those of you who have had sucess taking saw palmetto, how much have you been taking? i just got the whole foods brand and it's about 180mg? per capsule, and i've been taking 2 a day.
can i ask a question on your thread? i thought about using this as well but on the bottle and in herb books it says not to be used by women. not the whole pregnant thing but just women in general. anyone know about this?
Saw Palmetto is primarily thought of as an herb for men. I believe it is recommended for men as an herb for prostate health. However, if you are female and suffer from excess androgens Saw Palmetto is perfectly safe for you to take. In studies, Saw Palmetto was considered to be just as effective if not more than the drugs that are commonly prescribed to treat women with excess androgens. However, if you are already pregnant or are trying to conceive you should not take Saw Palmetto because it does reduce testosterone which can have effects on the fetus.
I would just make sure that you do have excess androgen issues before taking.
I do suffer from excess androgens and have been taking Saw Palmetto Extract standardized from 85%-95% 160mg twice a day which is 320mg total per day since Christmas. I have significanly decreased the acne issues I was having and the facial hair is growing at a slower pace. It is coming back lighter and more fine after it has been plucked. I have been told that it can take up to 6 months before improvement with hair loss can be detected. I am now losing very little hair on a daily basis and am patiently/impatiently waiting to see more hair re-growth appear.
elizabeth, thank you for the information! and so good to know that it's working for you. i have high dhea-s and high androgens (w/acne, hirsuitism and i've had significant hair loss in the past, although i don't lately) and don't want to go on medication if i don't have to. how long have you been taking sp?
in one of my many herb books at home, it mentions that saw palmetto has been used in the past for women's health as well, and i believe it said it was used as a "uterine tonic"...so, while it's typically used for men these days, there's also a history of using it for women. (i need to look for that book again and maybe post that information here).
in my herbal book, i mentioned earlier, it says that "saw palmetto berry may be used by women to reduce an excess of secondary male homrones. although it is all too often considered to be "a man's herb", saw palmetto was traditionally used as a uterine and vaginal tonic, as we as to tonify ovaries and regular ovarian functions."
i just wanted to do a quick update and say that i think this is working for me! just this weekend i started noticing a significant slow down in my facial hair growth!! i'm so excited, because i've been plucking for 15 years and ANY decrease is a step in the right direction. i mean, i still have to pluck, but they're not growing out as fast...i'm hoping that over time, maybe they'll thin out a little, too? whatever, any progress is fine with me!
i'm taking the whole foods brand saw palmetto, 2 softgels a day, as well as drinking spearmint tea (you can see what i'm taking in my signature)--i'd say i've been taking SP for about 3 weeks & doing the tea for about 6 weeks.
saw palmetto 
