Melatonin and headaches

Suze35
Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045

I've been taking 3 mg of Melatonin every night for several months now, and I think it has been giving me headaches. I cut it out completely, and they stopped. I added it back in at 1.5 mg, and woke with a mild headache.



I really don't want to stop the melatonin, I think it is very important for me - helps me sleep really well, and helps me keep up good sleep patterns. Has anyone had this experience and found changing brands helped?



Any suggestions for improving my melatonin in other ways?



Thanks!

Comments

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited July 2011

    Interesting question.  I have also had some occasional mild a.m. headaches, and thought it was from chicken, which I eat very little of these days.  But after reading your post, I wonder if it was from the Melatonin I was taking but have now stopped.  Hmmmmm...

    As far as changing brands, why not try it?  Most places that sell supplements will accept returns if you're not happy with a product.  So it seems like you would have nothing to lose.

    By the way, I decided to stop using Melatonin because of a comment posted somewhere on BCO in the past couple of weeks (maybe on the Natural Girls thread?) about Melatonin not being as good for us as many of us believed.  I'll see if I can find it, but it made me stop and think that maybe I didn't really know enough about its long range risks/benefits to be using it nightly.     Deanna

  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 6,059
    edited July 2011

    I'm taking 3mg for sleep as opposed to any other reason and I haven't had any headaches at all. I love it!!!

  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited July 2011

    Melatonin is famous for headaches. Have you tried valarian root instead? I find it very effective with no a.m. side effects.

  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited July 2011

    gracie - no, hadn't heard of that!  I will look into that definitely, thanks Smile.

    Deanna - I think I'll see if I can search for that about melatonin...I always thought it was supposed to be good for us when paired with Vitamin D.  I can't keep up!!

  • coonie
    coonie Member Posts: 7,618
    edited July 2011

    This is so interesting!! When I saw melatonin, I just had to chime in.

    Last week, my DH was waking up every morning with a bloodshot eye. This went on for about a week, so he went to the eye doctor and they found the pressure in his eye to be above normal. It really scared him/us because that is a sign of glaucoma. He's 50 years old and figured anything was possible. So....he made an appt at another eye clinic in a larger city for the next day. They did extensive tests and found his pressure was down to about normal. In the meantime, my husband did some research and found that Melatonin could cause this. He mentioned it to the doctor and the dr had not heard of this, but was going to do further research. Seems there's so much we have to be careful of  nowadays. Who would have thought Melatonin could have caused this........the doctors still think it could be the very early EARLY stages of glaucoma too. Anyway----no more melatonin here:)

  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited July 2011

    coonie - how scary!!  I hope everything ends up okay with your DH's eye and that it was just the melatonin!  It just goes to show that even though these complimentary supplements can be very helpful, we need to respect them as drugs as well.

  • coonie
    coonie Member Posts: 7,618
    edited July 2011
    So true Suze! Now I understand why my onc wanted to know EVERYTHING that I took. Including OTC meds for allergies, herbs, etc. Kinda skeers me nowSurprised
  • DebRox
    DebRox Member Posts: 437
    edited July 2011

    Interesting.... I have been suffering mild am headaches and recently increased my dose of melatonin.

    I do wonder, since it is a hormone created by the pineal gland, if by supplmenting we inhibit our bodies own ability to produce thereby creating a dependency and/or requirement to increase dose.  I did read somewhere that taking melatonin is supposed to be temporary not permanent. 

    With that said, since dx, it is the only thing helping me sleep deeply.  Well that is other than xanax but I do not want to end up with an addiction to xanax.  I will have to try valerian root.

  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited July 2011

    I've had a headache the last week for other reasons, but I've really made a concerted effort this week to get to bed at a reasonable hour (for me midnight), and up around the same time.  The first thing I do now is go outside and have my tea on the front steps.  I have to say, I have been sleeping better from what I can tell - maybe I'll get my own melatonin production back into shape!  I'm still going to look into Valerian Root though...

    I hadn't really thought of it as temporary Deb, but you are probably right.  I agree on the other drugs - I am already physically dependent on Ativan, and can't get below 0.5 mg without problems (will tackle that after I'm done with my current chemo), and it sucks.

  • mollyann
    mollyann Member Posts: 472
    edited July 2011

    When I started melatonin, I had headaches in the AM when the melatonin was wearing off. This happened for a couple of months and I switched brands. I've gone from .5 mg to 9 mg. Everybody, including my integrative doc, told me I would adjust and I finally did. You will get used to it. I take both sublingual and time release.

    Coonie, my husband takes melatonin to REDUCE INTRAOCULAR pressure.

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