[isobasic]

Fenugreek seems to work well for me, but it makes me smell like curry and makes me a bit dizzy, so I switched to goat's rue. I am staying away from anything directly 'oestrogenic' as they just seem to make my tummy fat and boobs shrink. Now goat's rue has become very expensive for me to obtain, so I'm looking into alternatives. I've come across shatavari (and have some at home) and was wondering if it works in a similar manner to the aforementioned (which, I believe, is by sensitising the body to pre-existing hormones and increasing prolactin, without adding more oestrogens). Any other substitute ideas welcome!

[surferjoe2007]

Fenugreek seems to work well for me, but it makes me smell like curry and makes me a bit dizzy, so I switched to goat's rue. I am staying away from anything directly 'oestrogenic' as they just seem to make my tummy fat and boobs shrink. Now goat's rue has become very expensive for me to obtain, so I'm looking into alternatives. I've come across shatavari (and have some at home) and was wondering if it works in a similar manner to the aforementioned (which, I believe, is by sensitising the body to pre-existing hormones and increasing prolactin, without adding more oestrogens). Any other substitute ideas welcome!

Yeup, but it's also expensive unless you found a good deal somewhere. You can get a decent deal on a strong extract though bc it is equal to a lot. I use shatavari extract in my sig stuff to avoid the smell. Another option is wild yam. Both it and fenugreek have a lot of diosgenin. All of these work more or less as you said.

The dizziness could be from increased insulin sensitivity and resulting low blood sugar which can also happen with goat's rue and shatavari. Probably WY too but I haven't read any examples. You may not notice it with GR bc it is weaker than FG so you effectively lowered your dose. Try consuming sugar to fix it short term. In the long term get more natural B vitamins: whole grains, bran, brewer's yeast, etc. You may want to limit these kinds of herbs for now too.

[AnnieBL]

Fenugreek seems to work well for me, but it makes me smell like curry and makes me a bit dizzy, so I switched to goat's rue. I am staying away from anything directly 'oestrogenic' as they just seem to make my tummy fat and boobs shrink. Now goat's rue has become very expensive for me to obtain, so I'm looking into alternatives. I've come across shatavari (and have some at home) and was wondering if it works in a similar manner to the aforementioned (which, I believe, is by sensitising the body to pre-existing hormones and increasing prolactin, without adding more oestrogens). Any other substitute ideas welcome!

Yeup, but it's also expensive unless you found a good deal somewhere. You can get a decent deal on a strong extract though bc it is equal to a lot. I use shatavari extract in my sig stuff to avoid the smell. Another option is wild yam. Both it and fenugreek have a lot of diosgenin. All of these work more or less as you said.

The dizziness could be from increased insulin sensitivity and resulting low blood sugar which can also happen with goat's rue and shatavari. Probably WY too but I haven't read any examples. You may not notice it with GR bc it is weaker than FG so you effectively lowered your dose. Try consuming sugar to fix it short term. In the long term get more natural B vitamins: whole grains, bran, brewer's yeast, etc. You may want to limit these kinds of herbs for now too.

I get my shatavari from Hollow Reed Holistic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The powdered root is CAD$30 per pound (plus shipping). Their web site is at hollowreedholistic.ca, and offers a number of herbals in bulk powder form.

[surferjoe2007]

Fenugreek seems to work well for me, but it makes me smell like curry and makes me a bit dizzy, so I switched to goat's rue. I am staying away from anything directly 'oestrogenic' as they just seem to make my tummy fat and boobs shrink. Now goat's rue has become very expensive for me to obtain, so I'm looking into alternatives. I've come across shatavari (and have some at home) and was wondering if it works in a similar manner to the aforementioned (which, I believe, is by sensitising the body to pre-existing hormones and increasing prolactin, without adding more oestrogens). Any other substitute ideas welcome!

Yeup, but it's also expensive unless you found a good deal somewhere. You can get a decent deal on a strong extract though bc it is equal to a lot. I use shatavari extract in my sig stuff to avoid the smell. Another option is wild yam. Both it and fenugreek have a lot of diosgenin. All of these work more or less as you said.

The dizziness could be from increased insulin sensitivity and resulting low blood sugar which can also happen with goat's rue and shatavari. Probably WY too but I haven't read any examples. You may not notice it with GR bc it is weaker than FG so you effectively lowered your dose. Try consuming sugar to fix it short term. In the long term get more natural B vitamins: whole grains, bran, brewer's yeast, etc. You may want to limit these kinds of herbs for now too.

I get my shatavari from Hollow Reed Holistic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The powdered root is CAD$30 per pound (plus shipping). Their web site is at hollowreedholistic.ca, and offers a number of herbals in bulk powder form.

