Women's Health Vitamins: Part 1

With women’s health issues, you can have so many different symptoms and issues that it can seem impossible to tackle them all and quickly become overwhelming.

So many different things wrong, how can you focus on all of it at once? By taking one bite from the elephant at a time. Eventually, you'll be able to incorporate everything you need to into your busy life, to be healthy. For me, I've lumped what I need to do into 3 categories, vitamins, healthy eating, and exercise. I currently take 12 capsules a day...which for anyone that knows how difficult it is for me to swallow pills (like 2-5 minutes per pill), this is a real challenge every morning haha.

We are working on consistently eating healthier, and working out daily...that will probably be the last beast I conquer.

For those interested in the end result of much trial and error of which vitamins to take, based on hundreds of hours of research and multiple doctor/fertility specialists' opinions, read on. :)

Disclaimer: what I've found to work with me may not work with your body and symptoms. It's important to research what works for your specific body.

So, without further ado, here's the ebb and flow of vitamins/supplements/medications I've had to take over the past few years and what I've found to work. First, the supplements that are helpful and or the most popular, but I am no longer taking for various reasons:

Metformin, 750 mg, helps with PCOS: 

I was prescribed this anti-diabetic medication in September 2018 to combat insulin resistance and gaining over 40 lbs in a year, when I was also exercising more than I ever had before, but yet everything was still turning into fat. Metformin can lower your blood sugar levels by improving the way your body processes insulin, lower cholesterol, lower blood fat levels, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also can improve your rate of ovulation, and help decrease the chance of miscarriage.

Side effects can include: headaches, unusual muscle pain, temperature changes, nausea or vomiting, low blood sugar, slow or irregular heart rate, gas, diarrhea, or constipation (which can change within the day, or even the hour), stomach pain, heartburn, or bloating. So, basically feeling like you are pregnant and without the benefits of actually growing and having a child. I would highly recommend taking the Extended Release form of the medication since the side effects can be less severe with that version.

For me though, the side effects, which should only last 2 weeks continued the entire time, the nearly 2 years, that I was taking it, but since levels insulin and hemoglobin levels had improved through other vitamins, I stopped taking it. That being said, since it is helping regulate insulin levels, which can get pretty serious depending on how severe your diabetes is, be very careful just stopping cold turkey without a doctor there to monitor your blood levels.

Vitex (Vitex Agnus-Castus) 400mg, helps with general women’s health:

This vitamin, also called Chasteberry, is highly recommended to help with a variety of women’s health issues. It is commonly used to treat premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and symptoms of PMS like constipation, irritability, depressed mood, migraines, breast pain and tenderness, cravings, menstrual disorders, infertility, acne, and menopause. It can also increase progesterone levels, help reduce uterine cysts, mood swings, and help stabilize the endocrine system. Vitex works extremely if you have high estrogen or estrogen dominance, like with PCOS or Endometriosis, since it balances your hormones and lowers your estrogen levels. If you already have low estrogen, (which can be one of the causes of not getting periods, more on that in the future), you do NOT want to take Vitex, since it lowers estrogen.

Side effects can include: nausea, upset stomach, mild skin rash, increased acne, headache, and heavy menstrual flow. If you are pregnant or nursing or currently on birth control, you should avoid taking Vitex.

I had a lot of success taking Vitex and it helped me regulate periods. I stopped taking it a few months ago though since you are not supposed to take it at the same time as fertility drugs, like Letrozole or Clomid, since they cancel each other out. However, I would highly recommend taking Vitex, if you have high estrogen, want to regulate your cycles and hormone levels, are not currently pregnant or nursing, and haven’t reached the point of taking fertility/ovulation drugs. This supplement really does help balance your hormone levels and regulate your cycles if you fit the criteria to take it :)

If you've taken Metformin or Vitex before, what has been your experience with it? :)

If you want to read more women's health posts like this, head on over to my new Facebook group: Warrior Women -Empowering women and overcoming health issues together! :)