HERB - Safety of Valerian?

[Jenne Heise]

On Mon, 26 Jul 1999, Lynette K LaFontaine wrote:
> I'd be curious to know why young people should need this  especially
> nightly.

At least two of the under-25 people who mentioned using Valerian to me
were suffering from insomnia as a result of Prozac treatment. Apparently,
herbal remedies (whether encouraged by the dr. or not) are being used to
combat the wide range of undesireable side-effects of Prozac and its
fellow seritonin reuptake inhibitors. (I've seen both ginger and coke
syrup suggested by medical doctors to handle extreme nausea, and many
people on Prozac are given another drug to take at night for the insomnia,
so I guess valerian is considered a substitute.)

Of course, a few others were taking it to regularize their sleep patterns.
(This included an old boyfriend of mine, who was chronically unable to
function because of 'low energy'. *sigh*) 

Valerian tablets are widely touted for insomnia in the health food stores
around here, just as St. John's Wort is for mood disorders...

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa (Shire of Eisental), mka Jennifer Heise	
jenne at tulgey.browser.net
"in verbis et in herbis, et in lapidibus sunt virtutes"
(In words, and in plants, and in stones, there is power.)

============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.