[Staying Inside]

Hi, is there anyone who is taking medication for depression, fibromyalgia, insomnia and also anxiety? I'm trying to see if I could take just one pill of melatonin to see if that would help me to ease into sleep better since I suffer from insomnia. Any insight or advice? Would it be okay for me to take one low dose pill of melatonin to start off to see what would happen? It takes so long for me to fall asleep no matter how tired I am, even with the other meds I take. Any experiences?

[rainbow8]

I have sciatica from spinal stenosis and am in pain daily. It's hard to sleep. I recently started seeing a pdoc and am taking Savella in the morning. It's for fibromyalgia and is also an antidepressant. I might have fibromyalgia too. She told me to take 3 mg. of melatonin at night. I also take 100 mg of Gabapentin at night. I think the melatonin helps me fall asleep, though I wake up during the night.

What do you take for depression and fibromyalgia?

[Carmina]

Low doses are better anyway, 3 mg is too much

https://thebettersleepproject.com/melatonin/

[rainbow8]

Originally Posted by Carmina

Low doses are better anyway, 3 mg is too much

https://thebettersleepproject.com/melatonin/

That's what one doctor said but pdoc said 3. Who am I supposed to listen to?

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by rainbow8

I have sciatica from spinal stenosis and am in pain daily. It's hard to sleep. I recently started seeing a pdoc and am taking Savella in the morning. It's for fibromyalgia and is also an antidepressant. I might have fibromyalgia too. She told me to take 3 mg. of melatonin at night. I also take 100 mg of Gabapentin at night. I think the melatonin helps me fall asleep, though I wake up during the night.

What do you take for depression and fibromyalgia?

I take generic Zoloft 100mg, generic Cymbalta 60 mg, and Gabapentin 300 mg, two to three times a day.

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by Carmina

Low doses are better anyway, 3 mg is too much

https://thebettersleepproject.com/melatonin/

Thanks for the link!

[Deejay14]

Melatonin is a no-go for me. I use Duloxetine for anxiety, depression, sleep and muscular skeletal pain. I recently got off daily big dose of ambien and benzodiazepines. I now only use them tops twice a week now. I have found that calcium and magnesium in a 2:1 ratio was helpful for me to sleep. I started with 600 mg calcium and 300 mg magnesium.The combo also helps relax muscles. Hope you are successful finding something that works for you.

[Carmina]

Originally Posted by rainbow8

That's what one doctor said but pdoc said 3. Who am I supposed to listen to?

Go by the science, doctors are not always up-to-date on the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms.

[Carmina]

Originally Posted by Deejay14

Melatonin is a no-go for me. I use Duloxetine for anxiety, depression, sleep and muscular skeletal pain. I recently got off daily big dose of ambien and benzodiazepines. I now only use them tops twice a week now. I have found that calcium and magnesium in a 2:1 ratio was helpful for me to sleep. I started with 600 mg calcium and 300 mg magnesium.The combo also helps relax muscles. Hope you are successful finding something that works for you.

Yes I find magnesium oil can be helpful (prefer to administer it cutaneously rather than orally)

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by Deejay14

Melatonin is a no-go for me. I use Duloxetine for anxiety, depression, sleep and muscular skeletal pain. I recently got off daily big dose of ambien and benzodiazepines. I now only use them tops twice a week now. I have found that calcium and magnesium in a 2:1 ratio was helpful for me to sleep. I started with 600 mg calcium and 300 mg magnesium.The combo also helps relax muscles. Hope you are successful finding something that works for you.

Thank you for your insight!

[Staying Inside]

I called my doctor's office today, and I was told that it is fine for me to take 1 mg at night and up to 3 mg if needed. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you all for your responses and you can continue to tell me your experiences.

[Carmina]

Can you start by splitting the 1mg so you start on a lower dose? It is possible your doctor is not aware of the research, mine wasn't.

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by Carmina

Can you start by splitting the 1mg so you start on a lower dose? It is possible your doctor is not aware of the research, mine wasn't.

I will keep you posted and see how how it goes and how I feel.

