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spice-of-life

Melatonin

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I think the straw has finally broken the camels back. I haven't been able to sleep properly for so long now and I simply can't afford melatonin here in AUS considering the price difference between AU & US. I want to import some melatonin powder but am unsure of it's legal status here in oz. Should I take the chance to import or just be happy with 1-2 hours of sleep every night?

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Mate have you tried a quick toke before bed? I know of many people who find this an effective method. If you are set on melatonin id say the worst that would happen is customs taking and destroying your package, they will however give you an opportunity to recover your item if there is know legal issue.

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Yeah mate, I used to have a toke before bed which was the beez neez to me as far as getting to sleep goes but I am looking for a legal medication for my insomnia. If pot was legal for medicinal use, I wouldn't have a worry in the world but I quit ages ago as I deeply despise courtrooms and am trying to live life in a legally abiding manner. :innocent_n:

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Doxylamine is legal and for me works far, far better than melatonin. If you prefer natural then decent strength valerian can work well in some people.

I don't know the answer to your question sorry.

Edited by Alice

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have you tried getting prescription melatonin from your GP? brand name is circadin. or is still too expensive?

coming from someone who has had really bad insomnia for much of their life: have a look at your lifestyle, use of stimulants, (and depressants), prescription drugs, exercise, sleep hygiene, possible sleep apnea, delayed sleep phase syndrome, etc. there's a number of threads on the forums about this, do a search. there's a whole bunch of parameters that you can explore and i can assure you that if you address them systematically, you'll probably find the cause.

if you're looking for something short term and non-addictive that'll work, have a look at the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, it's a sedating antihistamine and has been shown to have greater efficacy as an antidepressant than SSRIs. you'll probably wake up groggy when you start taking it, but from personal experience you should tolerate to it. but trust me, it's much more rewarding to find the cause and eliminate it.

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valerian works but i think tolerance develops quite quickly, even after a few days for me. higher doses made me feel weird as well and worked the opposite.

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Well I'm not on any prescription meds or illicit substances but I think my problem is too much coffee and not enough sunlight

Edited by spice-of-life

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looking at some old info, i see:

"Small quantities of melatonin can also be imported under the Personal Import Scheme, but only with a prescription from an Australian doctor." (http://www.mydr.com.au/travel-health/expert-calls-for-melatonin-approval).

i personally reckon you'd get it in, if it's schedule 4 i don't think they're too worried about small quantities, i think i heard somone say that before, maybe torsten. would it be a hassle to get a prescription from your doc? if you say you can't sleep but don't want benzos i'm sure they'd be more than willing to accommodate you.

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Yeah, I tried to get a prescription from my GP for melatonin powder but all he would write up for me was a script for Valium, which doesn't do shit for me in regard to getting to sleep. It's great for not remembering hours on end though. I had a 3 day period where I had no memory of anything except little bits and pieces. Hopefully melatonin will do the trick, if not I'm off to see a sleep specialist.

Edited by spice-of-life

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really? if ever there was evidence gp's are simply drug dealers for pharmaceutical companies i guess that would be it. unbelievable.

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melatonin isn't a long term solution, its ok for a short term try and fix your sleep cycles but... still alot of research needs to be done.

i can't think of any hormone thats good for the body in 100x more than the body produces, especially a hormone thats involved in hundreds of system from metabolism, to body temp etc etc the list goes on.

natural sun exposure at dawn and dusk is your best natural 24hr clock reset (for long term natural melatonin regulation)

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I know my local health shop sells Melatonin for roughly $26.95. I was going to suggest Ebay but I just done a quick check and yeah.. they're all in the US.

Edited by LikeAshesWeFade

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I'm just wondering as I have to spend pretty much the whole day inside whether it would make a difference changing from a normal fluoro light to a fluoro grow light as it emits UV rays and may help with my lack of "natural" sunlight exposure during the day, which in-turn may partially repair my body clock. There's nothing worse than spending 8 hours in bed, wide awake with my eyes shut. Every night...

Maybe I'd only have to take melatonin in conjunction with a UV emitting light for a short period of time in order to get my body-clock back in shape. It's only been 4 years...

Btw - Thanks for your help, muchly appreciated and all will be taken on-board.

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I have ordered it 3 times in the last few years without any problems.

Bought through ebay.

Stuff bought from Health food shop in Australia is likely to be homeopathic.

doxylamine succinate is very much inferior compared to Melatonin. Tolerance soon builds and left with hangover in morning in my experience.

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I am at the end of a melatonin script from my doctor (circadin) which has been moderately helpful. If you have a health care card it should be fairly cheap.

