Current Events > Does melatonin work? I've heard it gives you weird dreams, I never have dreams.

(+) Yeah! (+)

so I probably won't experience that.
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it does work
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DocileOrangeCup posted...

it does work

thanks babe
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Can't say I've had any weird dreams on it, but for sleep it does work. I recommend using spray over pills or whatever for it. The best spray I can recommend is the melatonin spray from onnit.
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Best sleep of your life
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Just fyi melatonin doesn't help you fall asleep. It's the chemical your brain produces to make you stay asleep. So don't take it if falling asleep is your issue.
And never, ever, ever take more than the recommended dosage as it will have the opposite effect and you'll wake up very easily.
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Don't exceed the recommended dosage and don't get addicted to it.

I've known people who've done both and it's bitten them in the ass.

Otherwise it's a fucking awesome sleep
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You say you never have dreams? I know someone who can show you the key to dreams:

I think I have plenty of weird dreams without it.
Anyway thought everyone has dreams it is just a matter of trying to remember them is the problem I think I probably could be wrong haven't actually researched nothing so don't know.
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Just don't use it daily. I'm super sensitive to that stuff so I just nibble off a tiny crumb from the 3mg tablet and after an hr ill be sleepy af and sleep great
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I have a friend who takes it all the time and tells me to because it takes me like an hour to fall asleep but I have insomnia issues so I won't take anything I can get addicted to. weed is good enough
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I've suffered from insomnia for most of my adult life. Melatonin helps a lot. The best formula IMO is the gummies. Pills take an hour or so to kick in, and the liquid version tastes gross. The gummies are fun to eat and start working in about 30-45 minutes. As people said though, you need to be at least a little careful with it. I would do one of two things:

1. Take it everyday for like 2 weeks until you get into a good rhythm and then stop for at least a week or two before taking it again.

OR

2. Take it only on nights you know you're gonna have trouble sleeping, only a couple times a week.

It's not particularly dangerous, but taking too much of it longterm can actually cause pretty strong depression. (Happened to me once, wasn't fun) Besides that though, very safe substance and works pretty straightforward for most people. (I've never really had the weird dreams part that some people cite)
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It's good stuff. Take it about an hour or so before bed. It's not a "damn I've been laying in bed for an hour and still can't fall asleep" pill, it's one you gotta take in advance.
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I took it for awhile and didnt notice much of a difference. I dont have trouble falling asleep and can fall asleep quickly so I guess I didn't really need it
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I sleep better when I take it, but my dreams are definitely weirder.
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That was okay, helped me sleep earlier than I probably would have.

I'll take everyone's advice though and only take it when I need it.
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Everyone dreams, you just dont remember yours.
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People are acting like it's this big scary drug. It's natural normal stuff, it's not like most sleep aids that can actually be dangerous.
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It didn't for me, but I've had extreme insomnia since I was 8 (28 now). I had to resort to Seroquel to sleep. Even Ambien didn't do anything.
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Yes melatonin works.

_Goggalor_ posted...

It didn't for me, but I've had extreme insomnia since I was 8 (28 now). I had to resort to Seroquel to sleep. Even Ambien didn't do anything.

It doesn't work for you because you have messed up brain chemistry and need to eat some protein so you'll get some tryptophan to make serotonin.
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But IMO the sleep you get is not quiet as deeply refreshing as a good might of natural sleep where I don't drink caffeine all day, I work out, and I'm naturally sleepy af. Problem is I'm so sensitive to caffeine that of I drink coffee at all that day, my sleep will be somewhat less than optimal
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joe40001 posted...

People are acting like it's this big scary drug. It's natural normal stuff, it's not like most sleep aids that can actually be dangerous.

Yes, it is safe, when taken reasonably. It's a compound naturally synthesized by the body.

But even most brands/dosages explicitly state to not take it everyday long-term. Like yeah you can't OD on it, but it does have side effects.
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Kineth posted...

Yes melatonin works.

_Goggalor_ posted...

It didn't for me, but I've had extreme insomnia since I was 8 (28 now). I had to resort to Seroquel to sleep. Even Ambien didn't do anything.

It doesn't work for you because you have messed up brain chemistry and need to eat some protein so you'll get some tryptophan to make serotonin.

