50 User Reviews
When I first started writing this article about Melatonin/Covid-19, it was with the intent of using melatonin as an aid in recovery from long-lasting effects of Covid-19 that were just beginning to be seen in people who had supposedly recovered from Covid-19 and I thought that at the rapid rate that the disease was expanding, this would soon be a health issue that would need to be dealt with in the near future and melatonin seemed ideal to the task. Shortly after I started writing, I came across Dr. Neel's reports and realized that melatonin would not only be useful in long-term Covid-19 recovery but was also likely to work rapidly at reversing the disease process.
In any case, the reason I started writing was for the long term effects that I felt certain would become a problem in short order and it appears that time has arrived where patients who have supposedly cleared from the infection are having longer term health effects and these effects are now being reported and written about. Here is such an article that describes these multiple health issues that are now cropping up months after patients have supposedly recovered.
This problem is becoming so common that they even have names for it now such as "long haulers" or "post Covid-19 syndrome". In my opinion, melatonin is still relevant in trying to deal with these health issues which doctors have little experience dealing with, just as when Covid-19 first showed up, so if you are thinking they will be able to help with these symptoms, you may be very disappointed.
Keep your melatonin handy!
I have been taking 20mg of Melatonin for several months and for several reasons. I had Covid very badly in March 2020 followed by many months of long-haul symptoms. I don't want to get it again. I don't sleep well and now I am having investigations for possible Ulcerative Colitis. Melatonin is supposed to help with all of these.
One concerning thing is the past two months I have had nosebleeds every morning. I was reading this thread and was surprised to learn that Melatonin can cause this. Is this true? I've been wondering why I suddenly have chronic nosebleed having rarely suffered in my whole life up to now. I think I will continue with the Melatonin especially if it will help with my gut inflammation (although it has not done so yet but I am hopeful).
Any suggestions, Art?
Hi Diana,
Nosebleeds are not a listed side effect of melatonin, however it does have anticlotting effects and this could cause nosebleeds in sensitive people, especially if you are taking a blood thinner of any type such as Warfarin, Ivermectin or even supplements with blood thinning qualities like vitamin E, Nattokinase, Curcumin, garlic, Bromelain, grape seed extract and fish oil to name only a few. This is part of what makes melatonin and these other supplements useful for heart and vascular issues, but in your case it may be the cause or part of the cause of your nosebleeds.
It sounds like you are not going to be able to use melatonin and now that you are aware of the problem, it will be a good idea to check on the anticlotting and or blood thinning effects of other supplements you may be considering including Ivermectin.
One of the damages caused by Covid-19 is blood clots for which melatonin is quite useful for preventing, but in your case, the nosebleeds would be a problem. This is why I often remind that not everyone can tolerate melatonin.
Art
(New York)
05/21/2021
Greetings Diana Oxfordshire,
This could be a vitamin B deficiency. I would either start taking a b complex 50 or 100 daily, or start taking a teaspoon of Molasses a day.
I sometimes I put a teaspoon of unsulfured blackstrap molasses, and up to a half teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water and drink it down if I get a nose bleed. I would do this a few days or so to make sure the situation is addressed. Research vitamin B for nosebleed.
HisJewel
Melatonin
Art, what do you mean by "some people cannot tolerate Melatonin"?
I have 5mg tabs and they do not put me to sleep and I feel a little hungover the next day. Do I need a higher dose?
Waneta,
When I say some people can't tolerate melatonin, I mean just that. They can't tolerate for different reasons, but you are a prime example because you feel the melatonin hangover the next day which means you will feel sleepy the next day after taking melatonin the night before. If this effect is too strong in you to be able to function properly, then you do not tolerate melatonin.
I had the same issue as you when I started taking melatonin, but with time my body adjusted and I no longer feel the melatonin hangover, but some people never seem to adjust and have to stop taking it.
For Covid-19, next day tiredness may be a problem you can temporarily live with until you are well, as being tired may help you get to deep REM sleep where your body heals well.
Art
If I remember right, I had a sort of hangover from Melatonin I had bought a couple of years ago, for sleep (lack thereof). I am going to at least try it again and see if I feel normal in the a.m. as I feel super good now. At 68, nutrition and exercise are working wonders for my T2 Diabetes, and I am vaccinated with the 2-shot Moderna (Wed will be 2 weeks). I don't want Covid though, and if the Melatonin can help fight it off, it's worth me trying one again. I think you said you take quite a large dose which I see your links somewhere for 10 mg so I'll try that. Another lady said she uses 20mg, but I always start thing low-dose :) Thank you Art, and so happy on your quick recovery of those symptoms!!
(California)
06/14/2021
Hi PCL,
Thank you regarding my recovery from those symptoms!
If your reason for taking melatonin is to treat Covid-19, you don't need to take it unless you get covid. There was one study where they determined that melatonin may have a preventative effect. Dr. Neel mentioned that there is one anecdotal report where 20 mg may have a preventative effect, but this has not yet been scientifically proven.
If you had the melatonin hangover a couple of years ago at a low dose, you are still likely to have that issue at 10 or 20 mg.
If you do get Covid-19, the daytime sleepiness is likely to be a benefit as many report disrupted sleep with Covid-19. Good luck and keep us posted on your testing!
Art
Melatonin
I mentioned in another thread that I would report if I got Covid-19 because that would indicate that melatonin does not work as a prophylactic as I am taking 106 mg+ per evening.
Well, last night at 8:00pm I started feeling off with pain in my chest, shoulders, back and upper legs. By 9:00pm, I was having severe chills and decided to take my daily melatonin a little earlier than normal, but I also decided to bump my dose up to around 125 mg and immediately went to bed. I put 4 blankets on and still felt cold so I pulled the blankets over my head to try and warm up faster, but when I put my face under the covers, it felt sort of like when you open up an oven door when you have had a turkey cooking for hours and that heat hits your face, so I pulled the blankets back down to uncover my head as I clearly had a fever, but was too cold to get up and take my temperature. I slept restlessly and each time I woke up, I felt worse with more pain in my joints, shoulders, legs and my hands and fingers felt like I had severe arthritis. My chest and back hurt even more than earlier and I could not take a deep breath without significant pain. I can say with complete certainty, I have never felt anything like this before. I also noticed I was getting little indications that my legs wanted to cramp up, but I could not get myself to get up and get the mag oil spray from the bathroom, I was just too cold!
I woke up at 8:00 am and with the time change, that would have been 10 hours since I first noticed I was sick. In all of my life, I have never had a cold or flu come on so quickly as I felt perfectly normal at 7:00 pm last night. I finally got up at 9:00 am and had a lot of congestion in my chest and surprisingly, for me, was able to cough most or all of it up. Usually, when I have that amount of congestion, it means I am going to be coughing for a month or longer. I decided to take a long shower and during the shower, I noticed that I felt almost normal except for the chest pain when I would try and take a deep breath. By the time I got out of the shower, I felt really good, but I decided it might be better for me to go back to bed rather than go for my walk.
I don't know for sure that this was covid as I had no test, but I feel as certain as I can that it was. I've never had symptoms quite like these before and the arthritic feeling hands is an absolute first. Sitting here typing, I also notice that it no longer hurts to take a deep breath and I feel normal! No more pain in my joints, no more chest pain, no more back pain, and no more congestion!
If this is covid, I will say that melatonin does not seem to prevent it, but neither does the vaccine. My understanding of the vaccine is that you can still get covid except it is supposed to be milder and not life-threatening or very similar to melatonin.
I am taking 20 mg doses throughout today and will likely continue that for possibly a week and then go back to my regular night dosing. I had previously mentioned that you should not throw your melatonin away just because you get a vaccine and I still feel that way because if you do get covid after being vaccinated, melatonin if used right away, looks likely to make that covid infection even milder.
I am glad I found Dr. Neel and his melatonin protocol because only having to put up with covid for 12 hours is wonderful! I think it is worth mentioning that I was not taking vitamin C or D, lysine, iodine or quercetin. I was taking zinc though.
I will update if things change as I know I will carry this virus for at least a week or more so I will stay on top of my melatonin dosing. Dr. Neel did mention that melatonin could work as a stand alone treatment for covid and my experience tends to confirm his statement.
I am not aware of any other treatment for covid that can reverse it so dramatically in just 12 hours!
Although there is so much more I can write about melatonin, I am only going to write one more post about it on EC because I think people just get tired of hearing about melatonin, no matter how many health issues it can be useful for.
Art
(Florida)
03/14/2021
Thank you for sharing, Art. It is pleasing to learn that you recovered so quickly from your ailment. Also, it would be nice to learn about your various observations regarding melatonin. Rather than being tiresome, the subject matter of melatonin is quite interesting.
Sincerely,
J.
Hi J.
In order to be sure this was Covid-19 or not, I have scheduled a test for tomorrow morning. Even if it turns out not to be Covid, that means it is most likely the flu and I have never used anything on the flu that reversed its course so dramatically in 12 hours, not even colloidal silver via inhalation and orally simultaneously! So I'll take that! In any case, the nurse told me it would take about 2 days to get the results back and I will update this thread once I have those results later this week.
Regarding continuing the melatonin series on EC, I have one post that will be going up a little later and that will be the end of the melatonin series on EC. I have already covered Covid-19, memory, CVD which is actually a group of diseases, sleep, oral lichen planus, gum disease, ulcerative colitis, and the next post that will be coming out in the near future and that will be it for melatonin.
Art
(Florida)
03/15/2021
(PA)
04/15/2021
I just got a positive test result back for Covid-19 and had the exact same symptoms as you did. Woke up last Wednesday at 5am with chills (some mild body aches and restlessness the previous 2 nights), intense body aches mostly in the legs and hips, intense headache. The chills got worse and caused me to shake and shiver - even put my head under the comforter to try to get warm to no avail. Chest and head congestion but no fever. Heavy chest, and a tickling or irritation on taking deep breaths which then causes me to cough. I've been coughing up green phlegm for several days now, shortly after arising, but it's gettin lighter in color each day. I had been taking melatonin all along but ran out. Back on it now, in higher dosage.
Anyway, I think you got a false negative. If you can get the antibody test that would be interesting to see what it says.
Thanks for your post,
KK
J,
I forgot one other in the melatonin series, COPD and the next one is a very common one also.
Art
Here is the update I promised regarding my Covid-19 test.
So I went and got tested yesterday morning for Covid-19 and this morning the doctor's office told me I tested negative for Covid-19!
Aside from not having Covid-19, I am happy about this result because it still leaves open the possibility that melatonin can act as a Covid-19 preventative which will be very important in the future if the virus mutates enough to make the vaccines ineffective and it also means that melatonin can act against the flu very rapidly, or at least it did in my case for whatever flu this was. The flu normally drags on for me for up to a month, so hopefully melatonin will work this well everytime I have the flu! The doctor's office said that although I do not have to quarantine at home, I should still avoid being around other people for awhile because they are getting more patients with flu now.
Art
(Illinois)
03/17/2021
(FL)
03/17/2021
Hi Sarah,
When melatonin is used as a treatment for Covid-19, daytime drowsiness is probably a good thing, because it allows you to sleep and during REM sleep the body can heal well. The other thing is that you really can't go anywhere if you are infected because your doctor will want you to self quarantine for so many days from the day you first notice symptoms.
When using melatonin for other health issues, two ways that have shown in studies not to cause daytime drowsiness is taking melatonin intravenously or as a suppository. For me, I found that regular use of oral melatonin helped to eventually get rid of the melatonin hangover over a period of about 2 to 3 weeks as the body self adjusts to increased melatonin levels. Staying very active during the day was most useful to minimize the daytime sleepiness.
As I've mentioned many times on EC, not everyone can tolerate melatonin, so if side effects are too much from melatonin, then melatonin is not an option for that individual. The majority of people tolerate melatonin fine, but for those who do not tolerate it, melatonin use is precluded.
Art
(New York)
03/18/2021
Hello Sarah from Florida:
Regarding: How to avoid drowsiness when taking melatonin: "Stay active". Another thing to do is: Make sure the brand and type of melatonin you buy does not have other ingredients to help sleep in it. An example is some melatonin companies add Lemon balm to help melatonin in its sleep work.
