I was wondering if anyone is able to shed any light on whether or not it is OK to take melatonin when you have hashimoto's. I have recently started taking melatonin for endometriosis and it's helped considerably with the pain, it's also a recommended supplement for fertility and since I have just had a failed round of IVF I am keen to continue taking anything that might be able to help. I have, however, read several conflicting studies re: melatonin and autoimmune conditions, as well as its impact on the thyroid gland in general. Does anybody have any experience with this?
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Mj1986
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I’ve never thought about an interaction with Hashimotos, I tried melatonin during an ivf cycle and it made me sleep so badly I had to stop taking it and I’ve been anxious to try it again as I can’t cope with poor sleep. Would be interested to know what you have read?x
From everyones responses it seems pretty safe. I did read that it can increase NK cells (which is good under most circumstances but not necessarily for those undergoing IVF with underlying autoimmune). x
I have Hashi’s, my endo prescribed melatonin for poor sleep and I fully trust his expertise.
I take it half hour before bed and generally feel more rested in the morning. Start from a small dose (2mg or so) so that you don’t feel sleepy the next day
I also take my 5mg melatonin at night for a good night’s sleep and take my thyroid medication in the day. I don’t think there is an adverse interaction as all seems well
I suffer from bad sleep and have been prescribed 2mg of Melatonin (to take for a fortnight). I seem to be going to sleep sooner than usual but am awake after 3-4 hours. Then it takes a while till I fall asleep again. The leaflet says you should take the tablet with or after food 2 hours before going to bed. Doesn't really work very well that way!
Thanks for this. Yes I read up on it. It doesn't seem to be conclusive whether it would modulate or stimulate autoimmune. From everybody's comments it seems likely safe though in this context.
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Sure - it was long drawn out replies, but here is the last of my reply.
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The long term studies are obviously lacking, the same as in high dose Thiamine therapy that you're a fervent believer of.
However, supplementing vitamins that get flushed out of system safely vs hormones that distort the natural regulation of daily body rhythms is a quite different story and frankly can cause harmful and miserable side effects - too many people have been reporting this to ignore the issue. Yes it can be beneficial as I've stated and your body depends on it for very important functions but it's definitely not ALL positive with synthetic supplementation and caution is absolutely advised. For me this is a common sense and I'm not a fan of any long-term hormone therapy, as we've learned of the consequences over the years. Regardless of seeing short-term studies, if someone were to try megadose melatonin, they absolutely MUST be under physician's care to properly weigh out the pros and the cons.
Rather than explaining the background science to ad infinitum, for some people a few videos on the topic may be of help to quickly form their decisions. They're just some videos I found, not that I'm necessarily a fan of Dr. Oz, but he did cover the topic in depth.
It's wise to play the devil's advocate when it comes to unregulated supplements, especially when they're banned over-the-counter, as in melatonin, in other prominent countries.
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