This is a question about PD patients feeling internal heat at night. (I know it does not only happen in case of PD, there could be other reasons).
It is not a fever but an internal heat that occurs suddenly at night and then disappears. Are there any members here who experience this and what can be done about it?
Melatonin production at night lowers our core body temperature, but as we age, melatonin production declines and it declines even further in people with PD and this can allow a rise in core body temperature at night or lack of core temperature drop. Here is a link to a study that illustrates how melatonin lowers core body temperature at night and gives a minimal dose of 5 mg/night of melatonin to offer some core temperature reduction :
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/883...
The following study suggests that 9 mg of melatonin had a significant effect at lowering core body temperature, but if you are going to use 9 mg, you might as well use 10 mg because that dose has shown benefit for people with PD as discussed in the bottom link :
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/118...
healthunlocked.com/cure-par...
This last study illustrates how core temperature drops as melatonin is naturally released as day turns to night :
researchgate.net/figure/The....
Art
This is very interesting because my husband was always complaining of being too hot when I am freezing. I am so surprised to hear this.
Thank you. Interesting, I will read the links you've provided as soon as possible.
Dear Art, melatonin is amazing, but what if melatonin doesn't help (as everyone reacts differently to medication etc.)?
Hello Art,
I wanted to ask for some advice regarding my mother's recent use of melatonin (with the aim of reducing high body temperature during the night). She took a 5mg dose, which successfully normalized her body temperature at night for the first 4 days. However, after this initial period, she began experiencing heat again. Do you know why this happens and if there are any actions she can take to deal with it?
I'm glad the melatonin lowered your mom's nighttime body temperature as intended, but sorry to hear that the benefit only lasted a short while.
If she can tolerate it, try doubling her dose of melatonin to see if it can once again reduce her nighttime overheating.
As to why it happened, I can only guess. One possibility is because melatonin levels decline very significantly with age and declines even further in PwP. Given that the body is accustomed to using melatonin for a multitude of purposes throughout and the amount of melatonin needed for many bodily functions is no longer sufficient beyond the age of 40, it may be that the availability of that extra 5 mg of melatonin may be in very high demand and is being dispersed body wide to try and meet the demand of the body. Given that the bioavailability of melatonin is estimated to only be 3% according to this article :
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....
A relevant article quote :
' This cohort crossover study estimated pharmacokinetics of oral and iv melatonin, respectively in healthy volunteers. Bioavailability of oral melatonin was only 3 %. '
When you figure that out at .03 x 5 mg = .15 mg, you can see that the 5 mg dose is only giving .15 mg of available melatonin to your mom. If melatonin production in the body is already insufficient, it seems plausible that that .15 mg of melatonin is literally going to be up for grabs by all areas of the body that need more, ultimately leaving the extra amount needed for temperature regulation during sleep, once again insufficient to properly regulate body temperature during the night. That would be my best guess.
If your mom is able to tolerate 10 mg of melatonin, that will bring her up to the dose used in PwP to achieve the benefits described in the following PwP/Melatonin study :
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/324...
Here is a relevant quote from the RCT study :
' Overall, melatonin supplementation for 12 weeks to patients with PD had favorable effects on the UPDRS part I score, PSQI, BDI, BAI, hs-CRP, TAC, GSH, insulin levels, HOMA-IR, total-, LDL-cholesterol, and gene expression of TNF-α, PPAR-γ and LDLR, but did not affect other metabolic profiles and gene expression of IL-8 and TGF-β. This suggests consumption of melatonin may confer advantageous therapeutic potential for patients with PD. '
Art
Thank you for the informative answer Art!
She took normal (regular) melatonin 5mg, do you think extended release 5mg would help? Or should we first try to double regular melatonin (to 10mg)?
Although I comprehend your explanation on melatonin bioavailability, I am uncertain about the impact of a 10mg dose on the body's natural production of melatonin. While numerous studies have indicated that small to moderate doses of melatonin supplements do not reduce natural production, is this also true for 10mg doses? Maybe she juts has to take a break sometimes.
It is important to understand just how much melatonin levels decline with age very significantly and by the time a person is a senior citizen, that production is negligeable as indicated by the accompanying chart.
Once you realize that seniors have melatonin levels below newborn levels, you get a clearer indication of this important deficit and how it can impact health very negatively. Melatonin is considered to have a very good safety profile, but some people do not tolerate melatonin supplementation well. So you can try 10 mg of melatonin with your mom or not. It is either tolerable for her and it helps or it doesn't. You are discussing going from .15 mg of available melatonin up to .30 mg of available melatonin. That should make things pretty clear for you.
There is not one study that I am aware of that supports the uninformed opinion that supplementing with melatonin decreases the bodies natural production of melatonin. The more important question should be, how do we improve melatonin levels in seniors so that they can take advantage of the multitude of health benefits that melatonin has shown to offer in hundreds of studies.
Melatonin, like vitamin D, is at very low levels in the majority of seniors and the older we get, the less time we spend outdoors, where sun exposure can increase both melatonin levels and vitamin D levels.
I'm not taking 132 mg of melatonin everyday because it is fun to take, I'm doing that because I want to avail myself of what melatonin studies have shown in terms of human health benefits. If you don't know what some of those benefits are, you can read what I have written about melatonin on this forum.
Art
I know it is ridiculous for me to ask, but do you take all the melatonin together or split it across multiple times?
Art, I appreciate your help, thank you.
My mother has been taking 10 mg for two days, but it hasn't had any effect in reducing the heat she experiences at night. Initially, taking 5 mg for four days helped to lower the heat. Do you suggest my mother continue taking 10 mg in the hopes that it will eventually reduce the heat?
Based on the PwP/melatonin study, 10 mg showed significant improvement in different markers related to better health. So it seems reasonable to continue the dose, even if it doesn't improve the heat at night issue, because based on the study it is good for her overall health.
Art
I do get hot at nighttime and iron on low grade fever every day, 99.9.
I definitely get hot around my gut, very hot, in the middle of the night sometimes. It comes and goes. weird! I have no clue what's going on!
I was wondering why I got hot in the middle of the night sometimes so I kicked off my blanket then within minutes I’m cold again and have to put the blanket back on. Yes, it’s weird !! Hope someone knows the answer to this!
It might be due to increase in blood pressure which you might be ignoring.Pl check your blood pressure when you feel heat. Accordingly the medicines are to be added. My neurologist has prescribed caps betacap TR 40 once a day to overcome this.
I don't think its high blood pressure. The PD patient feels internal heat and after minutes it goes away.
Sometimes its a matter of minutes.
At night I feel good not tremor and walk well, but in the morning PD return hard
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