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Topic: Why haven't you tried melatonin? (Read 2773 times) |
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jflynn
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Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« on: Dec 29th, 2003, 5:10pm » |
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I'm just curious why so many folks are reluctant to try it. It works amazing well for a few of us, some folks had no relief. But being so cheap, easy and harmless it seems like the logical first step.
If it works hooray, if not no big deal you're out five bucks and a trip to the supermarket. Five bucks is nothing compared to what many of us have spent hunting the devil.
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ave
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 5:42pm » |
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Any thoughts on the interaction of melatonin and any meds one might be on?
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Nimbus
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #2 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 5:47pm » |
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Melatonine.... isn't it a restricted med in Canada? This ring a bell to me but nothing more. Sorry.
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thomas
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 5:51pm » |
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on Dec 29th, 2003, 5:42pm, ave wrote:Any thoughts on the interaction of melatonin and any meds one might be on?
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Yeah, plenty of thoughts on this, melatonin is produced by the body, if you're not making any, and you take some, I don't see how there can be a negative reaction. Jflynn I'm with you bro.
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BlueMeanie
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 6:31pm » |
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Tried it for 6 days. Increased dose each day up to 8mg. Didn't work for me. Still got woke by the Beast each night.
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forgetfulnot
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 6:51pm » |
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I tried it over a three month period, three or four years ago. I noticed no effect in any way regarding chronic cluster headache, episodics may differ. I used from 3-9 mg nightly during the trial.
Lee……..
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Giovanni
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 7:04pm » |
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It worked for me!! Ended my cycle one month early--no headaches after taking it @9mg.
People here should at least give it a try. You might be one of the lucky ones.
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Giovanni
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #7 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 7:14pm » |
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I forgot to mention this one, 5-HTP. I have not personally tried it, but might be worth investigating. Some medications can not be taken with 5-HTP like imitrex. I have been told that dosages range from 100-300 mg per day for clusterheads. Anybody with any results on this?
http://headaches.about.com/cs/alternative/a/5htp.htm
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t_h_b
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #8 on: Dec 29th, 2003, 9:11pm » |
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I agree that every clusterhead should at least TRY melatonin, beginning with a small dose for several days and working up to large doses. It has worked for me for a couple of months now. I'm chronic and take 0.5 mg at bedtime, started with 0.3mg with noticeable improvement. It has changed my daily existence.
It is not available in a lot of countries because it is a hormone.
Canada may be one of them. In the U.S., melatonin is considered a food supplement and is not regulated by the FDA because it naturally occurs in some plants. Most of the melatonin sold here is synthesized in Switzerland and is very pure.
The large doses that people sometimes take are hundreds of times what your body produces naturally. When I tried 3mg sustained release it interfered with my sleep and caused non-cluster headaches.
Every clusterhead is different so melatonin, like all the other treatments, doesn't work for everyone and there appears to be no standard effective dose but it's cheap and easy to try.
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No, it's not a headache--it's a Stage Ten Primary Chronic Periodic Idiopathic Trigeminovascular Cephalalgic Crisis.
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jflynn
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #9 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 9:52am » |
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I am reminded of Leo Festinger's studies on cognitave dissonance. My theory is that since so many of us have expended great time, money and effort in trying to manage the clusters we are conditioned to believe that such a simple approach is not possible. We've seen doctors, specialists and yet more specialists, and live with the clinging hope that if we just got a smart enough specialist then the pain would end.
When it's sugegsted that a $5 bottle of OTC remedy can work our brains respond "bzzt! overload, does not compute!" and we do our best to refute it. We think to ourselves "the last approach I tried didn't work and it cost me a fortune and that guy was a Johns-Hopkins doctor, no way these stupid vitamins would help."
In another thread a member is weighing a 1.5 year trial of lithium or gamma knife surgery yet won't even acknowledge melatonin. Unfortunate.
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thomas
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #10 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 10:01am » |
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I have convinced a doc to try the melatonin, ssri, magnesium therapy on patients who have no results from the pred. verap. taper. WOW!! a doc who will listen, he's not even my doc..
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ave
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #11 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 1:55pm » |
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The fact that melatonin is made in the body should not, in itself, make it completely all right to try it, Thomas.
Oestrogen is made in the body as well, but taking suplements is still a very tricky business with partly unknown repercussions.
What I want to know, just as I needed to know before I succesfully tried shrooms, was: is there any interaction with any meds people might be on?