For some people, just staying active will chase away any drowsiness. When I had that unbelievable cold or covid condition, I took about 25mgs of melatonin every four hours without any daytime drowsiness. I took it like that for three days. I was taking care of my Aunt and she can be a hand full. Truthfully she is the busy one. When my turn comes to stay with her, I just keep an eye on her and am more of a nurse and cook than anything else. Even with talking melatonin all day, I did not go to sleep until I relaxed to go to sleep, and that usually lasted 2 hours straight, the rest of the night my sleep was on and off, and finally wide awake around 5 a.m.
So check the label and make sure there is no other sleep ingredient in it.
HisJewel
Hi Carol,
I use 10 and 12 mg melatonin in three forms.
One is a direct release 10 mg capsule generic.
One is a 10 mg delayed release tablet that also contains vitamin B-6 at 10 mg that I got at Sam's Club.
One is a fast dissolve tablet that I let dissolve in my mouth to try and get the oral benefits of melatonin.
There are 60 mg capsules also available from online suppliers. Dr. Shallenberger recommends these to his patients and uses them himself. The 60 mg capsules are generally a bit more expensive that the 10 mg capsules and I will eventually test the 60 mg capsules myself when I settle on a final dose. I am currently using the lower dose capsules for a total of 106 mg per night for 5 1/2 months now.
Art
(Texas)
03/18/2021
Hi again Art, what do you think of melatonin powder?
Apparently Dr Shallenberg also uses melatonin powder with his patients. My husband and I bought a 10 mg melatonin package and the cutest tiniest spoon for the correct dosage (1/64 tsp equals 43 mg circa). Effects are the same for now, but I was wondering if in case of a covid viral infection, the protection of a capsule would be needed to assure effectiveness/assimilation?
Also, what protection against covid would you use during a long intercontinental flight, apart form the obvious mask/distancing? We were thinking of taking 20 mg melatonin/ every 2 hours during the trip and complementing with a grapefruit seed oil nasal spray ...how does it sound?
Thank you again so much for dividing with us readers such a wealth of information!
(Milwaukee, WI)
03/17/2021
Hi Art,
I've enjoyed your articles on melatonin. I have a question with regards to the last discussion you posted and the dosage. You were at quite a high dose compared to what is usually recommended.
Did you titrate up to that amount, and if so, how slowly or quickly did you do that, and does it leave you groggy at all? Thank you for the wonderful service you provide in sharing your information!
Hi Deb,
Yes, when I first started testing melatonin years ago, I started low at 5 mg per night and slowly worked my way up to 70 mg/day. I consider this a reasonable method for me to test melatonin as some people do not tolerate melatonin and it seems reasonable to me to start very low to first find out what my tolerance for melatonin is because if I don't tolerate melatonin, I wouldn't want to find that out at a high dose that might cause me problems. By testing this way I have been able to work myself up to a dose of 180 mg temporarily to be sure I could tolerate that dose that Dr. Shallenberger uses in his patients. I have not gone anywhere near his higher dosing that he uses in his cancer patients, but cancer is a very serious disease that apparently requires this type of dosing that Dr. Shallenberger is using.
Art
Hi again, BellaPaolina,
Powder is fine and it works.
As regards Covid-19, Dr. Neel's preference is sublingual tablets, but I think his main reason was he wanted to have the option to give these to Covid-19 patients who were already on a ventilator since they would not be able to swallow pills or capsules. Previously I mentioned that I did not think there was much difference between the typical sublingual tablets and regular tablets, but I think I may have been wrong on that point and now think the sublingual versions may have a slight edge over regular capsules and tablets, but I have not yet seen any studies one way or the other.
The untested method I use on flights is double masking with a filter insert and a face shield with a closed top above the eyes. I also use XLEAR Nasal Spray which I have previously written about in December to fight Covid infection and speed the recovery process while also reducing symptom severity. Here is a link to that article :
https://www.earthclinic.com/xlear-for-covid-recovery.html
It may seem like overkill for jet flights, but the virus can and does travel in the air, and on a jet, the air is constantly recirculated for the flight so you are at a relatively high exposure level if there is an asymptomatic virus carrier on the flight. Airlines are starting to move toward virus testing at an additional cost with results in minutes and this could make flying safer. At a bare minimum, I would expect it to lower viral particle exposure and lower particle exposure has shown reduced severity of Covid -19 if you get it. High viral load equates to more severe symptoms. I'm not saying or recommending that anyone should do what I do, I'm just answering your question about what I do. I also carry a small enough hand sanitizer to meet airline limitations and I do carry surgical gloves in my pocket if for handling anything in an airport or jet. Between that, the Xlear Nasal Spray and melatonin, I would say that is about as safe as I can get on a flight, imo.
Art
(California)
03/18/2021
This is about clearing your air passages. I bought a nebulizer a year ago. People I know said they got a flu shot but still got the flu. I never got a flu shot but never got very sick. I used peppermint oil and other things. When I moved to my sister's house temporarily, just before the lockdown, she would not allow me to use peppermint oil in an infuser. So I bought a nebulizer, which I have been using with peroxide or saline or colloidal silver.
A few times a day if I get sinus problems. Every time I get home after a trip to the grocery store. I used it on my cat for about 30 seconds and his sneezing stopped the next day. This is all in the past year. I mix distilled water with a little salt or peroxide and add a few drops of silver. It keeps mucus down and clears bacteria and I can breathe well all day.
(Texas)
03/19/2021
Thanks again!
Please bear with another question. I was wondering if taking melatonin powder WITHOUT a capsule (just the powder and water) would make it less effective? Stomach transit/acids could somehow affect melatonin?
Just wondering because the correct dosage seems to be of the utmost importance to fight Covid....so if I need to take 1mg x kilo but somehow the melatonin powder gets diluted by stomach acids and it is not so effective.....
arrivederci
(Texas)
03/23/2021
Hi again Art, regarding the bioavailability of melatonin powder as compared to melatonin capsules I have found an interesting article:
Soft gel capsules improve melatonin's bioavailability in humans Sara Proietti, Gianfranco Carlomagno†, Simona Dinicola & Mariano Bizzarri † Lo.Li Pharma s.r.l, R&D Department, Rome, Italy
Objective: Oral bioavailability is one of the most important properties in drug design and development. A poor oral bioavailability can result in low efficacy and unpredictable response to a drug. Several dosages of melatonin have been used for various investigations to clarify its bioavailability in humans. Aiming to search for a pharmaceutical form, which is better absorbed, the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of the new manufactured melatonin soft gelatin (soft gel) capsule form has been evaluated and compared with the commercially available melatonin powder. Research design and methods: A total of 60 healthy volunteers received 1,3 mg of melatonin powder and 1 mg of melatonin in soft gel capsules. PK profiles were obtained by analysis of melatonin plasma concentration, and the respective melatonin bioavailability was compared. Results: Melatonin soft gel capsule form showed similar PK parameters compared with the highest doses of melatonin in powder form, but its bioavailability was improved. Conclusions: Soft gel capsules improved the bioavailability of melatonin in humans even when administered dose was reduced. Considering the number of conditions in which melatonin supplementation is recommended, this evidence could support a broader use of melatonin in clinical practice
Hope you read this, greetings from south texas
Hi BellaPaolina,
Thank you for this information! It is important because melatonin has shown itself to have fairly poor availability estimated to be in the 3% to 15% range, so ways of improving that bioavailability would be useful.
Art
Melatonin
Hi guys!
I am happy to report that I and my family are on the other side of Covid, at least til our immunity wanes.
We were doing a variety of Coronavirus preventatives around my house. My husband and I have taken coconut oil daily since last March. My husband and daughter have taken astragalus root that whole time as well. We take vitamin D intermittently, and even in winter my husband and kids get lots of outside time. I have been taking 15 mg of melatonin at night for quite a while.
Then we got Covid.
None of us had a cough. Several of us lost sense of smell. Adults had significant fatigue. One child had a fever for one day. Several of us had sinus burning pain and eye pain. Headaches were common. I never registered a fever but felt flu like for a couple of days.
At the very first sign of illness, especially since we realized we had probably been exposed to COVID, I put everyone on the appropriate amount of melatonin (1gm/kg body weight every 24 hours, divided into four doses.) We also took 50 mcg of zinc, 1-2 grams of vitamin C, vitamin D and 2 quercetin capsules. We ate a lot soup and drank tea with honey. Appetites were not amazing, so I just focused on fluids. I had just gotten an amazing deal and stocked up on organic orange juice, too, so that was handy. Everyone rested as much as needed.
We did use some tylenol, ibuprofen and alka seltzer (never at the same time! ) for fever and aches. Alka seltzer seemed to work the best but I did NOT give it to children. Covid is new and aspirin has a history of causing Reye's Syndrome for some children with some viruses (like flu and chicken pox.)
It may be my imagination but I think I could feel the melatonin wearing off. When I was close to redosing time I would notice that I was feeling worse. I did take an extra dose or two in the middle of the night sometimes.
My mother in law, who is in poor health and lives with us, never had any symptoms. I gave her the same protocol that we took ourselves, in hopes of nipping it in the bud if she began with symptoms, which she never did.
I had some concerns about high dose melatonin (HDM) and its blood thinning properties. I am a bleeder because I have chronic low platelets. I didn't have any bleeding trouble with the HDM. My 9 year old is prone to nosebleeds but they did not increase in frequency during HDM. I don't recall him having any at all during that time. My mother in law is on xeralto and didn't have any trouble with HDM. This is descriptive though, not prescriptive.
While astragalus, melatonin, and coconut oil were part of our preventatives, they didn't prevent the disease. But perhaps they made symptoms lighter? I don't know.
I do think the earlier treating any illness begins, the better. It seems the viruses might get less of a foothold.
I think an over taxed immune system puts one at greater risk for getting a bad case of anything. Good nutrition, stress management, enough sleep, fresh air and exercise are all important for that. But honestly that can be really difficult for many people to accomplish. I'm just making an observation.
I have known some hale and hearty people get seriously sick. A naturopathic local doctor who was doing tons of preventatives and being super careful still got covid and got pretty sick.
I don't think there needs to be guilt associated with getting sick, for some failure of preventatives. We are humans and sickness happens to most everyone. When we are sick sometimes we have time to regroup our priorities, read a book we have wanted to read, and then take care of others when we are well.
At the end of the day, I am thankful we made it through relatively unscathed. I would use the same remedies again.
This is only one story of so many covid stories. It isn't a recommendation for anyone, but a “this is what seemed to work for us” story.
~Mama to Many~
M to M,
I'm glad that you and your family had a relatively easy go of Covid-19!
To be clear on Dr. Neel's dosing schedule, it is ""1 mg of melatonin per kilogram of body weight"", not 1 gm.
Art
(TN)
01/23/2021
Thanks for the clarification Art. That's what we used. I'm just awful at my abbreviations.
We also used 50 mg of zinc not mcg. 🤦♀️
(NC)
01/24/2021
Praise the Lord, Mama to Many!
That was in awesome family venture. I am so happy for you and your family.
To me one the biggest battles I see families facing since 2020 is a purposeful effect to help one another stay well.
I came to NC to help an elderly Aunt. It has been trying venture to me to get me well and keep her well. I know the Lord has help us.
I happy to say she got the first part of her COVID Vaccine shot. She wanted it so bad, she has Faith in it. So I am happy for her. She's a tuff cookie and still fussing.
Thank God for family and Caring neighbors, and for our EC family.
HisJewel
(faithville, Us)
01/24/2021
Love your testimony of good results and tips for others who get caught in the covid storm. I wanted to add that when I was young I had no appetite and felt sick a lot. I started taking B vitamins and noticed that I felt like eating a horse and that was interestin. I finally gained weight and had to figure it out and cut back on how many B vitamins I was eating. 2021 is war and victory and war is always a great reset of all that we thought mattered. Sort of a housecleaning.
Blessings, Charity
(Okanagan)
01/24/2021
Thanks Mama to Many for your update.
