Posted by BekkaH on July 19, 2002, at 20:16:45
In reply to Re: PMS - Chasteberry/Vitex Agnus Castus, posted by katekite on July 18, 2002, at 19:46:39
> I'm curious if you don't mind what your major symptoms of pms are? Like I'm curious if any particular symptoms are more common to the people who respond to ssris or estrogen or say, chasteberry.
>
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Hi Kate,Well, some months the irritability and tension are worse, and some months the fatigue and depression are worse. This month I have both sets of symptoms. I don't do well on ssri's in general, and they do not help my pms either. If anything, ssri's severely exacerbate my depression and fatigue. I haven't tried estrogen yet. I understand that, for some women, estrogen is not the problem as much as the estrogen:progesterone ratio (i.e., there isn't enough progesterone, so the estrogen is unopposed). In addition to lowering prolactin levels, apparently chasteberry can stimulate the production of more LH (luteinizing hormone), which, in turn, can stimulate the production of more progesterone; however, I think you'd probably have to take chasteberry for a good part of the month and not just around your period.
Yes, this is so complicated, and just as with antidepressants, PMS doesn't seem to have a "one size fits all" treatment.
Bekka
poster:BekkaH
thread:112820
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020718/msgs/112954.html