Melatonin....Good or Bad?

[tooter]

This article showed up on Yahoo this morning...FYI
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-winkl ... lp00000592

[49er]

This article showed up on Yahoo this morning...FYI
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-winkl ... lp00000592

I am sighing but not at you.

Once again, the media likes to sensationalize the downside of supplement but totally ignore the fact that adverse reactions to drugs cause alot more harm. Maybe I am a little biased as one who ended up in the ER to due one of those drug reactions.

As with anything, you have to be very cautious and they do make a good point that the starting dose is way too high. But to treat it like is a big bad wolf is a bit much for me.

49er

[Sir NoddinOff]

Using none is best IMO, but:

This is a clip from the article mentioned above and I think it's good advice, there was also a study done recently at Stanford that echoed the same advice:

"In 2001, researchers at MIT concluded that the correct dosage for melatonin falls between .3 and 1 mg. Yet, walk down the pharmacy aisle and you’ll see stacks of sleep aids packing as 10 times that amount."

I tend to veer toward the .3mg figure and find it works better than the higher doses. Yes, I do have to sometimes cut some pills in half or even quarters. Use a pill cutter or a single edged razor blade which I think is more accurate. The sublingual pills offer the fastest and best delivery system.

[WindCpap]

I use it often, especially for jet lag. Depending on the direction I am travelling, I use higher doses to help to stave off waking in the middle of the night, and staying awake. I have never had a problem with a higher dose causing me issues, and I am not careful at all about my own dosage (although I don't take more than 1 mg if it is just to fall asleep).

My son has ADHD, and, on the advice of his specialist, we use it for him. We are much more careful about the dosing in this case. 0.5 milligrams is what he gets, and that is only because I can't seem to find a readily available source of 0.3 milligram pills.

[Hornnumb2]

Wow I guess I am really bad because sometimes I take 3 3mg tabs....

[Lucyhere]

Wow I guess I am really bad because sometimes I take 3 3mg tabs....

You're not bad... but it might be a good idea to do more research.

[RogerSC]

I do take the .3mg dose just about every night, seems to help me get to sleep, and a low enough dose that hopefully it doesn't discourage my body from producing its own melatonin. I've also heard that as you get older your body's production of melatonin drops off...so there's that *smile*.

[WindCpap]

If you are taking it every day, it should be under the advise and supervision of a sleep doctor. Light therapy including blue-blocking glasses in the afternoon should be instead of, or in combination with melatonin therapy for long term treatment.

[jonny515]

Doesn't do anything for me, but I don't see this as completely serious. Obviously anything with an effect is going to have side effects in some people, but perhaps the Big Pharma is frightened if something low cost might be as effective as meds in some people.

I've seen the same stuff for medical cannabis. These children taking medical marijuana for something like 300 seizures a month, and some doctor will say "We don't know the long term effects fo this." (yeah well what about the 20 anti-convulsants the kid was taking-- were you worried about them?)

[Cathyann]

My 11 yr old son is ADHD and aspergers, his dr recommends him having .3 an hour before bed then another at bedtime. Works like a charm but there could also be a little of a placebo effect with him. It's a pediatric sleep dr, not a pediatrician so I feel safe giving it to him.

As for me, I fall asleep in minutes. I'm sure that will change tomorrow when I begin therapy.

[RogerSC]

If you are taking it every day, it should be under the advise and supervision of a sleep doctor.

Sources? Where did you hear or read this?

Thanks.

[archangle]

It's a miracle cure for some, does nothing for some, has some side effects for others. For me, I tend to wake up a few hours later and can't sleep. It also tends to give me unpleasant dreams.

We do need to quit being so cavalier about using melatonin and other "natural" products. We need to remember that almost anything that has an actual beneficial therapeutic effect also has downside risks.

[RogerSC]

It's a miracle cure for some, does nothing for some, has some side effects for others. For me, I tend to wake up a few hours later and can't sleep. It also tends to give me unpleasant dreams.

We do need to quit being so cavalier about using melatonin and other "natural" products. We need to remember that almost anything that has an actual beneficial therapeutic effect also has downside risks.

Just curious what dose you've taken?

Don't disagree about potential downsides, by the way. That's one of the reasons that I keep the dose down.

[klv329]

I tried the 3mg. I liked it best for second sleep sessions in the early morning when I woke too early for some reason. It helped relax and snooze. Tried it a few times before bedtime with mixed results. Once it did nothing. Once it made me worry a little about what seemed to be labored or deep breathing. Once I should have upped my EPAP because I woke up at night and felt my throat below my tongue collapsing and opening just as quickly several times with the S9 adapt - quite an odd sensation. Haven't used it since that episode. But it was interesting to feel for the first time the source of my obstructive apneas, and why those surgeries were useless. Although the nose burn did help with using nasal pillows. I wonder if most obstructive apneas are caused by the collapsing muscles in the throat and not those other parts some like to snip and burn.

[LSAT]

I was doing a pre-op physical with my PCP and we were reviewing my meds. he asked me if I was still taking 3mg Melatonin. I told him I was, but I was considering cutting the dose in half. He told me he was taking 10mg.