. My annual physicals and biometrics came back as A+. Given the fact that I had not ovulated ONCE on my own in a year, and that even with Clomid which is the go-to drug to induce ovulation, it only worked 50% of the time for me, I felt like I needed a MIRACLE. This seemed to be it! I took the pills for 16 days when I got them. The first week, I took AM and PM pills, and after day 7, dropped to just PM. After day 4, I got a period, and then I took them until around the time I thought I would ovulate if I was normal. I read conflicting opinions on taking Vitex after conception, so I personally opted to just take it up until around when I might ovulate, then not again until another period. I had ZERO side effects (except the positive test I've been waiting on!). I am now swearing by Vitex!!!Do your research, but might be worth a shot.Update 5/26/15 - Now 19 weeks, and I tell EVERYONE about this! I will definitely be using this first when we try for #2 :)Update 9/20/16 - My son turned 11mo old yesterday! I quit breastfeeding about a month ago since I have a large freezer supply (huge actually - enough to last him on breastmilk until he's 1). After I stopped milk-making, I went to my OB-GYN, because I had to pee every 11 seconds, and I was so uncomfortably bloated. I knew I wasn't pregnant, so I assumed I had some type of an infection. Well, she said it sounded like ovulation --- but I had never really FELT ovulation so that was so, so strange. The bloating subsided a day later, and 10 days after that, I got my period. MY FIRST NATURAL PERIOD. That's not an ideal luteal phase, so I plan to start Vitex in hopes to improve conditions. But, I wanted to update my review so any PCOS'ers in a similar situation can have hope that maybe Vitex can help them achieve pregancy... and that you may start getting some "normal" body functions happening after a baby, even if you didn't have them on your own before. It's really weird to be so excited about ovulation and periods, BUT we're hoping for Baby #2 soon :)