Melatonin and Unwanted Weight Gain

jacquiaehall · October 2018

Danp wrote: »

I've been prescribed Melatonin (You need a doctor to prescribe it to get the real stuff in Australia and not that ridiculous homeopathic rubbish you get in the chemist) and it's been a godsend. I've had insomnia my entire life and usual sleeping solutions turned me into a complete zombie the following day. With the Circadin I've been prescribed I get to sleep easily, sleep well and (most importantly) wake up refreshed!! I generally take it for a short period to get me into a good sleep cycle then stop until I need it again.

That said I've not seen any correlation between the periods I'm taking the pills and differences in weight fluctuations.

Hi, I'm from Australia too and find it hard to get my doctor to prescribe it. Is the chemist stuff really not the same? I thought it had been legalised and I didn't hear about it because these pills weren't always available.

Danp · October 2018

The chemist over-the-counter stuff is 'homeopathic dose' so yeah. It's just water.

Coincidentally, the topic of melatonin happened to come up at work today.

I haven't had a chance to verify what I was told but someone mentioned that while it requires a prescription in Australia it's not a prohibited substance so can be legally imported. The person who told me this regularly just buys her tablets online (which apparently is also cheaper than buying locally with a prescription) so I'll definitely be looking into that as an option when my current stash runs out.

Lillymoo01 · October 2018

My daughter's psychiatrist recommended this site to get melatonin in Australia. Either that or go to a chemist that will compound it for you but that is a much more expensive way of going about it.

https://www.biovea.net/au/results.aspx?AG=melatonin&FiltersObject={"SortValue":{},"PageSize":"12","CompareProducts":[],"Brands":{},"FormValues":{},"PriceRanges":{},"Categories":[],"objects":[]}

mrslynda · October 2018

My 12 year old is on 2mg Circadin . So far the only issue has been weird dreams, but she said she gets those anyway. She does sometimes still wake up early, but isn't taking 3-4 hours to get to sleep. We are in Australia and can get it free if we go to the local kids hospital, but with parking or catching public transport it's not really worth it.

The psychiatrist also mentioned that over the counter homeopathic versions are in such a small does, or not the best quality. We haven't looked at buying it online, but since she is on a plan , we prefer to keep working with her care team.

jesireg · July 2019

I know this is an old thread but wanted to comment that I have experienced a significant and stubborn weight gain since taking melatonin regularly. I couldn’t figure it out, why was I gaining weight with no changes to diet and exercise, no new meds, no thyroid problems, no pregnancy...so I carefully researched EVERYTHING I was taking including OC meds and supplements. Discovered that melatonin DOES cause some people to gain weight, not all, but some. So yes, your unexplained weight gain IS likely the melatonin. Also, Benedryl for sleep causes weight gain over time. For us poor sleepers, this is a very frustrating conundrum! I don’t want to take a prescription sleep med because they are addictive...I also HATE this extra weight!

Anabirgite · July 2019

I see a pharmacist who specializes in menopause, I was taking benadryl every night to help me with my insomnia, she said the benadryl could affect weight gain and recommended I take melatonin.

icemom011 · July 2019

I took melatonin for a period of time, no weight gain issue. Fwiw in this zombie thread...

kathyd87 · August 2019

I wanted to chime in on this topic as well. Melatonin most definitely causes weight gain, especially if you are a women going through menopause and taking certain prescription drug which can cause a contraindication. I gained 10 lbs in a month's time and my doctor and I contribute it to the melatonin. I went back and did my research and found this research link that breaks down who can be affected and by which drugs with melatonin.

https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/melatonin/weight-increased/

So to the OP and other posters who are having this side effect, I definitely feel your pain. I am in the same boat.

Those who say melatonin does not cause weight gain, all drugs (OTC and prescription) affect people differently. What may affect one person may not affect you. So please do not give an absolute definitive on any drug.

tinkerbellang83 · August 2019

kathyd87 wrote: »

I wanted to chime on this topic as well. Melatonin most definitely causes weight gain, especially if you are a women going through menopause and taking certain prescription drug which can cause a contraindication. I gained 10 lbs in a months time and my doctor and I contribute it to the melatonin. I went back and did my research and found this research link that breaks down who can be affected and by which drugs with melatonin.

https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/melatonin/weight-increased/

So to the OP and other posters who are having this side effect, I definitely feel your pain. I am in the same boat.

Those who say melatonin does not cause weight gain, all drugs (OTC and prescription) affect people differently. What may affect one person may not affect you. So please do not give an absolute definitive on any drug.

Like many medications, they can cause weight gain i.e. water retention directly, but they cannot cause fat gain directly - this is against the laws of physics and an absolute definitive, you cannot create something (excess calories) out of nothing (a tablet that contains no calories).

DaddieCat · August 2019

kathyd87 wrote: »

I wanted to chime in on this topic as well. Melatonin most definitely causes weight gain, especially if you are a women going through menopause and taking certain prescription drug which can cause a contraindication. I gained 10 lbs in a month's time and my doctor and I contribute it to the melatonin. I went back and did my research and found this research link that breaks down who can be affected and by which drugs with melatonin.

https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/melatonin/weight-increased/

So to the OP and other posters who are having this side effect, I definitely feel your pain. I am in the same boat.

Those who say melatonin does not cause weight gain, all drugs (OTC and prescription) affect people differently. What may affect one person may not affect you. So please do not give an absolute definitive on any drug.

This is user self reported and is in no way a study. A study requires intense control of variables to isolate various factors and effects.

What you have provided is no more effective than asking your (insert generic person here) and hearing them tell you about their great uncle's dog that once got fat because of (insert whatever buzzword of the moment here)

TrishSeren · August 2019

kathyd87 wrote: »

I wanted to chime in on this topic as well. Melatonin most definitely causes weight gain, especially if you are a women going through menopause and taking certain prescription drug which can cause a contraindication. I gained 10 lbs in a month's time and my doctor and I contribute it to the melatonin. I went back and did my research and found this research link that breaks down who can be affected and by which drugs with melatonin.

https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/melatonin/weight-increased/

So to the OP and other posters who are having this side effect, I definitely feel your pain. I am in the same boat.

Those who say melatonin does not cause weight gain, all drugs (OTC and prescription) affect people differently. What may affect one person may not affect you. So please do not give an absolute definitive on any drug.

If this was true then we’d be giving it to famine victims so they didn’t lose weight and die.

Your body literally cannot gain fat if there is no fuel (calories from food) for it to happen. It’s scientifically impossible.

kimny72 · August 2019

Drugs that "cause" weight gain can only do so in a few ways, none of which are a reason for gaining fat you can't control:

It causes water retention. This will show up on the scale and can make you feel bloated, but may dissipate over time or once you stop taking the medication. It's not fat.
It increases your appetite. If you are logging accurately and consistently, you can continue to control your calories and not gain weight. It might make it harder for you to stick to your calorie goal. (If you weren't counting calories, you might end up eating a little more without realizing it and therefore gain weight.)
It makes you fatigued, and this causes you to be slightly less active during the day, reducing your CO. This can be the toughest to deal with, because it might take you a while to figure out what's going on. You would need to force yourself to get moving, find ways to get back the lost energy, or eat less to compensate.

None of these cause your body to spontaneously store fat it wouldn't otherwise. It causes you to change your behavior. Most people don't track their calories or activity, so they don't realize they are subtly hungrier or less active.

If I've left out any other ways a medication may affect your weight, please feel free to add. But I think far too many people feel helpless or like there is no way to understand what's happening to them, and miss that they do have some measure of control

Melatonin and Unwanted Weight Gain

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