Melatonin - Decreases pressure needed?

Even though, I may not continue to use melatonin, (other topic/post) I was surprised at the two nights and early morning naps I had with melatonin.

The AHI, was low at night 0.5 and 0.4, both naps were 0. I did feel I got some sleep, first night 3mg, the second night I woke up a few times dose 0.3 mg.

Even more surprising, for the nap today, I lowered the pressure to 10. AHI=0. (I have said in the past that my naps usually had a higher AHI.)

When I started with a pressure of 10, I was always getting events at those low numbers. I ended up with 14 as a low, but there were still events at higher numbers up to 18.

Has any one noticed a similar pattern when taking melatonin. (I would assume with sleeping pills the pressure would increase.)

With long term use of melatonin, would I still get the same results.

Any comments.

I didn't respond to your first post because it was not clear from your post if you had just started using melatonin.

If you just started to use it, you don't know what the effects will be as you seem to be finding out.

Melatonin, doesn't do anything for me, but for some it can have an impact, and some may react in a non-positive way.

I take melatonin, 300 mcg. at night and have experienced great results with it. I do believe that it is often taken in does MUCH higher than should be taken. I believe ( and there is a lot of literature that reports) that it should be taken at 300 MICROgrams (mcgs.) while many take 3 MILLIgrams (mgs.) which is ten times as much.

Most importantly however, it seems to be most effective for circadian resynchronization. Therefore, it should be taken when you go to bed FOR THE NIGHT, and NOT as a sleep aid for EVERY nap, in my opinion. Taking exogenous melatonin seems to make up for decreases in levels of endogenous melatonin released by the pineal gland, which is a naturally occuring part of aging.

Melatonin is, BTW, VERY neuroprotective and therefore, at any extent used, its good for you. It should NOT be taken along with Rozerem, however.

Just my opinions tho.

Chuck

Self seeker-I take Ambien and tend to have somewhat lower AHI's on the nights I take it. I have gotten 8-9 zero nights with the FP 406 and Ambien CR. I am planning to do a trial of melatonin at the low level Chuck suggested. I think it is also one of those medications that takes a while to achieve good results. So anyone taking it shouldn't get discouraged if you don't get immediate results.
Chuck do you know anything about taking melatonin and Ambien. I have come to rely on Ambien when traveling. I am not fond of travel and do not sleep well. I have a couple trips coming up and have been putting off the melatonin trial until that's over so I can use the Ambien.

I would think you would see the opposite with melatonin use, it promotes deep and REM sleep. If it keeps you in deep or REM sleep longer then you should see more SDB events as that is where the majority take place, but the cpap would/should eliminate the event.

Supplemental melatonin adds to the level your body already produces. On a normal sleep night, wake day cycle there is a bell curve where your melatonin levels peak at about 2AM then gradually taper off until morning where you wake up.

That bell curve drops as we produce less melatonin as we get older. So unless you take it so it adds to that natural bell curve level, it may not do anything for naps. If your wake/sleep cycle is messed up where that curve has shifted melatonin can sometimes help put it back in sync.

You can go to http://www.melatonin.com for more info and doing a google search should bring up much more info. The only side effect I've seen with using it for more than 15yrs is it makes you sleep.

GoofyUT wrote:I take melatonin, 300 mcg. at night and have experienced great results with it. I do believe that it is often taken in does MUCH higher than should be taken. I believe ( and there is a lot of literature that reports) that it should be taken at 300 MICROgrams (mcgs.) while many take 3 MILLIgrams (mgs.) which is ten times as much.

Most importantly however, it seems to be most effective for circadian resynchronization. Therefore, it should be taken when you go to bed FOR THE NIGHT, and NOT as a sleep aid for EVERY nap, in my opinion. Taking exogenous melatonin seems to make up for decreases in levels of endogenous melatonin released by the pineal gland, which is a naturally occuring part of aging.

Melatonin is, BTW, VERY neuroprotective and therefore, at any extent used, its good for you. It should NOT be taken along with Rozerem, however.

Just my opinions tho.

Chuck

Here predict this genius:

I think you have your mcg's and mg's all screwed up, must be from taking too much of your miracle drug Xanax, but tell me where you buy it in microgram doses?

I've seen it in 1mg, 1.5mg and 3mg dosages but never in mcg doses.

are you sure you take it at all? or are you just making that up? It would be interesting to do a search here and read what you said about it before.

here, I'll save you the search:

Upchuckie wrote:

I got the chance to discuss this with my moron sleep doc during my first and ONLY contact with him 3 months after he diagnosed me, and he suggested 0.3 mg of melatonin when I awakened. This too, had NO beneficial effect whatsoever.

Upchuckie wrote above:

I take melatonin, 300 mcg. at night and have experienced great results with it. I do believe that it is often taken in does MUCH higher than should be taken. I believe ( and there is a lot of literature that reports) that it should be taken at 300 MICROgrams (mcgs.) while many take 3 MILLIgrams (mgs.) which is ten times as much.

