Could this be the miracle I've been looking for?

[tropicalsoul]

A few days ago I read a post claiming the virtues of Valerian Root for anxiety.  I do know of Valerian Root but have never tried it.  Yesterday I was in a local Wal-Mart and just happened by the section where the root is sold and saw the bottle was only $4.  I thought "What the heck.  It's the Wal-mart brand and if it does not work I'll only lose $4."  

If future results are anything like last night I have to say I've found the wonder drug.  The instructions say to take 3 tablets 30 min before bed but I forgot to take any.  About 1am this morning I woke up with heart palpatation...guess a mini anxiety attach.  Anyway....I remembered the root...went into the bathroom and took one pill.  Within 15 minutes I was sound asleep, the heart palps were gone and I woke up this morning feeling pretty good.  

I'm not ready just yet to give the root a gold star but I am anxiously awaiting for tonight when I can give it the full effort and see what really happens.  Anyone else have similar results with this stuff?

[Julie359]

Hey sorry i just wanted to ask, what do you think of Sedyrn?  That has Valerian, Passion Flower and something else.... supposedly very good for anxiety control, they dont seem to have it over here in England but there is an American web-site just for that product... a little bit expensive with shipping costs.  

Also thinking about it all, many people with anxiety have underlying depression dont they, maybe when my anxiety is calmed the depression takes the driving seat and thats why i feel so low.  Paxiled what area of the brain does valerian work on?  And is it safe to use when your taking a beta-blocker?

[Julie359]

Na im almost certain it was valerian in homopathic form, id stick the pill under my tongue and it would disolve....I remember feeling very calm after taking them, although i was taking a number of other homopathic pills as well, so who know's?  

Although i did buy some valerian tea and a herbal remedy called Kalms, which also has Gentian extract and Hops extract, fairly recently and i didnt clock it at first but after a while a pattern started to emerge.  Id take the pills or tea and the next day i'd be as miserable as sin, i mean seriously depressed.  I actually forgot of this side effect and took a couple of the pills a day or two ago and have felt really bad.  

Like you sassylassie i seem to react to almost everything im trying, which is the cruelist trick i feel, as you feel so utterly terrible so you turn to these things for relief and all you get is more problems.  In the end you dont know what is your orginal illness and what is the tablets or herbs.....makes life unbareable.

[Paxiled]

Valerian is an excellent relaxant, but any relaxant, being essentially what we used to call downers, can cause depression.  This is also true of pharmaceutical relaxants such as barbiturates and benzos and sleeping pills.  One just has to watch how one reacts to everything.  One thing about the valerian -- glad it worked, but for consistent results I wouldn't use a cheap herb from Walmart.or any other mainstream store.  Better to buy a more expensive and more reliable brand owned and operated by herbal specialists who don't just buy on the open market and don't have a clue what they're actually getting.  There are many good brands at your local health food store, and come in capsule, tea, or tincture form so you can find what works best for you.  Julie, I'm not sure valerian is used in homeopathy, and if it were it would have no active ingredients in it so it would be very unlikely to cause depression.  I suspect you took the herb, not the little homeopathic pills you put under your tongue.  Could be wrong, of course.

[SassyLassie]

Valerian root is one of the top herbs for anxiety, sleeplessness and other "anxiety" related issues. I am not surprised that it worked; I hope it continues to do so for you. Please keep us posted.

Julie, there are some folks that can not take Valerian, for some reason, it can make you too calm and bring on depression, everything works differently on different folks. I have a hard time with it myself, but, I am one of those unfortunate people that has a reverse reaction to most things, no fun.

[Julie359]

Well yeah i have mixed feelings with valerian, yes it does calm my anxiety and yes i do get a good night sleep but for some reason it makes my depression far far more intense.  I remember taking Valerian as a Homopathic remedie when i was pregnant eight yrs ago for anxiety and i after a couple of weeks of taking it i nearly slit my wrists.  But saying this, this is my reaction to it and for the majority of people this herb works wonders, so keep taking it if you feel the need, im sure you'll sleep like a baby.