Wellness

[Krimpette]

I had been taking 500 mcg (Trader Joe's brand) every night.  I do recall having vivid dreams, (even though it's a very small dose) though they were never unpleasant dreams.  I've since found that I don't need a sleep aid these days.

[mintedrose]

Im sorry to hear that you're going through this. Although I havent taken any melatonin and Ive had sleeping problems for a few years now. There are a couple of things which do work for me, but everyone is different and if one thing works for one may not for another. Have you tried a gel capsule called rescue sleep remedy. Its very gentle and does work. Another supplement that I know of is called 5HTP which increases your serotonin and then produces melatonin. However, you do need to ask your doctor about this to take the proper dosage and all. It has a variety of benefits from depression to weight loss sleep problems etc etc. Just my two cents. 

I hope you find something that helps you.  

[Peaches McPhee]

I take it nightly, and have been for years. Even so, I still have 

some difficult nights, and I keep a stock of otc sleeping pills on hand.

[froggy]

I take 5mg every night. Really helps me stay asleep. It doesn't affect my dreams at all.

[ECBG]

I take Melatonian either 5 or 10 mg every night to get to a level of sleep that dear dog or DH doesn't constantly awaken me.

It was suggested years ago by the pharmacist whom said his night staff took it after getting off.  I've never had a problem.  I never miss it.

[colliemom4]

I've taken it but couldn't tell if it was doing anything so I decided to try a sleep aid from Walmart. Their brand. It says non addictive on the bottle and it's very inexpensive. I think it's probably some type of antihistamine though I'm not sure. It's worked well for me. It was actually recommended to me from someone else. The only problem I've had is finding it. It must be pretty popular.

[happycat]

It doesn't work for me. I can take 10 milligrams of it, and I will still be wide awake an hour later. Then 2 advil pm and still have trouble staying asleep.

My daughter says when she only takes 1 mg of melatonin, she will sleep like a rock and will be groggy the next day.

I don't get it.

[happycat]

I just read more of what you wrote, @gidgetgh.

I won't go into detail either, but I have had some trauma lately, nearly ended up in a psych ward frankly. One of the meds one of the drs gave me was trazodone. It is suppose to calm you and help you sleep. One doctor acted like he thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

And apparantly it is for a lot of people. It just made me feel off and I couldn't sleep with it either.

I wonder if it could help your husband?

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband. He is blessed to have you.

[Ceci]

I took Ambien for 20 yrs and it worked very well, never had the publicized side affects. After we moved to Florida, I didn't have a doctor for a while and stopped using it. I was hoping sleep wouldn't be a problem anymore. It was! I'm a chronic insomniac and nothing changed after all the years of Ambien.

I then tried over the counter ZZZQuil which contains Diphenhydramine (Benadryl). It worked like a charm. I only buy liquid so I can easily adjust the dose. Sometimes I only take a 1/4 of the amount specified. I was so happy to find something to help me fall asleep.

I mentioned it to my daughter and she told me to stop taking it because its linked to memory loss! I looked on the internet and found articles saying it does cause memory loss. I had been taking it for about 4 months and hadn't noticed memory loss but it made me nervous. I'm 70 and I didn't want to take a chance I'd become an old lady losing her mind!

So I tried Melatonin, again the liquid. I found it at Whole Foods. It works beautifully. The bottle has an eye dropper which is marked with lines so you can choose how much to take. Again, I adjust the amount to the lowest. If I am laying in bed for a while and can't fall asleep, I squeeze a few more drops. It always works.

What I like about Melatonin is it doesn't leve me feeling groggy in the morning. I don't feel drugged. I didn't have side affects when I used the ZzzQuil (Benadryl) either.

Try the liquid melatonin. This way you can increase or decrese how much you need. For example, sometimes I feel so tired I'm sure I'll fall asleep. Sometimes I do but most times I don't. I don't want to lay in bed for hours waiting to sleep. Then I can take an eye-dropper of Melatonin, even just a few drops and will fall asleep. I believe Melatonin is safer (couldn't find anything negative about it except a rise in blood pressure), so I love the liquid.

[gidgetgh]

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@happycat wrote:

I just read more of what you wrote, @gidgetgh.

I won't go into detail either, but I have had some trauma lately, nearly ended up in a psych ward frankly. One of the meds one of the drs gave me was trazodone. It is suppose to calm you and help you sleep. One doctor acted like he thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

And apparantly it is for a lot of people. It just made me feel off and I couldn't sleep with it either.

I wonder if it could help your husband?

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband. He is blessed to have you.

---

Sending my best wishes to you @happycat .  I hope you're feeling better now.