Misc (Validol/Validolum) - Russian anxiolytic (Anti-anxiety)

[Drench]

Anxiety is often a problem for me and I have recently come across the Russian pharmaceutical, Validol. It seems to be used in most of Eastern Europe (Poland, Bulgaria etc.) It is affordable, legal and sounds quite good.

Here is the Wikipedia info on it, plus some other snippets of info -

Validol -

Validolum (Валидол® Validol ®) is a menthyl ester of isovaleric acid. It is a transparent oily, colourless liquid with a smell of menthol. It is very slightly soluble in alcohol, while practically insoluble in water.

Sublingual administration purportedly produces a sedative effect, and has moderate reflex and vascular dilative action caused by stimulation of sensory nerve receptors of the oral mucosa followed by the release of endorphins.

Sublingual Validolum is prescribed for neurocirculatory dystonia (NCD), angina pectoris, cardiac chest pain, neuroses, hysteria, panic attacks, anxiety (anxiolytic) and nausea (as an antiemetic). A 10 percent alcohol solution of Validolum is prescribed to relieve itchy skin.

It is generally safe to use with few to none side effects. There is no known LD50.

Are there any Russian speakers here? If so any info from the references would be ace

References:

^ A comparative evaluation of the antianginal action of commercially and noncommercially produced validol in neurocirculatory dystonia and stenocardia http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9035841
^ RUSSIAN MEDICATIONS LIST AND POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS http://www.spaceref.com/iss/medical/8715.rus.meds.side.effects.pdf
^ The Great Soviet Encyclopedia http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Validol
^ Farmak Product Information - Validol http://farmak.ua/assets_images/drugs/instruction/en/25/Validol_Product_Information.pdf
^ Itop Doctor http://doctor.itop.net/DirectoryItem.aspx?DirId=1&ItemId=268

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Validol

Validol -

Product Ingredients:

Menthol solution in menthyl isovalerate.

Therapeutic actions:

Validol produces a sedative effect, and has moderate reflex and vascular dilative action caused by stimulation of sensitive nerve endings. At sublingual administration the effect is produced in five minutes and 70 % of the preparation is released in 3 minutes.

Indications:

Use in cases of heart disease (cardialgia), angina, motion sick-ness, nausea, vomiting when seasick or airsick, hysteria, nervousness and headaches from taking nitrates.

Contraindications and Cautions:

In rare cases hypersensitivity to the Methyl valerate.

Side Effects:

The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

In prolonged use may cause light nausea, dizziness, and tearing of the eyes which fade away with discontinuation. Possible manifestation of hypersensitivity.

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.

http://www.drugsfort.com/heart-disease/validol.html

"Validol is an international brand name for methyl valerate. It is used to produce a sedative effect, and has a moderate reflex and vascular dilative action caused by the stimulation of sensitive nerve endings."

There are a few other snippets of info out there, you need to search well, using the chemical names etc.

I will be doing a few different 'experiments' when I receive them (2-3 days). I do take Pregabalin, Benzos, Clonidine, Phenibut and I am getting some Buspirone to try today. I am getting some Atarax 25mg to try as well. I take Baclofen sometimes too.

The first time I take the Validol I will take just the bare few Benzos that I need to prevent any WD's. I can cope without all of the others for a single day. I will start with 1 tablet and take it from there.

If any one smarter than myself could explain the mechanism of action and any possible interactions that would be awesome.

I will update you throughout the day I get them, probably Wednesday

 

[sekio]

This is menthol and menthyl isovalerate? I imagine the sedative effect would be exerted through messing with TRP ion channels somehow... but I wonder just how centrally active it could be as a flavouring component?

It probably tastes incredibly strongly of mint.

 

[Drench]

Ok, they are quite large (Gaviscon size) and have that slightly transparent look that some mints do. They taste like (nice) mints, at the moment I am finding it hard to gauge the effects (if any).

Any specific questions? I will update as I experiment more

 

[bob_arctor]

Well, did you feel them worthwhile at all?