Not only was the information on what you and your family took very valuable in itself, but I appreciate how you mention people shouldn't feel guilty for getting ill - regardless of what preventatives they may take. No one benefits from the shaming/blaming game. Thank you for the compassion you always show to others.
And I'm so very happy that your family is feeling better!
Take care,
Tessa (from cold Canada)
(AL)
01/27/2021
Thank you so much for this testimony. It is super useful.
(Pensacola, Fl)
01/30/2021
Mama to Many,
This is all new to me. Borox, Melatonin treatments? I've never heard of these. I am curiously interested in these remedies. My question however focuses around your low platelet level. Have you discovered any natural remedies to build up your platelet levels to the normal range? I am really interested.
Melatonin
Here's some more useful and surprising safety info in support of using melatonin for COVID-19.
It has already been recommended that melatonin dosage should be 1 mg/kg/day by Dr Neel. But, in the following research study, it is recommending 8 mg/kg/day divided into 5 sub-doses for COVID-19. The research study below also surprisingly says that melatonin at 8 mg/kg/day is "in the ranges used to treat septic patients clinically and is devoid of any adverse effect; thus, it is safe".
See below:
https://doi.org/10.32794/mr11250062
I find that dose of 8 mgs/kg/day very interesting. That also tells me that melatonin is very safe indeed at just 1mg/kg/day.
I've also found 12 research reviews on PubMed assessing and strongly recommending melatonin as a protocol for COVID-19 patients. These studies are all begging for permission from the FDA for melatonin to be studied for use in US hospitals. But the FDA/NIH are still not interested in doing the necessary research to prove that melatonin works against COVID-19. What's more, the FDA has known about melatonin's usefulness against COVID-19 since April/May 2019 when Dr Neel and others loudly informed the FDA of its hugely beneficial effects. I guess the FDA might be thinking that a successful, simple and cheap COVID-19 therapeutic like melatonin at this time might well hinder the ongoing vast sales of western vaccines all over the world. After all, if you have a successful and cheap natural therapeutic like melatonin that can revert your COVID-19 to ordinary, harmless flu then we wouldn't really need those vaccines. Right?
Hi Bill,
Unfortunately Dr. Neel's work with HDM is largely ignored by the FDA, doctors, main stream media and scientists in general. There are a few studies showing the safety of melatonin at high dose for years, but my experience is that some people simply do not tolerate melatonin very well, so as far ultra high dosing, I would reserve that for stage 4 cancers and other serious diseases that move relatively quickly like ALS.
One thing that Dr. Neel's work seems to show is that melatonin also seems to prevent some of the serious after effects of Covid-19 that are showing up in people months after supposedly being clear of the virus. This is something that apparently "standard treatment" can not claim.
I still feel that HDM and Xlear Nasal Spray are a very good combination to work against Covid-19 in a timely manner while minimizing symptoms very significantly and shortening the time to being symptom free. Dr. Neel said that only a handful of his over 1,000 HDM patients even needed to go to the hospital. The great majority have treated themselves at home with Dr. Neel's guidance.
They are even thinking that melatonin may have preventative effects at a high enough dose. In my current melatonin test I have been taking 106 mg per night for over 3 1/2 months with no issues that I am aware of, but I knew from previous testing that I tolerated HDM fairly well.
On a related note, the Manila trial of HDM seems like it should be close to completion, but they took longer to recruit patients than anticipated and consequently their results have been delayed. I am anxiously awaiting their results!
Art
Melatonin
I just read this review of Melatonin. Can liposomal melatonin be used at the same dosage as high dose melatonin?
Hi Payton,
Liposomal melatonin is fairly expensive and Dr. Neel has not used it in his patients, so he has no data to show if it is more effective than regular melatonin for Covid-19. More importantly, he has no data on how to dose the liposomal form of melatonin.
On Amazon, many of these liposomal melatonin products are $40 for one ounce.
Melatonin
Ever since I read about Dr. Neel's success with melatonin on this site, I began taking bigger doses of melatonin every night at bedtime and kept a large reserve of different melatonin brands for myself and my friends and family. So when I contracted covid at the beginning of December and I found out I had it I immediately started taking about 30mg 5 or 6 times a day.
I also increased my vitamin d, c, and zinc intake daily as well.
Before I knew I had the virus, I had a pretty bad headache, a bit of a fever, and had some chills and heat flashes. My stomach was slightly bubbly as well. That was the first 2 days. By the afternoon of the second day I found out I had covid. So that is when I started taking megadoses of melatonin. My headache and fever started to leave.
The next morning, I woke up virtually symptom free. I could feel it just a little bit in my lungs and would occasionally cough up a little bit of phlegm but that was it. I continued with megadosing melatonin and taking extra c, d, and zinc for the next 2 weeks or maybe a little bit longer.
Then I tapered everything down gradually until I got back to my normal routine. Now I just take 20-30 mg a night before bed. I really believe that the melatonin increase basically made me asymptomatic almost immediately.
I used several different brands of dissolvable lozenges that were between 2.5 and 12 mgs a lozenge.
Wow, Jacob, that is amazing! I am very glad that your recovery was so quick and smooth!
Thank you for coming back and giving this update as it is useful for any of the members who may get Covid.
Your results pretty much mirror what Dr. Neel has seen in his over 1,000 Covid-19 patients. Once full dosing is initiated, improvements are generally seen to begin the very next day. In the symposium he recently attended about using melatonin as a treatment for Covid-19, the doctors who attended were asked what if any dose may act as a preventative. Their answer was that is not yet known about melatonin, but they felt that if there is a dose that may act to prevent Covid-19 from getting started, it would be 20mg minimum.
Thank you again for your update, Jacob!
Art
(IA)
01/03/2021
I am so sensitive to Melatonin. Maybe the MTHFR gene mut factor. But I'm on day 52 of covid, some days good but fatigue and breathlessness happens. Eating low histamine as I know it's inflammation.
Do you think I should up my melatonin even though as small as 5 mg keeps me awake and sometimes jittery. Would you if it were you? I have people saying to do 30 mg just to get over this.
Hi Amy,
Some people simply can not tolerate melatonin and that may be the case with you based on how sensitive you say you are to it.
What you can consider and ask your doctor about is Xlear nasal spray which may be helpful. Here is a link to a post I wrote about it :
https://www.earthclinic.com/xlear-for-covid-recovery.html
This is a fairly non invasive approach that showed benefit in a few Covid-19 patients. There are currently 95 other Covid-19 remedies listed on EC. It may be worth looking at some of those here:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/coronavirus.html
Art
(California)
01/23/2021
(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
01/15/2021
Glad I could share with you guys. One more thing I forgot to mention was I let the melatonin lozenges disolve under my tongue for maximum absorption. I read that taking tablets, pills, and capsules are not quite as effective because your digestive system doesn't absorb it as well. So putting a disolvable or sublingual form under your tongue gets the maximum amount in your system.
Hi Lynn,
Some side effects of melatonin that I am aware of are diarrhea/nausea, but there is often a delay to get to diarrhea that can vary from person to person to as little as a few days or as much as a few weeks. Other side effects are sleeplessness, vivid dreams, nightmares, daytime sleepiness which usually diminishes with daily use over time. Headache is another symptom that sometimes also goes away with daily use as the body adjusts to increased melatonin levels. Dizziness is another which for me was transient and went away completely with daily use. There are others, but these are the main ones that I am aware of. In studies, scientists and doctors consider these to be minor side effects and generally rate melatonin to have minor side effects and a very good safety profile.
I still feel that even though melatonin has a very good safety profile, I believe that some people are not able to tolerate it and should avoid using it, but the great majority of people are able to tolerate and use melatonin regularly.
Art
Melatonin
For anyone thinking the high melatonin dosage is crazy... you'll be fine!
Husband started with a sore throat late Friday night. I had him gargle with apple cider vinegar in water and we also took liposomal vitamin C, D3, echinacea, and Chanca Piedra. Applied some DoTerra OnGuard oil.
Saturday again with those things plus had him gargle with warm salt water, which he said helped.
Saturday night he ran fever so we slept in separate beds and I have tried keeping my distance and wearing a mask. Although probably not 100% of the time. Gave him baby aspirin.
Sunday we took the same things mentioned before and I added garlic for him. He has been sipping on water with lemon and Gaia herbs bronchial wellness tea as well as ginger tea. We scheduled to get tested. Rode in separate cars but tested together in the same room, at which time he had 100.4 fever.
He's positive. I'm negative.
Sunday 6pm 1st dosage of melatonin for us both. 20mg.
Took a second dosage at 1am. 20mg.
Another at 7am. 20mg.
I have been able to wake up a few times to go check on him. Tested his oxygen level and temperature. Normal.
I don't feel anymore sleepy than I do when I take 10mg. I had stopped talking melatonin last week because it's been giving me headaches. We had been taking it regularly. Natrol brand, 10mg time released. Husband had not stopped taking it. I currently feel just a light pressure (nothing terrible). Decided to drink some coffee and type this up.
I plan to continue 20 mg melatonin for us both at noon or 1pm today.
Oh! I've also been boiling water on the stove on and off all day with drops of Eucalyptus oil. We live in a pretty dry climate and with the heater running sinuses get really dry.
Art, I hope to keep updating. Let me know if you have any comments/ suggestions/ questions. Thanks for all the information you've provided!
Hi Annette!
Thank you very much for your feedback on melatonin for Covid-19.
Your results seem to mirror what Dr. Neel has seen in his over 1,000 C-19 patients that he has treated with HDM. He reports rapid turnaround in symptoms very shortly after initiating HDM.
Regarding your husband taking 10 mg and still getting Covid-19, in the symposium that Dr. Neel recently attended, the general consensus among the doctors, researchers and scientists at the symposium, 20 mg was the suggested preventative dose.
Regarding the headache from taking melatonin, this is a known side effect, but in the people who I have talked to with this issue, like the "melatonin hangover", it tends to reduce as the body adjust to more melatonin in the system.
The question I have is, since you started the other supplements prior to HDM, did your husband notice any improvement from them or did he just see improvement once he brought his HDM dose up to par?
Thank you again, Annette for the feedback as it adds further confirmation to the effectiveness of HDM.
Art
(ENGLAND)
01/01/2021
So very grateful for this information, Art. I have just received a positive test so have ordered some HTP which seems to be the same product. It was confusing to buy over here to say the least. I will let you know how it goes. They arrive in two days as today is New Year.
Thank you again!
Karen
Hi Karen,
If you mean 5HTP, it is not the same as melatonin and it does different things than melatonin. If you are in England, I believe that melatonin is by prescription only and it may be a problem trying to get a doctor to prescribe the high dose you would need? Perhaps an EC member from your side of the pond can suggest a source???
Art
(Switzerland)
01/21/2021
Hi Karen,
For people in Europe order at iherb.com. I am from Switzerland and here Melatonin is absolutely forbidden. You get a prescription only after 65 for only 0,5mg. I have ordered the Melatonin, in case somebody near me gets Covid. Fortunately we have not yet have to use it. Good luck M-L
Melatonin
Thank you, Art, for this important and timely information about high dose melatonin. I was diagnosed with Covid the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and began your protocol of 80 mg/day in divided doses the following day. My symptoms (ongoing severe headache and other less painful symptoms) reduced very quickly. I had minor respiratory involvement which never fully developed.
My question is how long do I continue to use the high dosage? From reading through the information you provided, I'm thinking to reduce dosage and see if symptoms return or worsen? At first, I thought I should stay on it for a minimum of two months. Any clarification or thoughts will be appreciated.
Shout out to Earth Clinic for being Earth Clinic!!
Hi Karen!
First and very importantly, thank you for coming back to EC to share with us how melatonin worked for you! I am very happy to hear that high dose melatonin(HDM) worked for you so well and quickly against Covid-19!
Can you give a little more specific information while it is still pretty fresh in your mind?
