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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Melatonin
        
(Message started by: John_Townsend on Jan 7^th, 2006, 6:10am)

Title: Melatonin
Post by John_Townsend on Jan 7^th, 2006, 6:10am

G'day
The sheila at the health food shop reckons that I should let the Melatonin disolve in my mouth an hour before bed 9mg is this right because it doesn't sound to good to me.

Ta
John

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by Jasmyn on Jan 7^th, 2006, 6:36am

Good day to you too John.

Go and have a look under Cluster Headache Specific, there is a thread "The possible role of melatonin in cluster headaches"

What the sheila said sounds about right ;;D

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by John_Townsend on Jan 7^th, 2006, 6:50am

Ok Thanx

No cant seem to find anything about it in there!

John

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by Bob_Johnson on Jan 7^th, 2006, 9:09am

If you are using melatonin to prevent cluster then the dose of 9-10mg/day is the one most commonly reported in medical literature. If using as an aid for sleep, then try 0.5mg and adjust upwards as experience suggests.
----
Cephalalgia. 2005 Jun;25(6):403-11. Links

Melatonin, the pineal gland and their implications for headache disorders.

Peres M.

Brain Research Institute, Albert Einstein Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Melatonin, the pineal gland and their implications for headache disorders. Cephalalgia 2005. London. ISSN 0333-1024There is now evidence that melatonin may have a role in the biological regulation of circadian rhythms, sleep, mood, and ageing. Altered melatonin levels in cluster headache and migraine have been documented. Melatonin mechanisms are related to headache pathophysiology in many ways, including its anti-inflammatory effect, toxic free radical scavenging, reduction of proinflammatory cytokine up-regulation, nitric oxide synthase activity and dopamine release inhibition, membrane stabilization, GABA and opioid analgesia potentiation, glutamate neurotoxicity protection, neurovascular regulation, serotonin modulation, and the similarity of chemical structure to that of indomethacin. Treatment of headache disorders with melatonin and other chronobiotic agents is promising. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial shows melatonin is effective in cluster headache prevention, other studies also show benefit in other disorders. Melatonin plays an important role in headache disorders, offering new avenues for studying their pathophysiology and treatment.

PMID: 15910564 [PubMed - in process]

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by John_Townsend on Jan 7^th, 2006, 10:32pm

Thanx BOB

But do you suck on the melatonin or just swollow them whole??

John

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by marlinsfan on Jan 7^th, 2006, 10:39pm

It depends on what kind you got. There is regular and timed release, I think. I take regular, and just gulp it down with water. Be patient, for me it took a few days to work.
PF wishes.

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by John_Townsend on Jan 7^th, 2006, 10:50pm

The instructions say take them whole but the sheila reckons you should let let it disolve in your mouth. Im buggard if I know!

Also I'm a shift worker how do I go when doing night shifts

Thanks
John

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by gobby on Jan 8^th, 2006, 1:25am

When I bought my last bottle, there were a bunch of different types of melatonin, regular, time released, and one that you put under your toung. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I'm guessing that the sub-lingual probably disolves faster and may taste better than the other two. :)

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by Jasmyn on Jan 8^th, 2006, 1:45am

on 01/07/06 at 22:50:25, John_Townsend wrote:

John, read this it is all about Melatonin and shift work:

http://www.apollolight.com/new_content/circadian%20rhythms_disorders/shift_melatonin/shift_work.html

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by Gator on Jan 8^th, 2006, 2:03am

You should try calling your doc or pharmacist for specific instructions and for interactions with any other medications you are taking. You could also try looking up interactions at a site such as www.rxlist.com or www.drugdigest.org.

Once you are sure it is ok for you to take (ie no warnings from the doc and no drug interactions), unless the tabs you have are meant to be dissolved under the tongue, I would swallow whatever dose you are going to take about an hour before bedtime, whatever that bedtime may be. You may want to start with a lower dose, like 3mg and take it for 4 nights then work your way up every 4 nights until you find the right dosage for you. Some people go as high as 12mg. It does take time to kick in. Unless you have problems with it, you should probably stay with it for at least two weeks. Some people find that taking benadryl in addition to the melatonin helps where melatonin alone doesn't work.

Like every other med we clusterheads take, it doesn't work for everyone. Hopefully it will help you. Keep us posted.

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by John_Townsend on Jan 9^th, 2006, 7:32am

Thanx all, But now I have probs. I sent an email to the suppliers of melatonin this is what they said.

John,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding our melatonin. From you question I think that it is important to point out that this is a homoeopathic preparation of melatonin, therefore it is very diluted. This means that the dose you are taking is not the equivalent of 9 mg, it is 3 tablets of homoeopathic melatonin 6X. In homoeopathy the X refers to a one in ten dilution (1 part melatonin to 9 parts water), and then this is done 6 times over to produce a 6 X homoeopathic product. Homoeopaths believe that this makes the medicine more effective, however you can not dose a homoeopathic to provide a milligram dosage. If you had that dose prescribed for you, you may need to check with your health care professional as melatonin is only available on script in Australia although this is not the case in other parts of the world.

I am not familiar with homoeopathic melatonin being used for cluster headaches, and an therefore not able to help you with a dose, I apologise, however if you wish to discuss this further my contact details are below.

Kind Regards,

Now I'm P@##ed off
John

Title: Re: Melatonin
Post by burnt-toast on Jan 9^th, 2006, 8:41am

I think it helps. 9mg, 30 - 45min before bed added to my usual Lithium/Verapamil reduced the frequency of night attacks by approx. 15%. Any improvement is good improvement.

Tom