Is valerian safe with antidepressants?
Interactions. If you take any medicines regularly, talk to your doctor before you start using valerian supplements. Valerian could interact with some sedatives, narcotics, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medicines. Extreme caution should be used if combining valerian with any medications that have sedative effects.
What should you not take with valerian root?
Don’t combine valerian root with alcohol, other sleep aids, or antidepressants. Also avoid combining it with sedative drugs, such as barbiturates (e.g., phenobarbital, secobarbital) and benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax, Valium, Ativan). Valerian root also has a sedative effect, and the effect can be addictive.
What medications does valerian interact with?
Taking valerian along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness. Some of these sedative medications include alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam (Versed), temazepam (Restoril), triazolam (Halcion), and others.
What does Valerian do to your body?
One is that valerian increases the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. As a neurotransmitter, GABA inhibits unwanted nervous system activity. Studies have shown that increased levels of GABA in the brain lead to falling asleep faster and experiencing better sleep.
Is Valerian good for sleep?
Valerian is an herb that may help improve sleep, promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. It appears to be safe and non-habit forming when taken at the recommended dosage. In some cases, it may be able to replace benzodiazepines and similar drugs.
Does Valerian cause depression?
Valerian root should not be taken in high doses or in tandem with substances used for similar reasons, such as sedatives or sleep aids. Using this herb with some of these substances may cause excessive sleepiness or worsen depression.
Is valerian safe to use long term?
Valerian is classified by the FDA as “generally regarded as safe,” and some researchers refer to valerian as “quite safe.” Long-term use may result in insomnia. Slight reductions in concentration and ability to perform complicated thinking may occur for few hours after taking valerian.
Does Valerian cause withdrawal symptoms?
Informally called “nature’s valium” because of its reputed sedative effects, valerian appears to act on the same brain receptors as valium, according to animal studies conducted in Germany and the U.S. Theoretically, then, it can lead to similar withdrawal symptoms, such as elevated heart rate, unstable blood pressure.
Can valerian be harmful?
Although valerian is thought to be fairly safe, side effects such as headache, dizziness, stomach problems or sleeplessness may occur. Valerian may not be safe if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding.
Is Valerian safe for heart patients?
While the effects of valerian in people with heart rhythm disorders hasn’t been evaluated, the supplement has been shown to slow the heart rate in some people and may cause certain abnormal rhythms. For this reason, you should be very cautious about taking valerian if you have an abnormal heart rhythm.
Can you just stop taking valerian root?
This herbal product should not be used for more than 4 weeks. To reduce the chance of possible side effects when stopping extended use of valerian, do not suddenly stop taking it. Your dose may need to be gradually decreased over 1 to 2 weeks before stopping completely.
Does valerian root increase estrogen?
Valerian is also thought to have estrogenic activities (17) (28), but this was not observed in vitro (29).
Why can’t you take valerian root and melatonin together?
Interactions between your drugs No interactions were found between melatonin and Valerian Root. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist.
Is valerian root good for anxiety?
People use valerian to relieve anxiety, depression, and poor sleep, and also to ease menstrual and stomach cramps. Valerian has a mild calming effect that does not usually result in sleepiness the next day.