-
That aside, I am not too happy with your judgement on people who come here.
You state they do not try melatonin.
You also state they are dly too much conditioned to trust something cheap and simple
How do you, personally, know that people who are still here looking for help, haven't tried it?
How do you, personally, know that all the people that haven't tried it, are too condioned to try anything else?
As long as you do not know, don''t judge, please.
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thomas
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #12 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 2:43pm » |
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In answer to your question. I have had absolutely no negative reactions from other meds while on melatonin, as far as judging people, I'm sorry if you think I have. I have not tried to. I didn't start this thread. But I have had tremendous success with melatonin. Is it going to work next time? I don't know. If it doesn't I will try the shrooms. I have tried so many different preventives with no success at all, I finally find something that actually WORKS{(for me) disclaimer- if you notice I use that a lot}, and I'm so God damned excited about it I want to share it with everyone else, excuse me for being overexuberant.
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Giovanni
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #13 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 2:48pm » |
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Ave,
I did a search on the Internet for negative drug reactions to other medication while taking melatonin and I found the following:
· Check with your doctor before using melatonin along with a conventional antidepressant. Adverse drug reactions may result.
· Excessive drowsiness may occur if the hormone is taken along with sedatives, sedating antihistamines, muscle relaxants and narcotic pain relievers.
· Consult your doctor before considering melatonin if you take prescription corticosteroids. An adverse reaction is likely.
Additional information:
Melatonin is intimately involved in synchronizing the body's hormone secretions, setting the brain's internal clock and generating circadian rhythms (daily biorhythms). These patterns govern the release of hormones that regulate such body functions as reproduction and digestion. Significantly, melatonin also works around the clock to signal the body, which is sensitive to light cues, when to sleep and when to awaken. Typically, the pineal gland begins excreting melatonin around dusk, rapidly increases its output between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M., and then decreases its output again as daylight appears.
Most melatonin supplements on the market are pure synthetic versions of the hormone, and are practically identical to that which humans produce naturally. Although sold as a dietary supplement in the United States, melatonin is available by prescription only in France and a number of other countries.
Web MD:
The use of melatonin derived from animal pineal tissue may carry the risk of contamination or the means of transmitting viral material. The synthetic form of melatonin does not carry this risk.
Melatonin has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, or purity. All potential risks and / or advantages of melatonin may not be known. Additionally, there are no regulated manufacturing standards in place for these compounds. There have been instances where herbal / health supplements have been sold which were contaminated with toxic metals or other drugs. Herbal / health supplements should be purchased from a reliable source to minimize the risk of contamination.
I personally did not have any adverse reactions to this medication. I slept like a rock and it ended my last cycle almost immediately. I remained on it for about 2 months after the cycle then gradually removed myself from it.
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jflynn
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #14 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 3:40pm » |
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I don't know, ave, that's why I'm asking here.
When people do not respond to informal surveys, and in other posts discuss far more invasive and intense treatments and do not reply or acknowledge my suggestions to at least consider melatonin ... I have to start making theories. Cognitave dissonance seems to fit the scenario but I could be way off.
Regardless it's clear many folks here have not tried melatonin. I wonder why.
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notseinfeld
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #15 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 6:12pm » |
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flynn---
I gave melatonin a try about a year ago with no success but I vaguely recall ending it quickly as I was in a pretty depressed mood thinking that 'nothing' would help. Still have the bottle and will try again starting tonight or tomorrow.
Please post dosage and increments that worked for you and I'll mimic and evaluate along the path. A rought estimate for efficacy would help as well. A week, two, etc?
Preesh--nots
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ave
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #16 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 6:31pm » |
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Thomas, I AM sorry, I skipped a sentence in my post. I did not mean that YOU were judgemental.
Flyn, it is not very neat, asking a question and filling in the answer while you are asking it.
There are a great many motivations. reasons and causes. People are inenough pain, they will try most things. Maybe they just don't know. Look at the number of postings it took to get shrooms accepted.
Do you know how many people disappear from the board without a trace? Do you know why? You don't, exactly because they disappear.
Do you know how many people have given Mela a try, and had to move on to somehing else? Many people just don't reply to questionnaires. I don't, that's one.
Then there is my question about Melatonin maybe clashing with meds in use... very important base for a decision.
Still waiting for that answer.
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5-string
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #17 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 6:59pm » |
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Stupid question here,but I'm asking it anyway...
