Melatonin, need to know how much...

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:12 pm

Would someone tell me how much of this to take? I purchased 3mg tablets. I read in some posts here, but now cant remember who or where I read them. I go to sleep fairly easy, I just cant stay asleep. All help is appreciated.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:39 pm

Here is a thread with some discussion ..

viewtopic.php?p=198096#198096

Melatonin did not work for me but then I was only experimenting with it and really didn't need it ... still don't. I will say I experienced about 3 days of unpleasant withdrawl effects after using it for about a week (very hard to stay asleep after going off melatonin for me).

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:48 pm

[quote="DreamStalker"]Here is a thread with some discussion ..

viewtopic.php?p=198096#198096

Melatonin did not work for me but then I was only experimenting with it and really didn't need it ... still don't. I will say I experienced about 3 days of unpleasant withdrawl effects after using it for about a week (very hard to stay asleep after going off melatonin for me).[/quote

oooohhh, thanks so much for the input. What kind of side effect did you experience? After taking it for how long? I am not really a pill taker so I was skeptical about it....but thought if it was a natural product , then it might be worth a try..

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:56 pm

Well read the thread for yourself and make up your own mind.

I'm kind'a weird in the head to begin with but for me it did increase and intensify my dreams (the reason for my experimentation). I tried it for about a week or so. When I stopped, I had a heck of a time staying asleep for the next 3 nights or so ... I would just lay there unable to sleep and very tired during the day because of it.

All is back to normal now, restful sleep and plenty of good (though not as intense) dreams.

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:02 pm

DreamStalker wrote:Well read the thread for yourself and make up your own mind.

I'm kind'a weird in the head to begin with but for me it did increase and intensify my dreams (the reason for my experimentation). I tried it for about a week or so. When I stopped, I had a heck of a time staying asleep for the next 3 nights or so ... I would just lay there unable to sleep and very tired during the day because of it.

All is back to normal now, restful sleep and plenty of good (though not as intense) dreams.

Wow, after reading the thread (a good one, thank you), and after reading your response to it, I am thinking that maybe I dont want to use it as bad as I thought....Thank you, a big help......

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:15 pm

My son used it for several months and it helped him tremendously (3 mg). He doesn't need it every night now, only occasionally. He didn't have any side effects at all. He has tried Ambien (gave him hallucinations), Lunesta (didn't help much); Rozerem (didn't help at all).

Before my son started on it, sleep doc said he could go up to 6 mg, if lower dosages didn't help.

Pam

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:34 pm

WearyOne wrote:My son used it for several months and it helped him tremendously (3 mg). He doesn't need it every night now, only occasionally. He didn't have any side effects at all. He has tried Ambien (gave him hallucinations), Lunesta (didn't help much); Rozerem (didn't help at all).

Before my son started on it, sleep doc said he could go up to 6 mg, if lower dosages didn't help.

Pam

Thanks, after reading the advice , I thought about cutting it in half...just to start out with... I just need to "stay" asleep....not wake up a half dozen times a night, and then need a couple of naps just to function.....

Perchancetodream · Post by **Perchancetodream** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:46 pm

jsmythe wrote:
...
oooohhh, thanks so much for the input. What kind of side effect did you experience? After taking it for how long? I am not really a pill taker so I was skeptical about it....but thought if it was a natural product , then it might be worth a try..

Please, please keep in mind that just because a product is "natural" does not mean that it is any safer than a manufactured drug. In some ways it may be less safe since it is usually not tested until people start becoming ill and/or dying from it.

Remember tryptophan supplements? Even though they were pulled after a trace element made people ill, it shows how uneven the manufacturing process may be as the problems were traced to a single Japanese producer.

And then, there are always the "natural" products like cyanide and arsenic...

Susan

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:17 pm

depends on what you are wanting to do with it and your age...

if you are only wanting to fall asleep then take a smaller dose under 1mg, but if you are trying to reach deeper sleep or reduce the number of awakenings during the night then you take more.

if you are left groggy the next day or the afternoon fatigue kicks in after 1PM you may have taken too much.

