Long-term melatonin use linked to 90% higher heart failure risk
UPDATE: I tried sleeping without it last night. I stayed up till 2:30 AM or so reading my book. Then I tried to go to bed. I couldn't sleep. I did not play on my phone or anything. I finally fell asleep about 4 AM. Since there is strong evidence of heart issues from chronic insomnia and disordered sleep, which I had in spades before I started taking melatonin, I'm in a sort of Catch-22. I think I should discuss this with my doctor. I don't currently have any heart problems except for such a minor murmur that only one doctor [my current PCP] has ever detected it by listening. I'd like to keep it that way. In the meantime, I'll keep taking it. I've tried the prescription drug trazodone and cannot take it; it makes my legs extremely restless, like I have pins and needles being poked in them. This works. I need an expert opinion. Maybe there's a reason melatonin is prescription-only in Britain.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: I have since spoken to a pharmacist and an APRN specialisin in sleep medicine and both agreed with my take that correlation does not equal causation and the studies have their flaws, and that, most importantly, the effects of insomnia and sleep disturbance on the heart are well-documented and detrimental, so if the melatonin is working, that is a good thing. The pharmacist did ask if I'd ever tried the lower dose, and I hadn't. She suggested I might give it a try and see if I had similar results. The sleep APRN agreed; they usually suggest doses of 3-20 mg of melatonin for women, but the lowest dose that works is the best. I found some 3 mg disintigrating cherry melatonin in a brand suggested by the pharmacist (since over the counter medications are not regulated by the FDA, there is a huge divide in how much melatonin is really in each product, and she said it was fairly good in testing), and I'll start a trial tonight. We'll see if it works. If not, I'll go back to what I have.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: I have since spoken to a pharmacist and an APRN specialisin in sleep medicine and both agreed with my take that correlation does not equal causation and the studies have their flaws, and that, most importantly, the effects of insomnia and sleep disturbance on the heart are well-documented and detrimental, so if the melatonin is working, that is a good thing. The pharmacist did ask if I'd ever tried the lower dose, and I hadn't. She suggested I might give it a try and see if I had similar results. The sleep APRN agreed; they usually suggest doses of 3-20 mg of melatonin for women, but the lowest dose that works is the best. I found some 3 mg disintigrating cherry melatonin in a brand suggested by the pharmacist (since over the counter medications are not regulated by the FDA, there is a huge divide in how much melatonin is really in each product, and she said it was fairly good in testing), and I'll start a trial tonight. We'll see if it works. If not, I'll go back to what I have.