Has anyone ever used Melatonin for sleep?

[forward2007]

Have there ever been any warnings of Melatonin causing seizures?

[RobinN]

Seizure disorder (children)
The role of melatonin in seizure disorder is controversial. There are several reported cases of children with intractable seizures or neurologic damage who improved with regular nighttime melatonin administration (214; 215; 216; 217; 218; 219). Limited animal research also suggests possible anti-seizure effects (220; 221). However, there has also been a report that melatonin may actually lower seizure threshold and increase the risk of seizures (222). Better evidence is needed in this area before a clear conclusion can be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of melatonin in seizure disorder.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mel...ient-melatonin

Drugs commonly prescribed for the treatment of epilepsy that are metabolized via the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system include carbamazepine, clonazepam, ethosuximide, felbamate, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, tiagabine, topiramate, valproic acid, and zonisamide; in fact, the only two medications not on the list are gabapentin and levetiracetam, Dr. Conry said.

“This is important enough that the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is now sponsoring an ongoing study to screen for drug interactions,” she said. The five-year, multicenter trial in healthy volunteers ages 18 to 40 is examining the effect of the 10 most popular herbs to determine whether they induce or inhibit cytochrome P-450 enzymes. Anecdotal evidence suggests St. John’s wort, garlic, echinacea, pycnogenol, milk thistle, mugwort, and pipsissewa all inhibit the cytochrome P-450 system; the effects of American hellebore on cytochrome P-450 are not known.

Dr. Conry also discussed the effect of herbs on P-glycoprotein, an ATP-dependent pump that moves substrates out of cells. “It is controlled by the human multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene; this gene was actually discovered by oncologists when they were looking for an explanation for drug resistance in cancer chemotherapy,” she said. P-glycoprotein transport protein is found in the endothelium, vessels in the blood-brain barrier, the choroid plexus, and intestinal mucosa epithelium. “It limits entry of drugs to the brain and also limits absorption of drugs through the gut, and it is said to be affected by many naturally occurring compounds,” Dr. Conry said.

http://www.neurologyreviews.com/aug0...ilepsyalt.html

Magnesium and COQ10 have also helped me with sleep.
What I would personally do, is start with a low dose an increase to either see results or see side effects and adjust accordingly. It appears that the research has gone both ways, so it might be a personal adjustment issue.

[Kate]

Hmm.. that's an interesting question! I have struggled with insomnia for quite some time and I used melatonin for a bit. It did work, but not so great. I am now on Sonata and it works wonders. I don't feel too drowsy in the morning either.

I had never heard of a connection between melatonin and seizures. I was on it before my seizures started though.

[Juniper]

My ds used the melatonin to help him fall asleep. He would only take .25 ml a night and fall asleep within 20 minutes. Because he could not take the higher dose, he couldn't use the recommended slow release tabs which would keep you asleep all night. The melatonin one time dose will only keep you asleep 4 hours if you are prone to night wakings. It did however fix his sleep cycle, but he would often get the grogginess on the 4th consecutive morning. I have read that it can help myoclonic seizures, but can lower the seizure threshold with some people. My son did not have myclonic seizures that we know of, but the melatonin did not affect his EEG adversely in any way.

[hawke86]

Interesting.