1. How long after your first symptoms did you start melatonin?
2. How long after your first dose of HDM did your symptoms start to improve?
3. How long did your symptoms last after you started HDM?
4. Is there any other information related to Covid-19 and melatonin you feel is worth sharing with our community?
To answer your question about HDM, I can only tell you what my plan is if I ever get Covid-19. I plan to start at the first symptom with or without a confirmed positive test for Covid-19 because HDM has also shown the potential to help with the flu. I will start at Dr. Neel's last dosing update of 1 mg of melatonin for every kilogram of body weight. So for a person who weighs 176 pounds or 80 kilos, the HDM dose would be 80 mg of melatonin per day. It sounds like patients who are showing severe symptoms or are fairly late stage, Dr. Neel might go higher on the dosing on an individual basis.
I will stay at 1 mg per kilogram of body weight / per day, well beyond the point of no symptoms because being symptom free does not guarantee that you are also virus free. The other reason I will do this is because the latest Covid-19 research is showing that people are developing Covid-19 complications months after supposedly being Covid-19 free and symptom free. The latest after effect related to Covid-19 in men is that of erectile dysfunction. Just a month or so ago it was found that 1 in 5 patients will develop a neuro conditions such as depression, anxiety or insomnia among others. The post Covid-19 issues regarding the lungs and heart are also being seen and can be life long.
In my opinion, this is where the body and organ protective effects of melatonin can really shine beyond just its ability to greatly lessen the effects and symptoms of Covid-19. The known effects of melatonin in humans suggest that melatonin may be able to mitigate some, if not all of the after effects of Covid-19 and possibly prevent these unwanted effects which show the potential to become life long health issues. So for me, I plan to take HDM for at least two months after being symptom free, unless I develop a problem taking HDM, in which case I will stop HDM if I have a problem with it. This two month period of HDM is for the purpose of possibly preventing the potential side effects of Covid-19.
Continued better health to you, Karen, and I look forward to your update!
Art
(Arkansas)
02/04/2021
Hey Art!
I'd hoped to circle back with a nice concise report. I am doing well but it has been a bit of a roller coaster.
I'd been experiencing symptoms for a few weeks, but didn't suspect Covid as they didn't fall into what I was hearing. They continued worsening up to diagnosis.
Early symptoms included migraine-type head pain.
Diarrhea, but not as early as headache. Itching-I haven't seen much about this but it was intense. It started on my scalp and then to feet, hands and trunk. Insomnia.
I began HDM the day after my diagnosis. Within 24 hours, ALL SYMPTOMS had significantly improved! The continuous head pain had lessened. Gastric issues cleared up. I did continue to get what I called 'floater' headaches. The pain wasn't continuous throughout the day but came and went.
Do not ask me why but at some point, I thought I was good and cut way back. Symptoms returned with a vengeance.
I went back to recommended dosage of 1mg/kg of body weight. Things got better again right away. Headaches tended to stick around and seemed to be getting worse. I read that melatonin can sometimes cause headaches so again, I cut myself off. Once again, they got worse. I decided to increase dosage. I did this 25% at a time. 25% of my initial dose. It seemed to help until it didn't.
After catching up here, I am going to continue to increase more. I've had issues in the past with headaches but had gotten to a place where I was not having so many. That's about the only symptom that seems to be lingering.
I am over 2 months out, so I suppose I have crossed over to the residual symptom category? I don't know, but I am going to continue to try to get back to pain free. I will not increase up to the 80mg dosage in the report but I will not be afraid to nudge it up some.
Again, thanks so much for your input here and sorry to be so long with update. Stay well!
Karen
Hi Karen,
Thank you very much for the feedback and I am glad to hear that melatonin worked out well for you!
Yes, headache is a known side effect of melatonin and Covid-19. My experience is that the headache generally goes away with continued use, but it is difficult to determine which may be the cause of the headache. Headache is very common in Covid-19, but not much with melatonin. Since you already had the headache before you started melatonin, I would lean toward Covid-19 as the culprit.
The "few weeks" late start with melatonin makes it a tougher battle as Covid-19 has quite a head start to attack all that it is known to attack, but this clearly shows that even when used late, melatonin can still be quite effective against Covid-19, unlike Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and Faviparivir.
Rash and itching have been seen in Covid-19, but itching without rash is less common. The skin is an organ and Covid-19 is showing that it can attack almost any organ in the body including the skin, based on autopsy results.
It seems like the earlier melatonin is started, the better the outcome, but melatonin has also shown benefit for patients who were already on a ventilator when the melatonin was started, improving the outcomes for ventilated patients who received melatonin.
Letting up early after starting late, is likely to be a more difficult recovery, but melatonin is showing that it is up for that challenge.
One person on EC reported that they started at even higher dosing than Dr. Neel's recommended 1 mg per kilogram of body weight at the first symptoms and their symptoms were almost completely gone the next day, so early timing definitely seems to matter!
On a related note, with the variant strains of Covid-19 that are being reported, even if you get a vaccination, it may be worth keeping melatonin on hand just in case the vaccine is not effective against the variant strain that you get. Having a fallback plan just in case seems like a good idea.
Lastly, I still feel that the inexpensive combination of Xlear Nasal Spray with melatonin maybe a good one two punch against Covid-19. Here is a link to a post I wrote about Xlear Nasal Spray and Covid 19.
https://www.earthclinic.com/xlear-for-covid-recovery.html
Thank you again for the feedback, Karen!
Art
Melatonin
Here is the latest update from Dr. Neel who has now treated over 1,000 Covid-19 patients with high dose melatonin (HDM) with only a handful of patients needing to be admitted to the hospital at all!
Generally, he uses a dose of 1 mg per kilogram of body weight, but other doctors are now reporting going as high as 6x higher than Dr. Neel, by using up to 6 mg per kilogram of bodyweight! Overall, this is the best update yet and is quite informative because Dr. Neel attended a symposium of melatonin researchers and doctors who shared their information that they have gathered over time in the treatment of their patients with HDM. Even Dr. Castillo who is involved in the Manila study of HDM in Covid-19 patients who also have pneumonia. His team is doing the world's first randomized, placebo controlled, double blind study of HDM to treat Covid-19 patients. Dr. Reiter also spoke at the symposium as did Dr. Brown of Canada talked about intravenous melatonin because oral melatonin is known to be absorbed at only 3% to 15% of the dose taken while intravenous melatonin has much higher bioavailability. Dr. Castillo also mentioned a "maintenance dose" which many people are wondering about. The general consensus of the doctors who spoke at the symposium was 20 mg /day.
There was more to the update, but this was clearly the most informative and exciting update yet! Here is a link to the article :
Art
Melatonin
I just wanted to report this recent news update about melatonin as it relates to Covid-19 :
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-melatonin-covid-treatment.html
Art
(North Canton)
11/17/2020
Hi Kristine,
I have answered this questions a few times and that answer would be in the link to the original post in my reply to you.
Melatonin is known for what is often referred to as the "melatonin hangover" which I assume you are referring to. For many people, this issue diminishes with regular use as the body adjusts to increased melatonin.
As far as I know, Dr. Neel only prescribes melatonin for Covid-19 when you get symptoms and test positive. Under those circumstances he starts his patients at 1 mg per kilogram of body weight. So essentially he does not give it to you until he knows you are sick. Once you are sick with Covid-19, you shouldn't be going anywhere outside of your home as you are contagious. That means you should be spending the majority of your time at home in bed resting and good sleep with Covid-19 is rare. So imo, actually getting more restful sleep is a good thing and melatonin is known for helping to get people to REM sleep where your body is able to do more repair than in non REM sleep.
Lastly, Covid-19 is deadly in some people, so would I really be worried about if I felt tired or not in order to take melatonin? My answer is no and that should be the least of my worries with a known deadly disease! Keep in mind that melatonin has a better safety profile than any drug currently being used to treat Covid-19 and melatonin has shown in one study to improve outcomes for patients on a ventilator. No other Covid-19 specific drug that I am aware of can do that!
So for people who are "very worried" about feeling tired if they take melatonin for Covid-19, perhaps the answer is to skip melatonin and go with something like Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir or Favipiravir which all do poorly in late stage Covid-19 disease and nobody is really even talking about these drugs any more for Covid-19 because the available studies and results for them are nothing to get excited about.
Art
(North Canton)
11/19/2020
Thank you for explaining. I was hoping to take it as a preventative measure and was wondering how to do that. I will start it at the first sign of illness (if/when I become infected) along with coconut oil, which DOES work on cold and seasonal flu viruses. I can only hope that coconut oil will work on the coronavirus too. Thanks, again, for your response.
(Madison)
11/18/2020
Art, can you take high dose melatonin prophylactically? My DinL was just sent home with sniffles and headache, was told to get tested. She got the test, but it's 5 days for result. Should she start high dose now? Or wait until it's positive? I'd say now, since covid is a virus. She's a little bitty thing, maybe 105 pounds, but her overall diet is not great.
GertJr,
I'm not a doctor so I can't tell anyone else what to do or take.
Dr. Neel is recommending to other doctors and his patients, 1 mg of melatonin for each kilogram of body weight. If she weighs 105 lbs, that is equivalent to just under 48 kilos.
For myself, I would start at the first symptom and stop if the test comes back negative, but I am not recommending that anyone do what I do.
Art
(Madison)
11/19/2020
Thanks, Art. That's what I told her to do. She already had melatonin, so just took enough to add up to that amount and divvied it up into 4 doses. She started that yesterday as soon as she got home (sent home from work, stopped to get tested) and is, today, up and about like nothing happened. They're harvesting around us, so lots of dust in the air and she thinks she was just reacting to that. Probably.
Melatonin
This new study abstract goes a very long way in confirming the value of melatonin in Covid-19 patients who receive melatonin after intubation. It shows that melatonin applied after intubation is significantly associated with patient survival. This is very good news because it shows that even when melatonin is applied late in the disease process, it can be effective. Dr. Neel has shown in over 400 patients that early treatment with melatonin can resolve the disease process fairly quickly. So this piece of the puzzle is quite useful in further showing the effectiveness of melatonin for Covid-19!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33083812
The full study is not available yet.
Art
(Philippines)
10/21/2020
Just a post in support of Art's last post on Melatonin. I also think it's worth mentioning that the Chinese researchers quickly confirmed the efficacy and safety of Melatonin for COVID-19 as far back as March this year and, unlike the Western researchers and the FDA, they wasted no time implementing its rapid use in their hospitals. Here is the Chinese research:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32217117/
China has also donated and shipped large amounts of drugs/herbs to the Philippines (where I live). They shipped Lianhua Qingwen (a COVID-19 anti-viral) and Melatonin as well as other drug/herbal combinations to be used in Filipino hospitals. The Philippine researchers have also wasted no time confirming the efficacy and safety of Melatonin which can easily be purchased from any Asian retailer website like Alibaba and Lazada.
Unfortunately, as Art and I have discovered, Chinese anti-viral herbs like Lianhua Qingwen capsules are not being sold on Amazon (banned by Jeff Bezos?) but they are sold on eBay. So now Amazon has been politicized in support of all that China-hate from all western govts, which is a great shame.
It also appears to me that the perpetration of all that China-hate propaganda in the western media seems to be way more important (sic) than western researchers actually knuckling down and making the effort to find a successful and consistent therapeutic anti-viral cure (with a 95% cure rate) for COVID-19 in order to save lives in the West. That's the way to go, not vaccines. And China is already there with her integrated medicine approach (but this has not being accurately reported or recognized in the West because of all the continual China-hate propaganda emanating from western, govt-led media who are so successfully blurring, distorting or just not reporting all the facts).
Melatonin
Today (10/19/2020) Dr. Mercola posted an article essentially confirming what we here on EC have known for month about high dose melatonin. Hopefully an article from Dr. Mercola who has a good sized following will get even more exposure of melatonin for Covid-19!
Here is a link to his article:
Art
Melatonin
Art,
10/18/2020, Sunday.
As promised, I'm coming back to relay my experience with Covid and using Melatonin. However, I will make two separate posts. This one will be a continuation of the post for Covid related diarrhea.
