Yikes! As I had reported earlier, I seemed to have miraculously ended my afib inadvertently by using the ivermectin prophylaxis protocol, which I posted about here, and which I am still using once every 2 weeks:
Everything had been going swimmingly. No afib for one full YEAR, except for one event when I halted the ivermectin (IVM) for 5 weeks. So I resumed the IVM, and the afib disappeared again.
Until this month when I had THREE episodes. and 2 of them lasted 2 days each! In my mind there is no reason for my heart to return to this bad pattern it had gotten out of unless I have introduced something new into my body or life that can be triggering it.
So I wracked my brains. The only thing new is I began taking melatonin 2 months ago (to wean myself off of zopiclone). And I increased my melatonin dose this month from 0.5 mg to 2.0 mg. So I started googling "melatonin and arrhythmia" and found the article I linked to at the top.
Melatonin can induce certain types of arrhythmia, it turns out - PVC's (Premature Ventricular Contractions). Which I believe makes the heart unstable enough that it can then flip into afib. At least I had noticed that in past when I was having afib - it is preceded by ectopics.
So I will halt the melatonin, and hope that ends the return of arrhythmia/afib.
From the article: "We provide here the first human evidence of [melatonin's] proarrhythmic effect by presenting 2 patients (with normal myocardium) with symptomatic PVCs, while on melatonin. Discontinuation of melatonin stopped PVCs in both patients. Our findings highlight the importance of identifying precipitating factors for IVAs [Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmias]."
And note that both of those people in the article were taking just 1 mg melatonin. I was up to 2 mg because that's what I needed to get to sleep. And that is still lower than what most preparations recommend, which is anywhere from 3-10 mg melatonin!
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PlanetaryKim
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Wow. I have been taking 5 mg a night. And I was wondering why I was occasionally getting ectopics that I needed to engage with (using your V8 + extra mag suggestion) to prevent ripening into full-blown Afib. Bye-bye melatonin and thanks for posting!
I would love to try that! The CBD oil I have tried has made me a little funny in the head and has not made me sleepy. Do you know if yours is pure CBD?
This is really interesting and causes me to stop and think. I had an ablation last spring, was fine, had two Pfizers, then developed shortness of breath right after that. My cardiologist says I have myocarditis and has given me a deferral for any booster. Then 6 months later, in I was hit with a massive AFib attack and ended up in emergency. Thinking back, during that time I was taking 300 mcg melatonin once in a while (much lower dose than .5 mg).
In January I contracted a fairly significant case of Omicron (Deltacron? lost my smell and taste) although I tested neg three times. I am now over it except for a cough. However, while I was sick I took IVM. I haven't had any AF episodes since. Coincidence? I don't know. But it certainly is interesting and I'm going to keep it in mind.
I had to wean off Zopiclone years ago and I will never forget the misery. I have since discovered Unisom through a friend and it works well for me. However, I go without any sleep aid whenever possible. Otherwise I change off between melatonin and Unisom. It was on this forum that I learned how common it is to overdose on melatonin. Taking too much actually works against our sleep. So far I have only found 300 mcg online
Thanks, Kim. Best wishes. Sleep is so important for us who have AF.
Side effects of doxylamine, ie Unisom; "fast heart rate, changes in heart rhythm, irregular heart beats, palpitations, (feeling your Heartbeat), high blood pressure".
It may not have a proarrhythmic effect on everyone. In my case it was clear. I had 3 afib episodes in 2 weeks after a year of successfully suppressing it. And the only new input in my body with 2 mg melatonin. So i went looking to see if there could be any connection, and found the one article - which only involves 2 patients. But still, there does appear to be a linkage for some individuals. Maybe not for you!
~As mentioned only take 2mg melatonin + I have it made so does not contain any fillers whatsoever. Sometimes I wonder what fillers are contained in medications/supplements so avoid where I can unless ingredients described so that I can make an informed choice.I did come across an article recently that adds fish oil into the equation of causing a/fib too - would not be without my high quality fish oil ~
did not know about fish oil and afib. unfortunately fish oil makes me bleed, so i don't take it but would like to otherwise. a lot of health benefits there.
Wow. I have always read only good things about melatonin. My husband developed afib January 2021. At the time he was on 10 mg of melatonin. I am wondering if melatonin caused it. We took a break this year starting January and he says the afib seems to be less. We will stop the melatonin and see how it goes.Thanks Kim
Thanks Kim, you are a mine of good information! I had taken cytoplan.co.uk/cyto-night a few times but it didn't seem to help much so have stopped and probably won't go back there now, although I note the study you posted was just on 2 patients, pretty conclusive nonetheless.
I am also taking IVM twice a month as a prophylactic re Covid but as in AF remission have noticed no change; still get once or twice a day an ectopic or PVC not sure what the difference is!
