Melatonin

[jamielvsaustin]

Where can I get it and how much should be given? I'm asking for my boss-her dog is wigging out with this "hurricane" weather. Also can anyone point me to an article or something that speaks to why Ace is bad in situations like this?

[Ilovethepits]

Here is an article about use in animals: http://www.melatonin.com/melatonin-animals.php

You can get it at Walgreens, CVS, Target, grocery store vitamin section - almost anywhere really. Just check the dosage size of the tablets since you maybe have to cut them in 1/2 or something depending on the dog.

[Misskiwi67]

Here's a good, balanced article on Acepromazine I found using google...

http://fearfuldogs.com/acepromazine/

Research has shown these drugs functions primarily as chemical restraints without affecting the animal’s emotional behavior. While under the effect of Ace, the animal still has a very strong fear, anxiety, avoidance or arousal response, but it does not physically display these reactions and is less able to react. The dog or cat appears calm and relaxed but mentally is lucid and still having an intense emotional reaction to its surroundings. Ace is a dissociative agent and prevents the patient from understanding his environment in a logical manner. So, the actual fear level of the animal is increased. Compounding the situation, the animal is being restrained and it makes a negative association with the entire experience.

[jamielvsaustin]

Thank you both!

[BabyReba]

We use melatonin here from time to time, and I found that it reacts differently in all of my dogs ... if Tucker gets half a 1 mg pill, he's completely zonked out. It's too much for him. Doc, though, gets a whole 1 mg pill though he's about the same weight. Button has a weird response to it (surprise) and ends up having the contradictory response for the first half an hour after taking it and it amps him up like crazy for a while, before he settles down. If he gets it, he usually gets a whole 1 mg pill. Half doesn't seem to affect him at all.

So try it out in small dosages first and gauge the dog's reaction, then you can adjust accordingly.

[jamielvsaustin]

I'm bumping this because recently I've started taking melatonin. I was have some trouble sleeping and remembered reading about it being a natural sleep aid.

I must have been really gung ho about getting sleep because I bought the 10 mg pills. I like the sleep I'm getting...well, I did. It is easy for me to fall asleep, if I wake up in the middle of the night it is very easy for me to fall back asleep. Before I was taking a lot of naps (I'm guessing to compensate for the lack of sleep I was getting) and now that I'm on the melatonin I haven't needed to take a nap....but...Lately I've been having some really bad dreams. I wake up sweating and in tears and then I can't calm down enough to fall back asleep. For me, when I have bad dreams, even if I can't remember them, I have this really sickening/scary feeling and it takes me forEVER to get rid of it....last night I actually (for the first time in my life) counted sheep...cute little cartoon sheep. I think I'm getting less sleep now than before I started taking it. I've had three bad dreams, two were one night right after the other. I've been taking the melatonin for about 3 weeks now. I'm afraid to go to sleep and I'm afraid to stop taking the melatonin...does anyone know if I simply lowered the dosage-would that help? Is there an alternative?

[FransterDoo]

My wife gets really crazy dreams on Melitonin and I believe you can try reducing your dose by about 1/2. If it continues, you can try reducing your dose again or taking some time off of it and coming back in a week with a lowered dose.

[starrlamia]

no idea, Ive taken melatonin off and on for the last 6 months but it never gave me bad dreams (ive always had vivid dreams). Technically your dose is WAY too high, it should be 3mg or less and if that doesnt work go up to 5mg, but if it doesnt work at 5mg then I would stop taking it. I stopped taking it because it stopped working for me

[heartbullies]

Booker has zero problems on melatonin and it seems to work very well for him as needed, very rarely.

I have crazy nightmares on melatonin.

Sent from my ATRIX using Tapatalk

[El_EmDubya]

I'm bumping this because recently I've started taking melatonin. I was have some trouble sleeping and remembered reading about it being a natural sleep aid.