This is the 3rd week of diarrhea. I implemented your suggestions of 50mg Zinc and ¼ cup blackberries a day. I restarted my COVID protocol which included 80mg of Melatonin. I also added Psyllium Husk (5 capsules, 3 times a day). I stopped the High Dose of Zinc and the Psyllium on Saturday. I felt I needed to give the Psyllium a rest and you'd suggested a short term of the High Dose of Zinc.
I did implement your suggestions with Magnesium, Zinc, and Melatonin from your Restful Sleep post.
I was seeing a slight improvement with stools being a little more formed and duration decreasing a little by Thursday/Friday.
Previous to this week there was no diarrhea during the day or evening. This week (depending on what I ate) I would have a very loose movement or two 30 minutes to an hour after eating.
Today the diarrhea is back to mostly liquid and the duration was about 3 hours. Then this afternoon, within a few minutes of drinking water or coffee, I'm back on the commode.
I'm testing Activated Charcoal today and moving to Turmeric. I may have started my doses too close together at the beginning and the Charcoal may have offset the Turmeric.
I work, so taking all these supplements at the right times is challenging. That's one reason I wanted to stop Psyllium.
I will continue to take my Covid Protocol.
Do you have any other suggestions?
(Ky)
12/31/2020
Jasmine, Art,
Thank you for inquiring. My last post was 10/29 so I will resume at that post to keep the info in some logical order.
(Claycomb)
11/19/2020
I do not have COVID 19 but have had bowel problems for a very long time due to so much anti biotic use over the years for COPD. Recently I switched over to Lauricidin ( a concentrated coconut oil pellet) that I slowly worked up from a 6 count pellet in a scoop to a full scoop., 3xs a day at meals. I can't tell you how much better I feel. Don't have to always keep the bathroom in my sights when going out. Bowels are returning to normal. The micro biome is where we all need to start in our desire to be healthy. Hope this sheds some light on your situation. Carol
(Ky)
12/31/2020
3 Month Update:
Again, Jasmine and Art, thank you for inquiring about my status. Carol, thank you for your suggestion.
I found out that the diarrhea was indeed caused by Melatonin. As I posted in October 29th, I stopped all supplements except Melatonin. I was taking 80 mg, and then 40 mg of Melatonin daily from about 9/12/2020 to 10/29/2020.
In Art's post about Ulcerative Colitis and IBD he stated, "The 5 mg dose is a good place to start as some people cannot tolerate melatonin " When I read that In October, I stopped Melatonin too. Within 24 hours there was a dramatic change in my bowel habits – not back to normal but enough of a change to know I'd found the cause of the diarrhea.
However, due to nearly (5) weeks of diarrhea and stomach turmoil, it was nearly another (5) weeks before my bowel movements returned to normal.
I tested 5mg of Melatonin a couple of nights ago, because I had been sleeping so much better when I was taking it. I found out that I'm still Melatonin intolerant as diarrhea returned for a couple of days.
Several folks in my office tested positive for Covid in November so I re-tested even through I didn't have symptoms. I still tested positive. However, I didn't have to quarantine as our Kentucky Health Department told me there is a 90-day rule and I was about day 87. It basically states, that if there are no new symptoms, then the virus is “residual” in your system and not contagious. (I may have my terminology incorrect, but you get the gist of it.)
Bottom line, I've been feeling very good lately. I still have a little cough occasionally in the morning. I clear my throat/lungs and it's gone. I've always had a little sinus issue.
I'm back on most of my supplements and have added
Colloidal Silver, 30 Mg, ½ tsp 3x Day - I'm on my 2nd bottle and will stop after the 3rd
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil in coffee at least once a day;
Lysine, ¼ tsp, twice a day;
Black Seed Oil, 1 tsp/day
Hemp Seed Oil, 1 Tbsp/day
My questions now are:
1. Is there something else for sleep in place of Melatonin?
a. I'm still taking Magnesium, Zinc, and D at night and DHEA in the morning.
2. Is there a protocol/suggestion for what supplements are good to take on a daily basis for optimal health? And how much of each. (My pantry is full of supplements and I feel like I'm taking too many and maybe too much of some and not enough of others.)
Thank you for all you and Earth Clinic do to help us.
(NY)
01/01/2021
I recently started taking gaba for sleep, but I also include a little melatonin. Have you tried theanine or niacin? For the virus, I would increase the cs. I make my own and drink several ounces a day. :)
Hi Mary Lou.
Thank you for coming back to update on your progress!
Yes, melatonin can cause diarrhea and while it is not a common side effect, it can happen. Here is a quote from my very last reply to you :
>>>I suggest you stop taking vitamin c, magnesium and melatonin as each one of these can cause diarrhea.<<<
..............................
In your case, the diarrhea did not come on for well over a week, which generally would suggest that you tolerate melatonin as in cases of diarrhea related to melatonin use are usually seen right away, at or near the first dose. This may be a good thing for you in case you get Covid-19 again. The antibodies appear to last for months, but apparently it varies with each patient. If you were, to get Covid-19 again, you could still try melatonin at the very beginning and stick with the melatonin until you develop diarrhea again and then stop taking melatonin. Your previous experience will be a very good guide for you!
You may have missed a post I wrote about a specific nasal spray called Xlear, but if you contract Covid-19 again somewhere down the road, I think the combination of melatonin and Xlear, may get you over it quickly and before diarrhea becomes an issue. Here is a link to that post about Xlear :
https://www.earthclinic.com/xlear-for-covid-recovery.html
Now regarding your question about a possible alternative sleep aid to melatonin, I have used Valerian Root Extract (VRE) and it is helpful for sleep. The zinc and magnesium should work well with it. A word of caution regarding VRE, It smells bad, and may be off putting for some people, so again it comes down to trial and error.
Your second question is more involved and would require much more information about what issues you are having that require supplementing.
Thank you again for the update, Mary Lou!
Art
(NY)
01/01/2021
Mary-Lou, have you tried buying a different brand of melatonin? It's possible you bought a bad batch. I would buy another bottle and brand from the local health food store and see if it's any different. Just my initial thought.
(Ky)
01/04/2021
Art,
Thank you for a quick reply. And thank you for the suggestion of Valerian. I had taken it some time ago and will start again. I did get a weighted blanket, and after a "getting used to" period, I think it has helped some.
As far as the 2ne question about the supplements, I don't have any current issues to address. I just like to take supplements to maintain good health.
I usually take a multi-vitamin with minerals, extra D, extra C, and extra Zinc. I've added a few other supplements since I've had Covid - Iodine, lysine, Hemp Seed Oil, and MSM.
Are you permitted to recommend a Multi-vitamin brand that is good? There are so many to choose from.
So my 2nd question was, basicially, what Supplements are good to take to continue to maintain good health? Is there a post or a list of basic "good" stuff to take to maintain health?
Hi Mary Lou.
Generally I prefer to take supplements on an as needed basis. It sounds like you are taking some good supplements already, but a B vitamin multi such as B-50 might be a worthwhile addition to your current regimen.
Art
Melatonin
Everyone is now aware of the fact that the president and his wife have Covid-19 and apparently there are several of his staff who also have it.
Trump always talked about how hydroxychloroquine was the solution to the problem, but he is not taking it! Nope, he's taking melatonin! ABC news just reported that.
Does anyone besides me find it odd that his administration never once mentioned that melatonin might be useful to fight Covid-19 and yet it is what they are giving him???
Art
(Princeton, Nj)
10/03/2020
Hi Art,
I'm not surprised at him using melatonin. Like many things about this administration, it's one rule for them and another for the hoi polloi. Maybe now some people will realize that masks work.
(Not Canada)
10/03/2020
Maybe he made them read EarthClinic yesterday.
(Not Canada)
10/05/2020
(San Francisco, Ca)
10/05/2020
Trump did finish a two-week trial of hydroxychloroquine in May, probably as a prophylactic because it showed promising results in early studies. Of course we now are aware of more possible therapeutics such as melatonin and vitamin D due to more research. But he's not advocating the use of a particular drug now, after HCQ has become politicized.
(Crystal City)
12/04/2020
Considering the fact that the media turned his statement about Hydroxy into a political debate, I doubt that he would ever admit to anything he was taking. Here, a local doctor put all of his nursing home patients on Hydroxy (after a resident was diagnosed and passed away), and no one else at the facility caught Covid. I hated that anything was rejected - especially when no one could offer anything else. It's a 60 year old drug that is safe. Just my opinion.
Melatonin
This recent report (August 26,2020) of an 87 year old who was treated with HDM and treated early, survived with no complications!
Here is a link to the brief article:
https://devinenews.com/hooker-87-beats-covid/
Although it is just one case, 87 years old is a definite high risk case and he survived with High Dose Melatonin, along with vitamin D, zinc and vitamin C. Melatonin has shown synergy with these vitamins in recent studies. These four supplements are noted for having very good safety profiles and are all commonly available over the counter and are inexpensive. Simple, easy and effective and can be started earlier than the drugs being prescribed for Covid-19 in most cases.
This bodes well for the elderly!
Art
Melatonin
Here is the latest very promising report on Dr. Neels melatonin / Covid-19 protocol as used in a Texas convalescent facility. As many of you already know, these convalescent facilities are fairing very poorly with many patient deaths being the norm! This convalescent facility didn't waste anytime implementing Dr. Neels protocol once they had their first two cases die from Covid-19. They started using HDM right away and had no more deaths from Covid-19! One patient died afterward from another health issue. This is very important because this is a senior population with health issues and age that put them at increased risk of succumbing to Covid-19.The rest lived.
Here is a link to the latest article :
https://devinenews.com/lytle-area-facility-fights-back-quickly-as-covid-outbreak-strikes/
Art
(Ky)
09/08/2020
Art,
I just tested positive for Covid and I am assuming my infection date was 9/4/2020. I didn't get the test results until 9/6/2020.
I'm 68 years old and in very good health. I do not take any medications and have never had a surgery. I currently (9/8/2020) have very mild symptoms, mostly sinus congestion, head cold feeling, mild headache and exhaustion.
I just ordered Melatonin and will place another order for sublingual melatonin as I believe I read that was preferred.
I've read all the articles that I could and the comments. Several of the lengthy ones I had to skip. I can't focus on complex explanations right now.
I see in the article about Country Life Assisted Living that they supplemented with Vitamin D3, Zinc, and Airborne Supplement with Vitamin C per collaboration with Dr. Richard Neel.
Could you provide the suggested doses using Vitamin D3, Zinc, and Vitamin C powder? (I have been alkalizing 2-3 times a day and supplementing additional Vitamin C powder, 1 gram and ¼ tsp baking soda almost every hour in between.) I've also added Quercetin (800 mg) with Bromelain (165 mg), and Astragalus Root (400 mg), and Lugol's Iodine.
I should get my Melatonin in a day or two.
Thank you so much for a quick reply.
Mary Lou,
I did test melatonin in the sublingual form, but did not notice any difference and the report you are referring to occured around the same time that Dr. Neel reported a more difficult strain of Covid-19 in his patients that was requiring more time to see improvement and in some cases he was using even higher dosing. I suspect that report was reflecting the tougher strain that Dr. Neel had mentioned that also came with digestive issues that he previously had not seen in his covid patients. I believe this may have been the reason for the report of a delayed response in that family.
As far as dosing of zinc, vitamin D and vitamin C, unfortunately they did not state the dosing used, in the article.
One of Dr. Neel's patients in an earlier report mentioned 2,000 mg of vitamin C total per day.
The Italian study suggested a serum level of 40 to 60 ng/ml for a good response to vitamin D, but again vitamin D serum level has to be tested regularly in order to reach a specific level such as 40~60 ng/ml and the dose will vary from person to person as some people simply require higher dosing than others to reach a specific serum level. The reference range for vitamin D / 25 (OH) d serum level is 30 ng/ml ~ 100 ng/ml and would need to be tested by your doctor to get there.
Art
(Ky)
09/11/2020
Art,
Thank you for your reply.
I'm on day 9 of the virus and was just able to start Melatonin the evening of Day 7. I'm glad there was no noticeable difference using sublingual Melatonin as I couldn't find any that didn't have a lot of additives.