[LucyD]

I hate to be the odd one but my doctor told me that Melatonin restores the Zircadian Rythm. I take 10 mg. for sleep. I believe she knows a lot about medication and the brain.

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by LucyD

I hate to be the odd one but my doctor told me that Melatonin restores the Zircadian Rythm. I take 10 mg. for sleep. I believe she knows a lot about medication and the brain.

Wow. Interesting. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Carmina]

https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2...onin-and-sleep

Exogenous melatonin activates brain M1 and M2 receptors, thereby
promoting sleep onset and maintenance and providing time cues for
circadian rhythms. Large doses of melatonin (e.g., 3 mg, which raises its
plasma levels to 900-2500 pg/ml) down-regulate these receptors (3),
suppressing melatonin’s hypnotic and Zeitgeber effects (4). Almost all
the studies included in the Buscemi, et al meta-analysis used such
excessive doses. The correct, lower dose, which raises plasma melatonin
levels to what they would be in a young person at nighttime (i.e., about
150-250 pg/ml) are highly effective, both in melatonin-deficient older
people (5) and to treat jet lag or help shift workers.

What I have also found from my own experience over this last year is when you take it is very important and is also linked to things like light levels - this is about phase response curves in the circadian cycle

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12069043

Remember that melatonin is a hormone the body produces naturally, ideally what we want is to take just enough, and at just the right time, for the system to get back into its normal cycle, too much floods the system with more than it needs and it stops responding to it, which in the long run increases risk of insomnia (which is why some studies found it ineffective when in fact they were just using too high doses).

[downandlonely]

I take 3 mg of melatonin at night as needed. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by Carmina

https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2...onin-and-sleep


What I have also found from my own experience over this last year is when you take it is very important and is also linked to things like light levels - this is about phase response curves in the circadian cycle

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12069043

Remember that melatonin is a hormone the body produces naturally, ideally what we want is to take just enough, and at just the right time, for the system to get back into its normal cycle, too much floods the system with more than it needs and it stops responding to it, which in the long run increases risk of insomnia (which is why some studies found it ineffective when in fact they were just using too high doses).

Wow. Deep and informative. Thank you.

[mugwort2]

I need to be careful with melatonin. Heard from an endo Melatonin is contraindicated for people with immune disorders. I was diagnosed by an endocrinologist with Hashimotos auto immune thyroiditis. I am coping quite well with it My thyroid test so far are fine. I would be careful if you are diagnosed with an auto immune disorder. I would either not take the supplement or check with your doctor.

[Staying Inside]

Originally Posted by mugwort2

I need to be careful with melatonin. Heard from an endo Melatonin is contraindicated for people with immune disorders. I was diagnosed by an endocrinologist with Hashimotos auto immune thyroiditis. I am coping quite well with it My thyroid test so far are fine. I would be careful if you are diagnosed with an auto immune disorder. I would either not take the supplement or check with your doctor.

Insightful. May I ask how much melatonin you're taking? (I take a thyroid med)

[~Christina]

I take 10 mg ... dose recommended by my Pdoc. I have no real idea if it helps at all anymore , but I take it anyway it’s a benign OTC medication in my opinion.

[*Laurie*]

I have been thinking about trying melatonin again, but I'm cautious. Years ago I used it and slept well for 3 nights. But after that 3rd night I suddenly felt depressed. I stopped using the melatonin and the depression eased off. I really believe it caused depression for me.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I take 10 mg as recommended by my pdoc

[Blueberrybook]

I take 5-10 mg when needed for sleep (per my pdoc's recommendation).

Before I got pregnant, I went off psych meds for 6 months before trying to conceive, and I had an awful time with sleep. My primary care doctor prescribed me Ambien (gave me panic attacks), Restoril (did nothing), and Sonata (also did nothing). I finally used melatonin & valerian for sleep. Now, I've always had bad sleep difficulties, my entire life that I can remember. I had to take both the melatonin & valerian to fall asleep, and I read that it was not recommended to combine the two, but that was the only thing that worked for me. Valerian stinks to high heaven though.

[still_crazy]

10mgs has been studied and found to help some people with tardive dyksinesia...its a potent antioxidant.