Melatonin

Hi Rose-

I take 3mg every night b/4 bed.  According to my naturapath you should take the lowest dosage possible.  The rule of thumb she gave me is to start of with 3mg and to increase the dosage slowly every couple of days, if I need to.  She said if you wake up feeling grogy(sp?) then the dosage is too high. You want it to work with your body so it should make you feel better after a good night's sleep. Too high of a dose will make you feel grogy(tired) in the morning.  Hope that helps.

Liz

I have used Melatonin at 15 mg with no side effects.  My naturopathic doctor recommends a dose this high if you can do it without have any side effects the next day.  He said it really take this much for the body to absorb a good percentage of the benefits.

Flalady

So glad you could save the money and get relief. My pain is getting pretty bad again so I'm having more problems with getting to sleep.  I really miss the days of no pain.

Flalady

What a coincidence. My naturopath prescribed 20mg for me yesterday. I can't find it anywhere in that strength. Does anyone know where you can buy 20mg melatonin?

My Walmart Equate is 3 mg. They had a more expensive brand but I didn't think to check the maker. Maybe it's the 5 mg one.

You'll just have to take 4 5's Laura. Let us know if you find it in a higher dose. I go through my bottle pretty quick taking 3.

A brand that my naturalpath recommended is the NOW brand.  She said their products are excellent quality and very reasonably priced.  This brand is carried in many healthfood stores but I get mine online since it's much cheaper.  You will see what I mean when you see the prices.  

Here's the link: (you may have to copy and paste into your browser)

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/Search?doSearch=true&ntt=&n=&ntk=Level1&ntx=mode+matchallpartial&keyword=now+melatonin

Or you can just go into www.swansonvitamins.com and do a search for now melatonin and you will get the same results.  

I like buying alot of my supplements, homeopathics, Burts Bees products and other natural products  from this company since shipping is only $4.99 and after you order from them, they send you coupons and special offers.   Wishing you the best.

Vitacost (online) has 5mg time release tabs.  I take four at bedtime.

Pure Encapsulations and Vital Nutrients brands have melatonin in 10 mg and 20 mg formulations.  I order mine online through Emerson Ecologics - your Naturopathic doctor may need to be registered with Emerson - in order for you to set up an account with Emerson, but I'm sure if you do an internet search - you will find a site that carries Pure Encapsulation and/or Vital Nutrients products.  I would buy 10 mg and take 2 if you want to try 20 mg dosing to see how you tolerate that high of a dose (20mg made me too groggy during the day).

Does anyone know where the melatonin in pill form comes from?  I was on it for a while (and it helped me sleep, for sure), but then got weirded out thinking that it must be either synthetic (and therefore not-so-natural?  and yet naturopaths recommend it all the time) or from an animal's pitutiary (which makes me squirm a bit, too).

For those working with naturopaths, have they explained where it comes from and why taking either a synthetic hormone or an animal's hormone is OK?  I'd love to go back on it again without worrying about it!

The 20mg dose is more in line with what has been experimented with for treatment of cancer, than for assisting with sleep.  I am using a time release formula and find that 3mg time release makes me sleep far sounder than 3mg of the regular stuff.  It makes sense that a sustained level might have a longer duration effect.

Melatonin tabs can come from the pineal gland of cows, or be synthetic.  The natural source could transmit a virus, so unless "mad cow disease" is something you'd be o.k. with, it is better to stick to the synthetic for this particular supplement.

I have read that the normal body production of melatonin is only 5 - 25 mcg. nightly, and as we age the production drops.  That amount is a lot less than the supplement dosages that we are buying.  I don't know why the dosages in the supplements are a lot higher, unless we have a problem utilizing it. 

Correct dosage?  The jury is out on that one. Thru' a little trial and error, you should wind up taking the dosage that gives you a good night's sleep without giving you a groggy feeling in the morning.   Since the human body tends to regulate it's own hormone levels, prolonged use of melatonin as a supplement can cause your own natural production to decrease.  A week or two of melatonin use should be enough to re-establish the circadian rhythm in your own body and the rhythm can then be  maintained by getting enough natural daylight, sleeping in complete darkness, regular sleep times, other good sleep habits, etc.

The 20mg. dosage was what was used in a small study group of women with breast cancer tumors, who were taking Tamoxifen and were not improving.  With the melatonin, about one quarter of the women exhibited a slight shrinkage of the tumors.  

Right now, it is known that melatonin shows a LINK to breast cancer risk.  It is similar to what they have observed about Vitimin D.  Women with breast cancer have lower levels of both melatonin and Vitimin D.  This finding is has NOT been proven to be a CAUSAL effect at this point, so it would be incorrect to say low melatonin causes breast cancer.  Future studies may make the connection clearer.

I started taking melatonin again recently, so the info. I have shared is fresh in my mind from the reading I have been doing lately.  I have to echo the sentiment that Raili had above.  I wish more was known about melatonin.

I've been working by phone with Dr. Lam in CA  www.drlam.com who is very knowledgable about cancer and supplements.  He believes we need a higher dose of melatonin.  He has me take a LIQUID form at 30mg. and I sleep wonderfully with no grogginess in the AM.  I buy it at:

www.supplementclinic.com

Look for MELAMAX on their website...the liquid is so easy to use