I used the Vitamin C protocol from another page on Earth Clinic of 1000 mg every hour, with Zinc, Quercetin, and then added D two days ago. Also, few other supplements- some of which are listed in my previous post.
I had about 3 days of very bad flu-like symptoms that changed to mild sinus congestion and head cold.
Right now (day 9) I feel pretty good, (actually almost normal) except for being extremely tired and feeling very weak.
I plan on retesting the first of October and will remain in self-quarantine until then.
Can you suggest how long to continue the Vitamin C and Melatonin protocols? Today I reduced the Vitamin C to every 2 hours.
Also, I am having the best nights sleep I've had in a long, long time!
Mary Lou,
Glad to hear your sleep has improved and even gladder to hear you have fared very well with your bout of Covid!
I think what Dr. Neel is doing is waiting until you test negative and then slowly reduce your melatonin dose until you get down to around 5 mg/night.
I believe the reason he is in no rush to take his patients off of melatonin too quickly is because Covid-19 has shown damage to almost all major organs in autopsies and studies suggest that melatonin can repair much of the damage that you can't see and is not readily apparent to the patient or doctor. This damage if left unchecked may cause health issues years down the road. I think the damage has the best chance of being repaired while it is relatively fresh.
Art
(Ky)
10/09/2020
Art,
Thank you for the quick replies. I hope you can offer suggestions now about a diarrhea issue that I believe is a result of the COVID.
About a week after I was released from quarantine I started having diarrhea (very liquid and sometimes explosive). It usually starts first thing in the morning and lasts for only about 1-2½ hours. Then I'd be good the rest of the day - sometimes a little drained feeling. Other than that I feel very good.
I'm thinking the diarrhea is from having COVID. I'm ending week 5 from the date I first experienced COVID symptoms. I have not been re-tested for COVID.
I tried posted EC remedies – ACV, Activated Charcoal, and Turmeric. None of these had any effect. I added Psyllium Husks and am beginning to see some slow, v-e-r-y slow, change in the firmness of the loose stools and for the most part they are no longer explosive. Diarrhea lasts about a hour now, and I've had loose stools in the afternoon for 2-3 days (which is a new occurrence)
I had reduced Melatonin to 40 mg a day and have returned to 60-80mg (depends if I can get all doses in). I take 1000 mg of Vitamin C two times a day. During the time I had symptoms, I took 1000 mg of Vitamin C 6-7 times a day.
Any suggestions on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
(Vacaville)
12/03/2020
Mary Lou,
I had similar symptoms after what could have been COVID, but didn't get tested. I read on Curezone that we need 150 mcg of iodine a day, some for digestion. The recommendation was to take 100mcg of 5% Lugol's solution a day (16 drops) if you have problems with gut or thyroid AND for COVID. I did and my loose stool was instantly stopped and so was whatever I had (upper and lower respiratory symptoms). It wasn't even minutes. I will continue to take that amount until I get myself iodine saturated.
I also take co factors: Vit c, Selenium 55-400mcg, zinc 25 mg-higher and copper. (I haven't taken the copper yet). I also take a good probiotic.
Hi Mary Lou,
First I would like to say thank you for coming back and updating on your use of melatonin for Covid-19 as this information is very useful for other members to help know what is useful!
Yes, I think you lessened your dose to soon. As for the diarrhea, Dr. Neel mentioned that in his more recent patients he was seeing gastrointestinal issues regularly and he felt it my be a different strain of Covid-19 than he had previously been seeing. You can try zinc at 50 mg/day for a short course to see if it is enough to regain normal digestion. Dr. Neel added antibiotics in some cases where he suspected bacterial infection.
You can also consider blackberries for the diarrhea.
If you have time, could you give us an idea of your experience with melatonin for Covid-19 and the dosing that you used throughout the treatment period? Thank you!
Art
(Ky)
10/09/2020
Thank you again, Art.
I will come back and fill in my usage of Melatonin for Covid, but for this post, would you elaborate on using blackberries? For example, try 1/4 cup once a day...
I will start Zinc tonight. Do you recommend 50 mg at once or divided morning and evening, or ....?
Hi Mary Lou,
Regarding the blackberries, that seems like a reasonable dose to start with and see how you do with it. Regarding the zinc, I split my dose as the zinc is useful for sleep so I take half of the daily dose about an hour before bed with the other two supplements as I mentioned in my post about pursuit of restful sleep here:
https://www.earthclinic.com/art-solbrig-insomnia-protocol.html
Good luck and I look forward to your update!
Art
(Ky)
10/18/2020
Art,
10/18/2020, Sunday.
As requested and promised, this is my post on my COVID experience and using Melatonin. I don't know that it will be sufficient evidence to support any one protocol, but maybe it will help someone.
I've tried to re-create the two weeks that I had COVID as best I can. I was not interested in documenting it at the time, but started after a few days.
My first symptoms were about 6 days after I believe I was infected. On Thursday, 9/3/2020, I had the worse sinus and head cold symptoms I'd had in my life. That was the day I was told I had been in contact with a person who tested positive.
I had been taking a COVID preventative protocol for about a week. These included Alkalizing, Vitamin C, D, Zinc, Querticin.
The next two days I felt better in the morning and worse in the evening.
By Day Four, I felt more flu like symptoms. Very severe head cold and sinus congestion, an occasional cough, and very tired. I went back to earthclinic.com for additional suggestions and the EC staff pointed me to your Melatonin posts. I ordered some.
Day 5 was very bad “flu” like symptoms. I started taking 1000mg of Vitamin C extra times during the day. The highest fever I had as 99.1.
Day 6 still the same. I started taking 1000mg Vitamin C every hour.
Day 7 I received my order of Melatonin and added 40mg that evening to my current protocol. After the first dose of 20mg at 4:00 p.m., I was so sleepy I took a 3 hour nap. After the 2nd dose at 9 p.m., I slept till about 10 a.m. the next day. I had already started to feel a little better today.
Day 8 I added the full 80mg Melatonin today. It didn't knock me out like the two yesterday. I coughed more today than I had since this started. The worse symptom was weakness, tiredness and being shaky on my feet.
Day 9 I felt fairly good, but shaky, a little dizzy, weak, tired, and coughing a little less. I reduced Vitamin C to every 2 hours.
Day 10 I didn't feel like getting up in the morning. I was more congested. I reduced Vitamin C to every 3 hours as I was having light diarrhea and thought I was saturated with Vitamin C.
Day 11 I felt fairly good except for a little cough in the morning to clear my lungs and still tired and sleeping a lot.
Day 12 I felt fairly good today. I still had a little cough in the morning to clear my lungs. I actually walked about 2 blocks before wearing out. I was still sleeping a lot.
Day 13 I felt fairly good today too. I still had a little cough, congestion, and weakness.
Day 14 I considered myself healed at this point.
Over the next couple of days, I cut back on the melatonin.
Day 25 This was about a week and a half later and later severe diarrhea started. At first I thought it was food poisoning. When that didn't clear, I started back on my COVID treatment protocol including 80 mg of Melatonin.
At first the diarrhea only happened first thing in the morning and lasted 1-3 hours. It started severe, explosive, and liquid. I stayed on the BRAT diet and/or ate light. After (2) weeks, I ate other things and sometimes had diarrhea after lunch or dinner, but only 1-3 movements, then I was usually good.
I started back to work on 10/05/2020 feeling good except for the diarrhea.
I tried most of the popular EC remedies for diarrhea. Charcoal, Turmeric, and ACV didn't help. I added Psyllium and it helped just a little. Last week I upped Zinc to 50mg and ate ¼ cup blackberries.
I felt I needed a break from all the supplements on Friday, 10/16/2020. So Friday night and Saturday I stopped the psyllium and a lot of the supplements. Today, Sunday, 10/18/2020, the diarrhea was back full blown and for about 3 hours.
I wrote a previous post on the diarrhea only and am hoping for more help with that.
Here is my COVID protocol that I implemented over the 14 days I had symptoms:
- Alkalizing with ACV/baking soda
- Iodine 12.5 mg
- Querticin 80mg with Bromelain 165mg
- Zinc 25 mg
- Vitamin C 3000- 10,000
- Melatonin 80 mg
- Multi-vitamin
- B-Complex
I am back on the Full COVID protocol. I had some NAC so I added that too.
I will take Turmeric this week to hopefully help with the diarrhea.
I will say the Melatonin and Art's insomnia protocol has helped me sleep better than I have in years with not as many bathroom trips during the night.
Hi Mary Lou,
Thank you for the great feedback on your Covid-19 / melatonin experience!
Based on what you wrote, it appears that your Covid-19 "preventative protocol" was insufficient to actually stop or reverse the virus progression in your system as suggested by your steady system increase during those first 7 days.
My opinion of your preventative protocol is that most of those components are synergistic with melatonin and can improve the outcome of the melatonin treatment, but without melatonin they are insufficient and I feel that your experience adds confirmation to this theory.
From what I have seen so far with most things being tested for Covid-19, the sooner they are initiated, the better the outcome. Unfortunately you weren't able to actually take melatonin until a week had passed and this allowed the virus to multiply unabated that first week and the increased viral load seems to be confirmed by that continuing increase and worsening of your symptoms in that first week.
Studies of Covid-19 show that increased viral load equates to worsened symptoms and sometimes death, while lower viral loads equate to moderate to being asymptomatic and living.
On the 7th day, your first day of taking melatonin, you already had very significant symptoms and you only took a 40 mg dose of melatonin and that allowed you to get good sleep which is actually very good! Some people say that melatonin can make them feel tired the day after they take it, but it is a good thing to sleep and reach REM sleep where your body is able to do a lot of needed repair work.
Consequently, even though you only took 40 mg of melatonin the night before, you already felt a smidgen better the next morning which was a first! This is exactly what Dr. Neel has been reporting in his patients with noticeable improvement the day after the first dose. Dr. Neel recommends to other doctors to give their patients 1 mg of melatonin for every kilogram of body weight.
I don't know what you weigh, but 80 mg is probably close enough to that dosing schedule to work as Dr. Neel has been reporting in over 400 Covid-19 patients treated successfully so far.
On the 8th day, you actually took your first full 80 mg dose of melatonin that you planned to take. You noticed increased coughing and again, this can be a good indication because one of the first things that melatonin does is reduce inflammation in the lungs and with reduced inflammation and consequently reduced swelling in the lungs, the body will attempt to start clearing fluid and mucus buildup which would represent as increased coughing that should be more productive than previous coughing.
The symptoms on day 8 are to be expected.
Day 9, your second day at the full 80 mg dose again showed symptom improvement and that was to be expected.
You stated, >>> ' I felt fairly good, but shaky, a little dizzy, weak, tired, and coughing a little less. I reduced Vitamin C to every 2 hours.' <<<
Again, you are showing improvement at just your second day of full dosing!
One thing that has been shown by Dr. Neel and studies is that vitamin C has synergy with melatonin, so it may have been a bit premature to reduce the vitamin C dose, but that is unknown for certain in your case. Remember that your original preventative formula mostly has synergy with melatonin.
Day 10 you reported reducing your vitamin C dose even further after getting a little diarrhea. This is where the way the post I wrote on this subject gets a little harder to follow.
You see, whenever I got new information regarding using melatonin for Covid-19, I can not add that information to the original post, so I have to add it as a "reply" to the original post so if you don't read the whole original post "and" all of the replies to that post, you will not get all of the information needed.
In one of my replies I said that in later cases of Covid-19, Dr. Neel is seeing gastrointestinal issues that he did not see in his first 200 patients or so and he surmised that these gastro issues were likely related to a mutation of the viral strain. His solution to the problem was to add an antibiotic to try and kill whatever bacteria was causing the gastro issues, but you were probably not even aware of that update. Now if you were going to try to use some type of natural antibiotic to treat the diarrhea, it would probably be things along the line of garlic, Olive Leaf Extract, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Colloidal Silver etc.
Really just a personal choice based on what you prefer.Day 11 went fairly well with tiredness, a light cough to clear the lungs and more sleepiness which would all be expected on your third day at full dose melatonin. No mention of diarrhea.Day 12 sounds really good and again no mention of diarrhea.Day 13 sounds similar to day 12 and no mention of diarrhea.
