Melatonin

Just wondering if anyone knows if it's ok to take Melatonin when you are on a beta blocker or anti-arrythmic drug. I am looking for something "natural" to help with sleep. I searched online for drug interactions with melatonin and didn't find any interactions with the meds I'm on. Also curious if it could cause irregular heartbeat.....I sure don't need anything to contribute to that. :-)

6 Comments

PS

by IAN MC - 2012-11-15 01:11:45

For some reason my last sentence didn't appear ; I do appreciate that melatonin is "natural" in that is secreted in the brain but I don't believe that enough work has been done on optimum dosages and apart from this, drug interactions could be an issue . Melatonin is not available for over-the-counter sale in the UK for these reasons.

Ian

Could be an issue !

by IAN MC - 2012-11-15 01:11:54

One problem with taking so called "natural " products like melatonin is that they haven't gone through the rigorous testing which is required for prescription drugs ; in other words nobody really knows if they interact with drugs or not.

BUT after 2 minutes of Googling I found that melatonin CAN interact with :-

-- Amlodipine which is an anti- arrythmic drug

-- Atenolol which is a beta blocker

-- Metformin which is used to treat diabetes

I've never understood what people think they are swallowing when they take something "natural" .

Everything is a "chemical" . Water is a chemical, drugs are chemicals, so called natural products are chemicals. Go into the woods and eat every fungus that you find. They are all "natural" but some will kill you !!!

Cheers

Ian

shouldn't be an issue

by polrbear - 2012-11-15 04:11:51

While I still recommend asking your pharmacist to make certain, melatonin generally has minimal interaction with other drugs. Combine this with no known toxic dose (it only makes a person drowsy, not any of the other effects that other sleep aids can produce), and it should be quite safe.

I tried melatonin two years ago without any benefit. In my case, the beta blocker was contributing to nightmares (metoprolol is more lipid soluble than most other beta blockers, so it has more neurological side effects).

Dustin

Codeine

by IAN MC - 2012-11-17 05:11:18

Hi Jessie ... no, it is illegal to sell codeine on its own in the UK. It is present in very small amounts in combination with other things in some cough medicines / pain killers and these are still for sale.

Ian

well i take melatonin occasionally

by jessie - 2012-11-17 12:11:46

and i know it is not a controlled drug. in canda you can buy narcotics in a small dosage by asking the druggist. it is the drug codeine and i believe the uk sell it too but i could be wrong. i think it should be banned as it is a drug that could be abused. just sayin....before i would worry about melatonin i would worry about codeine gravol and allergy drugs jessie

it is not on its own

by jessie - 2012-11-18 06:11:02

it is in combination too here so the same as the u.k. so you can request it without a script but again in very small amounts.

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