Valeriana

Prepared from the fresh root/rhizome of Valeriana officinalis (Caprifoliaceae; formerly Valerianaceae) by tincturing and potentising. Crude valerian is a traditional sedative (valepotriates/essential oils), yet the homœopathic picture is paradoxically excitable and hysteriform: erratic neuralgias, hyperaesthesia, spasms, and sensory illusions (especially of levitation). Classic literature places Valer. in hysteria, neuralgia (facial/sciatic), and spinal irritability, with striking contradictory and changeable modalities [Hering], [Allen], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger].

Early pathogeneses (Hahnemann’s school) collated by Allen and Hering; clinical confirmations emphasise hysteria with globus, erratic pains, paresthesiae, sciatica worse sitting, better walking, levitation/“not in the bed” sensations, restless sleeplessness, and contradictory symptoms [Allen], [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger].

A nervous, hysterical, paradoxical remedy: the patient is fidgety, tremulous, hyperaesthetic, reporting illusions of floating or not touching the bed. Pains are erratic, flying, changing place, and—most practically—neuralgias/sciatica are worse sitting or at rest and better by standing and walking. Mental focus worsens symptoms; open air, gentle motion, and distraction relieve. The globus of hysteria, the capricious sensory world, and the motion-better sciatica together make Valeriana hard to miss [Hering], [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Allen].

• Nervous system—hysteria & hyperaesthesia. Excitable, fidgety, tremulous; spasmodic twitchings; sensory illusions (floating, being high above the bed); pains change place suddenly; “paradoxes” abound [Hering], [Clarke].
• Spine & sciatic nerve. Sciatica and spinal irritation: worse sitting or at rest, better standing and walking; pains shoot, tear, or tingle with alternating numbness [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke].
• Throat/œsophagus. Globus hystericus, choking, constant “lump” rising; frequent need to swallow in attacks [Hering], [Clarke].
• Sensory organs. Oversensitive to noise, light, touch; crawling/ants sensations; formication [Hering], [Boger].
• Stomach/abdomen. Flatulent, nervous dyspepsia; nausea from excitement; sinking at epigastrium in hysterical fits [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Sleep. Restless insomnia from nervous excitement; starts, jerks, vivid dreams; paradoxically drowsy by day [Hering], [Allen].

Hysterical, changeable, paradoxical. Lively talk, laughter, then tears; fears without object; easily offended; fidgety restlessness with tremor of hands/face [Hering], [Clarke]. Sensory illusions: as if floating in air, as if not lying on the bed, as if parts were larger/lighter [Hering], [Allen]. Symptoms grow when she thinks of them (attention aggravates) and abate with diversion [Clarke]. Sudden fits of anxiety with globus and sighing; relief on walking in air [Boericke]. Hypochondriacal about the heart yet examination is normal (functional, nervous) [Clarke].

Insomnia from excitement; ideas crowd; starts and jerks in first sleep; dreams of falling/flying (matches levitation illusions) [Hering], [Allen]. Daytime drowsiness with inability to keep still (contradictory) [Clarke].

Of flying, floating, pursuits; anxious dreams with choking or globus; wakes with palpitation and fidgets—better by walking about the room [Hering], [Clarke].

Erratic, contradictory, hysterical remedy. Pains shift suddenly; sensations are exaggerated or illusory (levitation, disembodiment). Worse evening, in warm/close rooms, from sitting/rest, from emotion/attention to symptoms; better walking slowly, standing, open air, diversion. Neuralgias and sciatica with rest aggravation and motion relief are highly characteristic [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Hering].

Nervous flushes; chill followed by heat and sweat with palpitation; little true fever—rather vasomotor storms; worse evening in close room, better walking outside [Clarke], [Boericke].

Chill: From least draft after excitement; shuddering with formication [Boger].
Heat: Flushes to head/face, hands tremble; heat increases in close room [Clarke].
Sweat: Nervous, clammy on hands/feet during paroxysm; not relieving [Hering].

Light-headed; nervous headaches with throbbing/pressing from vertex/occiput to eyes; worse evening, confinement; better walking in open air [Clarke], [Boger]. Tingling/crawling of scalp; hair sensitive; startles from noise (hyperacusis) [Hering]. Erratic shooting pains shift side/location rapidly—Valeriana hallmark [Allen].

Glittering, over-bright eyes in hysterical spells; pupils variable; momentary blur with floating sensation [Clarke]. Neuralgic orbit pains better walking, worse sitting/lying [Boericke]. Twitching lids with fidgets [Hering].

Ringing/humming with vascular nervousness; noise intolerance; fleeting tearing pains around ear better walking [Boger], [Hering].

Alternating stuffiness and sudden sneezing from nervous excitation; smell oversensitive; odours provoke nausea in close rooms [Clarke], [Boger].

