Melatonin and the Thyroid

[Mlinde]

Given as how I'm not having a lot of luck with the treatment of my hypothyroidism, I'm checking out the use/role of Melatonin. In an article I just read, it seems that there some kind of connection between Melatonin and TSH. But before I start trying it out, does anyone here have any experience/knowledge of its use and possible effectiveness?

[Mlinde]

Here's URL of the article:

boostthyroid.com/blog/2018/...

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

I use a low dose of melatonin as my sleep has always been poor, it hasn't affected my thyroid results in any way.

[Mlinde in reply to SeasideSusie]

Well that's actually good to know but I wouldn't want to compare our 2 conditions. I read in another article on melatonin and Hashimoto's (which apparently, I have) that

"melatonin blocks thyroid cell proliferation and thyroid hormone synthesis and if used as a medicine for prolonged periods of time one should check thyroid hormone levels."

I actually want to try it as I'm having problems sleeping, which is unusual for me (anxiety, stress) but I don't want to screw up my thyroid any more than it already is. One of the problems is that the Thyroid gland is the least investigated of key organs in the body (no wonder GPs are clueless).

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Mlinde]

I've been using melatonin (2,5mg per night) for a month and a half with no problems so far. I even checked my t3 levels BEFORE and after, and they renained the same.

[Alanna012]

Are you getting melatonin on prescription? My sleep is chronically poor. No amount of magnesium, valerian or hops seems to work.

[Mlinde in reply to Alanna012]

No, I've given up on my GP almost completely. I'm just in a permanent state of anxiety, and it stops me from sleeping properly, so I'm just looking for solutions.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Mlinde]

Melatonin is perfect. It's not a sleeping pill, it just regulates your circadian rhythms and improves the quality of your sleep. It also play a role in mythocondria's health. My neurologyst also said that it protects neurons.

[Mlinde in reply to Alejandrita17]

Alejandrita17,

judging by the responses I've seen here and read about elsewhere, melatonin either has no effect on the thyroid or, because of dynamic interplay, negative effects get cancelled out by the positive effects. This is my major concern, given that my body doesn't convert T4 to T3 at all well.

So as long as don't OD on it, I'm definitely going to trial it for say, a month. The problem with all these 'supplements' however, is that we're all different; different states of health, different diets, different medications, different ages, different genders.

As to the circadian rhythm effect, well we'll see as a lot of my problems (if not all!) on not sleeping properly, are down to my pretty much permanent state of anxiety. I mentioned this to my gp, oh you need more pills?

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Mlinde]

I don't convert well either. My t3 is just 17% through range. However, I don't have any problems with my energy or my weight at all, which means we are all different. Melatonin was recommended by my neurologyst to improve my sleep and so far I think they are just perfect. Btw, my main conplains about Thyroid have always been muscle and neurological related.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Alejandrita17]

PS: My t3 is just 2,5 on a 2-4,2 range.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Mlinde]

Mlinde

Not sure how you're intending to start, but just thought I'd mention that a practioner recommended melatonin to me and started me on 3mg. The first brand didn't suit me, nor did the second brand I tried, but the third brand did, and I have found, through trial and error, that 300mcg helps me far more than 3mg did.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to SeasideSusie]

My neurologyst put me on 5mg per night. However, I found that was too strong for my body (I felt a little sleepy at day time) so I decided to cut the pill in half. It's trial and error.

[Mlinde in reply to Alejandrita17]

Well I'm not sure about the size, I haven't received it yet but it's slow release.

[Mlinde in reply to Alejandrita17]

I'll keep you updated if you want

[Maya_83 in reply to Alejandrita17]

Hi. Can you be kind enough to share the link to which one you take .

Struggling to sleep 😴

[Imaaan in reply to Maya_83]

Hi,

Have you tried valerian root for sleep? I have sleep apnea and insomnia so I've been using it as an aid for several yrs. I've avoided melatonin over the yrs because it can affect the thyroid

[Maya_83 in reply to Imaaan]

Hi.

I've never heard of valerian root.

Have you tried it? It is worth it?

Thanks

[Imaaan in reply to Maya_83]

I've been using it every night for over 7 yrs, Alhamdulilah. I combine it with magnesium glycinate. Anywhere between 600-900 mg has been effective for me. The last year I've been taking 900. As for the magnesium glycinate, I take 2 doses. 200mg at lunch and 130 at night with the valerian.

[Maya_83 in reply to Imaaan]

This sounds promising. I could give it a go. Anything to help at this point. Can you kindly send me the link please as I want to get the right one.

Magnesium did for for a bit,but not doing anything now 🙄

[Imaaan in reply to Maya_83]

naturalfactors.com/en-ca/pr...

I dont think its available in the UK but there are other brands you can choose from that are available in your neck of the woods.

[Mlinde in reply to Imaaan]

No I haven't. There's no evidence that it helps overcome insomnia but as it does seem to reduce anxiety, that in turn could help someone sleep, couldn't it? It would seem that the scientists doing the insomina testing were looking at the wrong evidence.

[Imaaan in reply to Mlinde]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/330...

^^^^ According to this ts shown to aid insomnia, it can also help with anxiety. So there is evidence showing it can be helpful to both. Like everything, further research will be beneficial to gather the specific mechanisms in how it aids sleep.

I don't have anxiety issues related to sleep, thank God. What I use the valerian for, as I said earlier is a sleep aid. It helps reduce the time I fall asleep from waking up from my apnea . Been on it for over 7 yrs and that's why I shared my experience with Maya. She can take my personal experience using this herb or leave it.

[Mlinde in reply to Maya_83]

Well it didn't work for me so I stopped taking it. But I used the one made by eurovitals, 3mg time release capsules, vegan, gluten free etc. eurovital.com

[Noelnoel in reply to Alanna012]

If it’s of any interest I used melatonin for a long while but I seemed to have to keep increasing the dose for it to stay effective. I have no idea if it affected my hormone levels because I never checked. I finally decided that the quantity I was taking couldn’t be good for me and stopped

I’ve had chronic insomnia for about 22 years and two things helped me recently. Don’t laugh but one was, an hour before bed, hot milk, half a teaspoon of honey and a very generous pinch of sea salt. Try to stay away from table saltThis seemed to stop me waking as frequently to pee and I also noticed that Indians t wake up early hours feeling ravenous

The second and most impactful change came when I began taking my second dose of thyroid hormone at night. At first I was sceptical that it would make a positive difference and felt anxious it would disrupt sleep even further. It didn’t and now I sleep so much better. Still some improvement to be made but now it’s acceptable

[Alanna012 in reply to Noelnoel]

Thank you Noelnoel, I will incorporate those suggestions as I am sick of waking up every night.

Warm milk and honey with seasalt sounds good too🙂

[Noelnoel in reply to Alanna012]

Never liked hot milk but I do actually enjoy this

[Imaaan in reply to Alanna012]

Great tip

For over a decade, I used warm milk with honey and ground up golden flaxseed and that helped with making me slightly drowsy. Loved it but had to stop when my gastro issues began. Nowadays, I tend to eat half a banana with supper since it has some magnesium and potassium.