supplements

[Chilly59]

I have been reading, that you should not take many health supplements when you have kidney disease however, I’ve been taking melatonin for years. ( I haven’t stopped). Does anyone know if that’s one of the ones that’s a bad one? I take 3mg a night. Thanks.

[jodaer]

I think it's ok. I take 10 mg each night, sometimes 1 more. My neph is OK with it but I would check with your doctor.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Yes, out of all the sleep aides, melatonin is the best, safest and ok on CKD. I checked with my nephrologist years ago about it. I take 3mg most nights, sometimes another 3 later when having a bad night. I have been on it for years. NO concerns. Start with the lowest dose first. With melatonin, less is more. I will say I get weird dreams with it.

[Dana66CKD]

I take melatonin sometimes. At first 3mg, immediate release, then 5mg slow release. The 5mg S.R. made me feel lethargic in a.m. Took several hours to lose the "fog."Now, I sometimes take 3mg I.R. when I have more trouble sleeping. I ok'd it first with my Nephro. With I.R., feeling less foggy-headed in a.m. Last eGFR about same.

I read, the human body produces melatonin. It helps regulate our circadian rhythm; the natural sleep cycle, so taking too much additional can actually inhibit it's intended effects. Less, does seem to work best for me.

Get as many good night's sleep as you can. Adequate rest is so essential for everyone like us.😉

[Ziggydoodah]

I would be careful. I suffered badly from Insomnia and after researching Melatonin, I ordered some. I took it for a week with mixed results. However my blood pressure, whilst on dialysis was a lot higher. The only thing I had changed was adding Melatonin. I decided to be safe than sorry and stopped. By blood pressure returned to normal levels after stopping. It was maybe just me or the brand I bought but I won't go near it now.

[drmind]

I have used melatonin for years and recently started using the fast release either 5 mg or 3 mg. A few years ago My sister was treated by a sleep clinic at Northwestern hospital/university Chicago and the first thing they did was put her on 10 mg daily. She was in her 80's. She was told by the clinic that your body stops making as much melatonin as you age. As I recall, she received only"some " relief as she was dealing with other issues. As far as I'm concerned, I do get some relief from my doses especially when I take some during middle of the night wakefulness.

I had always been told thst the less dosage the better, but now my GP says thst may not always apply to the elderly. BTW I've never had any next day drowsiness, but some people do. Also, my kidney doctor is fine with my using it whenever needed. Hope this helps.

[WinJ3]

I take Melatonin 5 mg Gummies for years without any problems. I only take one at night as needed. I was told less is best.

[Genlady06]

hey there. My daughter in law is a natural doctor. She has a four year degree in natural medicine. Supplements first of all are not under FDA approval. So the first thing is where are you getting your supplements? She would tell you buying them at the grocery, or drug store or off Amazon is not the place to get them. Once I showed her the label of a supplement I was considering for Vit D. She said the main ingredient was more likely to help you poop vs address vitamin d. So whatever supplement you are buying you need to make sure it will help.

I do use melatonin. However Amy says start with a very low dose, like 1 mg and then move up to 3. Do not take it every day but only a few days a week. Melatonin is considered safe for those of us with CKD and I do use it but certainly not every night. Hope this helps.

[PensacolaSharon]

Only take supplements if your labs show you're low in something. Kidney disease doesn't let your body just remove the extra vitamins and minerals like it does for someone without kidney disease.

[Chilly59 in reply to PensacolaSharon]

Good point. Thank you