Day 14 you said, >>> ' I considered myself healed at this point. ' <<<
On this point I would completely disagree. Your symptoms may have abated, but this in no way means that you are no longer sick! I think that many people think that if they have no symptoms, then they are no longer sick.
You are only on your 7th day of melatonin at full dose and you started a week later than you should have which essentially gave the virus a head start. Chances are you would have still tested positive at that point and to let up at that critical point is a mistake imo.
For myself in a similar situation, I would have continued with everything for at least a week more and I would probably gone even longer than that with the melatonin. Here is why. In the beginning of the original post I am talking about all of the damage that Covid-19 has shown in autopsies to many of the major organs and melatonin has shown the potential in other studies to help prevent or lessen this damage which can in time become long term or possibly life long damage.
It is my opinion, based on melatonin studies, that much of this damage can be prevented or reduced with longer use of melatonin after all symptoms have cleared. No mention of diarrhea.
From day 14, you skip to day 25 and I assume that you are relatively okay during these 11 days.By day 25 you have cut back on everything and are now trying different things to control the diarrhea.
I believe that the ACV with baking soda is a bad idea as you do not want to raise stomach pH as one of the purposes of stomach acid is to kill bacteria that enters the stomach with your food and imo can possibly be a reason for the diarrhea.
Eleven days with no symptoms suggests that you had the virus under control, but reducing stomach acid via your alkalizing method does not seem like a good idea imo.Unless I missed something, none of the things you have been taking seem to have strong antibacterial effects, except curcumin, but it is not well absorbed and would likely require a high dose, but I have no knowledge of using curcumin in this way.
The supplements I mentioned above, do have antibiotic effects as do others. Generally, but not always, diarrhea is caused by a bacteria and in your case you do not know the exact cause at this point, but if you went to a doctor, he might put you on an antibacterial regimen to try and kill any bacteria that might be causing the diarrhea.
ACV by itself might be helpful because of its low pH, but likely insufficient for full blown diarrhea and by adding baking soda to the ACV, you are significantly raising the pH of the ACV and possibly your stomach acid depending on what dose you have been using thus nullifying the possible benefit of the ACV.
Ideally, a visit to the doctor to take and test a stool sample to find out if it is a bacteria and which bacteria and knowing which bacteria would be very useful. With that knowledge he would know the best antibiotic to use. Failing that, you have a decision to make to either go to the doctor or decide if you are going to try and use naturals supplements with antibiotic effects on the diarrhea.
I am not a doctor and can not tell you what to do regarding the diarrhea.This diarrhea situation is questionable at this point whether it is related to Covid-19 or not because you went well over a week with no symptoms or diarrhea and Dr. Neel's reports only discussed earlier onset diarrhea which you did recover from, but those reports are not overwhelming with information.
It is entirely possible that this current diarrhea is unrelated to Covid-19 as even you thought that it might be food poisoning.
Art
(Philippines)
10/18/2020
Mary Lou,
I think that most of the residual problems that you're having after your COVID-19 infection are perhaps mainly due to the inflammation caused by existing residual virus issues(acting in the intestines) that can always occur whenever you recover from any viral infection.Don't forget that most virus have the ability to hide from the immune system(eg Herpes virus, Epstein Barr) and COVID-19 is really no different.
In all the recent research that I've read on COVID-19, it is a fact that ALL cells in the human body have special inflammation ACE-2 receptors. And since the COVID-19 virus attaches to the cellular ACE-2 receptors and disrupts it, that therefore means that ANY tissue or organ can be seriously affected by inflammation whenever you are infected by COVID-19. I've also read much research that confirms that COVID-19 inflammation can cause cytokine storms, heart mycarditis, thick blood, arterial build up and occlusion(arterial blockages), pneumonia, kidney/liver/pancreas problems as well as causing problems in the intestines.
You can perhaps use a three pronged strategy against COVID-19 by supplementing the following:
1. Serious immune boosting all-round anti-viral neutraceuticals like Ted's lysine + Vitamin C protocol or quercetin + resveratrol, or niacinamide. These are just a few of my favorites.
2. Supplement neutraceuticals that directly attack the virus by stripping the oily outer coat from lipid coated viruses(like COVID-19), which then exposes the the virus protein as a foreign protein body, which the immune system then identifies as enemy non-host protein and so it is rapidly destroyed and removed by the immune system. Neutraceuticals that can strip the oily coat of the virus are: Virgin Coconut Oil(3 tablespoons a day), simple aspirin(taken 4 times a day at 3 hour intervals outside meals) and BHT(up to 500 mgs 3 times a day outside meals).There is also alot of conflicting research evidence on BHT mainly caused by all the "spoiler research" on BHT that has been put out by Big Pharma. The best and most honest research and recommendations I've found for supplementing BHT comes from Dr Steve Fowkes, an independent and honest researcher, who has been investigating BHT's beneficial anti-viral properties for over 20 years. See his free ebook -- called The BHT Book -- for more info on BHT.
3. Take supplements that act to suppress the inflammation caused by the out of control ACE-2 receptors. Tumeric and melatonin are perhaps the best supplements to take for this -- and you are already taking them.
To further improve your residual intestinal problems(severe diarrhea) I would just do one round of Milk of Magnesia at the normal, recommended laxative dose. Make sure you do this at the weekend so you are always near a toilet. After your intestines have been cleared out by MoM also make sure that you re-mineralize the blood electrolytes by taking the appropriate minerals. MoM causes the laxative or diarrhea effect because of its high alkalinity(pH 10). At that pH MoM will also kill any pathogens(incl viruses) or parasites in your intestines. By the way, taking MoM this way is also one of Ted from Bangkok's anti-pathogen remedies for problems in the intestines.
And after you have cleared out your intestines with MoM, you should continue your current anti-COVID protocol until you are fully recovered.
(Ky)
10/19/2020
Thank you Art for your input.
I'm definitely staying on the whole Covid Protocol with Melatonin for another week or two.
Bill,
Thank you for your input. I have Lysine and Vitamin C so I'd like to add that. However, I can't find Ted's lysine and Vitamin C protocol. I've spent about over 30 minutes searching posts and don't know how to find the protocol.
Can you or EC post a link?
I am taking Quercetin but not Resveratrol.
(Philippines)
10/20/2020
Mary Lou,
Here is a link to Ted from Bangkok's lysine anti-viral remedy. This link deals with H1N1, which is similar to the COVID-19 virus. The post also contains a list of other remedies against such viruses that also includes using Hydrogen Peroxide, MMS, Aspirin etc:
(Ky)
10/29/2020
1 Month Update
Art and Bill,
This is my 4th week and the diarrhea was worse near the end of last week, this past weekend and the beginning of the week.
I've went back on the full Covid Protocol for 2-3 weeks and just stopped a lot of the supplements on Tuesday, 10/27
I went to the elders of my church and was anointed and prayed for according to scriptures.
I felt God directing me to look at all the supplements I was taking.
This may have gone from a Covid related diarrhea to a supplement induced diarrhea as its gotten worse over the last week.
I know that both Vitamin C and Turmeric can cause diarrhea. Also, in Art's post about Ulcerative Colitis and IBD you stated, "The 5 mg dose is a good place to start as some people cannot tolerate melatonin ".
I've already stopped Vitamin C, Turmeric, Quercetin, extra Zinc and extra D.
I'm still taking 80 mg of Melatonin, a Multi, (1) zinc, (1) D.
I added DHEA, Colloidal Silver, and (3) tbsp. of VCO this week. I added Lysine a couple of days then stopped because I didn't want to add an additional supplement until I got a better handle on what is causing the irritation.
The diarrhea is a little better since I stopped most of the supplements, not so liquid, but not formed at all and still urgent.
After the first couple of hours in the morning I'm usually good until I eat something. Then I have a very loose, urgent movement or two or three and I'm usually good till the next meal.
However, my stomach is aching almost constantly.
I'm to the point of a hard decision. I don't want damage from Covid. However, I think I've taken the protocol long enough. I can't go on with this diarrhea. I had to leave work early twice this week due to the diarrhea and/or exhaustion from it and the stomach pain.
Since, I read Art's post on Ulcerative Colitis, I'm going to stop Melatonin for the rest of today and then pick up tomorrow night with only the evening doses per Art's“restful sleep” protocol and add Zinc at night - to see if I've built up intolerance to it.
If diarrhea continues, I will stop all supplements for several days to see if any others are contributing to the issue.
I would like to resume a preventative protocol, but at this time, I want to concentrate on stopping this diarrhea.
Both your suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Hi Mary Lou.
Last time we spoke, I mentioned that you had a decision to make regarding the diarrhea, either go to the doctor or continue trying to fight it with natural substances. You have now tried the latter and the effort has not been successful. You can not continue with the diarrhea as this is preventing your body from absorbing nutrients from food you are eating, so this now leaves the doctor option so that he/she can determine the cause of the diarrhea.
In case the doctor is not able to see you immediately, you can try Pepto Bismol tablets, not the liquid, to help you last until your doctor appointment. Take as directed on the box. The doctor can take a stool sample and also test you to see if you now test negative for Covid-19. From what you have written, it sounds as though the diarrhea is your only symptom, but this is serious and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. A word of warning, the bismuth in Pepto Bismol tablets will turn your stool a blackish green color, so do not be alarmed about that.
I suggest you stop taking vitamin c, magnesium and melatonin as each one of these can cause diarrhea.
Please come back and update us on how it is going for you.
Art
(Madison)
10/30/2020
Art, I think you're right about the diarrhea. Anecdotally, person in my office flies to sporting events every weekend. He is one who never covers his coughs. This past week, many of us in the office have had strange stomach pain, joint pain, fatigue and diarrhea. I'm betting we've been exposed to covid and, since we are very aware of supplements/rest/nutrition, we're fighting it off. Maybe a minor infection at this point. But how would we know without testing? And none of us want to be tested because that would shut down our department and we're essential and would have to work anyway unless seriously ill. We do not encounter the public much, so it's purely internal other than at home. And, since we're conscientious about not infecting others, I think we'll be okay. But, sucks for us to have one person bring it in.
Melatonin
In this latest update from Dr. Neel, he mentions that although the amount of new cases in his area of Texas have slowed a bit, the current strain affecting his area is definitely more difficult to treat than the previous strain he was working against. He has shown a willingness to raise the melatonin dosing level to help deal with this current strain because with this strain it has taken 3 days to start to see improvement whereas with the previous strain he was seeing improvement in just one day.
One thing he didn't mention is the number of patients he has treated as of today(8/26/2020). The last time he mentioned the number, he said over 400 patients treated. He still not has reported any deaths as of this update. Here is a link to the update:
https://devinenews.com/masks-to-melatonin-how-it-works-why-it-works/
Art
Melatonin
Since it appears that Covid-19 is going to be here longer than anticipated by the administration, I am continuing to update this thread as I find relevant information regarding this infection. It is worth noting that overall, since the administration has taken over keeping track of Covid-19, from the CDC, in mid July, the number of new cases for the US have been declining steadily. On July 24th, there were 78,586 new cases that day and it has steadily declined from that day forward. Can this even be correct considering the elevated new cases in California, Texas, Florida and New York?
This recent study (June/2020) is in agreement with the idea of using melatonin against Covid-19, but their hypothesized dose rate is approximately 8 times greater than what Dr. Neel is using on average (1mg per kilogram/day) at 8 mg/kg/day and higher for severe cases! To put that in perspective, if you weigh about 175 lbs or 80 kilos, you would have to take about 640 mg of melatonin per day for severe Covid-19 infection!!!
https://www.melatonin-research.net/index.php/MR/article/view/83/562
I'm a fan of melatonin, but that is the highest dosing I have ever heard of in humans and even greater than what Dr. Shallenberger is using in his stage 4 cancer patients!!
