# Can you take Valerian root alongside paxil?



## ChrisPA

Hi all,

I was just curious if anyone has taken any form of the valerian root with paxil or any other SSRI and have had side effects because of it. I just recently purchased an herbal tea made by celestial seasonings called Extra Sleepytime Tea that has 25mg of Valerian Root in it. This isn't really at all much, considering that the smallest amount of Valerian in capsule form I have found is 450mg. I currently take 10mg of Paxil so I don't think drinking a cup of this at night every so often will harm anything but I was curious as if anyone has done something similar and if there were any side effects or benefits. It says on the side of the tea box to not take alongside prescription medications without consulting a physician first, but rather than doing that I was hoping to get a firsthand account of any experiences with things such as this. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any insight or advice on this.

Thanks,

ChrisPA


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## pancake

ChrisPA said:


> I was just curious if anyone has taken any form of the valerian root with paxil or any other SSRI and have had side effects because of it. I just recently purchased an herbal tea made by celestial seasonings called Extra Sleepytime Tea that has 25mg of Valerian Root in it. This isn't really at all much, considering that the smallest amount of Valerian in capsule form I have found is 450mg. I currently take 10mg of Paxil so I don't think drinking a cup of this at night every so often will harm anything but I was curious as if anyone has done something similar and if there were any side effects or benefits. It says on the side of the tea box to not take alongside prescription medications without consulting a physician first, but rather than doing that I was hoping to get a firsthand account of any experiences with things such as this. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any insight or advice on this.


Hi

Valerian does not go well with a number of medications. It interacts with SSRIs, which means not good news for Paroxetine.

While not all company SPCs list the interaction, the Merk Manual does:
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/lexicomp/paroxetine.html
Unless there is evidence for this interaction they don't list it.

The problem with interactions is you never know what you are going to get. I know it is only tea but dosage is a strange thing. I don't mean to say "it works in mysterious ways" but I have come across a surprising number of cases where Valarian was mixed with prescription medication which gave very strong, extremely disturbing adverse events *even at a low dosis*. Titration is a strange beast. I sure as hell couldn't assess the likelihood if my life depended on it. Efficacy doesn't work in a linear way.

In short: It is not worth the gamble.
I am no health care pro but better be safe than sorry.


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## codeblue213

Not too safe. My fiance is well educated in herbs, she won't even let me touch the stuff!


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