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CastletonSnob
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18 Oct 2014, 4:23 pm

I've been taking melatonin to help sleep since I believe, 2007. I'm worried my body has stopped naturally producing it.



NiceCupOfTea
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18 Oct 2014, 5:30 pm

Pretty sure that cannot happen with melatonin. There's very few side-effects and it's not toxic even in massive doses. It's amazingly safe compared to most actual prescription drugs you can get. Just wish it worked for sleep a bit better (I have tried it).

Steroids are another story, however. Effective, but very dangerous drugs. They will suppress your adrenal glands and override your body's natural cortisol production within a couple of weeks. That's why you must always taper off steroids and not stop them abruptly. Usually the adrenal glands recover, but if you've been on steroids for years, they can become permanently suppressed.

Er, anyway... I just find it interesting that the body can respond to two externally-supplied hormones (melatonin and cortisol) in such different ways.



CastletonSnob
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18 Oct 2014, 5:33 pm

NiceCupOfTea wrote:
Pretty sure that cannot happen with melatonin. There's very few side-effects and it's not toxic even in massive doses. It's amazingly safe compared to most actual prescription drugs you can get. Just wish it worked for sleep a bit better (I have tried it).

Steroids are another story, however. Effective, but very dangerous drugs. They will suppress your adrenal glands and override your body's natural cortisol production within a couple of weeks. That's why you must always taper off steroids and not stop them abruptly. Usually the adrenal glands recover, but if you've been on steroids for years, they can become permanently suppressed.

Er, anyway... I just find it interesting that the body can respond to two externally-supplied hormones (melatonin and cortisol) in such different ways.


I started out taking it once a month, then once every two months, then once every two weeks, and now, once a week.

Though, I managed to sleep well every night last week without taking a single melatonin. I guess that means my body's still naturally producing it.



CastletonSnob
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18 Oct 2014, 5:34 pm

CastletonSnob wrote:
NiceCupOfTea wrote:
Pretty sure that cannot happen with melatonin. There's very few side-effects and it's not toxic even in massive doses. It's amazingly safe compared to most actual prescription drugs you can get. Just wish it worked for sleep a bit better (I have tried it).

Steroids are another story, however. Effective, but very dangerous drugs. They will suppress your adrenal glands and override your body's natural cortisol production within a couple of weeks. That's why you must always taper off steroids and not stop them abruptly. Usually the adrenal glands recover, but if you've been on steroids for years, they can become permanently suppressed.

Er, anyway... I just find it interesting that the body can respond to two externally-supplied hormones (melatonin and cortisol) in such different ways.


I started out taking it once a month, then once every two months, then once every two weeks, and now, once a week. All this time, the sleep aid pills (OTC) only contain 1.5 mgs of melatonin.

Though, I managed to sleep well every night last week without taking a single melatonin. I guess that means my body's still naturally producing it.



NiceCupOfTea
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18 Oct 2014, 5:35 pm

I took 3mg melatonin every night for about a year. No comeback from stopping it at all.



CastletonSnob
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18 Oct 2014, 8:54 pm

I slept very well the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, I've been having trouble sleeping most of this week.



NiceCupOfTea
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18 Oct 2014, 9:13 pm

Might be worth stopping the melatonin for a week. I've heard that it helps to take a break from it every so often, though I think that was in relation to autistic children. Still, probably applies to adults as well.

I'm a bad sleeper. Go through periods of insomnia where I can hardly sleep at all; other times I fall asleep more easily, but have disturbing dreams and never wake up feeling refreshed. I take Zoplicone on a semi-regular basis.



CastletonSnob
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18 Oct 2014, 9:16 pm

NiceCupOfTea wrote:
Might be worth stopping the melatonin for a week. I've heard that it helps to take a break from it every so often, though I think that was in relation to autistic children. Still, probably applies to adults as well.

I'm a bad sleeper. Go through periods of insomnia where I can hardly sleep at all; other times I fall asleep more easily, but have disturbing dreams and never wake up feeling refreshed. I take Zoplicone on a semi-regular basis.


Would you say it sounds like I don't need it as much as I think I do? And that it sounds like I'm still naturally producing melatonin?

Like I said earlier, I slept well all last week without taking a single melatonin.



Protogenoi
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18 Oct 2014, 10:37 pm

I also use Melatonin to sleep.
I would have a dose everynight before bed. Then two doses. Then 3 doses. Up to about 5 doses a night to get sleep. (I was in a situation where I was constantly in too much light, night and day, and it was constantly noisy...)
It isn't toxic, but you can become dependent on it. I had to reduce the doses bit by bit over about a month. The first night or two without it might be a bit difficult, but after that you should be fine. And now I can sleep fine without it thanks to being in a better situation most of the time. I only need it a few times a months do to stress.



CastletonSnob
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19 Oct 2014, 9:02 am

Protogenoi wrote:
I also use Melatonin to sleep.
I would have a dose everynight before bed. Then two doses. Then 3 doses. Up to about 5 doses a night to get sleep. (I was in a situation where I was constantly in too much light, night and day, and it was constantly noisy...)
It isn't toxic, but you can become dependent on it. I had to reduce the doses bit by bit over about a month. The first night or two without it might be a bit difficult, but after that you should be fine. And now I can sleep fine without it thanks to being in a better situation most of the time. I only need it a few times a months do to stress.


The sleep aid that I'm taking only has 1.5 mgs of melatonin.

What I'm worried about is that I'm going on a trip with family next week, and I don't want my sleeping troubles to ruin the trip.