Oh mountainroseherbs.com has it for $11/lb. but their fenugreek is $6/lb. I suppose it is relative. Be sure to get powdered shatavari not cut or you'll be stuck with wood chips. Their shipping is about $10.

[isobasic]

Awesome , thanks guys! Swanson's shatavari is also quite cheap on amazon. And you're sure it isn't going to add oestrogen? It seems my boobs shrink when I add more.

[isobasic]

Ooh, and I'm on an SNRI - one of the reasons I never took it before is I thought it might interfere with dopamine-serotonin-noradrenaline, was this in error?

[Candace]

Awesome , thanks guys! Swanson's shatavari is also quite cheap on amazon. And you're sure it isn't going to add oestrogen? It seems my boobs shrink when I add more.

It's a phytoestrogen, so it might not be what you're looking for.

[surferjoe2007]

Awesome , thanks guys! Swanson's shatavari is also quite cheap on amazon. And you're sure it isn't going to add oestrogen? It seems my boobs shrink when I add more.

As you said any such effect is actually from increased estrogen sensitivity. Shrinking from estrogen means you probably need more progesterone, and it increases sensitivity to that too. Overall it is nice for supporting hormone balance.

Fenugreek is supposed to be nice for depression and so I imagine shatavari would be too. If anything I would worry about overdose when combining either with drugs. Introduce either gradually and get your SSRI dose checked now and then.

Likewise 7g noni or 1800 mg St John 's Wort extract is very nice for serotonin support but use a tiny bit at first and get your SSRI dosage checked all the time. SJW may lower estrogen too. I would be very careful with all of these herbs and with FG or GR because of your medication. Add only a little at a time. B6 is nice too or better yet natural B6 like bran bc it comes with misc nutrients.

5-HTP is also listed among SSRI drug interactions because it converts into serotonin and so could lead to too much. So they tell you to avoid it when on an SSRI. This one blew my mind when I first read it. Isn't that exactly what you want, to get real serotonin and finally get off if the drugs???? Sometimes "interaction" has a funny definition. Do be careful when using an SSRI with anything that provides serotonin though to not get too much of both at once.

[isobasic]

Awesome , thanks guys! Swanson's shatavari is also quite cheap on amazon. And you're sure it isn't going to add oestrogen? It seems my boobs shrink when I add more.

As you said any such effect is actually from increased estrogen sensitivity. Shrinking from estrogen means you probably need more progesterone, and it increases sensitivity to that too. Overall it is nice for supporting hormone balance.

Fenugreek is supposed to be nice for depression and so I imagine shatavari would be too. If anything I would worry about overdose when combining either with drugs. Introduce either gradually and get your SSRI dose checked now and then.

Likewise 7g noni or 1800 mg St John 's Wort extract is very nice for serotonin support but use a tiny bit at first and get your SSRI dosage checked all the time. SJW may lower estrogen too. I would be very careful with all of these herbs and with FG or GR because of your medication. Add only a little at a time. B6 is nice too or better yet natural B6 like bran bc it comes with misc nutrients.

5-HTP is also listed among SSRI drug interactions because it converts into serotonin and so could lead to too much. So they tell you to avoid it when on an SSRI. This one blew my mind when I first read it. Isn't that exactly what you want, to get real serotonin and finally get off if the drugs???? Sometimes "interaction" has a funny definition. Do be careful when using an SSRI with anything that provides serotonin though to not get too much of both at once.

I'm on SNRI, not SSRI, so it involves both serotonin and norephineprine (and at high doses dopamine - don't know if mine's high enough for that though). I'm not sure if I've noticed any problems with FG or GR in terms of my meds - I've been taking both together for quite a while and I've found the meds to be reasonably helpful - I'm not 'cured' after 8 months but I am able to function much better than I was before. Fenugreek may have increased my anxiety but it may have been the low-blood sugar thing. they seem to go together for me.


Thanks for the insight - I'm on combined birth control pill so would have thought I'm getting my progesterone-y dose, right? I have the same problems when on nothing but pm / pc and pm. It sounds worth a try but I'm still a little confused and hesitant :L

[surferjoe2007]

I think you can add in anything as long as you do it very gradually and likewise be careful about the drug dosages. Because of the combination. I don't think shatavari will be much different from fenugreek. Maybe a little more concentrated.

Most combined birth control has more estrogen than progestin (imitation progesterone). A little more progesterone could be nice to complement the estrogen. Enough progesterone could eventually allow you to use estrogenic herbs. They are like pushing on the left wheel and the right wheel when you are trying to go forward.