Advanced Sleep Melatonin

Since melatonin is used when needed, you may not be on a dosing schedule. If you are on a schedule, use the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not use extra melatonin to make up the missed dose.

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Although not all side effects are known, melatonin is thought to be possibly safe when taken for a short period of time (up to 2 years in some people).

Common side effects may include:

• daytime drowsiness;

• depressed mood, feeling irritable;

• stomach pain;

• headache; or

• dizziness.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Do not use melatonin if you are allergic to it.

Before using melatonin, talk to your healthcare provider. You may not be able to use this medication if you have certain medical conditions, such as:

• diabetes
• depression
• a bleeding or blood clotting disorder such as hemophilia
• taking a blood thinner like warfarin
• high or low blood pressure
• epilepsy or other seizure disorder
• if you are using any medicine to prevent organ transplant rejection
• an autoimmune condition
• using other sedatives or tranquilizers

It is not known whether melatonin will harm an unborn baby. Do not use this product without medical advice if you are pregnant.

High doses of this medicine may affect ovulation, making it difficult for you to get pregnant.

It is not known whether melatonin passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this product without medical advice if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Do not give any herbal/health supplement to a child without medical advice.

Jet lag is an air travel problem that causes difficulty in sleeping, fatigue, trouble concentrating, constipation, and other symptoms. Jet lag is much more likely if you cross over several time zones, and can worsen the more time zones you cross.

Effective starting doses for jet lag range from 0.3 to 0.5 mg. Smaller doses may work for some while others may need a higher dose. It may be more difficult to fly east, when time is lost, rather than to fly west, when you gain it back. High doses, such as 20 mg melatonin is available for purchase on the Internet, but such high doses are not normally recommended or needed.

Melatonin is thought to be very safe in the short-term with a low risk for overdose. However, if you suspect a melatonin overdose, seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222.

Some important drug interactions can occur with melatonin even though it is a dietary supplement:

• Fluvoxamine (Luvox) - avoid with melatonin
• Sedative-type medications - avoid with melatonin
• Blood-thinner medications (anticoagulants) such as warfarin, heparin, or aspirin
• Medications for diabetes; blood sugar may increase with melatonin
• Caffeine
• Nifedipine

Other drugs interactions exist. Check with your doctor before you take melatonin with any medication. It is also important your pharmacist screen for drug interactions with any new medication, including OTC supplements, herbals, and vitamins. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

See the Drugs.com Slideshow: Melatonin: Worth Losing Sleep Over?

Melatonin should not be used by patients who have autoimmune diseases.

Chemically, melatonin is defined as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine and is an indoleamine. 9 It can be isolated from the pineal glands of beef cattle or synthesized from 5-methoxyindole as a starting material via 2 different routes. It is a relatively low molecular weight hormone of 232 Da and is a pale yellow crystalline material. 2

A preflight, early evening treatment of melatonin followed by treatment at bedtime for 4 days after arrival.

Melatonin for 4 days at bedtime when in the new time zone.

Melatonin 5 mg 3 to 4 hours before an imposed sleep period over 4 weeks.

A high dose, repeated low doses, or a controlled-release formulation.

Melatonin 2 to 5 mg has been used.

Up to 20 mg orally/IV for 28 to 30 days then 10 mg orally daily for 1 year.

• Most melatonin available as supplements is a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring hormone, melatonin, produced by the pineal gland and other parts of our body.
• Environmental light inhibits the secretion of melatonin and darkness stimulates the secretion of melatonin. Secretion of melatonin in humans starts around 9 pm and peaks between 2 and 4 am; with the duration of melatonin production varying from season to season.