RE: vitex for teenage girl

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

before resorting to Vitex, I would check out her zinc status and if possible her

magnesium levels (a proper hair mineral test - not biometric analysis would

probably be the easiest and cheapest way of testing this).  I would not be

surprised if some zinc citrate on its own or accompanied by some magnesium

citrate and possibly some B-complex made a significant difference.  If these

minerals and vits are deficient, then Vitex will just be a sticking plaster and

can cause a rebound reaction when stopped, as the under-lying deficiency has not

been dealt with.  Zinc (e.g. Zinc oxide) based preparations can also be

excellent topically, they can be a bit 'pasty' so best to apply at night

(Potters used to do a very nice one also containing phytolacca).

Gursewa Harrad.

P.S. the companies I use for hair tests are BioMed International - 01342 322854

 and   Mineral Check - 01622 850500 (good company, but I find the graph

interpretation reports a bit OTT - edit before giving to the patient!).  I have

tested both companies using the same patient at the same time and the results

were surprisingly consistant! 

 

Hello everyone. Would appreciate people's thoughts on the appropriateness of

giving Vitex to a 15 year old girl. She has acne which has improved over the

course of the 11 months that I've been treating her. She has slowly reduced the

Minocycline that she has been taking for 14 months (Lymocycline before that for

6months) to 3 per week. The acne is still better now than when she first came to

see me, and then she was taking the Minocycline daily - but the condition has

now got a bit stuck, with some whiteheads and spots under the skin especially in

the week preceding her period. She also has a covering of tiny red papules over

her forehead and cheeks that seem " unbudgeable " . She started her period 18

months ago and it is generally a reg 28 day cycle unless she's stressed. She's

got her GCSE mocks next week and her period is 2 weeks late (she assures me and

her Mum that she is definately NOT pregnant). She is bright and pushes herself

very hard at school, I think a lot of this is to " keep up " with her older

sister. She has a lovely family and there is no pressure there for her to

" perform " . She's recently started to have almost daily headaches, has visited

the optician and her vision is perfect, both myself and her GP think these are

tension headaches exacerbated by too long stints at the computer. The small

patches of pruritic, dry ezcema that have occured intermittently since she was a

baby, have cleared up since taking the herbs.

Her diet is vastly improved now and she eats plenty of fruit and veg, drinks

lots of water and largely avoids junk food. Was eating mainly Quorn as her

protein when she first came to see me - has stopped this and now eats a range of

good quality proteins.

We've talked about the importance of pacing her revision, ensuring adequate

rest, having breaks from the computer, having " down time " from revision.

Her current Rx from me is

Echinacea angustifolia and purpurea blend 30

Calendula 25% 15

Iris versicolor 15

Stachys 15

Carduus 15

Arctium 5

Glycyrrhiza 1:1 5

Phytolacca 2 5ml bid ex

aq ac

She also takes one Lamberts Premtis multi vit and min daily. This supplement

includes chromium which I understand can improve acne.

Fish oil capsules

Daily pro biotic supplement

What do people think about giving her Vitex? I've found it really helpful in

older women suffering from acne that worsens pre-menstrually. But I've always

been very cautious about using it in teenagers especially when they haven't been

menstruating for very long. Am I being unnecessarily cautious?

Regards

Sue Salmon

Huddersfield

[Guest guest]

The stress would explain those higher nutritional requirements......

On the hormonal balance lines...................juliette de bairicli*

Levy recommends Cardus benedictus (Cnicus these days I think?) to

smooth the passage to adulthood for both genders........ would have

to check if it helps skin, but I bet it does........

Sally O

*( " Ilustrated herbal handbook " ...... must shake the dust off it, i

think.....very experienced, grass roots, eclectic (with a small e)

herbalist)

> Thank you Gursewa and Henriette for your advice. The Premtis multi

> that she takes contains 100mg of Magnesium, 7.5mg of Zinc and all

> the B's - she has been taking this for a number of months. Would

> you recommend separate tablets of these? Her diet is now very good

> (apart from a holiday in the states over the summer when she admits

> her diet lapsed) - she rarely eats junk. Stress is a big factor and

> there is a family history of acne - her Mother had it as a teen and

> then in later life, though she's controlled it with diet. She's not

> on the pill.

> Thanks again

> Sue Salmon

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