Have been taking the saw p. for 9 weeks after getting off of hormonal birth control pills (i was on it for 9 months) at the end of may along with zinc with copper and omega 3's. I had to switch stuff up because breakouts were not good, especially week 2 and 3 before my period. I tried evening primrose oil for a few days, as I had used it before BCP's, but I got a cyst on my upper cheek each day i took it, where i don't get them ever! and don't usually get big cysts. as soon as i stopped it cleared up.
After researching and frustration it seemed after quitting hormonal BCP vitex worked well for many women because progesterone is all messed up and low from synthetic hormones. so i bought nature's way and have been taking for just a week. I have gotten my period and acne calmed down a bit, but that could be because when i start my period things calm down (the only time it has since i stopped BCP). I also started taking acidophilus ( a gnc probiotic, expensive but i know its a good one), for about 5 or 6 days and I am more regular bowel movement wise already lol. I also stopped taking omega 3s because i already eat tuna and salmon weekly and i don't think it was helping at all. I started taking regular zinc without the copper a week ago, as this seemed to work better in the beginning,i just switched to one with copper because i was told it was good for me, but it made things worse acne wise. didn't seem to keep pimples away as well.
My question is that i want to keep taking saw p. and don't want to just stop. i can always wean off it i notice my acne getting better from vitex, but i at least want to finish the bottle. is it okay to take vitex and saw p. together, or will it cancel each other out/not give vitex good results? anybody use both together with success?
I started vitex after stopping birth control about six months ago. My skin never went totally bananas after quitting the pill so I believe it helped. Now (after 6 months off of it) my skin has gotten worse again. I just started saw palmetto 2 days ago and I am also still taking vitex. I read somewhere that it is okay to take them together because they do different things. Vitex balances progesterone-estrogen and sp blocks DHT(testosterone). But I'm no doctor so I don't know for sure.
hmmm good info. I think I'll keep taking both for the time being and eventually wean off of saw palmetto. I know the vitex is helping very well at this point and i've only been on it for about 2 weeks. The saw palmetto didn't seem to be helping after 8 weeks, but maybe it took more time for me to see, or in combo with vitex it helped? who knows.
P.S lifesnotfair, have you tried taking zinc at all along with your vitex? I also am taking a probiotic from gnc that is really good that is making me regular and i feel better from it. it has acidophilus, which is good for cleaning out your system. all medications need to be flushed by the liver i researched and birth control is hard on the liver and makes it hard to detox and creates a lot of fatty deposits in the liver, and when it can't detox it goes to the second largest organ in your body, your skin! so flushing out liver is good. I like to drink a lot of water, and at dinner i slice a few lemons and put them in my water, makes it taste good and helpful for the liver to flush out in a natural and healthy way. I think vitex and the acidophilus, along with drinking lots of water, especially with lemon juice in it, has really helped my skin, and i feel so great, lots of energy, happy, etc. I was always tired on BCP and bloated and had no energy so this is much better. My skin has a ways to go, but its getting better, Note that I am also using dan's regimen, which makes me somewhat dry but helps as well (i've only been on it for 2 weeks so we will see)
What dose of sp are you taking? A lot of the people that said it helped seemed to be taking a lot of it like 1000-2000 mg when the bottle only says to take 320mg. I don't know how safe it is to take that much but maybe yo could try upping your dose?
If birth control cleared you up I think vitex should help because it regulates the same hormones that bc has in it (progesterone and estrogen). If you don't have problem with androgens (mainly testosterone) then saw palmetto won't work.
Yes I've been taking zinc for years now but i never noticed any effect on my skin.. That's true liver detox might be a good idea especially after all the acne medications we have tried..
I take 320 on the bottle it is gnc brand. Yeah I've heard many people saying higher doses work better but I am hesitant putting high amounts in my body unless absoutely necessary. I dont want to solve one problem just to possibly create another, ya know? But the probiotic plus vitex and dan's bp have been working really well so far so I will continue with this. I am still going to take the saw p until it is gone though, I haven't noticed any adverse effects as of yet.
Thanks that makes me feel better, I probably could have taken larger doses early on and had better results, but the vitex is very nice, and working well enough that I won't change anything at this time. I'm always so worried about side effects lol, because I'm so sensitive to everything! FML. P.S. the probiotic is continuing to work well, and I notice if I don't take it I feel worse/I don't look as glowy/healthy, probably because of flushing out my system of bad stuff. Love it! Hope its not bad to take it longterm because I plan to take it for awhile.
I'm glad it's working for you! I know I had bad side effects on every medication that doctors put me on. With the herbs I've had none or they've been very mild and gone away within a few weeks.
Probiotics are really good for you and not just for acne! all they do is increase the good bacteria in your body and that is a good thing! No harm in taking it long term 
