Long term use of melatonin

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Have been taking 5mg of melatonin per night for about 1.5yrs. I find it very helpful and dont get tired without it. My Dr is of the opinion that I should come off it or at the very least take a break from using it. I would be interested in any knowledge etc. anyone has about the impact of long term melatonin use, or alternatives to melatonin to enable sleep.

I already have a regular routine, quiet bedroom, weighted blanket.

I usually give a lot of consideration to the fact that others are different than me before giving medical advice. However, I took mealatonin (3mg) almost nightly for over two years. I stopped abruptly and noticed no change. I also used to use diphenhydramine almost nightly and was worried about that. I never became dependant on it though. I beleive it would be easier to get addicted (psychologically) to diphenhydramine than melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone and occurs naturally in the human body when it is dark out.

I suspect I build tolerance to it with long-term use. 3 mg used to be effective, but now it takes 8-10 mg. I'm trying a week or two of detox from it, because last night I got all of two hours of sleep. It took until 6:30 AM to fall asleep, then a jackhammer woke me up at 8:30, then I was hungry, then for some reason I could not fall back asleep quickly, given I'm normally deep asleep at 9-10 AM and how little sleep I got!

I suspect that, with the tolerance I've built, my body is not responding as it should to its own natural melatonin production! Going "cold turkey" may have been a bad idea, though... My father insists, though, that you CAN'T build tolerance to melatonin. But maybe my brain's just weird that way and it does!

when i started taking melatonin it was great, then I started having bad nightmares. whenever i take it I can only take it a couple nights. if I keep using it I get nightmares.

I have been using it long-term myself, and had no bad effects. I don't think there are any studies with long-term use in humans; but it's reassuring that the toxicity of melatonin is practically nonexistent, to the point that it is sold over the counter. I have not developed a tolerance.

I've been taking 30mg almost every night since sometime around '95. It seems my body just doesn't make enough melatonin, if any at all. I don't see it as being any different than taking my thyroid meds each day.

I'm also prone to depression, for which I take St John's and 5htp. prescription meds either make me ill or simply don't do the job.

best bet, start with a low dose, then gradually increase until you get an optimum result. If you wake up groggy, back off on the dose. The only potential downside I'm aware of is your body may decrease production resulting in you needing more, but I've been stable on 30mg for many years -- more leaves me groggy the next day.

If you wake alert and unable to go back to sleep before you've had a good 7 hours sleep, try substituting some or all with timed release melatonin.

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I've been taking Melatonin on a nightly basis for over 5 years; I take 5mg now though I've taken higher and lower doses depending on what my sleep patterns were like. I don't think I've developed a tolerance, it's still as effective now as it was when I started. I don't think my body produces enough of it's own melatonin because I've had sleep difficulties since childhood and they didn't improve until I started taking melatonin even though I've tried dozens of other natural sleep aid remedies.

I started trying it recently after reading about others on here using it. I have tried up to 15mg and it has virtually no effect on me. I figure it has something to do with my severe anxiety that seems to exist for an undefined reason.

About 6 MG a night seems to work pretty well for me. Started taking it 2 - 3 years ago and it has done wonders for me. I had actually gotten to the point where I frequently got no sleep at all and now have no such problems. Even when I wake up in the night, I no longer feel compelled to get out of bed.

(and yes, I know I'm posting at 4 AM, but I am working the night shift at the moment.)

It's been 3 yrs.

I gave it to my son and he built up a tolerance but now goes to sleep no problem.

I am off of it and go to sleep ok. The only one that is on it is my daughter.

You all assume it's easy to get and over-the-counter... in the UK it's by prescription and I've no idea what BS response my doctor gave me when I asked about it.

I used to use it...I have some in case I don't sleep well now. Though I don't sleep well with it anyway.

My bottle of 5mg Melatonin says on the label to take a two week break after two months of everyday use. I've read that if some people do not stop they can become dependent on melatonin supplements to the point they stop producing enough of melatonin naturally, and that is a very bad thing for a lot of reasons.

I use the extended release kind, 5 mg broken up into quarters of a tablet. Sometimes I take Valerian capsules along with it for relaxation, because Melatonin alone won't turn off the anxiety.