I take 3mg daily and have done so for more than 10 years, no 3rd arm growing out of my forehead yet.

You need to figure out what is awakening you during the night.

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:11 am

Thanks all for the advice, I have learned something here. Now, another question, if I have the machine set to Auto Off, will it shut itself off if I have an apnea? I took 3mg melatonin about 30 min. before going to bed. Slept for about 4 hours, awoke with the machine off. (mask still on). I turned it back on and then about 2 hours later, I awoke with it off again. I turned this feature off this morning. Not sure why it turned itself off. But as for the other times that I wake up after only a few hours, I have no clue what wakes me, I just know that I am wide awake and lay there for an hour or two then finally go bak to sleep. Then I feel so cruddy the next day. I usually have no problems "going" to sleep, I just cant stay asleep . Thanks Snoredog, kinda makes me feel a little better about the medication. btw...my age-53.

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:49 am

If you're having trouble STAYING asleep, have you tried the prolonged-release type of melatonin? My sleep doc recommended it for me, since I wake up a lot, too, but I haven't given it a good try yet. (I picked mine up at the local Vitamin Shoppe.)

Pam

JZ · Post by JZ » Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:55 pm

jsmythe wrote:But as for the other times that I wake up after only a few hours, I have no clue what wakes me, I just know that I am wide awake and lay there for an hour or two then finally go bak to sleep. Then I feel so cruddy the next day. I usually have no problems "going" to sleep, I just cant stay asleep .

jsmythe,

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a hard time with your sleep. I still wake up a number of times each night, but thank goodness I am not usually wide awake and I fall asleep again fairly quickly. But I have had a lot of that wide awake during the night experience in the past. It is a miserable experience.

I have no particular expertise, but I wanted to share with you what some experts who use cognitive behavior and stimulus response techniques recommend. If you awaken during the night and lay there for more than 20 minutes (estimated, as they do not recommend watching the clock during the night), get up, go in another room and do something relaxing. Don't get on the computer, as the monitor light will awaken you more. Listen to soft music, read a magazine or book (not one that is real exciting or stimulating), sit in the dark with a pet on your lap, etc. When you feel drowsy, go back to bed.

I hate getting out of bed during the night, even if I am wide awake. But when I have made myself do so and sat and read in another room, I do believe I got sleepy again faster than if I had laid in bed tossing, turning and fretting about being awake.

I hope you will find what works for you.

Janna

JZ · Post by JZ » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:29 pm

jsmythe,

I just noticed this thread related to waking up during the night:

viewtopic.php?t=26296&start=0

Take a look at the excellent tips on sleep hygiene posted by geoDoug.

Janna

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:07 am

JZ wrote:jsmythe,

I just noticed this thread related to waking up during the night:

viewtopic.php?t=26296&start=0

Take a look at the excellent tips on sleep hygiene posted by geoDoug.

Janna

Thanks Janna for both posts. Very helpful. I know that I am not the only one with this problem. I have been sleeping like this for several years, and have only been on cpap for about 3 months, otherwise I guess I would blame it on cpap. I really enjoyed reading geoDoug's post. Thanks. I will start to give all this a try. For some reason last night my mask decided to start leaking all night, got tired of fighting with it and just pulled it off and rolled over and went back to sleep and slept for 4 more hours. As I read in another post by magpie I think, I need to retrain myself to sleep.

Joyce

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:11 am

WearyOne wrote:If you're having trouble STAYING asleep, have you tried the prolonged-release type of melatonin? My sleep doc recommended it for me, since I wake up a lot, too, but I haven't given it a good try yet. (I picked mine up at the local Vitamin Shoppe.)

Pam

Thanks Pam, sounds like the time-release may work better than the regular tablets in the melatonin. In between my mask leaking and waking up with dry mouth (cheeks were stuck to my gums it was so bad), I havent been able to give the melatonin a fair chance yet. Looks like I need to wear a chin strap with my FF mask!

Joyce