Melatonin

[Lexi]

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping! I am a very light sleeper, and wake up many times during the night. It takes me forever to get back to sleep each time. I was thinking of trying melatonin. However, on the back of the bottle it says that it shouldn't be taken by people with immune disorders. Why?? I am desperate to find something to help me get a good night's sleep. Not a big fan of Advil or Tylenol PM. Does anyone know about melatonin or any type of sleep aids that really work? Thanks!

[Aroostook]

Here is what I found, hope it will be of help. Open Original Shared Link

[RiceGuy]

Have you tried a sublingual methylcobalamin (active form of vitamin B12) supplement? B12 is vital for the production of melatonin. I recall other things are required too, magnesium I think is another.

Anyway, a good strong B-complex, plus a separate B12 may do the trick for you. A multivitamin would probably be a good idea too.

[Lisa]

I took melatonin for a while. Sometimes it help and others not. It did, after regular use, give me awful reflux. I stopped and it went away.

[ranger]

I take melotonin at least once a week. I think it helps and its never bothered me, but now I'm wary. Anybody have an answer?

[larry mac]

  Aroostook said:

Here is what I found, hope it will be of help. Open Original Shared Link

From the link:

"Controversy over the Safety of Melatonin in Autoimmune Diseases

In general, although melatonin is one of the least toxic substances known, it is not recommended for people with autoimmune diseases or immune system cancers because of its ability to stimulate immune function. However, in numerous studies of people with specific autoimmune disorders, melatonin can modulate the immune system in a beneficial way. Studies show that melatonin can inhibit cytokine production and reduce inflammation. [JM Guerrero and RJ Reiter, Melatonin-immune system relationships, Current Topics in Medical Chemistry, Feb 2002; 2(2): 167-179]."

Isn't that just what we need?

best regards, lm

BTW, I just took some, so I hope it's OK!

[flourgirl]

I tried this for a while at my doctors recommendation. After reading the label I was wary, but still took it. For me it did nothing, anyway. It helps you for "fall asleep" but wanes in 4 hours. I have no trouble falling asleep.....I just don't STAY asleep. Yes, it is a naturally occuring substance in the body....but a warning is there for a reason. I tend to be wary of taking anything, so maybe I'm alarmed too easily. Anyway.....I guess it's an individual decision. Just not for me.

[Jestgar]

  flourgirl said:

I tried this for a while at my doctors recommendation. After reading the label I was wary, but still took it. For me it did nothing, anyway. It helps you for "fall asleep" but wanes in 4 hours.

I have to take mine at least nine hours before I need to get up or I'm still sleepy. Even after nine hours I'm kinda still groggy. If I take it at 7pm, the affects are fully gone around 8 or 9am the next day.

[larry mac]

This is a funny drug in that the directions on my bottle don't say take one or two pills. It says don't take more than 3 milligrams (or something like that, I'm not home right now). Well, that could be some crazy # like 30 if I remember correctly.

I only take 1 (or two pills if I'm really serious that night). And that's only occasionally. It seems to make me sleepy within an hour. As for sleeping thru the night, I may toss and turn a bit, but never wake up completely. And the morning after effects (at that dosage) are minimal, especially compared to some other sleepaids such as diphenhydramine or ambien.

Sweet dreams all.

best regards, lm

[larry mac]

After looking at the bottle, I am correcting some errors in my previous post.

The label say's "take 1 or more tablets at bedtime as Melatonin may produce drowsiness. Do not exceed 5 mg."

That's 5 milligrams, or 5000 micrograms. The pills are 300 mcg, or 300 micrograms.

So the maximum recommended dosage would be 16.7 pills (5000 divided by 300). Of course some people don't pay much attention to such things as recommended dosages. But still, 16 or 17 pills of anything is a lot in my book.

BTW, this brand is Rexall Naturals.

best regards, lm

[Lexi]

I am still unclear as to WHY melatonin is not good for people with Immune Disorders.

[Jestgar]

  Lexi said:

I am still unclear as to WHY melatonin is not good for people with Immune Disorders.

Based on this:

  Aroostook said:

Here is what I found, hope it will be of help. Open Original Shared Link

It looks to me as if the jury is still out. It may rev up your immune system, or it may help regulate it. But the article also seems to indicate that these things happen when you take doses higher than those needed for sleep. So maybe it's not really worth worry about if you're only taking a bit at night.

