Melatonin dilemma?

Lily55 · May 2014

very poor sleep on Aromasin, both getting to sleep and staying asleep, and that affects recurrence risk and general health. Nat Onc said melatonin good to use but other places refer to melatonin increases BC risk. I took it one night and had much better quality and longer sleep but now not sure what to do. Anyone any comments? I feel caught between rock and hard place. Tired of feeling tired all the time.

lightandwind · May 2014

Lily, These two studies are ancient but they discuss the inhibitory effect on bc. I'm curious to see the info that says otherwise.

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/3462341/reload=0...

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/48/21/61...

"Melatonin completely blocks the estradiol-induced stimulation of MCF-7 cell proliferation."

This study is very recent...this year.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/14012...

interesting article on the importance of melatonin...light at night,etc.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive...

RCR · May 2014

My nat onc recommends for me 20 mg melatonin nightly and it works really well. I am on Aromastin as well. He informed me of melatonin's antioxidant properties as well and stressed daily use for best results. I have had sleep issues for years and have previously been on Ambien for those years and am so pleased to be done with it. I fall asleep so much more normally and never pass out as I would with Ambien. I have never found 20mg capsules in a store and usually get them from my nat onc or online.

Good luck to you and I hope you find some sleep soon!

juneping · May 2014

I've read a lot of good things about it but it's not recommended for premenopausal women based on the book what your doctors might not tell you about BC.

Lily55 · May 2014

wow thank you for the link, they put my mind at peace so i will take it again but build the dose up, thank you for your fast responses

Lou10 · May 2014

I specifically asked my medical oncologist if I could take melatonin and he gave me the green light. Didn't work well for me, but it does for many others. Good luck ... the sleep deprivation is awful.

peacestrength · May 2014

My naturopathic(s) prescribed me 20mg of melatonin - been using it for approx 6 months.

pipers_dream · May 2014

Yes I"m premenopausal and my holistic doc recommends it. I do believe sleep is extremely important for us.

dwill · May 2014

I take from 1.5 to 3 mg a night and this works extremely well for me. Recommended by my pharmacist up to 5 mg.

Edit- I am postmenopausal.

gemini4 · May 2014

I've read that 20mg is helpful for breast cancer, and I've also read that higher doses of melatonin can have an energizing effect vs sedative. For those of you taking 20mg, are you finding that it helps you sleep? I read that if a dose doesn't seem to be helping, you should reduce the dosage until you find that it does help.

I just finished a bottle of 1mg capsules -- I didn't have a lot of trouble sleeping,but I did find that I'd knock off very quickly once I was in bed reading. I'm interested in trying next an extended release formula.

peacestrength · May 2014

For me, it helps me sleep more sound. I take it right before I get into bed.

RCR · May 2014

I great really nice sleep until about 2 AM it seems and often till 5 or 6 even. Much better than previously and I have no problem going to sleep. I take 20 mg about 1 hr before bedtime and usually go to bed around 9. I am happy with this.

Lily55 · May 2014

i have started on 4mg and was told to build up, i long for even six hours uninterrupted sleep, eight would be fantastic

RCR · May 2014

I feel your pain. I never built up. I went from 5 to 20 as soon as he suggested it and had no problem. But I had years of Ambien use and feel that I had a certain tolerance for sleep meds. It was so much better right away. Good luck to you!

mary625 · May 2014

I've never built up either and wondering if I should. I am taking 6 mg. I was advised to keep going until I got too groggy in the morning. This advice was from naturopath. I also take 1/2 Ativan at bedtime. Any one have any info on whether 20mg. is the best dose for us?

Lily55 · May 2014

My understanding is that 20mg is seen as the maximum - if taking other tranquillising drugs I would think it needs to be less than that.....we are all individual.......too much melatonin is not good either