Melatonin

[Angie56]

Hi there ,

Please can anyone tell me if they have used 2mg of Melatonin to help their thyroid and fatigue. My consultant has prescribed this treatment for me for four months to help stress also .

Please can anyone offer any advice .

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Are your vitamin levels optimal to help wth fatigue

Vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 been tested recently?

Quick look at previous posts but couldn't see. Vitamin D tested

Mention of B12 being low and folate and ferritin not brilliant

Low Vitamin D and insomnia can be linked

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

[Angie56 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi Slow Dragon ,

Thank you for your kind reply I hope you are well .. yes I did as i think you said to get b complex which I did and stopped taking it and b12 five days before my bloods . My results were good for a change as follows :

TSH 0.02

0.27/4.2

T4 17.6 range 12/22

T3. 6.5 range 3.1-6.8

Ferritin 197 range 13/150

Iron saturation 13.1 range 10-30

Iron percentage 30.2 range 30-40

Iron transferrin 1.7. Range 3.6

Vitamin B12 197-771

761

I saw my consultant three weeks ago and he said my results were very good and told me to go back to taking b1 b5 and b12 that he prescribed and he would give me melatonin to help with my stress levels sleep and migraines . I have been under a lot of stress with my parents health mine and fighting for my job which I lost and decided not to appeal it for my own health . My consultant told me my job was making me more ill .

Thank you for all your advice I really appreciate it .

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angie56]

Yes stress definitely not good for us. Sorry you are having tough time.

B12 looks excellent. Was folate tested too?

I don't know anything about iron, it looks low, yet ferritin is high. Presumably you don't supplement iron? i will flag up SeasideSusie and humanbean .

Did you get vitamin D tested? Do you supplement?

[Angie56 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi Slow Dragon , thanks so much for getting back to me . Yes it’s been a tough time my job didn’t understand my health or my caring responsibilities for my parents and long journey also . I was in very stressful job too which didn’t help . I would say my cortisol levels are not good though forgot to get them tested . I am just so exhausted dizzy and very stressed and down though I know I will be good eventually and good things will come .

I did get my vitamin d tested though consultant did it and won’t get result for a few more weeks I would imagine . My consultant seems certain that melatonin will work and I’m praying it does as he’s prescribed me 2mg to take at night . I am not sure how long they take to work .

I did get my folate tested it was very good too it was 6 I think . I have ordered baobab powder to take which has great levels of vitamin c as I took this few years ago and it helped .

Thanks so much I would be lost without this forum and all your advice thank you .

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angie56]

Folate doesn't sound high at 6

Can you double check that. Obviously all labs have different ranges

Vitamin D is absolutely key with autoimmune thyroid disease

holtorfmed.com/vitamin-d-au...

hypothyroidmom.com/92-of-ha...

[Angie56 in reply to SlowDragon]

I will check with doctors tomorrow and see if my vitamin d is back and find out folate results . Thank you so much . Have u heard of anyone taking melatonin and if it helped ?

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angie56]

No, I did consider it as had insomnia.....but it was most likely due to low vitamin D and improved as vitamin D levels improved

General advice on here is for vitamin D levels to be around 100nmol, definitely over 80nmol minimum

Gluten free diet too

[Angie56 in reply to SlowDragon]

I will have to find out my Vitamin D as have read a lot of pros and cons for melatonin and it takes up to a week to work . I asked my consultant about gluten free diet and he said for me to cut down but not to stop gluten as would make my fatigue a lot worse . I am just so exhausted will try whatever works .

Thank you

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angie56]

That's b*****t

If you have Hashimoto's then many, many people find strictly gluten free diet essential

Ideally have coeliac blood test first, to rule it out

According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)

Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies

amymyersmd.com/2017/02/3-im...

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

scdlifestyle.com/2014/08/th...

drknews.com/changing-your-d...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

[Angie56 in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes I have read a lot of Isabella’s articles she is amazing what she has suffered and come through .

I will try gluten free diet see if it helps .

I follow Amy Myers too she has a lot of positive info about taking collagen maybe I would be better taking it instead of the melatonin .

Thank you

[Josiesmum]

Melatonin is usually just given to people to help them get off to sleep. My son (who has special needs) has been taking 3-6mg since he was 2 years old with zero adverse effects. 2mg is a tiny dose and as far as I'm aware melatonin is completely safe unlike the sleeping pills they usually prescribe. I would just give it a try and see if it helps.

[Angie56 in reply to Josiesmum]

Thank you Josiesmum , I really appreciate your advice hope your son and you are well .

[clairclaire]

Angie56 I have been taking Melatonin 1.5 mg for many years now. It helps me fall asleep within 30 minutes of taking it but I still have trouble sleeping through the night. I tried taking full dose of 3 mg but it did not help me sleep any better and just made me very drowsy the next day. I would suggest you take it if you are having trouble falling asleep.

[Angie56]

Thanks Clair Claire for your kind reply . I only started it last night felt a bit drowsy today but I read it takes up to a week to work . I think my consultant prescribed it for disturbed sleep stress and migraines so hopefully it works . Hope you are well.

Thanks I appreciate your advice

[Howard39]

I have to agree with slowDraggon, diet is the most important thing to address. If you read drmyhil.co.uk you will go to her home page and in the top right hand type in orchestra it will take to the best article I have read on achieving good health.

Diet

Absorption

Vitamins

Thyroid and adrenal meds are last.

If you are still having sleep issues type in melatonin on the home page. It’s very comprehensive and she has written a book on the subject. As someone who has( due to s v serious illness) massive sleep issues I fully understand what a nightmare it can be. I addressed all of my other issues but I still had very little regular sleep.

I do take melatonin and find personally natrol the best make, I cannot say it helps stress levels though. Stress comes in many forms:- stressful events, high cortisol, long term steroid usage or long term illnesses. Or a combination of them.

L tryptophan is also useful for sleep. Many adaptations are great for stress but you’d need to establish that you adrenals were working well first as some can reduce cortisol levels.

I take ldn which for me is the icing on the cake. I got the basics as right as I could but still had sleep issues. It helps autoimmune problems like Parkinson’s and MS. At very low dosages can be used to help energy levels, sleep and pain. It’s available on prescription so your specialist could send a prescription to Dicksons The Chemists in Glasgow. Alternatively you’ve to be medically screened by independent companies. One is available through Dicksons.

To be frank I’ve never found melatonin helps stress and I’ve taken it for several years. 3 mg is a very modest dose. That said only the serious illness I had concerned me and high cortisol.

I wish you good luck and please do ask if you need more help.