 

[Drench]

No, they were just like really nice mints

 

[fancy-pantz]

I agree--they're like mints...I took one the other night expecting to experience a nice calming effect---nothing. So I took another and had a restless sleep. The next day just didn't feel like myself, sort of zoned out. I'm having my doubts about all products that come from Russia

 

[dopamimetic]

This is actually sold in Germany too as "Anti Stress VL" containing 60mg per lozenge. Thinking of that menthol is actually a kappa opioid agonist, and valeric acid being structurally near to GABA (but seemingly inactive, if wikipedia is correct), GHB, valproate ... maybe there's really something with this molecule, and that 'zoned out' feeling could well fit then..

Some of the Russian products are actually truly interesting novelties. Phenibut is quite old, but afobazole & mebicar (anxiolytics) as well as the nootropics semax / selank and emoxypine all have some unique effect and work pretty well for many ... also cerebrolysin, I wouldn't touch this even if I was paid for since it's an extract from pig brains, but it lead to the development of the synthetic peptide P21... probably they have a really differing way to develop new medicines, not that one-pill-fits-all proposal we have in the west but more unconventional things that work very good for some but don't for others ...

And that possibly non-depleting stimulant mesocarb that's scheduled pretty much over the world despite it has little abuse potential ...

 

[Oakstone]

Huh, haven't heard about this before. I might get a few and see how I like them. (Luckily, looks like I can get them pretty easily/cheaply.)
I dunno how much I expect to get from them, but seems worth a try.

 

[Fire&Water]

Just splurge for some Altoids

 

[g0to]

Not to revive an old thread, but I didn't want to post new one. I managed to get my hands on some of these, brand name "Validol" from eastern Europe. 0.06g (60mg) of menthyl valerate per tablet. It's extremely cheap there and even moreso online. Thing is, it didn't taste or smell like mints in any way shape or form. It smelled quite nasty. I ended up just washing it down with water instead of sublingual.

A nice effect with 300 mg, in fact i felt quite sedated and its not like my anxiety had been eliminated, but things seemed.. more chill, overall. Kind of like a high CBD-strain of weed but nowhere near as intense. Cannabis is probably good combined with this one as well. I think that high doses can be some prone to nausea especially on a full stomach. But I wouldn't call 300mg of menthyl valerate once in a while a "high dose" of this substance by any means. YMMV, though.

 

[g0to]

The bitter/nasty smelling ones were actually "Valeriana" brand Valerian root extract 30 or 60mg pills. I got my hands on some of the actual mints, very very very minty and 2 under the tongue. Come in packs of 20, two blister packs of 10 for about the price of a big Red bull energy. produces a kind of relaxing semi stimulating effect. I would take two before my morning shower, then two after coffee as I head to work. It is actually quite relaxing compared to alcohol and good to combine with coffee, perhaps a small bowl of weed (not recommended). I do have a long history of high permanent tolerance of alcohol phenibut, gbl, benzos all those I have tried excessively and might be a factor.

 

[g0to]

I forgot to add, be careful taking these daily, perhaps drink some extra water throughout the day. Because having to take them on an empty stomach actually compounds the dehydrating effect they can have sometimes.

 

[markosheehan]

the placebo effect

 

[g0to]

Hey... if it works as placebo as well, that's great! Certainly helps with the urge to mess with tall cans and airplane shots before work..

 

[Speed King]

Off the cuff, this anti-anxiety medication sounds related to Depakote.

If that’s the case, this should calm a person down pretty quick.

Sounds interesting.

 

[g0to]

I ran out and noticed a few things. Went through perhaps 4 boxes (80 pills total), taking upto 5 or 6 in the night time.

First of all, this stuff has a marked diuretic effect (at least for me). Could potentially be good for performance athletes.

Unknown/shady effects on liver function.

Useful for P.A.W.S (not a game changer, but definitely does something.) I'd be careful stacking this with some kind of "natural herbs" stack like, kava, kratom, this stuff. Seems it could have an unintended effect disbalancing liver or kidney function in those that overdo it. Good combo with weed though, helps one relax and zone out if they have problem sleeping. In fact, I would say the extreme mintiness is what causes that reduction in anxiety, however there is also some effect about 5-10 minutes later that lasts for a few hours or more. Increased effect on short term memory loss when combined with alcohol.