# Valerian- brand names **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 1999, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304 "1999-10-16T19:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Melatonin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Melatonin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melatonin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/1 "1999-10-16T19:10:00Z")
Does anyone know of a herbal supplement company that does Valerian caps which _don’t_ smell like vomit? * * * “There is nothing you ought to do, for the simple reason that you know nothing, nothing whatever- make a mental note of that, if you please.” -V. Nabokov ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/2 "1999-10-16T20:43:00Z")
You need to ditch the valerian and melatonin and score some benzodiazepines. 🙂 I remember trying valerian once (don’t remember any bad smell). A triple dose did nothing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Melatonin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Melatonin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melatonin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/3 "1999-10-16T22:16:00Z")
Unfortunately, license-conscious MD’s refuse to precribe me anything fun like that. Maybe you’d like to help? * * * “There is nothing you ought to do, for the simple reason that you know nothing, nothing whatever- make a mental note of that, if you please.” -V. Nabokov ---
**Author:** ![jcamacho66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@jcamacho66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcamacho66)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 1999, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/4 "1999-10-16T22:26:00Z")
In my pharmacy we sell Nature’s Herb by Twin Lab-no smell. I can score ya some benzo’s -for a price! He-He-He * * * “It’s a dog eat dog world out there and I’m wearing meat bone underware.” Norm Peterson ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 1999, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/5 "1999-10-17T00:05:00Z")
I took lorazepam (generic Ativan) back in my high school days. How many doctors have you been to? All I told mine was that I was a little jumpy and had trouble sleeping and that’s what he gave me. Is a trip to Mexico out of the question? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Melatonin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Melatonin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melatonin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 1999, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/6 "1999-10-17T00:13:00Z")
Well, if you look at my profile page, you’ll see my occupation listed as Academic Slave/ Deadhead. Even moonlighting as a deadhead, I don’t really make enough money to seek out a private doctor. As an Academic Slave, my health insurance pretty much limits me to the “Student Wellness Compound,” a place notorious for such lines as: “Oh, dry hacking cough left over from bacterial pneumonia cracking your ribs? I suggest you try Robotussin.” ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 1999, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/7 "1999-10-17T02:11:00Z")
Natures Herbs or Natures Way (sorry, no bottle to look at) makes one called Valerian Nighttime PM that’s in a non-stinky white pill form that works for many folks. Valerian works as a relaxant for most people, but not in the overt way of most pharmaceutical downers. And in a tiny percentage of people, it acts as a stimulant. Never met one though…The stinkiness (like sweaty socks or rotting fruit) doesn’t, like garlic, translate to your breathe, so don’t worry. ---
**Author:** ![agatha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cdc98d/32.png) [@agatha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agatha)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/valerian-brand-names/4304/8 "1999-10-29T06:40:00Z")
I work in a health food store, and have had many people ask me about this (valerian does smell absolutely horrid). In my opinion, if it doesn’t smell so nasty, it might not be valerian at all. . . . my advice is to hold your breath and bear it (or just try melatonin, which probably works better for more people anyway).