What about homeopathic and herbal treatments?
Homeopathy is a complementary therapy. Homeopaths claim that like cures like. Essentially, homeopaths believe that if a substance causes a disease, then you can cure it by taking a very minute, diluted amount of the same substance.
Homeopathic treatments contain NO progesterone or testosterone, nor have they been demonstrated to cause any change in testosterone or progesterone levels.
The herb Chaste berry (Vitex agnus castus) does not contain progesterone, but it may indirectly help you produce progesterone over the course of several months by stimulating your pituitary gland to produce luteinizing hormone.
Chaste berry has unpleasant side effects, such as:
- itchy skin rash,
- nausea,
- dry mouth,
- digestive upset,
- hair loss,
- headaches,
- rapid heartbeat, and
- bleeding between periods.
Vitex is called chaste berry and monk’s pepper because it was used for centuries to reduce libido.
Do NOT use Chaste berry if you are:
- pregnant,
- breastfeeding,
- have endometriosis,
- fibroids,
- cancer of the ovaries or breast,
- schizophrenia, or
- Parkinson’s disease.
It is unsafe to take chaste berry in conjunction with these prescription drugs:
- Bromocriptine;
- cabergoline;
- carbidopa-levodopa;
- chlorpromazine;
- Clozaril®;
- Haldol®;
- Mirapex®;
- oral contraceptives;
- Reglan®;
- Requip®;
- Risperdal®;
- Seroquel®;
- thioridazine;
- trifluoperazine; and
- Zyprexa®.
The herbs tribulus, horny goat weed, Tongkat Ali Extract (Eurycoma longfolia) and Mucuna Pruriens Extract have not been shown in scientific testing to increase blood testosterone levels despite extravagant marketing claims.
Wild yam treatments sold in health food stores contain a steroid substrate called diosgenin, which is chemically similar to progesterone, but does not act like progesterone within the body. Humans cannot convert diosgenin into progesterone - a point often misrepresented by marketers of wild yam products. Wild yam treatments are totally ineffective as a progesterone supplement or for treating perimenopausal symptoms.
It is vital that you inform your doctor and pharmacist that you are taking any of these or other pharmaceutical or herbal preparations before starting any new medication to avoid adverse drug interactions.