Flushing in paroxysms; twitching of facial muscles; facial neuralgia erratic, shifting, better walking, worse rest/sitting [Boericke], [Clarke]. Lips tremulous during excitement [Hering].

Dry mouth from nervousness; taste variable, sometimes bitter or metallic in attacks [Allen]. Tongue trembles when protruded; speech hurried then falters [Hering]. Teeth/jaws ache capriciously; pains jump about, not fixed [Clarke].

Globus hystericus: lump rising from stomach to throat, provoking choking and frequent swallowing; better walking and fresh air; worse when thinking of it [Hering], [Clarke]. Throat feels tight without inflammation (functional spasm) [Boericke].

Oppression with air-hunger from nerves, sighing, fluttering at præcordia; palpitation functional, worse emotion, better gentle walking [Clarke]. Stitches under left breast that leap to right then vanish (erratic) [Allen]. Cannot bear close rooms.

Beats felt in throat and epigastrium; palpitation without lesion; pulse capricious—quick during fidgets, soft when calmed; worse thinking of it; better open air [Clarke], [Boericke].

Sighing, irregular; sensation as if chest light, floating; dyspnœa in warm rooms, relieved outside [Hering], [Clarke]. Dry, nervous cough excited by tickle and attention to it [Boger].

Nervous sinking at epigastrium; nausea from excitement or in a warm, close room; better in open air and after gentle motion [Clarke]. Eructations with much wind; flatulent colic that is worse sitting, better moving [Boger]. Appetite variable; craves light food; coffee may over-stimulate and aggravate fidgets [Allen].

Rumbling, windy distension with hysterical sensations of movement; colicky stitches that shift place quickly; better walking, worse sitting [Boger], [Clarke]. Pelvic fluttering with globus; often coincident with premenstrual nervousness [Hering].

Irritable, pruritic anus in nervous states; alternating constipation and loose stool under excitement [Clarke]. Tenesmus from focus on rectum (attention aggravation) [Allen].

Frequent urging from nervousness; urine clear/pale; spasm at neck of bladder under emotion [Clarke]. Passing urine may temporarily ease globus via reflex discharge (functional relief) [Hering].

Aversion to heavy, fatty meals in nervous states; desires light fare; coffee/wine may exacerbate excitability and insomnia [Clarke], [Allen]. Relief after a small snack in “sinking” spells (some cases) [Allen].

Erethism with rapid exhaustion; spermatorrhœa after prolonged excitement; neuralgic testicular pangs better walking [Boericke], [Clarke]. Prostatic irritation functional more than inflammatory.

Hysterical crises around menses; cramps and globus; leucorrhœa thin with much flatus and nervous fidgets [Clarke]. Labour-like, flying pains that shift suddenly; relief from walking slowly [Hering]. After-pains with restlessness and oversensitivity to noise (minor) [Boericke].

Spinal irritation; hyperaesthetic dorsal spine; burning/tearing down sacrum that worsens sitting, eases by standing/walking [Boericke], [Boger]. Sensation as if a string pulled up the back in globus fits (peculiar) [Hering].

Sciatica (especially left, though sides may alternate): tearing, drawing, burning worse sitting, worse at rest, better standing/walking; legs feel numb then tingle; soles/heels very sensitive—pain in heel when sitting, must put foot to the ground and walk it off [Boericke], [Clarke], [Boger]. Flying, stitching pains shift from limb to limb. Trembling of hands; choreic twitchings in nervous subjects [Hering].

Formication, crawling ant-like; hyperaesthetic to light touch, yet deep pressure sometimes soothing (paradox) [Hering]. Flushing then pallor with nervous waves [Clarke].

Hysterical / paradoxical nerve states

• Ignatia — Hysterical contradictions with grief, sighs, globus; Ign. is more emotionally labile with spasmodic contradictions; Valer. adds levitation illusions and pains better walking, worse sitting [Clarke], [Kent].
• Asafœtida — Hysterical flatulence, reverse peristalsis, globus; more offensive flatus and left-sided throat-chest wind; Valer. more hyperaesthetic with erratic pains [Boger], [Clarke].
• Moschus — Fainting, theatrical hysteria, sexual erethism; less neuralgic/sciatic signature than Valer. [Boericke].
• Nux-mosch. — Drowsy, dreamy, dryness; hysterical faintness; lacks Valer.’s motion-better neuralgias and levitation [Clarke].

Neuralgia / Sciatica (rest aggravates, motion relieves)

• Rhus-t. — Better continued motion, stiff/tendinous pains; more rheumatic; Valer. is nervous/neuralgic, marked worse sitting [Boger], [Kent].
• Coloc. — Sciatica better bending double/pressure, aggravated slightest motion; Valer. opposite: better walking, worse sitting [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Gnaphalium — Sciatica with numbness and tingling, often better sitting on hard seat; Valer. pains are worse sitting, better walking [Boericke], [Boger].
• Tellurium — Sciatica with hyperaesthesia, worse coughing/straining; ring-like distribution; Valer. has floating illusions and hysterical colour [Clarke].
• Kali-i. — Tearing neuralgias, worse rest; more catarrhal/syphilitic background; Valer. more distinctly hysterical and sensory-illusory [Boger].