I must have been really gung ho about getting sleep because I bought the 10 mg pills. I like the sleep I'm getting...well, I did. It is easy for me to fall asleep, if I wake up in the middle of the night it is very easy for me to fall back asleep. Before I was taking a lot of naps (I'm guessing to compensate for the lack of sleep I was getting) and now that I'm on the melatonin I haven't needed to take a nap....but...Lately I've been having some really bad dreams. I wake up sweating and in tears and then I can't calm down enough to fall back asleep. For me, when I have bad dreams, even if I can't remember them, I have this really sickening/scary feeling and it takes me forEVER to get rid of it....last night I actually (for the first time in my life) counted sheep...cute little cartoon sheep. I think I'm getting less sleep now than before I started taking it. I've had three bad dreams, two were one night right after the other. I've been taking the melatonin for about 3 weeks now. I'm afraid to go to sleep and I'm afraid to stop taking the melatonin...does anyone know if I simply lowered the dosage-would that help? Is there an alternative?

Whoa, too much Melatonin!!!

You might also want to be supplementing with Vit D3 + Omega 3s in the morning and Mg Citrate at night, as well as limiting computer time after 9pm and sleeping in a completely darkened room. The blue light from the computer and TV mimics morning light keeping your brain alert and contributing to insomnia. It's not recommended to take Melatonin for the long term, but cycling it to change your behavior pattern does work.

[Nichole]

I didn't have vivid dreams on melatonin but I was getting more wired taking it. I felt like I was getting less sleep on melatonin than I was without it. I upped the dosage slowly up to 10mg and the more I took the more wired I became. I now take unisom about an hour before I want to go to sleep. It makes me a little sleepy, but nothing crazy. The main thing it does is help me fall asleep. I wake up several times at night but since I've been taking unisom it helps me fall back asleep within minutes. Before I could be up for an hour or more before falling asleep again, only to wake up an hour later. I am much more rested now.

[jamielvsaustin]

Ah!!! I had no idea how much to take and just really really wanted to sleep. I knew it wasn't a long term plan, and on the bottle it says to only take it for so long and then take a week or two break before going back to it. I guess I'll be stopping by the store tonight to get a lower dosage.

You might also want to be supplementing with Vit D3 + Omega 3s in the morning and Mg Citrate at night

El, can you go into more detail about this? What will it do?

[El_EmDubya]

You might also want to be supplementing with Vit D3 + Omega 3s in the morning and Mg Citrate at night

El, can you go into more detail about this? What will it do?

There is a lot of neurological research regarding how important 8-9 hours of sleep truly are and how circadian cycles help us be more healthy. If you are one of those shunning the sun (as I did for 30 years), you are likely Vit D3 deficient. By supplementing, in the morning, you mimic the normal historical cycles of working in the morning helping your body get back into a normal rhythm. You might find that a 5,000 mg dose of D3 is the equivalent of around 1/2 c coffee in the morning.

The suggestion that you look at your Omega 3 / 6 ratios is due to the inflammation caused by Omega 6. (Stop using Canola oil, Safflower, etc. start using coconut oil!) The inflammation has been shown to uncouple hormones including Leptin, so if you've gained weight along with not being able to sleep, this is a likely reason.

And, lastly, due to our poor soil quality, most Americans are Magnesium deficient. A 'dose' of magnesium about 30 minutes before bedtime can fix the insomnia that also often accompanies a deficiency. Personally I love an epson salt bath, which can help as it is absorbed to the skin. But not everyone enjoys a good soak in the tub, so the Mg Citrate becomes the most economical and bio-available source.

Happy dreams,

LMW

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_ ... edicine%29

[MkatUmich]

my .02, usually starting dosage for melatonin for people should be about 3 mg. Probably about half that for a dog. A person should be safe taking much more then that though if they are really having trouble sleeping. The strange dreams thing is kind of weird though. If you remember your dreams it usually means you are not sleeping very well. It's one symptom that usually makes me recommend melatonin for someone. Remember, melatonin is naturally produced by the body but often our body does not produce enough, mostly due to stress induced raised cortisol levels. So I wouldn't worry too much about he melatonin and if you aren't sleeping well it is probably something else, not the melatonin.

[jamielvsaustin]

Mkat, I reduced the amount down to 3 mgs, and then I had to stop taking it because of an antibiotic I was on....I was doing okay for a while but this week has been rough (I had a statistics test last night and I was really stressing about it all weekend and Monday) so last night I took the melatonin. I felt like I slept pretty good. No dreams, no drowsiness or lagging.

I read online (somewhere) that the reason I was having bad dreams was because the dosage was WAY too high. I guess melatonin helps the right and left sides of your brain communicate more/better and it can make things more vivid...and that's why the dreams were SO bad.