Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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Correction, over 50000 people have read this post.
lorlor1221
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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I recently started taking melatonin a few months ago and starting having diarrhea a few days ago. I am very grateful for this information and will stop taking the melatonin. Just wanted to share that I had no clue what was causing it but I do now. Many thanks for all who shared information here. Again, so grateful I now know what has caused this and do not have to see my MD or Naturopath. Many many thanks!
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seachangehealthcoach
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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lorlor1221 wrote:I recently started taking melatonin a few months ago and starting having diarrhea a few days ago. I am very grateful for this information and will stop taking the melatonin. Just wanted to share that I had no clue what was causing it but I do now. Many thanks for all who shared information here. Again, so grateful I now know what has caused this and do not have to see my MD or Naturopath. Many many thanks!
Hi lorlor1221,
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montandon1
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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Melatonin was recommended by my doctor, starting with 5mg in the evening. When it didn't seem to help my sleep, I upped it to 10mg. Now it seems that 1mg is the correct dose. I have had persistent, debilitating diarrhea for five weeks, worse in the morning, as others reported. Multiple fecal and blood tests, a ct scan ... all were normal. When I found this site, I stopped the melatonin, and this is my sixth day without it. The diarrhea continues, but less frequent. I'm interested to know how long it has taken others to get back to normal. In the meantime, I am trying to alert gastroenterologists to recognizing this problem. I spoke to the gastro advice nurse at my local Kaiser, who reported talking with many people with the exact symptoms, and the same tests that come out normal, but who had never heard of the connection with melatonin. We need to educate doctors to recognize these symptoms and ask about melatonin use in the initial visit of a patient. I was asked if I took any supplements, and mentioned only melatonin, which set off no alarms or recognition of the connection.
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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montandon1 wrote:Melatonin was recommended by my doctor, starting with 5mg in the evening. When it didn't seem to help my sleep, I upped it to 10mg. Now it seems that 1mg is the correct dose. I have had persistent, debilitating diarrhea for five weeks, worse in the morning, as others reported. Multiple fecal and blood tests, a ct scan ... all were normal. When I found this site, I stopped the melatonin, and this is my sixth day without it. The diarrhea continues, but less frequent. I'm interested to know how long it has taken others to get back to normal. In the meantime, I am trying to alert gastroenterologists to recognizing this problem. I spoke to the gastro advice nurse at my local Kaiser, who reported talking with many people with the exact symptoms, and the same tests that come out normal, but who had never heard of the connection with melatonin. We need to educate doctors to recognize these symptoms and ask about melatonin use in the initial visit of a patient. I was asked if I took any supplements, and mentioned only melatonin, which set off no alarms or recognition of the connection.
Hello montandon1 and welcome!

Thanks for contributing to the conversation and sharing your experience with melatonin. It sounds like you have already done a lot of detective work in trying to discover the source of the persistent diarrhea. I can imagine that this has been an extremely disabling condition, so I'm glad to hear that there has been some improvement after discontinuing the melatonin! With regard to your question about when your GI system might get back to normal, you might consider reading through the thread to see if others have shared this information. And you might consult with your health professional (if you have not already done so) about taking probiotics to help support the healing of your gut during this time.
If you have an interest in learning more about ApoE4, please visit the Welcome page.
Thanks again for sharing your personal experience, and I wish you continued improvement in your health!

Warmly,
Sue
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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

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I am the original author of this discussion wrt melatonin as as cause of persistent diarrhea. The original source that alerted me to this complication, stated that it could take up to six weeks. I my experience, it was resolved within two weeks. I am pleased to know how many people this information has helped. Robert Johnson MD (retired).
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by floramaria »

mountaineermd wrote:I am the original author of this discussion wrt melatonin as as cause of persistent diarrhea. The original source that alerted me to this complication, stated that it could take up to six weeks. I my experience, it was resolved within two weeks. I am pleased to know how many people this information has helped. Robert Johnson MD (retired).
montandon1 wrote:I'm interested to know how long it has taken others to get back to normal.
Montandon1, I case you are not watching this thread closely, I have quoted you here, so you’ll be notified that you got a response.
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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by mountaineermd »

Oral melatonin can cause persistent watery diarrhea which can take up to six weeks to resolve. Robert D Johnson MD
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by NewRon »

I haven't been closely following this thread but I've been taking sublingually absorbed melatonin (1 mg) a couple of days a week for a number of years and had no issues with diarrhoea.
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mountaineermd
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Re: Unfortunate side effect from melatonin.

Post by mountaineermd »

I believe diarrhea is an uncommon, but not rare side effect of oil melatonin. Robert D. Johnson MD
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