Melatonin

[[Ho...]]

Anyone here ever use it for anything

[[De...]]

Hi HockeyGal,

Yes I have tried melatonin for sleep but sadly it did not work for me, in fact it made my symptoms worse but I do know it has helped others, suppose we're all different.

Debbie 

[[Ho...]]

Hi HockeyGal,

Yes I have tried melatonin for sleep but sadly it did not work for me, in fact it made my symptoms worse but I do know it has helped others, suppose we're all different.

Debbie 

 

Is it good for anxiety I wonder?

[[De...]]

Is it good for anxiety I wonder?

HockeyGal,

Melatonin is generally used as a sleep aid but according to the Melatonin website, taking a melatonin supplement may minimise the symptoms of anxiety.

You can find the melatonin website through google.

Hope that helps.

Debbie 

[[Ho...]]

Apparently it's not supposed to be used if you have hormone disruption.

[[On...]]

I have been using "Tart Cherry" extract capsules and it's seemed to really help with my insomnia. It was initially used to help treat gout symptoms by reducing the amount of uric acid in the body, reducing acid levels to a slightly high, alkaline pH of (7.1) is suppose to be very helpful for all things in the body, especially with benzo-healing. Incidentally, I have also added many alkaline foods to my diet.

 

Anyway, back to the "Tart Cherry" and insomnia connection. It appears that there is also very small amounts of "melatonin" in tart cherries. The human body naturally makes only about .10mg, that's one tenth of a milligram and most OTC melatonin comes in 1mg to 5 mg. and some are time released. These are suppose to be way too much melatonin, after all it's a hormone. Apparently the tart cherry is much safer to use and it's seems to be working fairly well for sleep. I've been getting between 4 and 7 hours, that's good compared to what I was doing.

[[An...]]

Melatonin can also increase depression if you are suffering from it.  I read it online and it made mine worse.......but it did help me sleep.

[[An...]]

I have been using "Tart Cherry" extract capsules and it's seemed to really help with my insomnia. It was initially used to help treat gout symptoms by reducing the amount of uric acid in the body, reducing acid levels to a slightly high, alkaline pH of (7.1) is suppose to be very helpful for all things in the body, especially with benzo-healing. Incidentally, I have also added many alkaline foods to my diet.

 

Anyway, back to the "Tart Cherry" and insomnia connection. It appears that there is also very small amounts of "melatonin" in tart cherries. The human body naturally makes only about .10mg, that's one tenth of a milligram and most OTC melatonin comes in 1mg to 5 mg. and some are time released. These are suppose to be way too much melatonin, after all it's a hormone. Apparently the tart cherry is much safer to use and it's seems to be working fairly well for sleep. I've been getting between 4 and 7 hours, that's good compared to what I was doing.

 

That sounds interesting. How long have you been taking it?  Did it help right away?  My naturopath told me to buy the 1 mg melatonin and take a quarter of it so 25 mg.  he said he read that it can help cut withdrawal time in half.  Not sure if I believe it or everyone would be on it, biut worth a try.  I might still try the low dose as it was 2-3 mg that was making my dp worse.

[[fi...]]

I tried it and it actually kept me awake 2 additional hours and then I woke up early!  It also caused a headache and a bad taste in my mouth.  I have not taken it since.

 

Just my experience ...

 

fg

[[Ch...]]

I tried melatonine for a while after my neurologist had tested me and had come to the conclusion that my brain hardly produces any melatonine itself, and only very late at night. So we hoped that melatonine suppletion would help me overcome my insomnia but it didn't. The neurologist said to me that the younger you are, the better it works, usually, because once you are a bit older (I was in my thirties) your brains cannot be fooled so easily anymore. My son has the same problem with his melatonine production but for him the suppletion works perfectly. He used to stay away until midnight quite often when he was about six or seven; he is nine years old now, gets his daily dose of melatonine at 7.30 PM every day, starts yawning and rubbing his eyes about an hour later, and goes to sleep before 9.00 PM now almost every night.

