Catch a "buzz" from melatonin?
 

I was told in treatment to avoid taking melatonin for sleep, but I had taken it before and never "felt" anything. If you've ever taken it, how did it affect you? Do you think it's abusable? Should addicts avoid it? Thanks,
Eddie

When early in recovery I took it to help get to sleep. As far as I know it's not addictive, unlike other over the counter sleep aides, and very safe as told to me by my doctor. Never experianced a buzz just helped me fall asleep, though many times I didn't stay asleep. But check with your doc to see what he thinks.

I'm just taking a poll as a sort of personal research project. I took issue with the idea that it was OK to drink chamomile tea but not OK to take melatonin. Do you think they told us that just because it's a "pill?" I want to know what to tell my patients who are addicts about melatonin if they want to take it.

Thanks, Chy!!
—EZ

Hi Eddie,
I was given Melatonin while in rehab and continued taking it for awhile after I came home and was recouping. I never got any sort of a high/buzz from it and was told by the Addictionologist and Pharmacist that it was "safe enough for even very young children to take". I was also told to make sure I bought the "pharmacuetical grade" **?} kind...not sure why...{something about animal by-products maybe?}.
Hope this helps! Good luck with your study!
Jane63

Quality control for products sold as "dietary supplements" isn't always that great, so the dosage can vary alot from what the label says it is.

Thanks, Jane! It's good to know they're using it in some treatment centers. That helps my case alot.

Love and hugs,
Eddie

YW Eddie!
I thought it was strange that some of the rehab patients were "falling over stoned" on something alot stronger than what they were giving me, which was the Melatonin. {I can't remember the name, but it was a very potent sleeping medication.} Seems they used different medications for different cases/detoxes.
Jane

I think most rehabs use trazodone or Seroquel to help addicts sleep. Does either of those sound familiar? The melatonin is very mild. They gave me the trazodone for the first week or two so I could get back to a normal sleeping pattern.
—EZ

If the answer to the question, "Does it effect you from the neck up?" is "yes", then it should be avoided........

"Seroquel" sounds very familiar! One lady in particular that I think may have been in for either crack or alcohol addiction, literally slumped over and fell out of her chair from this medication! Scared me to death!! I think they began weaning her off and replacing with Melatonin towards the end of her stay.
Jane

eddiez,
hey it is beezylou.... From my experience with melatonin I can say the only potential
problem may be if someone is already taking an SSRI. I think there is some duplicate
therapy there. and possible complications. I have used this med in the past in rehab and felt no high or uphoric feeling.

Seroquel's a mood stabilizer, anti psychotic drug.
I was on it for three months after a psychiatric ward stay.
When I was in rehab later, I heard stories of how some of the guys would trade smokes for seroquel when they were in jail. So I guess the thing holds potential hazards for some eddie.

Thanks, Tom, Jane, beezylou, and Dan!!

Seroquel is primarily classed as an antipsychotic, although it is, as Jane and Dan have mentioned, used for other purposes as well. I know it is "abusable." My ex-husband used to call me "high" on it.

I'll have to look into those interactions with melatonin, beezylou. There's another research project for me!

Thanks again, all!
Love and hugs,
Eddie

I know for sure that if you are being treated for depression you should not take melatonin.

I can't take it with or without other meds, it makes me groggy and my head doesn't clear up when I wake up sometimes for the whole day. Makes me spacey.

We are all different. I just know it is not for me.

I think if you read the label it says do not take this if you have depression or are being treated for depression. Or maybe I looked that up on the web. Because I always look things up. But I think it is on the label.

Bingo, live! I saw in drugdigest.com that melatonin should not be taken by persons with depression without medical supervision AND should not be taken with antidepressants. Because I always look things up! teehee. Thanks, liveweyerd!

Love and hugs,
Eddie

Good job, makes sense to me!

Probably a silly question, but why not just give a patient "Tylenol PM"? That really knocks me out when I can't sleep {have to take just one!} and most recovering addicts would benefit from the pain aid as well. {from WDs}
Just a thought!

This is precisely why addicts shouldn't take it. Tylenol PM has diphenhydramine in it, which is the active ingredient in Benadryl. Anything that has the potential to "knock you out" can be abused. Make sense?
—EZ

I was just curious as to why melatonin isn't good for someone with depression. I had a friend who was an antidepressant and a doctor told her to take melatonin. Just wondering how it counteracts that. Knowledge is power.

What I read said that melatonin can contribute to depressive symptoms. But if insomnia is one of those symptoms and she is being monitored by a physician, it should be OK. I may have to do a little more research here...
—EZ

I have been given some bad scrips. That is why I look everything up. Doctors are not always right.
I am prescribed trazadone for sleep, handy because it is also an anti-depressant.
Works out well.
The only side effect I dislike, is that it can cause unusually vivid dreams, so we adjusted my dosage down.
And my depression is better treated.
YAY!
I also take lexapro.
So, I am on a double whammy for depression.

While I am on a roll, I have recently learned that people with depression have smaller amalgydas (a brain part) and that if not medically treated it continues to shrink and atrophy, thus depression is a progressive disease.