Anyone use Valerian?

J&K10910

I've always had a hard time sleeping.  Lately I've been using melatonin and while it does help me fall asleep, I'm still waking up between 430 and 630 (I work second shift, so this isn't ok).  A couple of the articles I read online said valerian can possibly improve quality of sleep (aka not just decreasing sleep latency) after being taken consistently for a few weeks.  Any personal experiences?

nda_roxybabe

Nope, sorry
T has awful insomnia and he takes melatonin but even still, he doesn't sleep well. I can't imagine.

J&K10910

Yeah, it's really nice to be able to fall asleep within about 15 minutes instead of tossing and turning for hours, but I'd really like to be able to get more than 3-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. 

nda_roxybabe

What if you take it again once you wake up?

[Deleted User]

Did I write this post? I think we're the same person.

I also use melatonin. It helps me fall asleep within 15-20 minutes but guaranteed I wake up at least 5 times throughout the night. I'm used to it, since I've had insomnia since I was a kid, but when it catches up to me it really sucks. I'm in that spot right now.

I've never heard of Valerian, but I might give it a try.

erins87

Yes, I use Valerian all the time.  It makes me drowsy about an hour after I take it and it helps me get a deeper sleep so I feel more rested.  I highly recommend to anyone who has issues sleeping.  Also it doesn't leave the drowsy feeling in the morning and I've never had a problem getting up to my alarm after taking.

Night_Sprite

Have you had a sleep study done, Jess?  Do you snore?  H used to have some insomnia before a cpap and now he is a happier man.

missy68

Neither work for me.

laurenclaire1386

I'm having some pretty intense insomnia lately. I'm on day 2 of very little sleep and what sleep I did have was terrible. Made a dr. appointment because I'd tried almost every OTC sleep med (except Valerian, which I never came across), herbal supplement, what have you and nothing helped. Dr. gave me Valium yesterday. He concluded that the insomnia was most likely a latent physical reaction to stress/anxiety. I don't feel particularly stressed, mentally, but he said the stress and anxiety can manifest itself phsyically rather than mentally. So I gave the Valium a shot last night, and although I was really drowsy, I still couldn't fall asleep, and when I did, I slept really poorly.

Sorry, that's not even related to your question. I'm frustrated with the insomnia.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-use-valerian?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:4c3c2776-fcf6-47ba-83d4-0452677a9fe5Post:0a9563e5-f89e-4964-b20b-bf5ecae479a7">Re: Anyone use Valerian?</a>:
[QUOTE]Have you had a sleep study done, Jess?  Do you snore?  H used to have some insomnia before a cpap and now he is a happier man.
Posted by Night_Sprite[/QUOTE]

No, none of the doctors I've seen seem to think my sleeping problems are "bad enough" to warrant it.  I've struggled with insomnia since high school, and I will often go weeks without sleeping more than 2-3 hours a night in 15 minute incriments, but it's not bad enough.  Hmpf.  But no, I don't snore. 

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-use-valerian?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:4c3c2776-fcf6-47ba-83d4-0452677a9fe5Post:b17a2547-6029-424f-a870-7078f1d41e52">Re: Anyone use Valerian?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm having some pretty intense insomnia lately. I'm on day 2 of very little sleep and what sleep I did have was terrible. Made a dr. appointment because I'd tried almost every OTC sleep med (except Valerian, which I never came across), herbal supplement, what have you and nothing helped. Dr. gave me Valium yesterday. He concluded that the insomnia was most likely a latent physical reaction to stress/anxiety. I don't feel particularly stressed, mentally, but he said the stress and anxiety can manifest itself phsyically rather than mentally. So I gave the Valium a shot last night, and although I was really drowsy, I still couldn't fall asleep, and when I did, I slept really poorly. Sorry, that's not even related to your question. I'm frustrated with the insomnia.
Posted by laurenclaire1386[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry LC :(  That's awful.  Did he give you some other ideas to try in addition to the Valium?  Like behavioral things you can change to maybe help?

missy68

I've had it for many, many years - like 15. I'll have short periods where it gets better, but we're talking like a few days at a time. I took Ambien for a long time, then the doctor switched me to temazepam, and I now use clonazepam, because mine is a GAD thing, most likely (according to my psychiatrist). It has helped tremendously.
Mine has always been way beyond herbal help.

J&K10910

Yeah, Missy, I have periods (usually no longer than a couple weeks) where I sleep "better"  (aka maybe for 3-4 hours solid and then I wake up every 15-30 minutes for the next few hours until I finally say "fuuck this" and just get up).  So they think that clearly my insomnia is related to stress and I should just deal with it and better manage my stress.  I wonder if they've considered that I might be better able to manage my stress if I got a full night's sleep.  Because not sleeping is stressful in itself.  But I don't have to tell you that.

missy68

I know!!  I can't even fall asleep, because my brain was on fast play, going in circles. And I'm not groggy the next day, unless I've had to add a benadryl because of allergy season. Stupid prairie grasses. Smell so good; trigger allergies so easy.

J&K10910

Benedryl and I are besties.

missy68

Oh yes. I buy the store brand, because I buy the bottles of 100 count. If J has to find it for me, I can't tell him benadryl, I say the allergy medication - open the bottle; the capsules are pink and white. There's a bottle in my purse, and one in the bathroom.

laurenclaire1386

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-use-valerian?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:4c3c2776-fcf6-47ba-83d4-0452677a9fe5Post:70e63e50-fe99-460c-b0ac-1274bba614b4">Re: Anyone use Valerian?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Anyone use Valerian? : I'm sorry LC :(  That's awful.  Did he give you some other ideas to try in addition to the Valium?  Like behavioral things you can change to maybe help?
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the sympathy :) He told me the usual stuff, no caffeine after 5 PM, breathe deep, turn your brain off (which I realized last night, even prescription meds can't make me do. It's not even important stuff I think about. Song lyrics get stuck in my head and I keep repeating them over and over. It's really weird), warm bath before bed, yadda yadda yadda. I'm slowly trying to incorporate all of that because most of it is stuff that I don't normally do. Old habits like showering in the morning, and drinking iced tea all night long die hard. I'm on month 5 of intermittent insomnia. I can go for a couple weeks and not have a serious problem, then it gets bad again.

J&K10910

I have a hard time turning my brain off too.  What helped me the most to keep my mind from racing is telling myself a story, or going over the plot of a movie or book in my head.  Nothing too exciting, just something that I have to concentrate on enough to keep the "oh my god I have so much to do tomorrow and I'll never have time to get it all done and oh shiit I forgot to take the laundry out of the dryer and did I lock the door and turn off the oven and oh my god i need to call that place back tomorrow..." thoughts away, but not so much that I get all wrapped up in it and THAT keeps me from falling asleep.