I looked at a bottle. Even the cheap stuff has warnings.
Melatonin is generally safe for short-term use. Unlike with many sleep medications, with melatonin you are unlikely to become dependent, have a diminished response after repeated use (habituation), or experience a hangover effect.
The most common melatonin side effects include:
Headache
Dizziness
Nausea
Drowsiness
Other, less common melatonin side effects might include short-lasting feelings of depression, mild tremor, mild anxiety, abdominal cramps, irritability, reduced alertness, confusion or disorientation, and abnormally low blood pressure (hypotension). Because melatonin can cause daytime drowsiness, don’t drive or use machinery within five hours of taking the supplement.
In addition, melatonin supplements can interact with various medications, including:
Anticoagulants and anti-platelet drugs
Anticonvulsants
Contraceptive drugs
Diabetes medications
Medications that suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants)
Melatonin did absolutely nothing to help me with sleep. Nada, Zilch.
Melatonin becomes a horse dewormer in 3, 2, 1…..
Dear Lib loather,
All you report may be true however there is far too little information contained in your remarks that will help us make decisions such as “I will not be one of those that take melatonin” or “You’ll never catch me with melatonin on MY breath!”. There is nothing indicating very overweight or diabetics or people with other problems should not take melatonin in the prescribed amounts in what you shared with us.
I have been using 9-12 mg of melatonin to get to sleep and stay asleep for 8-10 hours every night for a number of years. I have Never Ever had a side effect that I could classify as a “side effect”. I have enjoyed years of sleep with marvelous dreams. And it doesn’t matter if I have to go to the bathroom. I fall asleep immediately after returning to bed.
I have several physical problems that should have mitigated my remarks. I have MS, RA (both with big pains daily and much fatigue, spasms and spasticity and nightly with muscle and bone aches), I have PTSD(it reacts variably, and I have other such maladies. No matter, melatonin works with me and my miserable maladies.
Once I take my two or three (depends on mgs...9 or 12) of malatonin, within 20 minutes I am asleep. Joy of joys....
On occasion, if I get to sleep at 8 pm and am up at 4 am, I take an additional 3-5 mgs and sleep until 8:00 or 0900.
Every day I awake clear-headed with a degree of very welcome eagerness to meet a new day.
I do think if a person is taking medication of almost any sort for major problems, they ought to talk with their doc before trying melatonin.
Melatonin has been shown safe for long-term use in children and adolescents with autism and ADHD. There is no rebound insomnia if a dose is missed.
If there are instances of daytime drowsiness it is probably from an extended release formulation; melatonin has a very short half life and should be out of the body after eight hours of sleep.
“I looked at a bottle. Even the cheap stuff has warnings.”
The warnings and list of side effects is odd considering that everyone makes their own melatonin — lots when you’re young and less when you’re old. It’s kind of like putting out a list of warnings for red blood cells or something. They can cause you to bleed!!! lol