[Info] Understanding Melatonin: Are People Taking Too Much?

[epileric]

This made a lot of sense to me since I tried melatonin & had even worse insomnia.

Understanding Melatonin: Are People Taking Too Much?

December 14th, 2011 by AmyGivlerMD in Health Tips

So here’s what I’ve discovered: Melatonin is a hormone. I’ve known that since medical school, of course, but that fact has struck me as peculiar these past few weeks. Why? Because it’s sold over the counter, and many people take massive amounts of it. No other hormone is available like this. The use of other hormones, such as insulin and thyroid hormone, need careful monitoring. Is melatonin so universally safe that it can be taken at any dose, for however long? The more we learn about melatonin, the less that seems to be the case.

Hormones are substances produced in one place that then go into the bloodstream and have their effect somewhere else. Melatonin is produced in the pineal body, which is just outside the brain proper. Ten times as much of it is made during the night as during the day. Our bodies sense when it is dark and tell the pineal body to make melatonin. If we cross six time zones, however, it takes a few days for the pineal to catch up and produce melatonin at the proper time. Hence comes Jet Lag.

So do people with insomnia benefit from melatonin? Many of them swear by it, but I’m wondering whether they are taking too much. The pills in pharmacies are generally 3mg or 5mg. But the amount that reproduces what our bodies produce at night is equivalent to somewhere between 0.1mg and 0.5mg. Higher doses flood the brain with melatonin, and make it actually less sensitive to its effects. So here is where it is not good to follow the “If a little is good, then more is better” principle. Since a little is all that is needed, stick with a little.

Studies are showing that the ideal amount of melatonin for sleep problems seems to be 0.3mg. But how can you take “0.3mg” when the pill is 3mg? Do you crumble it up and take a tenth, somehow? Not practical. There are liquid preparations available, with one dropperful giving 1.0mg. So you could take a third of a dropperful. If you can’t find it at your pharmacy, check online at www.drugstore.com.

http://getbetterhealth.com/understan...uch/2011.12.14

[Rae1889]

except that with me, I dont fall asleep on my own anymore. I havent or about a year.

the last few months my sleep cycle has been so messed up, I wont sleep for days. and when I do sleep its for 3 hours max. Including any post seizure sleep. I feel grumpy and lethargic all day. taking one 3mg tablet of melatonin did nothing. I've taken up to 30mg and seen no effect in the last 4 months. Not every night. but maybe one every 1.5 weeks when I REALLY need to sleep. I even tried lying in bed for a week, hoping I could bore myself to sleep. expecially with the amount of seizures Ive been having.

[tinathesingergirl]

The melatonin really has helped me. When i asked my neurologist about it he told me it was safe for me to take it so i started taking it becasue i did not want to take another synthetic drug to go to sleep. When that did not seem to be enough with just 1 pill at bed time I asked about an increase and he suggested another pill about 2-3 hours before bedtime. I tried that for a little bit but I have not really seen a really marked diffrenence in my sleep.