Art
Melatonin
Here is another upcoming melatonin / Covid-19 study that is going to be done in Spain using 60 mg / day and what makes this study different is that they are injecting those 60 mgs of melatonin and this will be a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind study which is also a first when it comes to melatonin / Covid-19. I don't think they have a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind study for Hydroxychloroquine yet :
https://www.docwirenews.com/abstracts/clinical-trial-to-test-the-efficacy-of-melatonin-in-covid-19/
Art
Melatonin
Below is a link to an article about a 4 year old boy in Texas who got sick shortly after his father tested positive for Covid-19.
Of note related to this story is that 4 to 7 year olds are at or very near the peak of natural melatonin levels seen in humans suggesting that melatonin can not prevent infection, but it can apparently reverse it in short order based on this and many other reports! This could be useful information for all of those people who have kids or grandkids! Here is a link to that article :
Art
(Anon)
08/02/2020
Or the boy's ability to produce melatonin has been compromised.
Melatonin
Melatonin and What Type May Be Best for Covid-19:
Previously I had stated that when it comes to Covid-19, the type of melatonin should not be an issue, but Dr. Neel had stated that he was using the type of melatonin that dissolves in the mouth or under the tongue (sublingual).
I thought the only significance of that type was that he felt it would be possible to give to patients already on a ventilator and that was it, but this recent report suggests that there may be more to sublingual melatonin than that! Other sublingual supplements are often said to have better bioavailability in their sublingual forms over regular capsules or pills. Perhaps this is also true for melatonin in its sublingual form? Melatonin on its own has poor bioavailability. Roughly, oral melatonin only offers a maximum of 15% bioavailability at best. So this offers some creedence that even a small increase in bioavailability may have significant ramifications when it comes to melatonin?
Given that information, the following report from a Covid-19/Melatonin patient makes a little more sense and I may need to rethink the use of sublingual melatonin on the chance that it is better absorbed by the human body???
https://devinenews.com/family-of-8-hit-hard-by-coronavirus/
Perhaps type of melatonin does matter??? Since I have been taking melatonin in the capsule form, I may have to get a bottle of sublingual melatonin to see if I respond differently to it? This may take a little bit of time since I have other experiments already in my queue.
Art
Melatonin
Very recently I found out that some 10 mg melatonin capsules also contain vitamin B6. This will not work for high dose melatonin (HDM) treatment as it can deliver to much B6 and this can be unsafe and unhealthful to take in that much B6 everyday! The B6 is added for the purpose of increasing the absorption of melatonin. Stay away from these types of melatonin that contain extra B6 as they should not be used for HDM.
Art
Melatonin
H2o2 use and melatonin:
I have just got over a median case of covid. I have copd and my breathing has worsened since, I just started taking or doing the hp protocol today. I have noticed in your article that melatonin fights off h2o2, so would it be advisable to say I should just do the melatonin to try to recover my lung capacity, I am not on any meds at this time.
Nancy11,
This is going to be a long answer.
To briefly answer your question, yes, I would lean toward "melatonin only", at least until you find that your breathing difficulty has improved significantly back toward your normal. This should help allow your lungs to heal to the extent that melatonin is capable of doing.
Once and if you improve from the melatonin supplementation, then you can consider whether you want to add H2O2 to the mix. Melatonin is likely to work against H2O2 as it is a radical and melatonin neutralizes radicals and melatonin can enter any tissues in the body and is proven to significantly affect the lungs.
More on this below and a possible workaround.This is a tough question for me, because I look at H2O2 as a very potent oxidant that can potentially lead to excess oxidative stress and I see that as the reason it would very likely be effective at destroying SARS CoV-2 that exists in the lungs via inhalation of H2O2, but once the virus is destroyed in the lungs, do you really need to keep inhaling a potent oxidant (H2O2) into COPD lungs that already have elevated levels of H2O2 as shown in existing studies?
I know there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests H2O2 inhalation may be beneficial for COPD and in one sense that seems likely as it will very likely kill bacteria in the lungs that may thrive in the lungs of people with COPD and help to feed the disease process.
On the other hand, studies have shown that exhaled H2O2 is elevated in people with stable COPD compared to controls and is almost 3 times higher in COPD patients whose condition is exacerbated as opposed to stable.
This data could mean that the body is able to produce enough H2O2 for COPD lungs on its own, or it may turn out that even though the body produces more H2O2 in the lungs as the disease severity increases, it is not able to produce enough to reach maximum efficacy.
I have not seen data to confirm that additional inhalation of H2O2 will be beneficial, though the anecdotal evidence suggests it may be.
So inhaling H2O2 will add even more H2O2 to the already elevated levels in patients lungs with COPD and this is where the anecdotal evidence and the science seem to part ways as the science so far does not seem to support the inhalation of H2O2 in patients with COPD.
Oxidative stress is elevated in COPD as is inflammation and these two work together in a vicious cycle to increase each other as elevated oxidative stress increases inflammatory cytokines and mediators which also creates more oxidative stress ultimately creating an environment that is conducive to disease progression.
If you could look inside your lungs to see how they are reacting to inhaled H2O2, that would be very useful, but that is not possible and with no practical way to know if there is enough or too much H2O2 in the lungs, the melatonin may help with this aspect of H2O2 inhalation.
Melatonin, on the other hand, has many studies that show that it is beneficial for COPD patients and two of the effective mechanisms of action are its potent radical scavenging and very potent antioxidant activities as well as its inhibition of inflammatory cytokines which may have the potential to break that vicious cycle that can be quite active in COPD.
Another consideration is knowing that melatonin level drops when the disease is in an exacerbated state, exactly when more melatonin would likely be needed! Melatonin levels also decline with age.
Melatonin is the most potent antioxidant in the human body because it elevates the gene expression Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), Glucose-6- Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) and Catalase (CAT) while increasing Glutathione. Melatonin doesn't stop there though. It is also a potent scavenger of Peroxynitrite (ONOO) which is elevated in COPD and has negative effects, it scavenges Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) / Hydroxyl Radicals, Reactive Nitrogen Species and H2O2 which are all mostly elevated and damaging in COPD and help extend disease progression.
Melatonin is also able to do something that other antioxidants like vitamin C and E can't.
Vitamins C and E can each neutralize one oxygen radical while melatonin can neutralize as many as 10 oxygen radicals because each time it reduces one oxygen radical, melatonin becomes a different metabolite of itself and each of these metabolites can in turn neutralize another oxygen radical.
Add in the antiinflammatory qualities of melatonin and it is a potent molecule to use against Covid-19 and COPD!So given all of the above, for myself, if I wanted to try one or both of these and if I believed they both had potential to help people with COPD, I would discuss it with my doctor to see if he thought that either one or both might be helpful for me and would be compatible with my current medications. If he or she approved the use of both, then I would consider an appropriate plan of attack.
I suggest that anyone reading this also get their doctors approval before trying to implement such a regimen.
Given that melatonin is likely to work against H2O2 by neutralizing it directly or indirectly through the upregulation of Catalase or other antioxidants which will also neutralize it, I might consider a rotating approach where I use one for a day or two followed by using the other for a day a day or two. This could possibly allow the H2O2 to work while the next phase allows melatonin to give the lungs a break and neutralize the elevated radical levels in the lungs as well as lower the elevated inflammatory levels in the lungs.
H2O2 is highly likely to do some damage in the lungs and the idea being that melatonin may nullify or repair some of this damage while helping to work against COPD through its known multiple actions against COPD.
So that is my idea of how I might use these two substances under my doctor's supervision based on my experience with both substances and the available studies I was able to find. I did not include any study links in this post because it is long enough already.
Art
(Canada)
07/25/2020
(Tn)
07/24/2020
Dear Art,
I really appreciate this post on Melatonin, H202 and COPD. It is timely for me. We are getting ready to move my mother in law into our home and she has COPD, in addition to other health problems.
By the way, I continue to take Melatonin at night for sleep and it has definitely helped me!
Thank you!
~Mama to Many~
Hi M to M!
Thank you for saying so! I know you are probably already aware of the following, but I am putting it in for others who may not be. COPD is common, so it is worth putting this info up. Some people refer to it as emphysema, but that is an older term and COPD seems more common now as a blanket term. There are some similarities with chronic bronchitis.I'm not sure about the H2O2 for COPD simply for lack of studies to add confirmation to the anecdotal evidence, but the anecdotal evidence is compelling.
In COPD patients who are stable, the amount of H2O2 in the exhaled air is approximately 7 times that of normal controls while patients who are in an exacerbated state are almost 3 times higher than stable patients and about 21 times higher than control patients.
So H2O2 inhalation will add to these already significantly elevated H2O2 levels. This brief abstract discusses H2O2 exhalation levels in people with COPD:
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/ajrccm.154.3.8810624
Melatonin clearly has studies that show it benefits COPD as does NAC, which is purported to significantly reduce exacerbations at two 600 mg doses per day.
Generally elevated oxidative stress is considered to possibly be the single most important factor driving COPD disease progression, so these two seem quite useful and melatonin is the most potent antioxidant in the human body as I described in the original post. Maximum radical scavenging is desirable.HDM made it possible for me to get rid of a cough that I had had for months that was not getting better, only worse. With HDM it started to lessen in two days and was gone by the third day.Vitamin C is synergistic with melatonin and adds to both its antioxidant abilities as well as its antiinflammatory qualities.Quercetin is also useful for COPD and quercetin is also synergistic with melatonin increasing its antiinflammatory activity.
Vitamin D reduces the number of acute exacerbations also and it is almost always good to be vitamin D replete for overall health, especially with so many people being insufficient or deficient. Getting into the upper half of the reference range for 25 OH d is worth looking into at whatever vitamin D dose is needed to get there. Simply put, some people require more vitamin D to achieve a specific 25 OH d level. The 25 OH d reference range is 30 ng/ml ~ 100 ng/ml
Some essential oils such as eucalyptus are thought to be helpful with COPD also. Not everyone can tolerate melatonin. Does your mother in law have Afib?
Art
Freda,
I answered this question in the original reply I made to Nancy and there is further information re: COPD in my reply to Mama to Many.
Art
(Tn)
07/25/2020
Dear Art,
Thank you for the information!
Yes, as a matter of fact, my mother in law does have A-fib!
She is actually taking a small amount of melatonin right now. She has been in a nursing home for 9 months and when her sleeping pill prescription ended, they asked if they could give her melatonin instead. Well, I was sure happy about that! I don't know how much yet.
I actually didn't realize that COPD is what they used to call emphysema. But it makes sense.
Thank you again!
~Mama to Many~
(New York)
07/26/2020
I had Covid in March and coughed almost five months without cure. I discovered that quitting all dairy immediately caused my coughing to stop! But still left with difficulty breathing, runny nose.
I found that NAC 600 mg twice a day has really helped.
Then I do a steam as I do not own a nebulizer with Theranaturals glutathione, one capsule and one drop of eucalyptus essential oil. This glutathione is made for nebulizers. Eucalyptus is beneficial for lungs.
I do not do HP.
You could try above.
Covid takes a long time to recover.
Melatonin
Dr. Neel has treated over 400 Covid-19 patients now, as of July 22, 2020!
Since his patient load has increased very considerably, so has his knowledge and understanding of the use of HDM (High Dose Melatonin) in Covid-19 patients. This seems like one of his most informative updates so far!
Dr. Neel is now seeing patients who are in multiple higher risk categories and treating some of them is no walk in the park. Dr Neel is now using even higher doses of melatonin in these harder to treat patients at dosing that is closer to what Dr. Shallenberger uses in almost all of his non cancer patients and similar to what Dr. Reiter has used in some of his studies. Dr. Shallenberger uses much higher dosing in his cancer patients though.
Dr. Neel also mentions that he is now seeing many more young patients than in the previous 3 months. He also mentions that people with asthma are having a harder time with Covid-19 than his patients who don't have asthma. He is also seeing more young patients who are developing gastrointestinal issues. He does not mention any deaths in this latest update.
He also mentions that he is seeing at least one strain of virus that seems to be more virulent. The information he includes with this latest update does not seem to bode too well for the supposedly soon to be available vaccinations, if the virus is mutating significantly. Here is the link to this latest update:
Art
