DOSE: T+ 0:00	27.45 g	oral	Valerian	(tea)
T+ 0:20	repeated	vaporized	Nicotine
T+ 0:00	repeated	vaporized	Nicotine

BODY WEIGHT:

195 lb

Macro Dosing Valerian Root

The recreational value of valerian root is not very well known. In the past, I have used valerian root, either eaten whole or in the form of a tea, to help with sleeplessness and to possibly potentiate the effects of alcohol. I am not 100% certain of the ability of valerian to potentiate alcohol and I may test this under controlled conditions. In this trial, I will be testing a macro-dose of valerian root in the form of approximately 27.45 grams of pulverized plant matter prepared as a tea.

The extract was to be prepared using 61 450mg capsules of pulverized valerian root steeped in hot water.

Shortly after preparing the extract, I found the paper “Willey LB, Mady SP, Cobaugh DJ, Wax PM: Valerian overdose: a case report” where an 18-year-old woman ingested 23 grams of valerian root in a suicide attempt and experienced “fatigue, crampy abdominal pain, chest tightness, tremor of the hands and feet, and lightheadedness”. For these reasons, I have decided to dose slowly. The subject in Willey et al was admitted 3 hours after dosing and I will be vigilant to watch for these symptoms.

The extract was steeped for 15 minutes in a tea pot and to be consumed in my apartment. The powder was fine enough to pass through the filter so I did my best to decant the liquid portion from the sludgy portion. From this phase of the preparation, I mixed about 1/3 with almond milk to mitigate the poor flavor of the tea.

10:09 pm: I drank the first third of the tea with almond milk. It went down smoothly. Almost immediately after drinking it, I feel parched.

10:15: I drank a few sips of water. My stomach feels excessively full, but I haven't eaten for hours.

10:30: I managed to drink 750ml of water. I think the root tea has been making me gassy as I have been burping frequently for the past 15 minutes. I am definitely starting to feel something. I can feel waves of energy passing from my head to my toes akin to MDMA, but considerably weaker. My head feels smoothly blank and relaxed, as if I have taken a half tablet of Valium. Before I drank the tea, I was rather exhausted after a full day of work. I still feel tired, but somewhat energized. My extremities feel cold. Overall, I feel rather pleasant. I have decided to re-dose with the second third of the tea once I feel less full.

10:47: Vaporized using my e-cigarette. The smell of the root on my fingers is rather unpleasant. I can feel the tea gurgling through my duodenum and I am becoming flatulent and have an urge to use the bathroom. The effects are still the same but the headspace is now magnified. I find myself to be easily distractable—I find myself doing something else every few moments. It's tough to describe—I'd be doing something, and then realize I have been paying attention to something else the entire time. I'd be typing this report, and later I would find myself chatting with a friend online, with no recollection of switching between activities. I am going to use the restroom, and then prepare another cup of tea.

11:13: prepared another cup of tea and almond milk. Sipping on it slowly. I've become more distractable with time. I've done about a dozen things since leaving the bathroom. I find it nearly impossible to focus on one thing at a time. My short-term memory has been affected. The waves of energy are now separated by periods of deep relaxation. I've noticed that my hands tremble during the waves of energy. I've gotten rather hungry and thirsty so I have prepared myself a snack. My stomach still feels very full, but not in any sort of pain. My pupils are dilated. Lights have a very interesting quality to them. I am fairly certain that this glowy-blury quality of light sources is due to pupilary dilation and not the effects of the valerian root. I have been experiencing some dyslexia while reading text. Roommate complained about the smell of the tea.

11:28: Head rush during a spell of relaxation. Contrasting physical and mental states are quite interesting! Finished the second cup, feeling rather couch-locked. Moving takes effort. Haven't had a wave of energy in about 15 minutes. Flexing my fingers feels pleasurable.

11:42: Finished my snack, had another 750ml of water and urinated. Started vaping again, but I find myself puffing more frequently than I normally do. Still feeling rather hungry/thirsty. No noticeable changes in effects since last update other than the occasional chill running down my spine now and again. I've hypothesized that I am not feeling any negative effects because I decanted the tea from the sludge at the bottom of the pot and because I have been drinking a lot of water. Perhaps it is too soon to tell—I'll be sure to check-in at the 3-hour mark.

12:08 AM: Funny feeling in my duodenum again, like after I finished my first cup. Gassy again. Contemplating having the third and last cup. I have noticed a loss of coordination—nearly fell trying to change seats.

12:58: no new changes. Been playing video games. Easily excitable. Finished last cup.

I didn't write anything since then. I had another snack shortly after the last post. My performance in the video game was all over the place—every five minutes I would alternate between performing well in the game and being very uncoordinated and performing poorly. I went to bed at about 2:00 AM but I felt restless in bed so I likely didn't fall asleep until after 3:00 AM.

I woke up the next morning dehydrated, feeling very hot, and covered in sweat. I reeked of valerian. It was a dreamless sleep that felt short, and when I woke up, I could tell that I was sober, and that the night before I was not. I've concluded that, even with doses as large as these, there is not much of a recreational value to using valerian root. The effects were incredibly mild and neutral at best. To summarize, I felt spells of relaxation spaced with periods of energetic restlessness, excitability, loss of coordination, and experienced dyslexia and an inability to focus on one task for long periods of time. I craved food and water throughout the whole experience, and urinated rather frequently. I do not think I will be revisiting this any time soon considering the hepatoxicity of valerian root at such high doses. These results are fairly disappointing, as I was hopeful that valerian would hold some kind of recreational value.

Exp Year: 2015	ExpID: 105978
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 23
Published: Nov 7, 2020	Views: 6,378
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Valerian (48) : Hangover / Days After (46), General (1), Alone (16)