Interesting - thanks for posting. I used to take Melatonin when back and forth to the US as I always suffered terribly from jet lag. When I started to have sleep problems in UK I asked my Functional Medicine GP they wouldn’t advise it and said the only people who should take Melatonin are people who are blind - it’s to do with the production of natural hormones regulated by light.
The solution for those with circadian rhythm sleep problems is to replace your light bulbs with orange light bulbs and get at least 10 minutes exposure to sunlight as soon as you awake. You can also buy orange lens spectacles which can also help shift workers who need to sleep during the day.
I have tried those orange lens glasses (blu-blockers) at night. they are a little awkward to wear on top of my other glasses. But I did have feeling it helped.
My Canadian friend who lives between London and Toronto introduced me to Gravol, she brought me several packs as I was having great difficulty sleeping. They have been nothing short of miraculous for me. Might be worth a try?
I agree! gravol is very effective, and i am actually using it right now. (dimenhydrinate) I'm not sure it's good for long-term use. but then probably nothing is! lol!
Dimenhydrinate side effects include "fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat". As with most of these sleep aids, their main ingredient is antihistamine, which come with possible associated side effects which affect the heat rate.
I agree no one who is using melatonin and who has not noticed this problem needs to changes their usage. I however became overwhelmed with afib episodes after increasing to 2 mg melatonin (because lower doses weren't working), and after I had basically vanquished afib for one full year. So obviously in my body that reaction is occurring. and it may be for others to, so worth posting the info if it helps anyone else. no one should live with afib unnecessarily if it can be easily ended by something as simple as halting a supplement recently started. but for sure, if you are not having this reaction to it, then no reason for you to halt it.
One other factor to consider is the calcium that is often used as a filler in melatonin pills. It may be the calcium that is triggering the afib rather than the melatonin itself.
Oh my goodness!Thank you for this info; I have tried a few times to take melatonin for sleep but it has the opposite effect on me! I won’t try anymore!
I’m so sorry you experienced increased ectopics and a-fib after such a long time without.
May you return to that “ quieter time”.
I took Ivermectin when I had COVID ; sadly it seemed to make me nauseated and a bit dizzy. When I stopped it so did the above symptoms ,
Of course it could have been the suggested larger dosage as recommended for COVID relief that caused the symptoms.
Continued best wishes to you and thank you for sharing.
I don't use melatonin, but this article does catch my attention in that my only AFib relapse after my cardioäblation ½ a year ago appeared to be triggered by staying up too late one night to 3-4 a.m.. Since then, I've paid closer attention to getting to bed earlier with no recurrence. I've come to have increasing respect for the role of the circadian rhythm in our bodies' self-regulation.
That said, this report is basically a study with an n = 2 and to me isn't much more significant than an anecdote absent some serious investigation. Seems to me that many of the people who've used melatonin without problem may be needlessly giving it up... hopefully their not using the melatonin they've been relying upon won't cause other sleep issues instead.
Are they using it without problem though? Or have they just not made the connection? melatonin may not have a proarrhythmic effect in everyone who takes it. but it did for me, and the 2 patients in the article, and I am sure for others who simply may not have made the connection. obviously if it isn't exacerbating afib for a person they don't need to give it up and probably wouldn't. But this is useful information for others who may not have made the connection but may see it now as a result of reading this. let's not deprive people the opportunity to fix their lives and health.
No argument from me... my only concern was that some folk's replies sounded as though they were ceasing use immediately without much reflection. Definitely good to be attuned to the potential based on your and the initial two reported cases, but also good to consider the risk-benefit balance
If you look at Millbrook's comment further up in this thread, her husband may have actually developed afib from using 10 mg melatonin. If so, I am very glad I posted this. Most people really would never connect melatonin usage to afib. We are each our own best doctors, always. But we can't do it without information.
I have been taking melatonin for years and continue to have palpitations post 4 year ablation.Wow It doesn’t work well anymore and I am going to stop and try the CBD oil.Thanks for the link
Let us know if your palpitations reduce. Melatonin may not have a proarrhythmic effect on everyone. But it certainly seems to on me at 2 mg, and on the 2 patients in the case report at 1 mg.
I still get ectopics 4 years after my succeful ablation and DONT AND HAVE NEVER taken melatonin. I couldn't tell you if the ectopics AVCs or PVCs . If you have ectopics then IT COULD BE the melatonin or it may not be.
Better to reduce the melatonin and see the effect on your ectopics and sleep, before replacing it with something else as if you get further issues you will be not clear on the cause.
For others, as Kim says, if you have no Ectopics problems then no action needed anyway .
One thing I have learned through AFib is that we are all different with drugs and side effects.
I have found L-theanine useful in daytime to take edge off of anxiety and help me focus. But not at nighttime for bed. It actually has a subtle alertness to it for me, and is billed as inducing a relaxed alertness. Although I know some people do use it as part of their sleep-aid package.
So good to know and makes sense. We just started my husband on 20 mg of the Ivermectin every 2 weeks as an experiment to see if A fib stays dormant. I am an RN and hope it works. I will report.
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