I am surprised about the small doses that are mentioned here though. I used to get 5 to 10 mg from my neurologist, and my son gets 2,5 mg every night and he doesn't seem to suffer from any side effects, sleeps well through to the morning, he is very lively in the daytime, and has no depression of any kind, luckily. The neurologist that I went to is an authority on this subject; people from all over the country (Holland) come especially to his clinic because he and his two partners are supposed to be the best. They also wrote a lot about melatonine and the delayed sleep phase syndrom but I don't know if any of that has been translated into English. There is a doctor Smits and two doctors Jansen (or Janssen?), all neurologists in the same sleep clinic.

Have you tried melatonine yet by now and what was your experience?

[[fi...]]

I actually read that one shouldn't take it consistently because it could cause your own body to stop making it.  Also, a doctor stated that it usually works for older people who have problems making melatonin.  I tried it and it did me no good at all and caused a headache.  Since it is a hormone, I'm reluctant to take it unless it is proven that I need it.

 

Sincerely,

 

fg

[[De...]]

I tried melatonine for a while after my neurologist had tested me and had come to the conclusion that my brain hardly produces any melatonine itself, and only very late at night. So we hoped that melatonine suppletion would help me overcome my insomnia but it didn't. The neurologist said to me that the younger you are, the better it works, usually, because once you are a bit older (I was in my thirties) your brains cannot be fooled so easily anymore. My son has the same problem with his melatonine production but for him the suppletion works perfectly. He used to stay away until midnight quite often when he was about six or seven; he is nine years old now, gets his daily dose of melatonine at 7.30 PM every day, starts yawning and rubbing his eyes about an hour later, and goes to sleep before 9.00 PM now almost every night.

I am surprised about the small doses that are mentioned here though. I used to get 5 to 10 mg from my neurologist, and my son gets 2,5 mg every night and he doesn't seem to suffer from any side effects, sleeps well through to the morning, he is very lively in the daytime, and has no depression of any kind, luckily. The neurologist that I went to is an authority on this subject; people from all over the country (Holland) come especially to his clinic because he and his two partners are supposed to be the best. They also wrote a lot about melatonine and the delayed sleep phase syndrom but I don't know if any of that has been translated into English. There is a doctor Smits and two doctors Jansen (or Janssen?), all neurologists in the same sleep clinic.

Have you tried melatonine yet by now and what was your experience?

Hi Chompy,

I tried 5 mg melatonin and it didn't work for me either, only served to heighten my withdrawal symptoms.

Hope that helps,

Debbie 

[[Ch...]]

fishingguy, I also read somewhere that if you take it every night, that your own body stops making it. I will discuss this with my neurologist.

And I am surprised that your doctor said that it often worked better for older people. Mine said exactly the opposite.

I am really confused now. I took some of my son's pills this week and did have the feeling that it helped me fall asleep, and I had no side effect.

I am worried about my child now, who has been taking it every night for over a year. But it has really stabilized him, and I don't want him to go back to lying awake every night until very late.

Maybe (hopefully) it is good enough if I stop giving it to him during the weekends and holidays, for example, so that he does get a good night's sleep when he has to go to school the next day but that he will sleep less (or fall asleep later) when he doesn't need to go to school.

Did it really heighten your withdrawal symptoms? Which symptoms and how were they affected?

[[fi...]]

It didn't really heighten my w/d sxs, it just caused a headache and kept me awake and put a bad taste in my mouth.  I was really more disappointed that it didn't work for me than anything else.  I had to ultimately go back on Paxil and that solve the insomnia problem.

 

At any rate, I hope you figure out what works for you and your son.

 

Wishing you well ...

 

fg

[[ve...]]

My husband and I both take time released Melatonin before bedtime.  It helps both of us sleep.  I haven't noticed any problems with it before reducing my meds or with my w/d, but now I'm going to experiment around with it to see if it affects it.

[[On...]]

I have been using "Tart Cherry" extract capsules and it's seemed to really help with my insomnia. It was initially used to help treat gout symptoms by reducing the amount of uric acid in the body, reducing acid levels to a slightly high, alkaline pH of (7.1) is suppose to be very helpful for all things in the body, especially with benzo-healing. Incidentally, I have also added many alkaline foods to my diet.

 

Anyway, back to the "Tart Cherry" and insomnia connection. It appears that there is also very small amounts of "melatonin" in tart cherries. The human body naturally makes only about .10mg, that's one tenth of a milligram and most OTC melatonin comes in 1mg to 5 mg. and some are time released. These are suppose to be way too much melatonin, after all it's a hormone. Apparently the tart cherry is much safer to use and it's seems to be working fairly well for sleep. I've been getting between 4 and 7 hours, that's good compared to what I was doing.

