Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
Antecedence
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by Antecedence »

Thank you immensely members for sharing your experiences with melatonin supplementation. Subsequent to nearly two months of supplementation daily with 5mg of melatonin, plus tryptophan 500mg and 5 HTP 50mg, I experienced a gradual progression to severe diarrhea. I attempted unsuccessfully to resolve the problem with various dietary changes and elimination attempts. Only upon discovering the contributions herein was I able to identify melatonin as the causal factor. Gratitude, and best wishes to all, for health redemption and development through valuable knowledge sharing.
birdie18
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by birdie18 »

Antecedence wrote:Thank you for sharing your experiences with melatonin....(they helped me) identify melatonin as the causal factor (in my diarrhea).
Antecedence,

You arrived at the right forum, found just what you needed to know and proceeded to recover normal GI function! I never cease to be amazed at the extraordinary healing that can occur when we remove offending factors such as toxins or irritants. Though it can take seemingly forever to identify these, it is well worth the diligence in the search.

I wish you many more such good finds here on the APOE4.info website! While you will hear member voices throughout the forums, you can also learn from experts on the Wiki. Here, you find information about how to prevent and address health problems related to the APOE-ε4 allele.

The How-to Guide tells how to post and share your thoughts. I appreciate how much you enjoyed what you've learned so far. Do check out Our Stories and feel free to post your own when the time is right.

Let me know if I can be of any help. Welcome!
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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by mountaineermd »

I am the original author of this post and my experience with melatonin causing persistent watery diarrhea. As I still have an issue with insomnia, about 6 week ago I started taking cbd gummies. Each gummie contained 10 mg of cbd, and I was taking between 4 and 6 gummies a few hours before bed, with limited success. I recently read the fine print on the bottle , and it turns out each gummie also contained 1 mg of melatonin. For what its worth, my reexposure to 4 to 6 mg of melatonin after a two year abstinence has not resulted in any diarrhea. I am certain that melatonin was the original cause, as outlined in my original posts. But as of now, I am able to tolerate a low dose of melatonin. Mountaineermd
Zweit
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by Zweit »

Thank you so much guys. I started having violent diarrhea and loose stool over two weeks ago. I had been taking 3mg time release melatonin tablets (Natrol). I stopped taking them 4 days ago but still have intermittent cramping and bowel disruptions. I went to the hospital 13 days ago and had a CT scan abdominal/rectal and bloodwork done which were good. This had been a nightmare—up to 10 terrible bathroom trips a day and no medicines seem to help. These stories do seem to help me psychologically at least so thank you again.
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Lidaz
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by Lidaz »

Zweit wrote:Thank you so much guys. I started having violent diarrhea and loose stool over two weeks ago. I had been taking 3mg time release melatonin tablets (Natrol). I stopped taking them 4 days ago but still have intermittent cramping and bowel disruptions. I went to the hospital 13 days ago and had a CT scan abdominal/rectal and bloodwork done which were good. This had been a nightmare—up to 10 terrible bathroom trips a day and no medicines seem to help. These stories do seem to help me psychologically at least so thank you again.
Hi Zweit, welcome to the ApoE4.info website.

Thank you so much for posting on this forum and sharing your experience of melatonin with the community. We’re glad that you found some comfort from the other stories here and a possible answer to your own recent health issues.

If you are also concerned about brain health or you know that you have ApoE4, a risk for Alzheimer’s disease, you may want to check out the Primer which is a great overview written by a practicing M.D with ApoE4/4.

There is also the How-To Guide, which is a useful tool to help new members navigate the website.

In relation to your post, I've included a link to the Wiki: Sleep page which offers other ideas on improving sleep.

Again, thank you for contributing to the discussion.
Lidaz
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PascualHeather22
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by PascualHeather22 »

Thank you for this post. I have only taken melatonin two times and both times I've gotten diarrhea. The first time I got the stomach flu and though nothing of it, but the second time I got diarrhea again. Now I know what's going on. I'm glad I caught this early. After reading the other post I got lucky.
lucytownsend
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by lucytownsend »

PascualHeather22 wrote:Thank you for this post. I have only taken melatonin two times and both times I've gotten diarrhea. The first time I got the stomach flu and though nothing of it, but the second time I got diarrhea again. Now I know what's going on. I'm glad I caught this early. After reading the other post I got lucky.
Thank you for letting us know the topic was helpful. I'm glad you found us, we are here to help. Attached is a link to our Welcome page if you're interested in learning more.
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Martha69
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by Martha69 »

Diarrhea out of the blue but I’m a Googler so it didn’t take me long to figure out what was causing it. never would have expected it to be melatonin Gummies. I started with 3 mg and then went to 6 mg over a period of two months but had gone back to 3 mg last three weeks before the diarrhea started. After stopping melatonin the diarrhea resolved itself within 4 to 5 days days. The brand I used was Vitafusion sugar free. Loved the fact it was sugar-free before bed but I know that sugar substitutes will cause diarrhea. Will try melatonin again someday without the sugar free ingredient.
NoNotMe
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by NoNotMe »

Welcome Martha69,

Thank you for reaching out, we're happy you found this community.

I'm glad your digestive upset has resolved on it's own. I'm no expert on melatonin but sleep is an important part of AZ prevention. We have many resources here on the site. Here is the link for the PRIMER which is an introduction and guide for prevention strategies. This was written by a doctor who is a member of our community. She too has the APOE4/4 polymorphism and is very knowledgable, healthy and optimistic!

I've also included a link to our WIKI page which details lifestyle practices for better health and includes a brief section about sleep.

Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions. We look forward to your continued participation and hearing more about your journey! Keep us updated with some posts in OUR STORIES. We look forward to hearing from you!

Warmly,
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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by mountaineermd »

I am the original author of this post. I never would have imagined it would be read by over20000 people, and I am very pleased to see how many other people have been afflicted by the same symptoms related to melatonin. Having this information sure beats continued diarrhea and unnecessary tests and treatments. mountaineermd.
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