I am however thinking of getting some melatonin from Koda Phytorium. However - note --> Pharmaceutical grade. Sold as not for human consumption.

http://www.webstore.kodaphytorium.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=978

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I am at the end of a melatonin script from my doctor (circadin) which has been moderately helpful. If you have a health care card it should be fairly cheap.

I am however thinking of getting some melatonin from Koda Phytorium. However - note --> Pharmaceutical grade. Sold as not for human consumption.

http://www.webstore....products_id=978

 

Yeah I called Koda today but it's not powder. It's in liquid form which I guess would have the same result. Have you actually tried Koda's melatonin

Edited by spice-of-life

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Yeah I called Koda today but it's not powder. It's in liquid form which I guess would have the same result. Have you actually tried Koda's melatonin yet? I'm keen!!

 

I have not tried koda's melatonin. the circadin I have was about $25 ( from memory) for 21, 2mg prolonged release tablets.

did Koda say how much they are selling for $29?

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I make the liquid for koda. I use pharmaceutical grade BP/USP melatonin - the highest grade available. However in australia all melatonin that is for human consumption requires prescription, so this is sold strictly 'not for human consumption'.

Each 0.5ml [one dropper full] contains 3mg. There are 30ml in each bottle. That makes it 60 x 3mg per bottle. We sell the same product to a number of shops overseas where it is not restricted by prescription and they simply attach a label with dosage instructions.

The melatonin is dissolved in 45% ethanol. This is a standard strength for tinctures.

Herbal tinctures etc that use such a high concentration of ethanol can be a little harsh on the tongue, but if you collect a little saliva in your mouth beforehand and then squirt the tincture into this, then there is almost no sensation. Tinctures designd for buccal absorption are best swirled around the WHOLE mouth for a minute or two, delaying swallowing.

Our overseas clients report that using the melatonin tincture this way produces effects within 10 minutes - much faster and more reliable than powders or even lozenges. Obviously this is illegal in australia so we can't recommend it.

My personal observation with alcoholic liquids has been that they are about twice as effective as tablets. I used to take imported tablets [until customs caused me problems] and would dose between 3mg and 9mg. At 9mg my dreams would get a bit weird. With alcoholic melatonin solution I found that I get the same weird dreams at about 4.5mg [hence 3mg seems to be a better target].

I have delayed sleep phase syndrome, so I am lucky in that I do not build tolerance to melatonin and could take it every day if I needed to, so it is easy for me to compare potencies.

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Torsten. Have you ever tried OTC med's like Dozile or Restavit that contain Doxylamine? I am going down tomorrow to try some as I was just speaking to my old lady about it and she was saying it's quite a potent calmative/relaxant antihistamine that is one of the more sedating anti-allergic OTC meds. I have had difficulty sleeping ever since breaking up with my fiance, having constant vivid dreams about her and my daughter. Now I've got myself into a pattern of waking up every hour on the dot, every night! :BANGHEAD2: Starts to catch up with you at the end of each week so I just need something to break this routine really!

Edited by LikeAshesWeFade

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Torsten. Have you ever tried OTC med's like Dozile or Restavit that contain Doxylamine?

 

I tried the OTC antihistamine sleep aids before going to a GP - of the two I tried I found 'snuzaid' ( diphenhydramine ) better for me - as the sedating effects of 'restavit' ( doxylamine ) continued the following day when I wanted to be awake. Both are probably worth a try.

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Thanks so much dude, I will question the chemist about both of them! :) I wonder if because they're so sedating if they will help with night sweats too.

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Torsten. Have you ever tried OTC med's like Dozile or Restavit that contain Doxylamine?

Yes. Good sleep for 5 hours, but I wake up seriously dehydrated and then can't get back to sleep.

I don't actually have a probem sleeping usually [nothing I can't fix with a bit of tryptophan or a mild GABAergic]. I just take the melatonin to adjust my sleep cycle a little, when it suits me [sleeping from 4am till 12.30pm isn't always convenient].

For stress induced insomnia you really need to look at GABAergics. My partner takes ziziphus extract which works well.

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i have tried unisom sleep gels which do nothing at all (for me).

a friend of mine last week told me he'd started using melatonin which produced good results, so this makes me interested in trying it out.

i'd be especially interested in purchasing some of your tincture torsten, but i am expecting you to say that you cant post to WA, would this be correct?

i may have delayed sleep phase syndrome, who knows..

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i am expecting you to say that you cant post to WA, would this be correct?

 

I don't think there are any restrictions for tinctures to WA, so no problem sending this one I would think. You will need to order via www.kodaphytorium.com.au though, or ring the staff at the shop.

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