Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 11, 2003, at 1:21:18
In reply to Ame, Valerian/Other Remedies/DIY Herbal Extracts, posted by McPac on August 10, 2003, at 22:37:57
> Regarding the product that you mentioned ("a glycerite made by Gaia Herbs called "Valerian Poppy Supreme")......would that product be okay to take with other meds and supplements (would it diminish the effects of other meds/supps)?
The only potential interaction that I can see with this product would be added sedation if taken with other CNS depressants. However, I'm not sure which metabolic pathways each of these herbs uses, so there is a chance that one or more of them could increase or decrease the effects of certain drugs. I'll have to look into this for you.
> Also, I recently tried the "Calms Forte" sleep aid product---it had NO effect at all, lol,...
lol, I tried that stuff too... got fed up one night and tried 30 tablets -- all I got from that was a little nausea.
> ...I need a "knockout" formula....so this Valerian Poppy Supreme product really worked for you huh...cool....I'd like to try it. Also (and VERY importantly) is there an herbal formula that you could recommend that could "mellow out" periodic temper?
Nymphaea caerulea (aka the Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile; blue lotus) is great for this. It's mildly inebriating, somewhat like a mild cannabis high together with some carisoprodol, and its main historical use (other than as an intoxicant in higher doses) is to manage anger. Its active phytochemicals are believed to be apomorphine and nuciferine. About a teaspoon of the crushed leaves and flowers brewed into a tea works extremely well. I have found this site to consistently carry the highest quality blue lotus for the least money:
http://www.mazatecgarden.com/products/Sacred_blue_lily.htm
That same site offers a crystal resin extract that is 15x more potent by weight than the plant itself. The site touts its benefits when one prefers to smoke blue lotus, but I've found the extract to work quite well when soaked in red wine (the raw plant material can also be used this way -- just make sure to only use half as much as usual, i.e. 1/2 tsp, because even quite small amounts of alcohol seem to have a very synergistic effect with the lotus).
> Lastly, do you have a link for an herbal product that might work really well for depression?
There are two commercially available products that I've seen some great results with for even severe depression, especially when both are used in combination. Eight of the dozen people I advised who used these remedies together achieved complete remission, three achieved partial remission, and one had to discontinue due to oversedation. She did find relief using some other products I then suggested for her, however. The two products I employ most are:
"Good Mood Tonic", manufactured by Herb Pharm
Purpose: mood-elevating, tranquilizing, adaptogenic
Ingredients: skullcap flowering herb, St. John's wort flower and bud, ashwagandha root, and prickly ash bark
Dose: 20 drops in water, three times daily
Available at: http://www.herbal-remedies.com/shop/xq/asp/ptid.32406/qx/productDetail.htm -- 1oz. for $7.15"Master Formula", manufactured by Hidden River Farm
Purpose: adaptogenic, eugeroic
Ingredients: American ginseng, rehmannia root, asparagus root, astragalus root, solomonseal rhizome, wolfberry fruit, and cistanche
Dose: 1ml in water, twice daily
Available at: http://www.hiddenriverfarm.com/shop/products.asp?id=2 -- 2oz. for $15I also recommended that one cup of tea made with 1/4 tsp rosemary and 1/2 tsp Rhodiola rosea be drunk four times daily. A good source of Rhodiola is http://www.nutricentre.com/store/naturalelixirstore/longevity/18.htm, where you can get 20g of root for $9. I'm sure I don't need to advise you as to where to get rosemary. :-)
Some good augmentors, in the case of a partial response, are reishi extract (http://www.wildroots.com/product_info.php/products_id/3357 -- 1oz. for $13.95) and homeopathic remedies (if you're interested in homeopathy, I'd need your exact symptoms to suggest the correct remedy -- the remedies are very highly specialized).
> THANKS!!! LOVE reading your herbal ideas!
You're very welcome, glad I can help. :-)
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:248487
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030807/msgs/249953.html