Anyone tried Melatonin?

[otterjack]

Has anyone here tried Melatonin to help with sleep? I've been using it for a few weeks now and it certainly assists with the actual 'getting to sleep' part. That was always the worst for me, the lying awake for (literally) hours.

I've read some bits and pieces on t'internet and was curious as to the experiences of people of ME/CFS individuals.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dechi]

Yes, melatonin is the only supplement or med I take to help me sleep. I never take it on 2 consecutive days, because believe it or not it makes me gain weight. And also because I don't want to habituate. When I am really wired, it doesn't work as well. Instead of falling asleep within 40 minutes, it might take 2-3 hours.

 

[moosie]

Can you get it in the UK? My husband had some that he bought in America to help with jet lag but then found you couldn't get it here. This was a good few years ago now. I've never tired it but it really help him.

 

[Dechi]

@moosie I don't know but you can certainly buy it online from another country. In Canada it doesn't require a prescription, I am sure it's the same in other countries as well.

 

[otterjack]

I bought mine from a place in the USA. Can't remember the name at the moment. It didn't seem to be available in the UK.

Dechi - I hope it doesn't have that effect with me I read that it could in some cases assist with LOSING weight, and I reckoned that would be a bonus!

 

[Dechi]

@otterjack I don't know why but I seem to have all the odd side effects from drug and supplements, lol ! Chances are you'll probaly lose weight ! ;-)

 

[NelliePledge]

i think GPs in the UK can actually prescribe melatonin in some circumstances - from memory it was for older people wiht sleep problems - thinking of asking my GP for it so I can stop taking Amitryptyline which makes me groggier in the mornings

 

[rosie26]

I first tried Melatonin in my moderate years and found it very good for getting off to sleep within a hour. I stopped taking it about 2 years ago as my health was deteriorating with what felt like a new health condition. So I thought I had better stop it for a while.

I am thinking of taking it again, perhaps just a couple of times a week this time round. I started at 1mg and then found half a milligram was good enough.

 

[Snow Leopard]

I take it occasionally. As the others have mentioned, I don't recommend taking it every day, nor in high doses - I also find less than 1mg is enough and more doesn't help. The equivalent endogenous amount that the body makes is less than 1mg so high doses may actually harm your ability to sleep in the long run.

See also:
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jcem.86.10.7901

 

[Valentijn]

It worked very well for fixing some hellish jetlag, but it turns me into a zombie. I wouldn't take it for more than a day or two.

 

[Gondwanaland]

For my husband 0.75 mg of melatonin helps to fall asleep within 15 minutes. The problem is that (in my personal interpretation) it lowers cortisol and then he just can't get out of bed in the morning (not before noon).

For me the same amount helps with not having a cortisol peak in the middle of the night so I can sleep thru the whole night. I get up in the morning feeling refreshed and pain-free.

Why we don't take it anymore? My husband for the reason I explained above, and for me after a few times taking it (3- 4x) it stops working, and it seems to raise my uric acid as every methyl donor does.

For a while I used it like this:

1) Had problems waking up in the middle of the night
2) Took it before bed 3-4 nights in a row and stopped
Usually it adjusted my circadian rhythm for a couple of weeks. Then I repeated the above when it got disrupted again. Untill it stopped working at all and then I always try other things to avoid cortisol peaks like magnesium, sometimes calcium, or B5, B2, B6, lysine, probiotics before breakfast - trial and error. A higher dosage never helped, I think I went up to 1.5 mg.

 

[PatJ]

Melatonin is one of my essential sleep supplements (along with l-tyrosine, LDN, magnesium, Methylfolate, Nighty night tea with valerian, iodine, and an inclined bed.)

Regular melatonin helps me to fall asleep more quickly but not stay asleep. Long acting melatonin is more effective at helping me to stay asleep. A lower dose of melatonin also works better for me. I use Natrol 1mg long acting.

 

[BellaSC]

I tried straight melatonin years ago and woke up every 2 hours !
I've since discovered a great product called " Power To Sleep" by Irwin Naturals.
Works great. Dr Montoya and Dr Chia approved and does not interfere with any meds.
Amazon sells it.

 

[keenly]

I have a spare Melatonin spray for sale, message me if interested. I am in UK.

 

[Wishful]

Melatonin did seem to help me get to sleep, but I rarely had insomnia at the start of night; I'd get it at 2:30AM, where it would help, or later, when melatonin would get me to sleep again, but would leave me horribly groggy for at least part of the day. I was concerned about habituation, so I don't have any in the house at present.

My main source of insomnia now seems to be having sugar any time after morning, or a high-starch low-fibre meal around mid-day. Either of those is likely to cause the 'wake up at 2:30 with no hope of further sleep' problem.

 

[otterjack]

BellaSC - that happens to me too, to some degree. It definitely puts me to sleep, but I wake up a lot. However, strangely, I've found that the waking often doesn't affect me negatively the next day - I still feel like I've slept better.

 

[sharks]

I use 25 mg of zinc and 5 melatonin

 

[Alvin2]

I've been on it almost 10 years, though in my case its part of my non 24 circadian disorder treatment regimen

I take it occasionally. As the others have mentioned, I don't recommend taking it every day, nor in high doses - I also find less than 1mg is enough and more doesn't help. The equivalent endogenous amount that the body makes is less than 1mg so high doses may actually harm your ability to sleep in the long run.

See also:
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jcem.86.10.7901

You hit the nail on the head, 1mg raises the level to endogenous production and it does not work in a dose/response way, once you get the normal level in the blood more doesn't do much else.
Some brands seem to have less then stated on the label, the quality control does not seem to be as good on OTC supplements as pharmaceutical drugs

 

[AlwaysTired]

I've been taking it for about 2 months- I need to take 6 mg (two 3 mg sublingual) just to fall asleep, and it's gotten less effective for me than it was when I started. I was falling asleep at 11pm with it before, but now it's become 1am.

I never had sleep issues before CFS- I tired easily and fell asleep easily and quickly at night. And the few times I did use melatonin then it worked really well.

Last night I didn't fall asleep until 3am and it's been a few nights in a row of laying in bed for 4 or more hours before falling asleep so I am going to need to find something else (possibly prescription)

 

[Dechi]

I tried straight melatonin years ago and woke up every 2 hours !
I've since discovered a great product called " Power To Sleep" by Irwin Naturals.
Works great. Dr Montoya and Dr Chia approved and does not interfere with any meds.
Amazon sells it.

There is 2 mg in melatonin in this supplement, along with many other things, like fish oil, magnesium, valeriane, etc. I usually prefer not mixing that many supplements togethers, I'd rather choose the ones I want separately since there are many that I don't tolerate. All those supplements sound good though.