[flourgirl]

I think it's like anything else....the manufacturer is covering their butt. IF you happened to have a problem, and IF you claimed it was from their product, they have a loop hole. Kinda like the warnings on packaging that tells you not to put plastic bags over your head

[sugarsue]

Hi, I have to tell you, I struggled with this question too. I have Hashimoto's, an auto immune disease and my girls may or may not have celiac's. But we have totally embraced Melatonin. I need it, my girls need it. Without it, we may never go to sleep. Plus, it seems to help their behavior during the day. They can tell when they need it, when they know they will not be able to go to sleep. But as a general rule, we use 2.5 mg a night and we all relax and go to sleep with no ill effects.

When dd (6) was 3 I started using it. It saved my life. Before that, it took hours to get her to go to sleep. This was way before learning about gluten intolerance.

GOOD LUCK!

Susan

[larry mac]

  sugarsue said:

Hi, I have to tell you, I struggled with this question too. I have Hashimoto's, an auto immune disease and my girls may or may not have celiac's. But we have totally embraced Melatonin. I need it, my girls need it. Without it, we may never go to sleep. Plus, it seems to help their behavior during the day. They can tell when they need it, when they know they will not be able to go to sleep. But as a general rule, we use 2.5 mg a night and we all relax and go to sleep with no ill effects.

When dd (6) was 3 I started using it. It saved my life. Before that, it took hours to get her to go to sleep. This was way before learning about gluten intolerance.

GOOD LUCK!

Susan

Let's see, that would be 2.5 mg (2500 mcg) / by 300 mcg (1 of my pills) = 8.3 pills. You probably have a different product than I have. Mine says "Not intened for use by persons under the age of 18. Keep out of the reach of children. For adults, take one or more tablets .....". Also, ""limit use to two months with a break of one week". Yikes!

Of course, when my girls were 3, Back in '84 & '86, we gave them cough syrup with codine so they could sleep when they had ear infections. That's what the doctor said to do.

best regards, lm

[sugarsue]

  larry mac said:

Let's see, that would be 2.5 mg (2500 mcg) / by 300 mcg (1 of my pills) = 8.3 pills. You probably have a different product than I have. Mine says "Not intened for use by persons under the age of 18. Keep out of the reach of children. For adults, take one or more tablets .....". Also, ""limit use to two months with a break of one week". Yikes!

Of course, when my girls were 3, Back in '84 & '86, we gave them cough syrup with codine so they could sleep when they had ear infections. That's what the doctor said to do.

best regards, lm

My bottle does say for adults only and not intended for children which is another reason I worried about it's use. Luckily for me, her neurologist and peditrician know we use it and agree it's safe. I remember my mom used to give me wiskey and honey when I was sick. LOL

Susan

[shirleyujest]

  Lexi said:

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping! I am a very light sleeper, and wake up many times during the night. It takes me forever to get back to sleep each time. I was thinking of trying melatonin. However, on the back of the bottle it says that it shouldn't be taken by people with immune disorders. Why?? I am desperate to find something to help me get a good night's sleep. Not a big fan of Advil or Tylenol PM. Does anyone know about melatonin or any type of sleep aids that really work? Thanks!

Having read the cautions about using it from the other posters, I'll add my 2 cents. I've had serious insomnia (anywhere from 0 to 5 hrs sleep) off and on for the past few years and have used a number of otc and rx items. I finally saw an ob/gyn about my hormones, the levels were off, and the hormone replacement I've been using have helped enormously -- most nights I sleep like a baby. However I'm 51 and assuming you're young this may or may not be something you want to explore. Younger women can also have hormonal imbalances.

As far as melatonin goes, I use it but only Trader Joe's .5 mg. So very low dose. It helps if I combine with the HRT and, here's the safest approach (drug free!)... a pre-bedtime ritual. No bright lights for an hour before bedtime. I turn the night light on only to remove makeup and wash face. No snack for several hours except maybe a piece of fruit. No water or soy milk for 3-4 hours except a sip for meds (the latter always makes me have to wake in middle of the night to pee). A low volume radio or tv, or reading in bed is okay, but no serious brainwork (other than reading) for a couple hours before bedtime. Also no exercise in the four hours before bedtime.

Another tip is, the minute you wake up in the morning turn on very bright lights or let in sunlight. And try to have a regular bedtime as much as possible.

These things are helpful, and even on the nights where I'm out late with friends and go to bed late, my body is so used to the sleep routine that I crash right away.

HTH, I know how hard it is to struggle with insomnia.