Globus / functional throat

• Lach. — Lump sensation worse swallowing, left→right, intolerance of touch; hot, loquacious; Valer. less venomous, more nervously fidgety and motion-better [Kent], [Clarke].
• Gelsemium — Globus with stage fright, tremor, weakness; heavy, drowsy; Valer. is jittery, quick, hyperaesthetic [Boericke], [Farrington].

• Complementary: Asafœtida, Ignatia, Coffea—share nervous/hysterical axes; choose per keynote (flatulent reverse wind; grief-spasm; over-alert insomnia) [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Follows well: Coffea when mere over-alertness subsides yet erratic pains and levitation/Globus persist [Boericke].
• Precedes well: Rhus-t. if neuralgia settles into true rheumatism with stiffness; Ign. if grief-state becomes central [Kent].
• Antidotes (functional): Camph., Coffea for over-dosing excitability; Nux-v. for coffee/alcohol-provoked aggravations [Hering], [Clarke].

• Indications: Hysterical crises with globus and levitation illusions; neuralgia/sciatica worse sitting, better walking; spinal irritability with hyperaesthesia; insomnia from nervous excitement; functional palpitations in sensitive, changeable subjects [Clarke], [Boericke], [Boger], [Hering].
• Potency & dosing: For acute neuralgia/sciatica, 6C–30C repeated to effect; for constitutional hysteriform states, 30C–200C at intervals. If symptoms flare paradoxically (common in Valer. types), space or lower the dose rather than abandon the remedy [Hering], [Clarke].
• Adjuncts: Open air, gentle walking, calming routine, limit stimulants (coffee, wine), avoid long sitting; somatic focus techniques (grounding) to reduce attention-aggravation [Clarke], [Boericke].
• Pearls:
  • Heel/sole tenderness and need to put the foot down and walk to ease sciatic pains point strongly to Valer.
  • Globus + sighing + fidgets that melt once walking in fresh air begins—Valer. often acts swiftly.
  • When pains won’t stay put and modalities seem contradictory, think Valer.

Mind

• Hysteria; changeable mood; laughing ↔ weeping; fidgety. — [Hering], [Clarke].
• Illusions of sensation—floating in air; not lying on bed. — [Hering], [Allen].
• Attention to symptoms aggravates. — [Clarke].

Throat

• Globus hystericus; lump rising, choking; better walking/open air. — [Hering], [Clarke].

Generalities / Nerves

• Pains erratic, change place suddenly. — [Allen], [Boger].
• Worse sitting/rest; better standing/walking. — [Boericke], [Clarke].
• Oversensitive to noise, touch; hyperaesthesia. — [Hering].

Extremities

• Sciatica, worse sitting, better walking; alternating numbness and pain. — [Boericke], [Boger], [Clarke].
• Heel/sole pains; must put foot down and move. — [Boericke].

Sleep

• Insomnia from nervous excitement; starts, jerks; dreams of flying. — [Hering], [Allen].

Heart/Chest

• Palpitation functional, worse emotion, better gentle walking/open air. — [Clarke].

Hahnemann — early pathogenetic sources (via Allen/Hering compilations).
Hering — The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (1879–91): levitation illusions; globus; erratic pains; modalities.
Allen, T. F. — Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica (1874–79): detailed proving fragments—sensory illusions, erratic neuralgias, restless insomnia.
Clarke, J. H. — A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (1900): core portrait—hysteria, motion-better neuralgias, globus, contradictions.
Boericke, W. — Pocket Manual of Homœopathic Materia Medica (1901): keynotes—sciatica worse sitting, better walking; hyperaesthesia; sleeplessness.
Boger, C. M. — Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica (1915): modalities (rest aggravates; gentle motion relieves), erratic pains, hypersensitivity.
Hughes, R. — A Manual of Pharmacodynamics (1875): pharmacology/physiology of valerian; rationale for nervous sphere.
Farrington, E. A. — Clinical Materia Medica (1887): comparisons with Ign., Asafoetida, Rhus-t., Coloc., Gnaphalium.
Kent, J. T. — Lectures on Homœopathic Materia Medica (1905) & Repertory: constitutional comparisons; hysterical states; neuralgia differentials.
Tyler, M. L. — Homœopathic Drug Pictures (1942): practical notes on paradoxical Valeriana.
Phatak, S. R. — Materia Medica of Homoeopathic Medicines (1977): concise rubrics—globus, rest aggravates, motion ameliorates.