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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > Melatonin Treatment Report
What is Melatonin?

Melatonin appears to be the primary sleep-regulating hormone of the body. It has been used by individuals suffering from insomnia, particularly when adjusting to shift-work cycles or jet lag. In the US Melatonin is available over-the-counter, however, it may require a prescription in some countries.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
Insomnia 207 62 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Sleep problems 151 43 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Difficulty sleeping through night 68 11 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none
Other 30 4 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate
General health 22 4 Efficacy_major Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) 17 3 Efficacy_major Efficacy_cant_tell

See all 488 patients currently taking Melatonin

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 7
Moderate
 9
Mild
 17
None
 110

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Melatonin

Drowsiness 8
Depressed mood 3
Vivid dreams 2
Stomach pain 1
Daytime sleepiness 1
Hangover effect 1
See all 17 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Melatonin. See all 59 dosages ►

  2.5mg as needed 3mg as needed 5mg as needed 1 mg daily 2.5 mg daily 3 mg daily 5 mg daily 6 mg daily 9 mg daily 10 mg daily
  8 Number of Patients: 8 32 Number of Patients: 32 13 Number of Patients: 13 20 Number of Patients: 20 26 Number of Patients: 26 160 Number of Patients: 160 67 Number of Patients: 67 46 Number of Patients: 46 9 Number of Patients: 9 26 Number of Patients: 26  

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Melatonin (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason # Patients Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work 45   Did not seem to work: 38%
Other 41   Other: 34%
Doctor's advice 14   Doctor's advice: 12%
Side effects too severe 12   Side effects too severe: 10%
Personal research 6   Personal research: 5%
Course of treatment ended 6   Course of treatment ended: 5%
Not indicated 4   Not indicated: 3%
Expense 3   Expense: 3%

See all 114 patients who’ve stopped taking Melatonin

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Melatonin

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Stopped Taking Melatonin

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Melatonin

Always
 94 66%
Usually
 27 19%
Sometimes
 17 12%
Never
 5 3%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Melatonin

Very
 0 0%
Somewhat
 5 3%
A little
 12 8%
Not at all
 126 88%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Melatonin

$200+
 0 0%
$100-199
 0 0%
$50-99
 0 0%
$25-49
 8 9%
< $25
 82 91%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Report created on May 23, 2012.