Does Valerian help with RLS?

[thewanderer]

This is my first post but have been enduring RLS for over 10 years now. Currently I lose between one and four hours sleep every night through the need to get up and move/ stress my legs. I have tried most remedies over the years but avoided the heavy duty drugs such as the dopamine based drugs as, from the comments on this site, whilst providing relief for a period of time they seem eventually to lead to severe augmentation problems and a drug merry-go-round. Never mind the scary side effects. I was therefore interested in a reference on this site to a medical paper quoting a 50% success rate in reducing RLS symptoms from treating a group of RLS sufferers with Valerian at 900mg just before bed. Valerian is traditionally recommended as a herbal aid to sleepnessless. Anyway I tried it last night and far from aiding sleep it made the RLS worse and I struggled to get any sleep at all with no respite from the need to keep moving and exercising the leg muscles! I wondered if anyone else had experience with Valerian and whether they found it worth persevering as eventually it does get better?

[Brett85]

Tried it and had the same luck as you. = / The way to cope is to keep trying.

[thewanderer in reply to Brett85]

Thanks Brett. How long did you try it for before concluding it was no use? Did it make it worse for you?

[Hidden]

Valerian, from my understanding just aids sleep. I tried it a long while ago, and it did nothing for my RLS.

[Taekphotos]

It may make you sleepy but it does nothing to alleviate RLS, therefore it will feel even more miserable because no matter how sleepy you are you can't fall asleep while having the RLS symptoms. Unfortunately (based upon my experience) you should try other doctor prescribed medications. I have been all around the block with severe RLS including augmentation from the dopamine agonists and have only found relief thru prescription medication...... Best of luck to you. RLS SUCKS.

[Jaynielynne in reply to Taekphotos]

This was true for me.

[pottie]

Hi Sorry to hear about your rls I've had it for years About 2 months ago I started taking Tirosina 500 in the morning and the restless legs has gone Didnt know if it was a coincidence so didnt take 1 day and it came back I bought it off the web but it works wonders and not that expensive Hope this helps x

[Hidden in reply to pottie]

Anything that helps you settle your legs and get some sleep is goodx

[Magictommyboy]

I have been taking Valerian for 2 weeks now

Has not cured my restless legs completely, but seems to be helping a bit

But I am now getting a reasonable sleep now which helps, and I am feeling more alert and less tired during the day-hope this helps

[susan_1616]

I tried Valerian, too, and it didn't help...Plus it left me with a headache.

[cumoneileen]

I have tried many, many different tablets over the years but the only ones that work are prescription drugs.

I take ropinerole they do work!! not all that happy about taking them but it's them or NO RESPITE AT ALL.

No sleep, no sitting to watch tv. Best of a bad situation.

[Hidden in reply to cumoneileen]

I agree we do what we have to do to achieve some quality of life, x

[thewanderer]

Thanks to you all for your interesting replies.On balance the majority seem to find that Valerian provides little relief. The exception seems to be @magictommyboy, it is a bizarre feature of this condition that what works for some doesn't work for others, so good luck to you @magictommyboy, I would be interested to know if the benefit continues.

For your information the conclusions of the medical study that prompted this interest were based on a study of 37 people and included a placebo group, they were..."the use of 800 mg of valerian for 8 weeks improves symptoms of RLS and decreases daytime sleepiness in patients that report an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score of 10 or greater. Valerian may be an alternative treatment for the symptom management ofRLS with positive health outcomes and improved quality of life". (Altern Ther Health Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;15(2):22-8).

Also new to me was the response from @pottie who is getting some relief from Tyrosine. I understand that this is a herbal remedy that has stress relieving properties. Anyone else had any success with this?

The feedback is leading me to the view, as for @cumoeileen, that eventually in desperation the heavier duty drugs are needed when symptoms get severe?

[Hidden]

Hi, most people try all sorts of remedies along the way rather than resort to meds. And some may work for a while. But i have found because my RLS is severe, the only way for me is to take the meds available for RLS.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi yes exactly the same here

[Edward567]

I am new to this very interesting website. I take Pramipexole and I’m very happy taking the drug, taken for 3 years now. I just could not imagine weaning off them ! I would never ever be able to sit down let alone sleep. Thank you Pramipexole. Thankfully I haven’t gambled, hallucinated or felt amorous!!

[Hidden]

A friend suggested valerian to me. I tried it the other evening before bed and got the worst RLS attack of my life! I'm also suffering from acute insomnia, most often associated with the RLS. I'm going to try L-theanine/glycine supplement to see if that helps.