What are the side effects of melatonin?

I´ve had a 3 month nightmarish relationship with melatonin taking 2 mg 2 hours before bedtime. The first week was pure bliss. Fell fast asleep, normal sleep pattern, woke up gradually in the morning. Wide awake and alert all day.

Then side effects rapidly appeared. I didn´t see the link between symptoms and side effects due to the very comforting governmental published info from the Norwegian medical authorities. The gp even had the box on his desk... Here´s the list:

- Steadily increased episodes of short awakenings at night, with intervals every 20 minutes, ending in about 30 (I counted) per night. When I slept I had terrible nightmares, dreamt all the time (continuously REM-state). Every time I woke up I had fast heartbeats and anxiety.

- Woke up feeling drowsy, heavy, confused and just had to sleep. Woke up several hours later in the middle of the day, sometimes as late as 2 p.m. Then walking around in a sleep walking kind of state, totally lacking mental focus.

- Migraines

- Dry mouth

- Tight throat making swallowing food difficult

- Puffy face and bad and dry skin (my closest friends stared at me because I appeared different somehow)

- Light sensitivity

- Tremors, small rapid tightening and release of the muscles

- Psychological changes, impaired memory, cognitive abilities, and the ability to concentrate, crying spells without being depressed, strange thoughts, I became strangely aggressive (I´m in reality very calm natured), talking loud, saying strange things. I have difficulty remembering things from the last two months on the drug (it´s a drug)

- Stomach problems

- Gained several pounds over a short time

- A sensation in the chest area mimicking allergic reactions, coughing and wheezing until my lungs hurt

- Impaired motoric skills, clumsy and doing things slowly to counteract the trembling in my hands

- Heat flashes in my face followed by itching red skin

- I became very aggitated, constantly moving my legs and arms around, restless

- Episodes of decreased hearing in one ear

- Severe general fatigue

- Missing menstruation

- Neuasea and a couple of episodes vomiting

- Pain in the back

- Strange perseptions, questioning myself of my own sanity (voices, music, visual)

There you have it, and you probably have difficulties believing it, but it´s all real.

I still can´t believe that melatonin has become a prescription drug over here, recommended by doctors as a serious alternative to other sleeping aids. I became incresingly aware of maybe all of this was caused by melatonin and started searching the net. It horrifies me that the research done on melatonin is minimal and nobody knows nothing about the long term effects, and how the pineal gland will react over time. That is seriously surprising since it ended up as a prescription drug.

I was actually happy when first introduced to it, and was really positive. Considered it as less harmless than my regular sleeping medication (I´m low in melatonin levels due to constant low levels of B12).

And even more, my best friend has tried melatonin twice and both times she experiened severe bleeding rashes on her face and upper body. She also started hearing "music" og background conversations in every source of sound thinkable. Kinda light psychotic. She even went to the doc because she questioned her own sanity receiving an anti psychotic drug!

Both our problems went away almost immediately when quitting cold turkey and we went all well and sane again.

I don´t doubt that some use melatonin with great effect and have non, few or less serious side effects. However, be careful and monitor any changes, both physical and psychological. When two sane people have experiences like that.. Messing with hormones isn´t all that harmless as advocated by it´s hard core users and now more surprisingly by professional medics that we had trust in. The pineal gland is controlling a substancial number of processes in the body, including major neuro processes most including the spineal cord.

So now you understand that I´m terryfied by this drug.

But it could work well for you.

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Melatonin C13H16N2O2 is not a drug, and is produced in the brain 24/7, production increasing at night in the pineal gland.

You cannot be allergic to it!

That would be like saying, "I'm allergic to my arm," it's part of you, has always been there, and is constantly in your blood stream. Your symptoms indicate something else but I am not authorized to give a diagnosis, but it is not a melatonin problem. The pineal gland kicks in shortly after birth (if it doesn't colic starts because of less sleep signals [which is what melatonin does]), and your problems would have started a few months after birth when hormonal production of C13H16N2O2 began. As we age, the pineal gland calcifies and you sleep less. If you had no melatonin in your system you would not sleep at all except after being totally exhausted, as you say you slept until 2pm says you do not have enough melatonin in your system.... See a doctor.

I think you're taking too much. 2 mg is a LOT - I only take 0.2 mg, and various studies have shown that to be the optimum level. When I take more than that (say, 0.5 mg) I feel nauseous, hungover, have nightmares and wake up frequently. So with 2 mg I'm not surprised you're having side effects!