So which is it? works or doesn't work? you can't seem to make up your mind.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/melatonin.html

A new study by MIT scientists and colleagues confirms that melatonin is an effective sleep aid for older insomniacs and others. Misuse of the hormone had led some to question its efficacy, but the latest work (published in the February issue of Sleep Medicine Reviews) could jump-start interest in the dietary supplement and help more people get a good night's sleep.

In earlier research, scientists led by Professor Richard Wurtman, principal investigator for the current study, showed that only a small dose of melatonin (about 0.3 milligrams) is necessary for a restful effect. Taken in that quantity, it not only helps people fall asleep, but also makes it easier for them to return to sleep after waking up during the night--a problem for many older adults.

The researchers also found, however, that commercially available melatonin pills contain 10 times the effective amount. And at that dose, "after a few days it stops working," said Wurtman, director of MIT's Clinical Research Center and the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor. When the melatonin receptors in the brain are exposed to too much of the hormone, they become unresponsive.

300 MICROgrams (mcgs.) = (3 milligrams)/10 = 0.3 Milligrams

Snoredog wrote:
Here predict this genius:

I think you have your mcg's and mg's all screwed up, must be from taking too much of your miracle drug Xanax, but tell me where you buy it in microgram doses?

I've seen it in 1mg, 1.5mg and 3mg dosages but never in mcg doses.

http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/item00547.html
http://www.medshopexpress.com/086733.html
http://www.iherb.com/store/ProductDetai ... =LEX-54610
http://www.sundownnutrition.com/product ... 0768035600

Google has more.

HTH

The typical melatonin pills you see on the shelf (3 mg.) are great for their anti-oxidant benefits, but not for sleep. The manufacturers have finally figured out most people seek out Melatonin as a sleep aid and are now offering it in lower dosage amounts for this purpose. I can't find tablets in the 300 mcg. (0.3 mg) dosage at my local pharmacy chains, but it is available online if you know to look for it.

I feel sorry for the people who don't know better and pick up a bottle of 3mg. pills thinking it will help them sleep. There must be a lot of disappointed Melatonin users out there.

Snoredog-

I think that you'll find melatonin 300 mcg. (0.3 mg) at your nearest Wal-mart. I did.

Thanks once again for your predictable nastiness. You continue to betray yourself.

Chuck

Krousseau-

I don't think that there should be any problem with combining small doses of melatonin (300 mcg. QHS) with Ambien. Ambien is a BZD-3 agonist. Melatonin works of course, on the MT-1, MT-2 and MT-3 receptors, so there shouldn't be any cross tolerance. However, melatonin should NOT be combined with Rozerem (ramelteon), since ramelteon IS an MT-1 and MT-2 agonist.

Just my opinions, but I hope this helps!

Chuck

GoofyUT wrote:I got the chance to discuss this with my moron sleep doc during my first and ONLY contact with him 3 months after he diagnosed me, and he suggested 0.3 mg of melatonin when I awakened. This too, had NO beneficial effect whatsoever.

I'd like to give Melitonin a try, but if 3mg is too much and 0.3mg (300mcg.) has no beneficial effect, what amount are people taking who are getting good results with it? Does it depend on how much you weigh?

I'm sorry that that OLD post was unnecessarily dragged up by Snoredog. He was just trying to score a point. I currently take melatonin 0.3 mg (300 mcg) at bed and I CONSISTENTLY get 8 hours of restful sleep each night. That old post was from several months ago, when I was having all sorts of difficulties with my xPAP treatment, primarily due, I believe, to my own incompatibility with the algorithm in the particular auto-tirating CPAP that I was using at the time. So, I was AWFUL cranky cause I wasn't sleeping all that well.

However, since then, EVERYTHING has come together nicely and I sleep soundly and well every night, with short sleep latencies and NO awakenings, until its time to get up 8 hours later. I attribute much of this to my taking 0.3 mg of melatonin each night. In fact, I misplaced my melatonin (the dog hid it) the night before last and therefore didn't take it, and I experienced a LONG sleep latency, tho once asleep, I did sleep well. Last night, I took it as usual and slept like a baby with a short latency.

So yes, I'll recommend it based on my personal experience, though I repeat my warning to avoid taking doses higher than indicated for sleep, and stick with the dosing of 300 mcg. (0.3 mg) at bedtime only.

Hope this helps.

Chuck

Be careful combining melatonin and Ambien (zolpidem).

the combination melatonin/zolpidem were less well tolerated than melatonin alone; adverse event reports included nausea, vomiting, amnesia and somnambulia to the point of incapacitation. Confusion, morning sleepiness and nausea were highest in the combination group.

Google melatonin zolpidem cocktail for more information.

GoofyUT wrote:So yes, I'll recommend it based on my personal experience, though I repeat my warning to avoid taking doses higher than indicated for sleep, and stick with the dosing of 300 mcg. (0.3 mg) at bedtime only.

Can you give me an idea of how long you have to consistently take it before you start getting a good nights sleep?