Can I drink alcohol when taking Valerian root?

I think that it’s not so good idea. Alcohol may increase the sedating effect. My friend once mixed Valerian root with alcohol and she was feeling very bad. Then she was suffering from nausea and dizziness for next few hours. So if you want to drink that night, don’t take Valerian.

edita wrote:

I think that it’s not so good idea. Alcohol may increase the sedating effect. My friend once mixed Valerian root with alcohol and she was feeling very bad. Then she was suffering from nausea and dizziness for next few hours. So if you want to drink that night, don’t take Valerian.

I took liquid valerian root for the first time (2 droppers full) mixed with Vodka, and I swear I had the worse reaction. I woke up throwing up and was literally wheezing for air. I was about to hop in my car and drive to the ER, but just tried to calm down and let it pass. The next day I felt awful, like I had been on a drug binge for a month straight. These herbs are way more powerful than I ever knew. I'll never take it again.

I have been taking valerian root for 4 months now, 1 capsule a day, almost everyday (some weekend days I didn't bother). I am also a 2nd year university student who lives on campus. I drink a fair bit. On average, probably 3-4 days a week. I have had little to no issues drinking after taking alcohol. I would not drink a lot of alcohol if I have taken VR within a few hours, say 4 hours. If it's been less than 4 hours and I want to drink, I'll have, at most, 3-4 beers (about half of what I would drink on a regular drinking night). If I've taken Valerian root in the morning, 1 capsule, at night I will usually drink 5-6 beers with no problem. It's actually a very nice combination. The key is to balance it though. I had an especially relaxing experience after taking one valerian root, drinking 2 beers and smoking half a bowl of cannabis. If you like feeling relaxed when drinking, you'll like the combination. Most people that I know, though, like to be full of energy while drinking. If You're like this, you may not want to combine the 2. For instance, clubbing would not be very enjoyable (mind I don't like clubs much to begin with), since you would feel to relaxed and chilled out to get up and dance. Although, you still have will power and you can easily get up and dance if you want to, you just won't want to. I have noticed a slight difference in hangovers after this combination. I notice that I am more thirsty the next day, and, if I drink a lot, my stomach may feel a bit woosy. That's why I stick to 5-6 beers rather than 7-8 if I didn't take a valerian root in the morning. See, I usually use alcohol to relieve stress (I have some anxiety issues). If I've taken valerian root, it means that I can get my desired level of inebriation quicker with alcohol; aka, not drink as much, but feel as good. It's actually very nice to take a valerian root in the morning, go about your day (stress-free or almost so) then drink a beer or 2 and just chill out listening to music. If I havent had a valerien root in the morning, drinking 1-2 beers cannot chill me out, I'd have to have like 4-5 and that's not cool. Who wants to drink 4-5 beers on any given night just to chiill and listen to music. But with valerian root...take one in the morning, one to two beers at night, and you'll have yourself a beautifully relaxed day/night and very easy to go to sleep. Just make sure you go to sleep while still feeling relaxed and down, than coming back up to sober...

PS. I take Valerian Root in capsule form. Sometimes one caplet of the bigger kind that comes in 100 capsule bottles, and, for a stronger effect, one capsule of the smaller kind that comes in 30 capsule bottles with a standardized to .8% of valerenic acid

I say that caution is best practiced with herbal supplements. There are no long-term studies on their effects, so I think it's good to realize that you really have no idea what effect they could have on you. I would play it safe with the drug as depressants usually play with the liver and not drink. I know that sucks but it's your health. I always try to play it safe with my well-being. Good luck to you. Did drinking at the party affect you in any way?

I have been a heavy drinker for many years now and I am only twenty-eight. I am a big believer in herbal supplements. As we all know, alcohol makes it harder to fall or stay asleep and even if it doesn't your not sleeping well. I have use valerian after a drinking session to aid me in sleep and have never had problems. Of course, you wouldn't want to drive on this combo. I have also used melatonin and kava with good results as well.

Thanks for the insight. I figured that it might be dangerous but it sounds like you're doing fine with it. I hoipe other people can also post their experiences. I'd like to hear how others handle it. Thanks!

Seems that some people must be sensitive to the combination of Valerian & alcohol, yet others not.

