Melatonin Might Be Beneficial, Especially in Preventing Hearing Loss?

I take melatonin APN. The pharmacist told me it was very safe.

 

I read on the internet that melatonin interacts with benzos. Better be safe and consult a doc first in you are taking both together

 

I doubt there is a true interaction between benzodiazpine drugs and melatonin. One is a hormone produced naturally by the body and the other is a substance that messes with the GABA receptors in the brain.

Since melatonin is already produced by the body naturally, you are simply supplementing with additional hormone. If melatonin had significant interactions with benzodiazpine drugs, you would experience symptoms by taking a benzodiazpeine alone. The most obvious side effect of combining the two that I can think of would be increased drowsiness since both do make you feel tired, but again by two different mechanisms.

Melatonin is actually used by some benzodiazepine users to help with their taper and to improve sleep quality as they decrease their dose. But I guess it is always best to err on the side of caution just to be sure.

I did a quick search on google and it came up with a bunch of different results and studies on the issue that you guys can peep here: http://goo.gl/DjTfwo

 

Hi everyone
I am having huge problems sleeping more that 4 hours so am totally exhausted.
Please can anyone advise me how melatonim I need to take to get a full nights sleep.
I notice that many people are using it to sleep.
i am in France and in the pharmacy there is only 1mg tablets of pure melatonim.
Is this enough or too much?
I just need some sleep aid that is not sleeping tablets full of chemicals. I did not take the xanax but the last three days i have been taking half a tablet (each tablet 0.25mg os half is 0.125mg) so that i can get back to sleep. However it knocks me out for about 2 hours. I asked about benadryl but the pharmacist had never heard of it and didnt know what i was talking about.
My doc gave me a prescription which she swore was herbal stuff but when i got to the pharmacy i found that it was just more of teh same nasty chemicals.....so again without sleep aid.
If anyone can help to advise me about meatonim or other natural sleep aid please?
thanks you
I am in europe france.....

 

I used it (and am still using it). At first I started with 5mg per night, although after a couple of weeks I started to get very vivid dreams. I went down to a dose of 2 mg per night, did that for a couple of months. But again I started to get vivid dreams. These days I am not using it every day. The dose is form 0 to about 1 mg. Other than the vivid dreams every once in a while I do not have any side effects.

I must stress that proper sleep environment is important when using melatonin. Light (blue in particular) stimulates the body to break melatonin down (e.g. wake you up). Melatonin is believed to be a hormone that regulates your biological clock, so try to use it about 30 minutes before you need to sleep. Try to keep this moment the same on all days of the week.

 

@Sjoerd
Thank you for your rapid resppnse.
So if i get the 1mg tabs and take a half a tab that should be ok then.
I dont understand it - i used to sleep like a baby but now since T i cannot sleep.
I can fall asleep when knackered so like 2o r 3 or 4 or 5 in the morning but manage only about 4 or 5 hours maximum.
If i buy the melatonim then can i expect to sleep longer than that?
Also would you say that going to sleep at 4 or 5 am is real bad thing to do with this?
Should i try t sleep earlier.../
My T is raging - I have to go to a clinic today for a hearing test altho i know that it will just be the usual up to 8hz and oh your hearing is fine etc...and have an mri which i dont want to do - due to the noise factor of a closed mri and anyway i am sure that there is nothing else but t going on....cant see a way out of this and getting really bad nervous panicky stressy suicidal....life is really really terrible for me now....
please let me know re the melatonim dose etc and any advice re sleep....thanks

 

Therapeutic dosage range for Melantonin as a sleep aid is 5 to 10 mg, taken ½ hour before bedtime. Pills may come eg. as 1, 3, or 5 mg. So standard dosage is either 5 or 6mg to begin with. Can be taken long term.

Very minor side effects compared with real sleep tablets.


P.S. There are already a ton of threads on Melatonin; use search function. Don't think this thread belongs in Treatments...

@Markku

 

Melatonin makes me wake up after 3-4 hours of sleep, so I have switched to melatonin's precursor L-Tryptofan. Give it a try.

 

Because you are having sleep issues, take 3mg about 1 hour before the time you wish to sleep. The doctor I see for my cpap told me 1 or 2 hours before, even though I said the bottle listed 30 minutes. Everyone has a different tolerance, but if you are a small women then 5mg might be too much, not that it would be a problem either way considering you really need sleep. You can double the 3mg pills to consume 6mg total without having to split pills.

Even with Melatonin there are nights it does nothing but make me groggy. I have found that wheatgrass has something in it that allows me to sleep longer. I've noticed that a lot of green foods seem to do this for me. Not sure the reasons, perhaps nutrients or detox, not sure.

As Sound Wave was saying above, try the L-Tryptophan and see. If L-tryptophan is taken as a nutritional sleep-aid, the target dose is around 1,000 to 1,500 mg, taken a couple of hours before bedtime. Or you could eat tons of turkey and see if that works.. lol

 

So basically there is no hard and fast rule about this.
I need to find something that will give me 7 or 8 hours sleep.
I read on these threads that melatonim will give me good sleep and loads of people use it.
Now i have asked about it, seems that there is discord about the amount, its effectiveness etc... so going slightly potty.
If i do not find a good sleep aid I think that this T is going to kill me as i am on the edge right now....cannot go on with this non life...
Sorry if i put this in the wrong thread.
I searched for the right place to put it and this is what I came up with but apologies for getting it wrong. If it needs to be redirected to another thread then please moderators can you do that for me please....I thought that it would be a treatment but obviously I have cocked that up as well - sorry
any advice about what to do
i asked for benadryl which loads of people seem to take on this forum, well the pharmacist had never heard of it - i even wrote it down for him and he just shook his head.
I am in rural france

 

It is something you have to try. I started with 5x 1mg, but that proved to be a bit much for me.

First of all, it is very normal to wake-up (or in very light sleep) after every sleep cycle (about 1.5 hours). Normally the level of awareness is so low that you will simply fall back a sleep very quickly and the "event" does not even register so you will not remember the next morning. So do not worry about waking up at night, it is normal.
The reason that you do not fall back asleep is simply because your brain registers tinnitus, this is bothersome and will fully wake you up. Unfortunately, this will take time to get used to. Once the anxiety drops, you will start to fall back to sleep faster and faster up until the point you will not be fully awake anymore.

In our modern world the sleep discipline is poor to say the least. Bedroom wise, make sure it is dark, cool, calm and with background noise.

What you need to don to improve sleep quality is pretty damn boring, but it works.
1. Make sure you have enough physical activity during the day to make sure you are tired. If you have a desk job, go take evening walks.
2. Create a daily rhythm. Got to bed at 11, wake-up at 7.
3. Make-sure your mind is calm, so do not watch TV al night, or play video games.
4. If you have trouble to fall a sleep, go read a book or something.
5. Use melatonin to get used to this rhythm.
6. Make sure you get enough daylight during the day.

I think this will help....but it is not a magic solution....it will require effort from from part.

 

@Sjoerd
Thank you again for yr reply.
Just to say live in rural france - no work here - bored to insanity - nothing to do all day except read about T.
Daily rhythm does not exist here...only thing i have left is tv on at night and now on during the day..
Going potty with this...no help here no TRT here nothing
I wonder what @Dr. Nagler would suggest or any of the other doctors.
No I am on minimum income @Dr. Nagler so dont have money to pay even if i did TRT over skype wiht one of your specialists in this. Looks like I am going to end up as a statistic....unless anyone can tell me how to deal with this.
thank you to everyone for any input and any of the doctors on here also
By the way, it says dont have enough priviledge to post a question or answer to one of the doctors on this forum. So how does one get that priviledge status?
thanks again

 

I keep some Benadryl around, makes you feel really good. Twice over these many years I woke in a panic paralyzed after sleeping on this stuff. Not to scare anyone from using it though. But if you want to try it then the generic name is diphenhydramine hydrochloride. I would try the Melatonin at 3mg 1 hour before bed first. Then after a few days at that rate see if you need more or less.

 

thanks for the info.
So far i have been told 0 - 1mg, 3mg, 5mg etc.....utterly cofused now and it is only sold in 1mg tabs in france
then there is also the question of of slow release acting melatonim or fast acting melatonim which i also read about on this form.
Anyone know
@Markku thanks for explaining this to me - i do seem to keep making mistakes but i promise you that they are not intentional

 

If all you can buy is 1mg tabs then get those. 1mg, 3mg, 5mg are in the normal ranges, it just depends on you. 1mg is not enough for me and 5mg is too much. All you will run into with too much is feeling groggy, but a few minutes in the sun and a hot cup of coffee can counter that nighttime hormone. This is why people adjust the amounts suited for just themselves and how they feel afterwards. Because you need sleep really bad, 3mg ~ 5mg looks like a good starting range. Take 3 of those 1mg tabs. If you find yourself waking up after 4 of 5 hours then try the slow release tabs, until that time comes just try the regular ones first because they are cheaper.

 

Just start of with a dose of 5 mg.... experiment with it a little bit. Go down if you get side effects.

 

Now she will have no idea what to take because I said 3 and you said 5.. duh!

 

Exactly right - i dont know what to take now and it is no laughing matter for me cos i am stuck in france with no help here.
Also i live with a adult big baby who keeps screaming, and the latest thing he just said or screamed at me is that i need an exocism!!
He is so stupid that he threw all the paperwork all over the place and then threatened to burn it and then went out in the car and left me to it.
If the paperwork is not completed (and he has to do it ) then we shall have no income on top of everything else.
So please a straightforward answer to the sleeping aid would really help me - thank you ever so for all your help
Oh there he goes again - screaming racist insults at me.....again .....

 

Well, first I would very strongly challenge the premise of your statement. If there were truly nothing at all for you to do all day except read about tinnitus, then if you didn't have tinnitus your life would be completely empty - and I suspect that's not the case at all.

It is more likely that you just feel like there's nothing at all for you to do all day long except read about tinnitus. And that is what cognitive behavioral therapists refer to as a cognitive distortion - a conclusion based in emotion rather than based in reality.

So there are two things I would suggest.

The first is to make a firm commitment to spending a few hours each and every week to making some small difference in the life of somebody less fortunate than you. Since you live in a rural area, that might be a little harder for you than for somebody who lives in the city. But do it anyway.

All the best -

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

@Dr. Nagler
thank you so much for taking the time to answer me. It is appreciated.
I went to the city yesterday - to see a private ent guy.
Got it paid for by the govt so that was gopd,
Anyhow he said 3 things
1. I had a hearing test and he said normal hearing.
2.. That he things that i have jaw misalignment due to missing teeth in top set
3. That it is all stress induced
Dont know why he thinks stress cos he dosesnt know me at all

Anyhow dont think that you know the situation i am living in.
I am living with a man who is a bit of a monster
Not everyday but lots and lots
He drinks too much and acts like a child.
He doesnt work
He had a work accident and cut his thumb off which is how we stayed in france
Then he had a stroke last november
So now we are holed up in this house that i didnt want to move to
I told him different house , same you so it wont change or be better
But he wanted to move and yet again i believed him that all would be ok
I am stuck with him cos i have nowhere to go
no family and have lost touch with any friends.
My brother died young back in 09
My other brother stole all my money and is now in Quebed. I havent seen him for 23 years
I have a cousin in England
I told her about my probs back in 2012 and she is a family lawyer and a mediator between couples wanting to divorce
Anyhow i told her the things that he does to me like violent, drunk, threatening, smashing things etc..and then nice again and then does it again.
He also insults me all the time using my jewish background as an insult calling e a xxxxxxx jew and what are the jews doing in europe and hitler was right etc etc... I am sure you can imagine how painful such comments are to me
Anyhow moved house and the T started suddenly
Yesterday after the docs he was drunk and he started on me in the car when we were eating a sandwich
I had to jump out o f the car and passers by saw what was happening and called the police
Eventually police came. I did not know that they had called police until they turned up.
2 very nice policeman actually.
They asked me if I was tired cos they said i look exhausted
Anyhow they wanted to arrest him and lock him up
I just dont want any more trouble so i persuaded them that all is ok
They saw that he is drunk and that his behaviour is not good. So they insisted that he moves out fm the drivers seat and that i drive
So ok i did that
But he kept screaming in my ears from the back seat and kicking me in my back thru the back of the front seat that i was sitting in
I told him that i cant drive like that but when he starts it is like dealing with an insane nutcase
He insisted on getting more beer and i cant stop him cos to try to stop him will only cause more problems for m
So he screamed all the way back
and then carried on in the house
Today i wake up and i think that the T has gone from my right ear to my left ear. I never had it in my left ear before
I am so terrified and so alone
I dont know what to do
Do i kill him or myself cos i cannot go on like this
It has been too much for too long
So it is not just a case of finding someone to help out.
I need help desperately
Before I knew this person I was really together altho lonely with no family
That is why i ended up with him - cos i thought that i would not be alone and i would have his family
But his family dont want to know him
And i am stuck with him and i think that it suits the family if i have the problem cos then they dont have the problem
I just have suffered so much with him and now this T
How do i help myself? It is a ocnstant nightmare that i cannot wake up from or get out from
any ideas
thanks

 

Dear @amandine,

Reading your story breaks my heart. Perhaps it seems a bit off topic to some, there could be a whole separate forum related to what you're going through right now in your domestic situation.

That said, I have to imagine that your T and your situation are at least somewhat intertwined. I do not think it's possible for anyone to heal mentally or physically when they are constantly being attacked in their home. T can be an impossible battle even in the best of circumstances, and your circumstances sound incredibly difficult to put it mildly.

I'm in the US, so I don't have much by way of resources to help you get out of your situation in France, but maybe someone else reading this does and could PM you.

Please don't give up. Life will not be like this forever. I don't have much to offer, but I can listen. Feel free to PM me if you wish and take care of yourself as best you can.

As for the benadryl - I wouldn't ask for it by that name in France, it is a brand, not necessarily the medication. Try asking your pharmacist for something with Diphenhydramine in it. If that doesn't work, just ask him for something to help you sleep or to help you be calm - that should work just as well.

Take care and feel free to reach out to me privately.

 

Hi @amandine -

I told you how to help yourself. I will tell you again.

"The first is to make a firm commitment to spending a few hours each and every week to making some small difference in the life of somebody less fortunate than you."

In all that you wrote in your Post #111 above, I did not read a single thing that would prevent you from making and keeping that sort of commitment. The most direct path to helping yourself is to make a difference in the life of somebody less fortunate than you. I do not wish to appear harsh, but the power to make your life better for yourself lies with you! Not to make it perfect. Not to make it idea. But to make it better? Absolutely.

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

@amandine Have a look at this book about microresolutions, i.e. ways to alter your behaviour in very very small steps at a time.
http://www.amazon.com/Small-Move-Big-Change-Microresolutions/dp/0670015342

 

I tried to take melatonin a few times since my T started, but actually did nothing or the opposite. It makes me agitated in the middle of the night and i wake up.. I have tried 1mg, 3 mg., I am in the Uk, and here is very difficult to buy, is not an over the counter medicine, unless your doctor prescribes it , so I got my sister, who lives in the states to send it to me...nothing, I do not know why but it does not make sleep better, just the opposite...any help?

 

@Marion27

Well i have been taking it for the past few days.

Bought it from pharmacy over the counter here in france.
It comes with zinc and magnesium in it.
Took 1mg didnt help with sleep
Then took 2mg didnt help with sleep
tried for a few days didnt help
then last night took 1mg slept for 7 hours
first time i slept for more than 4 hours in months
also comes with melatonim mixed with magnesium and zinc and ginko for daytime use
so a pill for night and a pill for daytime
dont know if it does anything or not
maybe just slept cos so exhausted

 

http://www.nutritional-supplement-educational-centre.com/melatonin-side-effects.html
"Occasionally, one of melatonin side effects is that it causes a paradoxical reaction, such as agitation and insomnia. So, again, it's always best to start at the smallest dosage and observe how your body responds."​

 

@J-rod

Thanks for that. First I was advised or suggested to take melantonin cos it is supposed to be really good for sleep and harmless. Then i was told to let it kick in for a week.
Now after a few days I read that it can be harmful and cause more problems.
So now i am totally anxious and looking at the pill melatonin daytime dose and wondering do i take it or not. Sigh!! utterly confusing and confused with all the info and threads that i have read on this forum. I think too much forum is bad as makes an obsession about the t...Anyhow thank you for bringing this info on melatonin to light....now do i take the pill or not?

 

I think you already know the answer to your problem. Any drug or nutrient you take now is only going to mask the real issues. Anxiety and Stress can affect sleep in a host of different ways. The reality is your Tinnitus might not go away. I've had my Tinnitus for years and not a single one of these supplements, regardless of the science behind them, has improved my T beyond that of my own plausibly placebo, thus in short, I feel it's a mental game inside our heads.

Do not kill him or yourself please, you can fix this!

What you have right now sounds a lot like PTSD. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, it is a pathological anxiety disorder resulting after exposure to a traumatic event. It is not unusual for victims of verbal abuse, emotional abuse to develop PTSD symptoms. Several neural mechanisms linked to both tinnitus and PTSD affect auditory behaviors.

Common Symptoms
PTSD is characterized by 4 primary symptoms:

• Intrusion: Recurrentrecollections of the event
  • Dreams, intrusive memories, and exaggerated emotional and physical reactions to events that remind person of trauma
• Numbing: Emotional distancing from surrounding people and events
  • Depression, loss of interest in activities, reduced ability to feel emotions (particularly emotions of intimacy, tenderness, or sexuality), irritability, hopelessness
• Avoidance: Fearand avoidance behavior
  • Fear and avoidance of people, places, thoughts, or activities associated with the trauma, development of anxiety disorders (GAD, panic, specific and social phobias)
• Arousal: Agitated state of constant wakefulness and alertness
  • Hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating

​

Here is a good read for you. http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-and-stress
I pray for you amandine. May you find peace and hope in the midst of these desperate circumstances.

 

Hey everyone, I recently had a horrible loud spike that hasn't calmed down and I haven't been able to sleep for 2 days. I want to get enough sleep but its very difficult with the pain and the spike being super loud. I know some have tried melatonin, and I am thinking of taking it but I am too worried if it will worsen my already horrible spike. Does anyone know if its okay to take melatonin with a spike, please any suggestions will be helpful.