Side effects
Like most drugs, melatonin not only has the desired effect, but can also lead to sometimes severe side effects. However, the side effects are never a must, but only a possibility. They all occur at most occasionally, which means that every hundredth to thousandth person affected is affected by these side effects.
are possible: Among the rare side effects in the psychiatric field are There have also been various rare side effects in the gastrointestinal tract, including neurological side effects: Blood count changes have also occurred in rare cases. If side effects occur, the treating physician should always be contacted.
- Daytime sleepiness and concentration problems.
- Irritability and nightmares
- Migraine, headaches, nervousness and listlessness
- High blood pressure, abdominal pain, dry mouth and nausea
- Pain in the chest and limbs
- Liver dysfunction and kidney dysfunction
- Anxiety disorders, aggressiveness, tearfulness and depression
- Digestive disorders, vomiting and stomach inflammation.
- Brief loss of consciousness, attention deficit disorder and restless legs syndrome.
- Reduced visual acuity, increased tearing and skin changes.
Interaction
With many other drugs, the effectiveness of melatonin or the respective other active ingredient is reduced or increased. The intake should always be discussed with the treating doctor.
- Taking fluvoxamine at the same time as melatonin can lead to a seventeenfold increase in melatonin levels and should be avoided.
- Oral contraceptives and cimetidine can also increase the effect of melatonin.
- Melatonin may increase the effects of other sleep-inducing substances such as benzodiazepines and Z-drugs.
- Even with antiepileptic drugs and anticoagulants, side effects cannot be excluded.
Countersign
An absolute exclusion reason for taking melatonin is only the intolerance of a component of the drug, since melatonin itself is also produced by the body. However, caution is advised when taking other medications. The possible interactions and side effects should be weighed carefully.
Studies on long-term use are not yet available, so this could result in further contraindications. Alcohol and melatonin should not be taken, as alcohol consumption significantly reduces the effect of melatonin and reduces the quality of sleep. With frequent consumption of alcohol or alcohol abuse first this should be treated, since by the renouncement of alcohol frequently the sleep disturbance is already treatable.
In animal studies, no negative effects have been observed in pregnant women. Since the study situation is however very thin, the use in pregnancy is not recommended. Since the body’s own melatonin passes into breast milk, it can be assumed that the drug also finds its way into breast milk.
Breastfeeding women are therefore not advised to take melatonin. The intake of sleep-inducing substances can also always lead to a higher wake-up threshold if the infant calls out at night. Since the breakdown of melatonin works via the same complexes as the breakdown from the pill, an interaction cannot be ruled out.
On the one hand, taking the pill can increase the effect of melatonin and a reduced contraceptive effect of the pill cannot be safely ruled out. Those affected should therefore additionally use other forms of contraception and not rely on the effect of the pill. Melatonin is only approved in Germany for primary insomnia in older people.
There are no studies available for use in children and there is no approval for this in Germany. However, this is the case for many drugs in pediatrics, as studies are not usually conducted in children. Pediatricians therefore often work off-label and give drugs that are not directly approved for use in children. However, this should be left to the pediatricians and should not be done independently.
