Using Melatonin

It's been about 7 days and the melatonin has been working to help put me to sleep. I notice some nights it doesn't keep me asleep all night. So, my question is, does it become addictive and will I have to use it nonstop to help me sleep. I want to go back to my regular sleep cycle so bad. I take Seroquel 50mg or 100mg to get me to sleep but I can sometimes be so groggy the next day. Still, I have to take it because I can become manic if I don't. I have bipolar I.

I wanted to update. I asked the psychiatrist and he said that melatonin is not addictive.

From what I read (not a professional) melatonin 1) should come at 1mg at most because otherwise it stops your body producing its own; and also 2) it needs to be taken at midday to actually do anything (I used to take it before sleep and didn't notice any difference).

Hi Oliveira,
I apologize for not responding sooner.

That's interesting. The doctor recommended using 3mg. I just wanted to share this information, and yes, I was taking 3mg plus it has 200 mg of L-Theanine in gummies form. It worked but there were some days where it didn't keep me asleep the whole night. I take the Seroquel now at 100mg and that keeps me asleep pretty much the whole night. So, I'll stop taking the melatonin for now.

Wikipedia on Melatonin

It is used as a medication for insomnia, however, there is insufficient scientific evidence for a benefit in this area.

I have tried both Melatonin and Seroquel to help with sleeping. I have bipolar and problems with always having Mania when I'm not medicated. I feel always high, and tried the Melatonin to help with sleeping for some time. I started with a really low dose of 1mg and it worked for a few nights, then it stopped working, so I upped the dosage. Then some nights it worked and some nights not. I was eventually on 3mg Melatonin and it did only relax me but I still could not drop to sleep. The doctor then suggested that I try Seroquel. I did sleep on it and felt tired throughout the whole day. (25mg) However I have just had to stop using it because I found it hard to breathe on it. Now that I have stopped using it my breathing is back to normal. So I'm hoping next week the doctors have some other suggestion on what to do. I really do not want to have to go back to using Olanzapine because it makes me feel like a zombie and really low in mood. I prefer to have the energy I have when I am high and in Mania then to always feel low and tired. It seems like a balancing act. Some things work for some and other things for others.

I read online and it was on the news that Melatonine even though it is not addictive, you can still get dependant on it (Your body gets used to using it and when you stop you may feel the effects). However if it is the only option it is a more natural drug to use better than sleeping pills. The only other thing they said about Melatonin is that you may have to keep upping the dosage because your body gets used to it and to fall asleep you may need to take more and more of it. I suppose in the end it is different for everyone. As for me, some people can use Seroquel effectively and for me it causes bad side effects. The Melatonin I had to keep upping the dosage for effectiveness. Just depends on your body and what diagnosis you have.

I also have bipolar and at times in the past I would always get psychosis alongside with it. I'm sorry Seroquel didn't work for you. Melatonin worked for me some of the time but I need it to work for me all the time because of the same reason as you describe, and that is that I became manic. Seroquel helped but I wanted to try other drugs because of the grogginess I experienced with it. I asked to change medicines. I am trying Rozerem. It is supposed to work like melatonin but it is 10x stronger. It costs so much and the insurance gave me a hard time approving it. I hope it works for me. So far I've slept 2 days and last night I woke up once. And it does keep me asleep the 8 hours. I am not groggy either. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work. Here is a link to Rozerem.

Rozerem