Nope. I eat a lot of protein. Sleep disorders exist.
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I need to try this. I've always had a hard time falling asleep but the past year or so I've had an extremely difficult time staying asleep. I am waking up every hour or so, two if I am likely.
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I take the gummies and they knock me out, especially after a heavy lifting session. I do sometimes get hyper-realistic dreams. My dreams are always weird though.
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joe40001 posted...

People are acting like it's this big scary drug. It's natural normal stuff, it's not like most sleep aids that can actually be dangerous.

Natural, as always, is a bad argument for concern.

All neurochemicals are under tight homeostatic control, and by introducing an exogenous source you are risking the adaptation of these controls, such that you are relatively dependent on the exogenous source for normal functioning.

Melatonin is good when you've fucked up your natural rhythm, by traveling across timezones, or a long enough time on some nonoptimal sleep schedule. It's good to take to essentially help entrain your system onto the rhythm you want. Once you're back on that regular rhythm, no need to take it anymore.

Dosing is kinda fucked because there's no actual FDA regulation since it's classified as like a natural supplement or whatever rather than a drug. So who knows how much is actually in any given pill, regardless of the labeled dosage.
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_Goggalor_ posted...

Kineth posted...

Yes melatonin works.

_Goggalor_ posted...

It didn't for me, but I've had extreme insomnia since I was 8 (28 now). I had to resort to Seroquel to sleep. Even Ambien didn't do anything.

It doesn't work for you because you have messed up brain chemistry and need to eat some protein so you'll get some tryptophan to make serotonin.

Nope. I eat a lot of protein. Sleep disorders exist.

The point of me addressing you wasn't to doubt the existence of sleep disorders. I used to have habitual insomnia but I've somehow gotten that under control. In a roundabout way, I was saying you don't have the right concentration of neurotransmitters.
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Kineth posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

Kineth posted...

Yes melatonin works.

_Goggalor_ posted...

It didn't for me, but I've had extreme insomnia since I was 8 (28 now). I had to resort to Seroquel to sleep. Even Ambien didn't do anything.

It doesn't work for you because you have messed up brain chemistry and need to eat some protein so you'll get some tryptophan to make serotonin.

Nope. I eat a lot of protein. Sleep disorders exist.

The point of me addressing you wasn't to doubt the existence of sleep disorders. I used to have habitual insomnia but I've somehow gotten that under control. In a roundabout way, I was saying you don't have the right concentration of neurotransmitters.

I appreciate it, sorry if I was crabby or dismissive. I have my sleep under control, but using Seroquel as prescribed by a doctor. I had a polysomnograph test done, and my Serotonin levels were fine. My brain just wasn't hitting sleep stages on its own. Too much activity in the Gaba center.
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_Goggalor_ posted...

I had a polysomnograph test done, and my Serotonin levels were fine. My brain just wasn't hitting sleep stages on its own. Too much activity in the Gaba center.

The bolded are things that weren't tested for. You may have had a polysomnograph that demonstrated you weren't entering deep sleep, but that could be for any number of reasons.
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I take it occasionally when I have to wake early and it works well. I dont like to take anything if I dont have to so when I take them it works.
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COVxy posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

I had a polysomnograph test done, and my Serotonin levels were fine. My brain just wasn't hitting sleep stages on its own. Too much activity in the Gaba center.

The bolded are things that weren't tested for. You may have had a polysomnograph that demonstrated you weren't entering deep sleep, but that could be for any number of reasons.

You're more than welcome to call my physician and tell him he's wrong.
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_Goggalor_ posted...

You're more than welcome to call my physician and tell him he's wrong.

I'm pretty sure your physician didn't tell you those things, and if he did, he is indeed not appropriately telling you things.
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COVxy posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

You're more than welcome to call my physician and tell him he's wrong.

I'm pretty sure your physician didn't tell you those things, and if he did, he is indeed not appropriately telling you things.

He did, and his name is Yang K. Lo. Want his number so you can tell him he's wrong?
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Not for me, but I cant fall asleep. There is a 0% chance that I can sleep without my rx trazodone.
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southcoast09 posted...