Has anyone ever tried Melatonin before a cycle?
..just curious. I've never tried it. Should I try it late spring since mine seem to come around in mid summer now?
...Mark..
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t_h_b
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #18 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 7:40pm » |
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When melatonin worked for me the very first time I took it, and kept working, I personally found it a little hard to believe. After all, that bottle of melatonin that I got at the dollar store had been in my drawer unopened for at least a year. Somehow I had overlooked melatonin when looking at CH meds here and elsewhere.
Before I started taking the melatonin I had made an appointment with a neurologist/headache specialist for the first time. (Hadn't had insurance since having CH and was being treated by an MD friend.) When I finally talked to the neurologist, I told him that I still couldn't decide whether it was the melatonin or just a coincidence that my chronic CH's of three years had decided to basically evaporate on the first night I took the melatonin. Maybe he found that a little amusing (he did laugh a little) but he shook his head and said, "No, it is NOT a coincidence. You have found your own treatment."
So even when you have found something simple and used it and it works, it is hard to believe. All of the pain and suffering that I endured for three years, and all it took to stop it was a little pill that cost 3 1/3 cents and was purchased at the dollar store. It just isn't right and it just doesn't make sense. Especially when so many things hadn't worked in the past. Still doesn't make sense to me, maybe it never will. But CH don't make sense in the first place.
I also must admit that when you are having CH it becomes the central issue in your life. It uses up your energy. Even though it is awful, it becomes a huge part of what you about, whether you like it or not. As difficult as it is to admit, it's hard to give up part of yourself even if it's a part you don't like. Amusing, when you consider how much effort has gone into getting rid of the CH.
And you never ever stop thinking that one day the melatonin might stop working....makes you thankful for every day.
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No, it's not a headache--it's a Stage Ten Primary Chronic Periodic Idiopathic Trigeminovascular Cephalalgic Crisis.
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BlueMeanie
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #19 on: Dec 30th, 2003, 8:36pm » |
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Quote:| When I finally talked to the neurologist, I told him that I still couldn't decide whether it was the melatonin or just a coincidence that my chronic CH's of three years had decided to basically evaporate on the first night I took the melatonin. |
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You must be the luckiest person on earth. Not saying if the melatonin worked or not. I'll leave it at that.
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Giovanni
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #20 on: Dec 31st, 2003, 9:43am » |
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"Stupid question here,but I'm asking it anyway...
Has anyone ever tried Melatonin before a cycle?
..just curious. I've never tried it. Should I try it late spring since mine seem to come around in mid summer now?
...Mark.. "
No, I started mine about 3/4 the way through a very difficult cycle. The cycle ended immediately. I do not know if it would have worked at the beginning/middle of the cycle or before the cycle ever began.
To avoid the cyle altogether this is my best hope: www.clusterbusters.com
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jflynn
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #21 on: Jan 2nd, 2004, 10:14am » |
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Someone asked for suggested dosage and timeframe?
The 2 studies I read both used 10mg once a day before bedtime as I recall. Pills are available locally at 3mg each so I used 3mg day one, 6mg day two and 9mg from then on. I had relief in half a week and I now take only 3mg each day at about 9pm.
As with anything medical you should research it yourself first. Do a search for the various melatonin thread shere.
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jflynn
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #22 on: Jan 2nd, 2004, 10:15am » |
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on Dec 30th, 2003, 6:31pm, ave wrote:| Still waiting for that answer. |
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I think it's best that I refrain from replying directly to any more of your posts. I hope you understand.
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notseinfeld
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #23 on: Jan 2nd, 2004, 10:41am » |
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Voila--
On melatonin therapy 2 nights now and both nights have been okay. (did have a nasty attack during the day though)
Started Day1 6mg. No attack that night and more importantly the following morning when I usually get hit.
Day2- 6 mg same success.
Moving the 9mg this evening and will ride this for several days to see what happens.
Guess I'll report back here for anyone who's watching.
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thomas
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Re: Why haven't you tried melatonin?
« Reply #24 on: Jan 2nd, 2004, 11:31am » |
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on Jan 2nd, 2004, 10:41am, notseinfeld wrote:Voila--
On melatonin therapy 2 nights now and both nights have been okay. (did have a nasty attack during the day though)
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I was still getting hit during the day, when I started melatonin, that's when I added Magnesium and Prosac, that took care of the daytime hits.
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