I mixed melatonin and painkillers.. Freaking out

[MyNameIsTerry]

No, you've missed the point again. In the US it available at 10mg in a single dose. Their FDA is fine with that. The OP is in the US. Therefore sending them back to their GP who follows FDA guidance, not BNF, is a bit pointless for the OP. The issues of who is right is a fight between the FDA and the BNF. A question might be what dose do the US use but I would also question why they allow general sale if a prescribed dose is lower. If the OP was in the UK I would agree with you.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Except it's a licenced drug in the UK so other than importing it, that risk will be managed by their doctor who adheres to the BNF anyway. I just think the thread should take into account the OP and whilst I think what you're saying is valid we need to remember the US is fine with what the OP is taking in terms of Melatonin from a legal point of view.

[RadioGaGa]

https://www.drugs.com/melatonin.html

Why is the forum deleting questions when I attempt to edit them via mobile?

As I'm from the UK, I will only give information on here that I know and trust. And this will be in line with our prescribing guidance.

My fear stems from people reading information on here, who could misinterpret such information, and end up taking more (of any medication) becsuse someone else took a higher dose.

Alot of people think the strength or potency of a drug is directly related to the mg it contains. So, by this they think 1mg of Warfarin, 5mg diazepam etc are weak. And 500mg of paracetamol is strong. They simply go by the figure on the package, rather than the figure AND the drug. When it simply doesnt work like this.

I hope this clarifies any ambiguity.

[MyNameIsTerry]

The edit function is still playing up since the upgrade.

Yes, the Drugs.com link explains about the things I have been saying. I'm just taking the approach similar to how we have the ICD and DSM issues over differing systems.

One thing that is clear based on UK articles as well as US is that very little is known long term about use of Melatonin.

[panic_down_under]

There might also be a difference between pharmaceutical grade melatonin in the UK and an OTC formulation in the U.S. which may be of lower potency, assuming it actually contains what it says on the label. With almost no regulatory oversight on OTC supplements in the U.S., it may not.

[MyNameIsTerry]

There might also be a difference between pharmaceutical grade melatonin in the UK and an OTC formulation in the U.S. which may be of lower potency, assuming it actually contains what it says on the label. With almost no regulatory oversight on OTC supplements in the U.S., it may not.

Welcome back Ian, great to hear from you!


Melatonin is prescription only in the UK. Even then it used at 2mg.

The situation is similar with things like GABA and DHEA, they were made Schedule IV drugs some years ago. Some people get caught out by a company called Biovea which portrays itself as a UK company yet it's nothing more than a PO box and when you order arrives it comes from the US and is subject to being seized by UK Customs. The athletics scandals and date rape issues with GHB (in the case of GABA) led to these after loads of media pushing on politicians.

[panic_down_under]

Welcome back Ian, great to hear from you! [/FONT]

Thanks mate. Rumours of my untimely demise were slightly exaggerated.

The situation is similar with things like GABA and DHEA, they were made Schedule IV drugs some years ago.

...The athletics scandals and date rape issues with GHB (in the case of GABA) led to these after loads of media pushing on politicians.

Banning GABA was a good move. It's snake oil as it can't penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Plus, the one thing normally functioning brains don't lack is GABA. There is so much GABA sloshing around that the BBB has billions of molecular pumps to remove it from the brain. The problem with anxious brains is a lack of benzodiazepine binding sites on GABA receptors, not GABA. The binding sites increase the efficiency of GABA receptors which is how benzodiazepines such as Valium work.

Banning GABA because of GBH shows the power of 'popular' ignorance.