Melatonin make me sleep worse

[Vincent]

Like the vast majority of us here, I don't get refreshing sleep. I haven't slept well since 1995. I have tried melatonin several times, each time I wake up extremely groggy and I sleep worse. My barametor for sleeping worse is, I sleep 8-10hrs, wake up for 3 hours, then go back to sleep.

If melatonin makes me feel worse does that help to explain anything else? Are there any other supplements for sleep? I do have severe apnea that is being treated with cpap. Once I was put on cpap I thought I would actually achieve deep sleep. Still hasn't happened. I'd love to try zyrem but I know they'll never prescribe it and I'm done with conventional medicine unless I'm forced.

 

[L'engle]

I had worse sleep on melatonin as well. It kept me awake. I don't trust it.

 

[Sherlock]

Hi, whenever I'd hear of that response in normal people, the thing to do was cut the dose down. For some, half of a 3 mg tablet was plenty. That usually solved it - and I can't see any reason not to try it for CFS, too. Good luck.

As for me, I have taken as much as 30mg and not felt a thing.

 

[taniaaust1]

Like the vast majority of us here, I don't get refreshing sleep. I haven't slept well since 1995. I have tried melatonin several times, each time I wake up extremely groggy and I sleep worse. My barametor for sleeping worse is, I sleep 8-10hrs, wake up for 3 hours, then go back to sleep.

As another said maybe you would do better with less (why you may be having so many issues is in my next comment). Where I are in Australia.. the standard dose for melatonin is only 1mg.

If melatonin makes me feel worse does that help to explain anything else?

Melatonin is well known to often have bad effects on those who have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and is recommended to be avoided for that patient group. So consider if that could be why you arent going well with melatonin.
(I do have severe POTS but in my own case Im fortunate as I can still take melatonin without it affecting me badly).


If you havent tried it.. you could trial some doxylamine succinate (antihistamine sleep aid which can be as powerful as sedatives) .

I sympathize with your sleep issues.. after mine getting under control for quite a few months, my sleep issues have come back majorly this week and last night I was still awake at 6.30am this morning.. still trying to sleep (I hadnt been able to get to sleep at all). The night before I was still awake at 5.30am and the night before that one I hit the benzos to get to sleep after 4.30am.

 

[Vincent]

I sympathize with your sleep issues.. after mine getting under control for quite a few months, my sleep issues have come back majorly this week and last night I was still awake at 6.30am this morning.. still trying to sleep (I hadnt been able to get to sleep at all). The night before I was still awake at 5.30am and the night before that one I hit the benzos to get to sleep after 4.30am.

4 years ago I started the cpap and I thought it would change my sleep quality. Ever since then I've had a free running sleep cycle, only able to keep control of it for a few days at a time. I was hoping if I could ensure deep sleep I would recover and not have to only be up for 12hrs a day, etc, and or sleep for 12hrs. You can see how if this keeps up the schedule starts to get totally out of whack.

 

[maddietod]

Melatonin at low doses (1mg) does nothing, and at normal doses (3mg) keeps me up all night.

I wake up a lot less often when I avoid all dairy. I wonder if I have an allergic reaction that involves just enough throat swelling to cause sleep apnea. I have no easy way to figure that out.

 

[Patrick*]

I've also had sleep disturbances taking a full 5 mg tablet, or even a half tab. There's no doubt it helped me fall asleep initially, and I would sleep well enough for the first half of the night, but then I would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to fall back to sleep.

When I started cutting the tablet into quarters, it helped me fall asleep and stay asleep.

 

[frenchmoxie]

I've found that the lower the dose of melatonin I take, the better. I take a supplement at night called NightRest made by Source Naturals (no financial interest). I get mine from iHerb. http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-NightRest-with-Melatonin-100-Tablets/1358

Anyways, a serving is apparently 2 tablets which contains around 5 mg melatonin. I actually only take about 1/4 of ONE tablet each night (so a very small amount of melatonin), along with 500mg of Taurine and sometimes L-Glycine and throw in some magnesium malate (with malic acid) just for fun

 

[Snow Leopard]

For me, dosage is the key. I have bad experiences with melatonin at doses of 2mg or higher and good experience at 0.75mg. Going to bed/getting up at a consistent time is also necessary, melatonin isn't a magic fix unfortunately.

 

[arx]

Like the vast majority of us here, I don't get refreshing sleep. I haven't slept well since 1995. I have tried melatonin several times, each time I wake up extremely groggy and I sleep worse. My barametor for sleeping worse is, I sleep 8-10hrs, wake up for 3 hours, then go back to sleep.

If melatonin makes me feel worse does that help to explain anything else? Are there any other supplements for sleep? I do have severe apnea that is being treated with cpap. Once I was put on cpap I thought I would actually achieve deep sleep. Still hasn't happened. I'd love to try zyrem but I know they'll never prescribe it and I'm done with conventional medicine unless I'm forced.

Hi Vincent,

Melatonin makes me feel worse too. I cannot take it. I tried in June, when I was on MB12 and the startup was causing some serious sleep troubles. It gave me relief once or twice but after then I just couldn't take it anymore. I tried a lot of dosages and posted a thread also(http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/melatonin.18038/)
My opinion is that melatonin will work only if there is a problem with the circadian rhythms. It did not help the neurological(and neuropsychiatric,if those two are to be considered separate) symptoms because of which I could not sleep. Till now I can't find something to help me with sleep. I tried a LOT of things, some of which work sometimes.You should try taking chamomile tea before sleep. I also tried a mixture of Apple Cidar Vinegar and Baking Soda. I don't take these things everyday,but I keep trying different things. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't. Google for 'insomnia home remedies' , you'll find loads of stuff if you're interested in trying it out.Good luck.


Doesn't apnea get worse with some meds,as they also interfere with respiration?

 

[AFCFS]

If melatonin makes me feel worse does that help to explain anything else? Are there any other supplements for sleep? I do have severe apnea that is being treated with cpap. Once I was put on cpap I thought I would actually achieve deep sleep. Still hasn't happened. I'd love to try zyrem but I know they'll never prescribe it and I'm done with conventional medicine unless I'm forced.

I have sleep apnea, and also used the CPAP, which seemed worthless. I moved to a dental appliance (TAP-3) and that seems much better for me. I take 3 mg Melatonin, 500 mg GABA, and 500 mg L-Tryptophan. This combo works for me. I also have said good riddance to conventional/prescription sleep meds.