 

That sounds interesting. How long have you been taking it?  Did it help right away?  My naturopath told me to buy the 1 mg melatonin and take a quarter of it so 25 mg.  he said he read that it can help cut withdrawal time in half.  Not sure if I believe it or everyone would be on it, biut worth a try.  I might still try the low dose as it was 2-3 mg that was making my dp worse.

 

Annie,

 

I have been using it for two weeks and that's all I have been using for sleep. Prior to that, I was taking Meclizine(Dramamine II) and a 3 mg. tablet of Melatonin. It has helped a lot since the first day.

I'm using "Tart Cherry" made by Solaray. You can buy it from Amazon. It seems to work better than the 3mg. tablet of Melatonin I was using. It seems odd since the dose is much lower, maybe more is less effective with melatonin? I really don't know if the withdrawal time is cut or that it's just that Melatonin might make it more tolerable.

 

I have read though, that Melatonin and benzodiazepines when used together, make the benzodiazepine bind better to the receptors. So if anyone is still in a taper, it looks like it could make things worse. I had C/T'd at the beginning of Feb., 2012, but had used melatonin periodically in the past while on diazepam. Stupid, stupid, stupid me 

[[He...]]

Had a real bad effect on me during intense wd last year, had faces screaming in my head as I lay in bed trying to sleep, may have helped sleep a bit that night as far as I remember, but the trauma getting there was not worth it.

[[co...]]

I bought the 3mg. time released melatonin and for some crazy reason it takes me about 1.5hr. to fall asleep after taking the tablet, and within  2 hrs.  I am once again awake un able to fall asleep again.

[[fi...]]

Yeah, Melatonin did a similar thing with me.  I stayed awake 2 hours after I took it and then woke up early!  Go figure ...

 

fg

[[An...]]

I read a study today that when rats were given benzos for extended period of time their melatonin levels decreased. Makes sense to me, I think benzos have stripped me of every good hormone I have.

[[...]]

They say Melatonin/5-HTP can mess with Anti-Depressants (SSRI's) so don't know if that has anything to do with other people's reactions to it (it not working).

 

I'm definately gunna try this Tart Cherry Extract. How many mg's are people taking? The cheapest cap's i could find were 500mg. The others seemed to be 1000mg.

 

 

[[Ha...]]

I've taken melatonin in the past and it worked well for me.  I've tried it again during w/d and it still seems to help.  I still have night sweats, waking up in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat, but I can fall back to sleep more easily.  It also reduces the morning anxiety, but instead I feel groggy for an hour after I wake up.

[[Ca...]]

Before all of these drug problems that I've had, I used to take Melatonin every night. In canada at first we could only get 3 mg. tablets. They worked somewhat for me.

Then went to 5 mg. tablets time released and they also worked for me.

 

But now, If I take even 2.5 mg. I have nightmares, headaches and the worst of all.

My depression really escalates.

I seem to have become sensitive to a lot of things.

Carol (geddeca)

[[St...]]

I tried it for the first time last night. Broke a 2.5mg pill in half. My problem isn't falling asleep. It's staying asleep. Been waking between 3:15  and 3:30am this week. And once I wake up - that's it. The hot flashes, adrenaline surges, tingles over my body start soon after and make it nearly impossible to fall back asleep. I've read that melantonin doesn't really help with the "staying asleep" challenge, but a benzowise doctor I saw recently said to just stick with it, taking it at the same time each night, for a few weeks and it should help. Open to any advice from anyone else who has tried melatonin for the night waking challenge.

StanfordGal.

[[Me...]]

Hi StanfordGal

 

Personally I have not had much help from either the regular Melatonin 3mg or the slow release also 3mg.  I suffer from both primary and secondary insomnia in that I battle to fall asleep and also wake very early - usually after 3 - 4hours.  Like you I cannot get back to sleep again.  I too have also read that it does not help with staying asleep but I do know that the older we get the less melatonin we produce so much so that by 70 we are producing about 20% of what we were producing in our 20s.  I am in my 50s so I will continue to use it on and off. 

 

You said you used it for the first time last night at a 1.25mg dose did it help at all?