Psycho-Babble Alternative | about alternative treatments | Framed
This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | List of forums | Search | FAQ

Re: Melatonin for Chronic Insomnia » Simcha

Posted by Larry Hoover on October 4, 2003, at 9:55:52

In reply to Melatonin for Chronic Insomnia, posted by Simcha on October 2, 2003, at 22:34:27

> Hi Folks!
>
> I haven't tried this board yet.
>
> Anyway, currently I'm taking 1.5mg of Melatonin at night with 1000mcg of B12 and 100mg of B6. I've had a slight bit of insomnia lately. It's not as bad as it used to be but it's enough that I'm trying different treatments. My current doctor wanted me to try Benedryl. That stopped working for me. I wasn't taking it every night but it just does not work for me anymore.

Benadryl tolerance occurs quite quickly. Even after a month off it, it still doesn't do squat for me.

> The melatonin plus vitamins seems to do the trick at the moment. I also wake up happy and unstressed.

Take as little melatonin as will work....even 1.5 mg is more than your normal physiological concentration would be.

> I have Major Depressive Disorder and I was a terrible chronic insomniac before meds. I have breakthrough insomnia occasionally and I have tried various things for it.

Magnesium twenty minutes before bedtime works nicely with melatonin.

> Currently I have some Ativan on hand just in case it gets out of hand. I haven't used it yet. I thought I'd try melatonin first.

Just use as little as will work. Try breaking a pill. You could always take the other half, if a half pill doesn't work. Melatonin has a weird dose-response curve. It's not a straight line, i.e. low dose = low response, high dose = high response. Instead, it looks kind of like the classic bell curve. Too much doesn't work at all. A little too much and you're on the falling-off side of the bell. You want to be just at or below the peak of the bell, and that could be as little as 0.5 mg.

> I did read that melatonin can cause depression in some people with MDD.

At large doses, yes, because melatonin is formed from serotonin. Too much melatonin shuts down serotonin synthesis, via feedback inhibition of the key enzyme.

> I've found that as an insomniac with MDD I have had some success on melatonin. I'm not sure that this is a long-term solution.

If you're careful of the dose, it should continue to work. Most practitioners advise going off it periodically, though, to avoid complete suppression of the pineal gland. No more than two months on, followed by one month off.....that sort of thing.

> Most of the time I have decent sleep therefore I don't plan on being on it all the time.
>
> Well, I'd love to hear any comments about alternatives for treating insomnia, beyond using ambien. I can't find a doc who would be willing to prescribe ambien regularly for insomnia. I could order it from Internet sources as I have done with Ativan.

I've used temazepam (Restoril) with great success (over two years), but it's pooping out on me right now. :-(

> I've found that benzos, when used judiciously, can do the trick when nothing else works.

Yes, but you have to be careful about half-life and metabolites. Temazepam and oxazepam are secondary (active) metabolites of diazepam, so you get specific parts of the activity profile rather than the whole ball of wax, as an example.

> Please let me know how you treat insomnia. I'm rambing so I'm signing off...
>
> Blessings,
> Simcha

Blessings to you.
Lar

 

Thread

 

Post a new follow-up

Your message only Include above post


[265492]

Notify the administrators

They will then review this post with the posting guidelines in mind.

To contact them about something other than this post, please use this form instead.

 

Start a new thread

 
Google
dr-bob.org www
Search options and examples
[amazon] for
in

This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | FAQ
Psycho-Babble Alternative | Framed

poster:Larry Hoover thread:265105
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031003/msgs/265492.html