Valerian root

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So my question is: Is it harmful/addictive?

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I take one 450mg capsule before bed each night. I’ve had lifelong sleep issues and it probably helps. But I would have no problem not taking it, and since I’m no longer drinking, many of my sleep problems have corrected.

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I use it as needed. It doesn’t really make me feel any kind of way aside from sleepy. I take it if needed and most of the time I don’t anymore. I don’t really have a drug of choice. I have issues with all substances. I stay away from them all. I haven’t had any issues with this at all. I’ve been using it for over a year now. I used to use melatonin but I didnt like the groggy feeling I felt the morning after. I don’t get that with valerian root

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It definitely isn’t harmful or addictive. I use it for sleep and sometimes when my anxiety gets to be too much. There is no grogginess in the morning.

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Welcome @Celeste_Tozier

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My psychiatrist won’t let me take it because it acts on the brain like a benzo. Much less powerful, but I don’t need to be taking something similar to one of my drugs of choice.

Also, don’t take with antidepressants. Valerian effects serotonin.

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Interesting. I just Googled the science on that.
It binds to a different part of the GABA-A receptor than benzos, but it’s close. Kava also binds to the same subunit on the receptor as valerian.

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I had heard different things about Valerian, so I just asked the doc. The thing that I (still) struggle with when it comes to being sober from the benzos, and similarly alcohol, is the effect of taking the edge off. Not a little edge, a larger edge. I sometimes refuse to take my Vistaril for sleep because I don’t want that longing for something better. In the end, I need sleep, and Vistaril doesn’t feel anything like benzos or booze. It doesn’t leave me craving anything stronger.

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This goes double for St. John’s wort. I worry about people on antidepressants who are considering taking it, not knowing about the interaction.

Back to valerian, another part of the issue is that we don’t understand all its mechanisms of action. We kinda know how it acts on GABA receptors, but not all the rest of it. So using it alongside anything with a sedative or CNS depressant effect is warned against.

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Thanks for the update, I’ve been taking x1 sleeping tablet containing Valerian root and take 100mg x1 sertraline/zoloft daily also, so think will stop it asap after looking further into it