Has anyone ever taken melatonin???

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Donna
joined 31 Oct 2008
64 posts

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Posted by Donna, 05:51 17 October 2009

I just thought I would check with everyone and see if anyone has ever taken melatonin with SAD and if so, how much did you take, how often, and what was your experience.

I am asking this because because earlier this year, you know I felt absolutely great but I was never tired and I thought it would eventually catch up with me so I started taking melatonin and it just seems to have thrown me and my SAD off kilter. Does anyone have any ideas?

Donna
joined 28 Nov 2002
346 posts

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Posted by Donna, 18:48 21 October 2009

Hi the other Donna!

Hope you are good hun?

I didn't realise you could take Melatonin supplement! Apparently, in the UK it's not licenced but you can buy it in health food stores according to the website link below-

http://priory.com/mel.htm

Elettaria
joined 15 Aug 2009
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Posted by Elettaria, 20:17 25 October 2009

I tried once but it didn't work for me. I now use darkness therapy in the evenings (try lowbluelights.com for more info) and am finding it's helping various things, from sleep to appetite regulation. It doesn't mean that I sit in darkness, I just avoid blue light (which inhibits melatonin production) for a few hours before bed, causing me to start natural melatonin production in my body when I should.

Piers
joined 29 Oct 2009
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Posted by Piers, 11:17 29 October 2009

I have used it from time to time. It has an effect but other factors (like eating too late) are more important for me. If you want to give it a try you can get a bottle sent quite cheaply from the US where it's widely available. It's sometimes combined with the amino acid "theanine" which also has relaxing properties, and vitamin B6. The dosage I used is 3mg but you could start with a quarter tablet because that might be enough.

Patricia
joined 31 Oct 2006
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Posted by Patricia, 21:37 1 November 2009

Hi Donna, I have just noticed this post, I think I have commented about this before, but I tried to take 5-htp which as far as I know is melatonin, I found that it as you say sent me off kilter, I found it totally didn't agree with me.

Piers
joined 29 Oct 2009
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Posted by Piers, 22:17 1 November 2009

Hello Patricia, Just thought I would chip in again because I have a little experience of these two chemicals...

Melatonin and 5-htp are actually rather different though they can both be used to improve sleep. Melatonin is a hormone secreted naturally in the brain, normally at night, while 5-htp is an amino acid that is involved in the production of serotonin (the happy chemical).

Of the two I believe melatonin is more directly related to sleep. Light inhibits its production and darkness increases it. So when you use the lightbox in the morning you're almost flicking a "brain switch" that turns off melatonin production until the evening.

Hope that helps because you might find melatonin helps where 5-htp didn't.

derecktjj
joined 2 Nov 2009
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Posted by derecktjj, 10:55 2 November 2009

I have taken melatonin on a number of occasssions and found that it does help me sleep better when my clock is slightly shifted due to long working hours or night shifts. But because I don't know what the long term effects of it are I'd rather not use it too often. For my SAD I rely on a simple light therapy lamp that I bought via http://www.sadlightshop.com . I figured that a light bulb will have less side effects than any pill and I felt a lot better within a few hours of even using that lamp. Really strange. Another thing you shouldn't underestimate is your eating habits. People with SAD appear to crave certain foods that make you feel even less energetic.

Patricia
joined 31 Oct 2006
88 posts

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Posted by Patricia, 00:10 3 November 2009

Thank you Piers, I knew it was something to do with melatonin and serotonin, my reflexologist did explain it to me at the time lol.
I just find that any time I try to work on this happy chemical in my brain it makes me worse not better, I have no idea why.
I found on taking the 5-htp I just couldn't function at all which to be honest at this time of year I am fighting to function therefore I don't need anything else working against me.

Piers
joined 29 Oct 2009
9 posts

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Posted by Piers, 20:38 3 November 2009

Derecktjj, the lamp making you feel better has quite a lot of science behind it. The bright light reduces production of melatonin (the sleepy hormone) and at the same time stimulates the production of cortisol which is the hormone that wakes you up in the morning.

Patricia, it's interesting that you've found that - indeed too much serotonin can cause problems. If you were taking other serotonin boosting substances, or things that stop it being broken down like St John's Wort, or prescription antidepressants, you might have been getting too much.

Patricia
joined 31 Oct 2006
88 posts

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Posted by Patricia, 22:31 3 November 2009

Hi Piers, That's the thing I hadn't been taking anything else, I can't even take SJW as it makes me feel iffy, maybe my chemicals are not wired to accept help when they need it lol.

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