Article Q&A
After I used high dose of melatonin for sleep problem for a while, I got joint pain on knees. I thought melatonin supposed to make pain better not cause pain. Then I searched internet, people review said melatonin cause them big deal of pain. website address is "https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/10/melantonin-and-hidden-complexity/" people were talking about serious joint pain all over their body caused by melatonin.
My question is if oral melatonin taking make my joint pain, what about melatonin lotion? can I still use melatonin lotion even I cannot take melatonin orally.
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
In my experience, people have reported on the internet that melatonin can worsen joint pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but on the other hand, I have gotten reports that it helped. As with most medications and supplements for specific health issues, it usually comes down to trial and error. For RA, studies seem to reflect this conundrum also, when it comes to RA and melatonin.
As far as oral melatonin, in my testing, I have not gotten any reports of pain relief of any significance, whereas, melatonin lotion (ML) has resulted in pain relief from many various pain issues as discussed here :
https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/topical-melatonin-advantages-pain-management-guide.html
I would also add that that list of 40 has grown to 43.
ML is relatively inexpensive to make and test and doesn't seem to have many of the severe side effects that pain relieving NSAIDS can have as discussed here :
Here is a very relevant quote from the above link :
' Each year, the side effects of long-term NSAID use cause nearly 103, 000 hospitalizations and 16, 500 deaths. More people die each year from NSAIDs-related complications than from AIDS and cervical cancer in the United States.'
Keep in mind that is just for the USA and does not include the rest of the world! By comparison, see how many deaths you can find caused by melatonin each year and I can promise you that the two are not even comparable!
I'm not saying that ML can alleviate every kind of pain, it can't, but it certainly seems worth testing considering its known safety profile, at least for most people. As with anything else used to relieve pain, it will not be agreeable with everyone, but if it is, it offers many other potential health benefits whereas NSAIDS which are also used for pain relief, mainly only help for pain management and not much else.
If you prefer NSAIDS which are readily available and also relatively inexpensive, you might keep the following in mind. Acetaminophen, an NSAID, also known as Tylenol, among other names, is often used for pain reduction and is the number one cause of liver transplants in the USA and the number two cause of liver transplants in the world as discussed here :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441917/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' Acetaminophen toxicity is the second most common cause of liver transplantation worldwide and the most common cause of liver transplantation in the US. It is responsible for 56, 000 emergency department visits, 2, 600 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths per year in the United States. Fifty percent of these are unintentional overdoses. More than 60 million Americans consume acetaminophen on a weekly basis, and many are unaware that it is contained in combined products. '
If melatonin did the same as the above quote about Acetaminophen, it would be banned by the FDA immediately!
To answer your question, ' if oral melatonin taking make my join pain, what about melatonin lotion? can I still use melatonin lotion even I cannot take melatonin orally. '
I would say if oral melatonin causes you pain, then you might not want to consider ML among your pain relieving options.
Art
Thank you answered my question. I am just wondering that you use high dose of melatonin for a while, did you ever have jointing pain after you take melatonin? I am ask this because I am still think maybe my joint pain caused not by melatonin, because before I do not have any problem for any my joints, after I changed melatonin pills to melatonin gummies. is something in gummies made my joint pain? I stoped melatonin gummies from Saturday night, today is Tuesday noon, I feel a little bit better on my knee pain. I hope after 2 weeks I will be normal.
Hi Lynn,
Yes, I have used higher dose melatonin for many years. I have not experienced joint pain from taking melatonin, but I have seen reports on the internet that some people with rheumatoid arthritis have. On the other hand, I have seen reports that melatonin does not increase joint pain for people with RA, so that is a bit puzzling to me. I've gone as high as 180 mg, but I am now very likely higher than that amount because I take melatonin orally and topically everyday.
Art
Article Q&A
Hi Art! I have melatonin caps… can I open them and prepare this recipe? We only need a 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi Mary P,
So the one quarter teaspoon is all melatonin and it equals approximately 750 mg of melatonin. You have to consider that melatonin capsules contain a significant amount of fillers so it will take much more than a 1/4 teaspoon of these capsules to get to 750 mg of actual melatonin. It will take the amount of capsules that it takes to equal 750 mg of melatonin. So if you have 10 mg capsules, it will take approximately 75 of these 10 mg capsules to get to that 750 mg area and you can see that 75 capsules is going to be way more than a quarter teaspoon.
There will also be a problem with the solubility of the fillers which may not dissolve in gin and will make the lotion feel gritty. Another potential problem is that some of the fillers may dissolve in the gin, but that may preclude the melatonin from fully dissolving in the gin in which case you will essentially have a diluted mix which may not be effective at all.
I recommended melatonin powder because that is what my friends used and found effective. Since those first three friends reported their results, many other friends and acquaintances have also reported significant benefits from using that same mix.
I highly recommend following what they did in order to make an effective melatonin lotion.
A few friends have reported that mixing all three ingredients together at once by mistake, produced a lotion that gave little to no pain relief. You have to thoroughly dissolve the melatonin in the gin first and then add the lotion to that mix, otherwise the lotion will offer little to no benefit.
Art
Psoriasis and Hyperpigmentation
★★★★★
This new study suggests melatonin lotion is effective in treating mild to moderate psoriasis:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/srt.13689
Here is a relevant study quote :
' Also a significant decrease of 35% (mean (SD) of 2.67 (0.98) to 1.74 (1.12)) and 51% (mean (SD) of 2.67 (0.98) to 1.31 (1.13)) in PASI score, and 40% (mean (SD) of 5.00 (1.58) to 3.00 (1.76))and 61% (mean (SD) of 5.00 (1.58) to 1.92 (1.71)) in DSS score on days 30 and 60 with melatonin cream, 5% w/w (P < 0.001) compared with baseline were observed, respectively. In each of the melatonin or rosuvastatin groups, DLQI improved significantly on days 30 (P < 0.0001) and 60 (P < 0.001) while the changes in the control group were not significant. '
I had already reported that it was synergistic with certain psoriasis medications in the list of 40 items (#34) and helped eczema of the scalp (#6) while other studies suggest it can be useful for atopic dermatitis and other skin conditions, as discussed here :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9967801/
Here is a relevant quote :
' It has cytoprotective, immunomodulatory, and anti-apoptotic effects. Melatonin is also one of the most powerful natural antioxidants, directly acting on free radicals and the intracellular antioxidant enzyme system. Furthermore, it participates in antitumor activity, hypopigmentation processes in hyperpigmentary disorders, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating activity in inflammatory dermatoses, maintaining the integrity of the epidermal barrier and thermoregulation of the body. Due predominantly to its positive influence on sleep, melatonin can be used in the treatment of sleep disturbances for those with chronic allergic diseases accompanied by intensive itching (such as atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria). According to the literature data, there are also many proven uses for melatonin in photoprotection and skin aging (due to melatonin's antioxidant effects and role in preventing damage due to DNA repair mechanisms), hyperpigmentary disorders (e.g., melasma) and scalp diseases (such as androgenic alopecia and telogen effluvium). '
It seems that we are just scratching the surface of what melatonin lotion can do!
Art