I gave my (sadly :'( ) alcohol dependent wife Valerian in the hope of easing her pathological anxiety. Later in the day, she phoned to inform me that she had vomitted after only a couple of drinks & felt she had to lie down, so I should bring home some take away dinner! I wondered if the Valerian had anything to do with it. After reading about the chemical nature of Valerian & one of its components valeric acid on Wikipedia plus reading the experiences here, I now know for certain the combination had a profound affect on my wife.

Considering this, I am hopeful that Valerian might help ease her anxiety enough to enable her to abandon the poisonous alcohol.

Make no mistake, more than one drink of alcohol is damaging to any organism, & the smaller your body is the more damaging it is. For a 100 lb. petite woman, one drink is equivalent to two drinks for the average sized man. A build-up of tolerance to alcohol is caused by the liver's protective ability to increase production of the enzyme which digests alcohol, thus making it non-poisonous, yet the liver can only go so far. Intoxication occurs when this enzyme is temporarily used up, which allows the poisonous alcohol to affect the brain, plus begin to damage your internal organs. It's a slow yet relentless process, usually showing up as liver damage, yet pancreatitis is also common.

The moral is be kind to your body, & seek medical care for your anxiety rather than poison yourself with alcohol. My observation is that people with anxiety tend to get hooked on alcohol, which is likely the trouble that the university student above has yet is either unaware of or not willing to admit. The same goes for stoners, they are attempting to ease their feelings of anxiety. If you can't get good medical care, perhaps Valerian may be an option.

Bless you all on your life journeys!

i drink beers on the weekends and more than the average bear at that. anywho, is valerian and alcohol a good mix? probably not but i have taken it after a night out or even after a whole day of drinking with no real issues. then again, this is not a scientific evaluation so take it for what its worth yo!

Guest wrote:

Boy, it looks like the person who wrote before has a problem...5-6 beers to chill? And you are a student? How can you possibly study?

Not everyone is a judgmental, control lacking, lightweight. Grad student with a 3.4 here and I like to drink more than that. I must have a problem. Good thing I don't need to study.

Alcohol makes it quite easy to achieve sleep. Granted it does lower the quality of sleep due to changes in breathing patterns and can encourage symptoms of sleep apnea, but the majority of alcohol consumers achieve sleep with less trouble than they would with no sleep inducing substance in their system. As for the comment about not driving, my suggestion would be not to drive after consuming alcohol, with valerian or not.

I know that few herbal supplements have been clinically studied for long term effects, but Valarian Root has been used for many years in Europe. As is tea made from Melissa (Lemon balm). They can even be used in combination.



I myself believe that Valarian root works better if you take Brewer's Yeast during the day and Valarian Root between an hour and half an hour before bed. Brewer's yeast is high in Tryptophan which breaks down in to Niacin which helps you sleep, and Seratonin which gives a feeling of well being (be careful if your taking perscription drugs like Lexapro, Cymbalta or other SSRI's because you don't want to raise your Seratonin levels to the point of Seratonin poisioning).

Taking Melatonin is another sleep aid that can be used together with the Valarian root and Brewer's yeast. These three ingredients are used in Alteril. I'm not sure if it is cheeper to buy Alteril as a sleep aid or if it is easier to buy all three herbals separately. If you do take Alteril, be sure to skip your third dose of Brewer's yeast since it has it in it already.

As for mixing with Alcohaul.... Alcohaul will intensify the sedating effect of any sleep aid, which is not necessairly a good thing. I have found that when used in combination with alcohaul it is harder to get up in the morning. Harder than if you just had alcohaul or if you just had valarian root. This web site has a lot of information and reccomends against using the two in combination.

***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

The last two times I've taken Valerian (in the form of Kalms tablets) at night it's happened to be times I've been to the pub, and both of these times I've woken up from horrible nightmares. I looked at the Wikipedia page and it said that this was a potential side effect and on the jar it says that alcohol intensifies the effects of Valerian, so I'd say approach it with caution.

Valerian has bad interactions with alcohol that causes toxicity to liver. And also is linked with other liver problems when taken together. That's where these other commenter's complaint of nausea/ symptoms are coming from.

Don't do it.

Even though you might now have a reaction now, it is toxic to your liver and will eventually pay the price when the habit is kept.

 

: )

better than taking pharmaceutical meds with alcohol.