Kathryn Report post Posted May 3, 2009 My daughter is experiencing anxious and intrusive thoughts at the moment and has decided to self medicate with valerian. After the first night she said it made her feel physically tired but her mind was just as agitated so overall she felt worse Does anyone know what the optimum dose is and does it take a while for the effects to kick in? She's only tried it for a couple of nights - should she persevere? Thanks for any information K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frogslegs Report post Posted May 3, 2009 Have you looked this up? Sorry can't sleep either... I use vanilla and lavender for my son but not tried valerian. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/valerian.asp Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted May 12, 2009 Rescue Remedy now do a night time formulation. It says on the wrapper that it is supposed to be good for reducing intrusive thoughts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mumble Report post Posted May 12, 2009 Is there any support/self-help she can access to deal with the anxiety and intrusive thoughts? I don't know the situation (nor am I asking) but if it is more than a very short term or intermittent issue, medicating can actually make things worse (it gives you a false feeling of ok-ness) and harder to deal with in the long term (been there, done that, got the GP's opinion on it ). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted May 12, 2009 Thanks for replies. She 's kind of given up on it for the moment as even half a dose caused several side effects and completely wiped her out in the morning as well. Mumble - it's generalised anxiety rather than attributable to one specific cause, fairly intermittent and the main issue is that it prevents her sleeping when it happens. I admire her attempts to deal with it, but I don't think she's going to stick with the valerian. As for support - I'm it! K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barefoot wend Report post Posted May 13, 2009 Kathryn When Kerre had persistent intrusive thoughts last year his psychiatrist suggested we try CBT. As there wasn't really anyone at CAMHs trained in CBT we decided to gve it a go ourselves with the help of a book called 'Mind over Mood' that the psychiatrist had suggested. Kerre was reluctant to share the nature of his thoughts which was awkward but not insurmountable. Although CBT is not a panacea it did help to have something to work towards and it does contain a good deal of old-fashoined 'common sense'. I think it helped a little to put things in prespective and was certainly better that feeling we were floundering about with no purpose. I would recommend the book. Barefoot Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
philipo Report post Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) Just be wary and do your research when taking herbal cures.Valerian can cause problems,like many herbs its a mixture of chemicals.For sleeping chamomile tea (two bags if using teabags)is great at helping with sleep.made with the raw flowers it can be really effective and a great aid at getting asd'rs with insomnia back into a normal sleep routine.i think there's a common effect on asd'rs with sound problems.When it gets later in the evening the ears calm down then start reacting to the quiet sounds (as opposed to the noisy day sounds)which increases the near constant anxiety levels upwards and the asd sufferers seem to find their 'second breath' and then stay up being imsoniacal. ps if using chamomile make sure its not GERMAN chamomile as this is far more of an irritant to some peoples tums. I tried rescue remedy in 1987 ,using walnut,it had a very slight effect but I think a good shot of brandy or brown rum would be more effective, Edited June 18, 2011 by philipo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted June 18, 2011 The new vet at my vets is into all that kind of thing, and made up the cat a valerian based herbal remedy for her stress/vomiting. First she took it with her steroids and vomited twice as much, then we tried it without the steroids and she vomited three times as much! she's back on just the steroids... Not got any experience with Hoomans, but as far as Tabby is concerned the gerbils can have the herbals! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites