randa09The first time I took melatonin, I took 1mg the first night and fell asleep fairly quickly. The next night I had to take 3mg. Now, months later, I'm up to 25mgs a night. It's after 4 in the morning and I'm wide awake. I want to take 10 or 15 more mgs. All I have are 5mg tablets and I know one of them isn't going to be enough. I'm not trying to kill myself, I just want to make sure I'm out for the night. I don't have a Dr. or medical insurance, so I'm stuck with melatonin. So my question is, would it be safe to take more 4 hours later? And how much would be ok?
Responses (6)
kaismama10 Sep 2012
The 25 mg isn't safe. I've never heard of anyone here taking that much. I take a 10mg extended release tab at night. There are things you are doing that is helping feed the insomnia, like getting up on the computer. The light from the computer stops production of your own melatonin, and the stimulation gets your brain going. Your room needs to be dark. It helps to learn not to worry about insomnia, the more you worry the worse it gets. Go to bed at the same time, avoid tv and computer for 2 hrs before bed. A glass of milk helps it doesn't have to be warm. That much melatonin can cause seizures.
pledge10 Sep 2012
Hello randa09. For most people Melatonin is largely ineffective. You might look up any hypnotic, see who the manufacturer is, then link on to thier patient assistance program. They will more often than not (with a perscription from your doctor) send you that particular drug for no charge. I realize you do not have a doctor but if approved, find one to write you said perscription. Otherwise as you've stated, you are stuck with Melatonin. Regards pledge
Paige7810 Sep 2012
And may I reiterate the importance of a VERY dark room! I have very pretty "black out" curtains. They are dark brown and keep most light out, so when you go in my room it is pitch black and that is how we should all sleep. There should be no night light, not even light from the clock, that is how important it is! If you stil aren't gettiing any relief from melatonin or a natural sleep aid, please see your doctor if you can. Sleep deprivation is cruel, and I feel your pain.
Paige78
10 Sep 2012
And PLEASE don't take the melatonin in that amount! I think anything after 3mgs is quite ineffective!
smileyhappy
HeadStarter10 Sep 2012
Hello Randa and welcome to the site! We hope we can help you with this issue or anything else that comes down the pike. Not having insurance can be bad but there are options here. Most doctors will see a patient on a sliding scale. So that is option one. There are also plenty of sleep aids out there that are generic so inexpensive, too.
randa09
11 Sep 2012
yes Mary I would be very appreciative. I'm going to try some of those techniques out tonight. I know last night was mostly bc my boyfriend and I did get into an argument. We've since made up and I'm not worried about anything as far as that goes. But even so, on nights that we are perfectly fine, I still have this issue. Learning that too much melatonin can cause seizures has really scared me and I think I'm gonna go down to 5 mg tonight.
katstew11 Sep 2012
Hi there.
You have received very good advice here. I too am an insomniac. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms as he is a loud snorer. Before one of us committed a crime, we decided to try sleeping apart. It helped tremendously. Melatonin didn't help me much. What does, besides all the great advice here, which you should try, is listening to audio books or sermons on my phone with earplugs, or just without, depending on my mood. The sound of steady monotonous voices sends me back to sleep.
Pets on the bed can be a blessing or a curse. I have two dogs. One is a great bed companion, the other a restless pest :)
They are big dogs. So they don't get to spend much time on my bed!
Hope you get some good tips here that you can try out.
All the best
Kathy
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I didn't realize getting on the computer was doing anything. I thought that I would just sit here and play around until I got sleepy again. I didn't take any more last night and now I'm really glad I didn't. I can stop doing that and avoiding the tv. My biggest issue though is that my boyfriend and I share the same bed and he has the same issue, but worse. Melatonin would sometimes work for me but nothing helps him so he tends to go to bed after me. I take my melatonin, lay down and am almost asleep when he gets into bed and that wakes me up. Plus we have two animals. A dog and a cat. The cat is obsessed with my hair and tries to knead it and more often than not gets her nails into my head or my neck, waking me up. The dog jumps on me. Last night it was my face and chest he got. I can kick the dog out of the bedroom but if I do that with the cat, she'll continuously meow very loudly. I'm at a loss..
lol..the animals will get you, lol..My dogs think they can snuggle under the covers and tickle me. Nothing like 2 insomniacs in the same bed. I don't have an answer for that one. I was married to a man who snored like a buzz saw. I used to poke him until he'd get up and go sleep on the sofa. Sometimes it takes a long time for melatonin to work. I usually take mine 2 hrs before bedtime. There is a tablet that dissolves in your mouth. That seems to work faster.
He had suggested a while ago that we sleep in separate beds sometimes just so we can get a good nights sleep, especially when we know we have to get up early. At the time I was totally against it bc just resting my head on his chest and knowing he's beside me, sometimes relaxes me. And he loves his dog and wants him to sleep in the bed. I don't allow it bc he sheds too much and it grosses me out. Now I'm thinking that, only sometimes, separate beds would probably be a good thing. I don't have to worry about him getting into bed and waking me and he'll have the dog with him so he won't be jumping on my face in the middle of the night. Getting another bed a finding room for it though, is a completely other story.