Not for me, but I cant fall asleep. There is a 0% chance that I can sleep without my rx trazodone.

Same for my Seroquel (Pretty similar to Trazodone, they tried that one with me and it worked alrigh).
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_Goggalor_ posted...

He did, and his name is Yang K. Lo. Want his number so you can tell him he's wrong?

There is no GABA center of the brain, GABAergic neurons are distributed across the brain.

Blood serotonin and brain serotonin are uncorrelated, so the only way to measure brain serotonin is to do invasive and expensive PET imaging, or perhaps SPECT imaging, but as far as I know this isn't actually done clinically, so my guess is you didn't have it done.

You certainly cannot tell these things from a somnograph.
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COVxy posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

He did, and his name is Yang K. Lo. Want his number so you can tell him he's wrong?

There is no GABA center of the brain, GABAergic neurons are distributed across the brain.

Blood serotonin and brain serotonin are uncorrelated, so the only way to measure brain serotonin is to do invasive and expensive PET imaging, or perhaps SPECT imaging, but as far as I know this isn't actually done clinically, so my guess is you didn't have it done.

You certainly cannot tell these things from a somnograph.

I have also had imaging done, though what kind I do not recall. I do know, however, that my GABA (whether it's a center or not) is all kinds of fucked up. No amount of melatonin or tryptophan is going to make me sleep normally, empirically proven over almost 20 years of testing with all sorts of medications and sleep studies.
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_Goggalor_ posted...

I have also had imaging done, though what kind I do not recall.

Did they inject you with a radioactive tracer which prevented you from leaving the hospital ward for a while?

If they injected you with contrast, that is not the same thing.

_Goggalor_ posted...

I do know, however, that my GABA (whether it's a center or not) is all kinds of fucked up.

Nobody has measured your GABAergic activity. Sorry.
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COVxy posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

I have also had imaging done, though what kind I do not recall.

Did they inject you with a radioactive tracer which prevented you from leaving the hospital ward for a while?

If they injected you with contrast, that is not the same thing.

_Goggalor_ posted...

I do know, however, that my GABA (whether it's a center or not) is all kinds of fucked up.

Nobody has measured your GABAergic activity. Sorry.

Yes, they have. You may be a physician, but you haven't done any testing and are trying to diagnose someone like you know anything about them.
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_Goggalor_ posted...

Yes, they have.

Again, it would have to be with PET (which is too invasive and clinical usefulness is pretty much unknown) or MR spectroscopy (which is a new method that certainly isn't viable for clincial use).

I've never heard of anyone getting PET scans like this for diagnostic purposes, and my guess is that people don't do it because it's both way to expensive and way too invasive with very little clinical value.
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COVxy posted...

_Goggalor_ posted...

Yes, they have.

Again, it would have to be with PET (which is too invasive and clinical usefulness is pretty much unknown) or MR spectroscopy (which is a new method that certainly isn't viable for clincial use).

I've never heard of anyone getting PET scans like this for diagnostic purposes, and my guess is that people don't do it because it's both way to expensive and way too invasive with very little clinical value.

Well, 20 years of trying to control my insomnia, including an emergency room visit for a cardiac arrhythmia due to six days with zero sleep, resulting in psychosis, must have been enough for them to look at the problem a little more seriously than just "here's some melatonin, get some sleep".
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So you remember getting serotonin and GABA PET scans? Which receptor were they targeting? Each ligand binds to a very specific receptor type for each of these, I presume you would know, as it would be important for your "diagnosis" since each of them do vastly different things.
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COVxy posted...

So you remember getting serotonin and GABA PET scans? Which receptor were they targeting? Each ligand binds to a very specific receptor type for each of these, I presume you would know, as it would be important for your "diagnosis" since each of them do vastly different things.

I remember scans. Not sure of the exact ones. I might have the paperwork still, but this was 7 years ago.
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I used to have to start work early. I took it for a many years until I had to start BP medications 5 years ago. Doctor said it interferes with my blood pressure meds. When I took it, it didn't make me fall asleep any sooner but it made me sleep more deeply.

I've heard from someone I know that taking niacin supplements gives you vivid, intense dreams. Of course YMMV and I wouldn't take any supplement just for intense or weird dreams.
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