Melatonin • Hacker News Board

Re: Melatonin

#21

Post by minikites » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:44 PM UTC

gregd wrote: post #17

It's my understanding that taking Melatonin supplements will mess up your bodies natural ability to make it's own Melatonin (as will taking a lot of supplements). You are far better off trying to get your body to produce Melatonin on it's own.

Citation?

The article says:

> A 2010 trial tested a delayed-release melatonin over 6 months and found minimal adverse effects and no tolerance or "addiction"

Re: Melatonin

#22

Post by thenomad » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:44 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #11

There are some problems with Melatonin (as supplied) - you don't really know how much (if any) you're getting. Investigators found that quality control was very poor and some brands contained very little melatonin. (I can't find it now, but it was something like Consumer Reports or similar?) It's a prescription only med in some places (UK) so you might not be able to get it. But it is "remarkably effective"[1] for je…

A quick google gives me a big bunch of options for buying Melatonin in the UK - http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/HealthNotes-Search?search=%... for example.

Doesn't seem to be prescription-only unless I'm misunderstanding.

Re: Melatonin

#23

Post by whitewhim » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:45 PM UTC

I used to deal with periodic weeks of insomnia. As a stifle I really could not afford to spend a whole week without sleeping more than 5 hours as I would be basically non functional after a couple days. I began supplementing a single 5mg dose of melatonin and it has almost completely erased my insomnia. I have found that it has improved the quality of my sleep as well. The only side affect I've noticed is increased dreaming while taking it, however I quite enjoy that.

Re: Melatonin

#24

Post by kaoD » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:45 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #2

If I take Melatonin I feel like I've got St. Elmo's Fire and I can't sleep at all for hours.

What is St. Elmo's Fire? I can only find a weather phenomenon.

Re: Melatonin

#25

Post by Lost_BiomedE » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:46 PM UTC

ChikkaChiChi wrote: post #18

The problem with a lack of FDA regulation is that there is no guarantee on what you are taking. The freshness of the product and the veracity of what's in the pills will always be suspect to me. If I could trust where I get my melatonin from, I would gladly take it. But I've learned too much about how terrible this industry is.

I don't trust many, but I do trust Nature's Way, Now Foods, and Jarrows. They do proper batching and testing.

Re: Melatonin

#26

Post by darkmuck » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:46 PM UTC

I don't think my body handles Melatonin very well... it definitely helps me sleep great! But the next day I am groggy for nearly half the entire day

Re: Melatonin

#27

Post by yan » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:47 PM UTC

I found melatonin to be very effective, especially on mountaineering trips, where I'm not guaranteed a decent sleeping environment but really need to get some sleep when given the opportunity.

My girlfriend however reported nightmares when she started supplementing with it, but it appears to have gotten better.

Re: Melatonin

#28

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:48 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Melatonin

#29

Post by solomatov » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

cloverich wrote: post #10

PaulHoule wrote: post #2

If I take Melatonin I feel like I've got St. Elmo's Fire and I can't sleep at all for hours.

This happens to some people with Benadryl as well (though doubt its related, just anecdotal). Curious - have you tried multiple (reduced) doses?

Benadryl is a first generation antihistamine which crosses Blood-brain barrier and makes you sleepy. Its mechanism of action is very different from melatonin and it has much more severe side effects (bad feeling after wake up) than melatonin.

Re: Melatonin

#30

Post by drugcite-com » Fri, Oct 04, 2013, 2:51 PM UTC

minikites wrote: post #21

gregd wrote: post #17

It's my understanding that taking Melatonin supplements will mess up your bodies natural ability to make it's own Melatonin (as will taking a lot of supplements). You are far better off trying to get your body to produce Melatonin on it's own.

Citation? The article says: > A 2010 trial tested a delayed-release melatonin over 6 months and found minimal adverse effects and no tolerance or "addiction"

As for Melatonin Adverse Events, it's my site that's linked to under 'Uses', (http://www.drugcite.com/?q=melatonin) It's important to sort the data by age and gender as the AE's can vary greatly. That data is FDA FAERS data that runs against many other datasets by the way.