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Has anyone experienced diarrhea with Melatonin use?

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Mishkanoodle
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Joined : Jun 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 6/10/2018 1:18 PM (GMT -8)
I started melatonin (10 mg) after a nurse friend told me how much it had helped her. I started taking it about a week after my bout of diverticulitis cleared up. I almost immediately developed diarrhea and loose stools along with serious cramping. I was also waking up with a headache every day. I thought I had not recovered from the diverticulitis, but am now wondering if it is the melatonin. I have severe cramping on the left side, but doesn't feel the same as before. Hoping it is gas. Have been off the melatonin for about 5 days. Diarrhea seems better, just cramping now. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of the gas? At least I hope it's gas! Have tried Pepcid, but doesn't seem to help.
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MarciGal
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Joined : Jul 2018
Posts : 3
Posted 7/15/2018 6:50 AM (GMT -8)
Wow, I never ever considered the melatonin! I've been having serious bouts of diarrhea the past few months (and months of constipation before that!) and finally decided I have IBS and began researching more about that online. (Glad I found this place!) I've changed my diet, fiddled with my supplements, tried to stay calm and relaxed yet symptoms persist. I have taken melatonin in various forms off and on for many years with no noticeable issues but I recently started a new liquid 'sleep aid' with melatonin in it and after reading all the posts here ... well, I'm going to stop taking that and see how it goes. Who knew? I sure didn't!
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MarciGal
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Joined : Jul 2018
Posts : 3
Posted 7/15/2018 6:54 AM (GMT -8)

Mishkanoodle said...
I started melatonin (10 mg) after a nurse friend told me how much it had helped her. I started taking it about a week after my bout of diverticulitis cleared up. I almost immediately developed diarrhea and loose stools along with serious cramping. I was also waking up with a headache every day. I thought I had not recovered from the diverticulitis, but am now wondering if it is the melatonin. I have severe cramping on the left side, but doesn't feel the same as before. Hoping it is gas. Have been off the melatonin for about 5 days. Diarrhea seems better, just cramping now. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of the gas? At least I hope it's gas! Have tried Pepcid, but doesn't seem to help.

I swig activated charcoal slurry a lot. I buy a large container of the activated charcoal powder and mix it with water and put it in a bottle. I think I have one in my bathroom and one in my livingroom. Good stuff.
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Maximus49
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Joined : Jul 2018
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Posted 7/17/2018 4:34 AM (GMT -8)
On advice of my doctor, Started taking 5 mg Melatonin tablets at night to help with sleep disturbances I was having. Melatonin worked great for the sleep problems and still does. However, after 3-4 weeks, I started getting watery stools, then explosive diarrhea at times. # of BM's was 3-4 a day, after eating (normal for me) but my bowel movements were almost disabling. At times, I would get stomach cramps and had to race to the toilet as fast as I could. Other times, I would feel BM coming, feel some gurgling in my intestine and when I got to the bowl it was like someone turned on a fire hydrant. Then I would be fine. Felt a little tired and needed more sleep at night, but that was OK. No nausea. I was away at the beach on vacation anyway. Initially, lost about 10 pounds(which I wanted to do anyway, so I was not alarmed by that). After a few weeks, weight plateaued. I had a healthy appetite, which was frustrating while I ate bland foods and drank seltzer water only(no milk) to eliminate allergies and bad water as potential causes. After 3 weeks, I gave up on the food precautions and ate anything near me and gained back 2-3 pounds but the diarrhea remained exactly the same. Outside of the bathroom, I felt pretty good. Like clockwork, the watery stools and/or diarrhea continued. It was not at all like the Giardia that I had 2 years ago that was totally debilitating. Returned home and went to doctor who wanted to test my stools, but insisted that the lab would only do the 3 tests she needed if I submitted liquid only stools. Many plastic containers and rubber gloves later, I discovered that I was not able to retrieve a liquid only sample. I checked online yesterday and discovered HealingWell posts that matched my experiences EXACTLY. I stopped the Melatonin completely yesterday and put the stool tests on hold. The diarrhea is still the same (36 hours after my last Melatonin) but I will post a followup when diarrhea stops or in a few weeks if it does not.
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Maximus49
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Joined : Jul 2018
Posts : 2
Posted 8/3/2018 6:03 AM (GMT -8)
Followup:Maximus49: Started taking 5 mg Melatonin on 5/3/218. Melatonin worked great for sleeping but after 3-4 weeks developed loose & water stools. This developed to full-blown diarrhea after a month. Went to doctor on 7/16/2018, who asked for stool sample of watery diarrhea- not solid at all. Ever try to do that? nearly impossible. Looked up melatonin symptoms on HealingWell.con on 7/17/18. Stopped taking melatonin 7/17/18. Many rubber gloves later, got a sample which was tested negative. 7/28/18, Diarrhea
stopped. Normal bowel movements for first time since about 5/28/18 (60 days) and first normal BM's since stopping Melatonin on 7/16/18(12 days to return to normal).

Melatonin REALLY should have a large warning label about diarrhea.
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jags
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Joined : Sep 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 9/10/2018 7:48 AM (GMT -8)
I'm so glad I found this! I have been taking 5-10 mgs of Melatonin for the past 5-6 weeks. In the last 2 1/2 weeks, I have had awful cramps, and diarrhea (10-12 trips a day, and URGENT). Always the worst in the morning, and tapering off later in the day. No other symptoms, other than feeling a bit tired, I'm guessing from a bit of dehydration. I thought I was losing my mind! Melatonin was the only thing in my diet/routine that had changed. Will post an update with how long it takes to resolve itself. And yes, there absolutely should be a warning on the bottle!
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CO Girl20
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Joined : Sep 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 9/27/2018 4:41 AM (GMT -8)
First of all... this system is weird. Anyway, regarding the MELATONIN & DIARRHEA issues.. they are 100% accurate and true. Some people may not experience the watery- explosive diarrhea right away or at all, but it definitely kicks in and kicks your butt! No bueno. Like.. emergency blow-outs with mad-dashes to the bathroom! Not cute. I legit thought am I dying, do I have IBS, do I have colon-cancer, food poisoning, the Flu symptoms or what?!?! I was just about to go see the doctor to get the bad news (well, at least that's what I thought) then I prayed and thought... I can't be deathly ill, I am healthy and eat right. I thought.. gosh I am having such nasty-smelly Diarrhea, I am probably losing all my vitamins and nutrients. Ugh.... Then I thought... hmm... vitamins ? I don't take a whole lot, and I realized I started these issues when I bought the3 mg- Blueberry flavor gummy melatonion supplements from Walmart. Then I decided to do some research and find out further details of my issues. It is embarrassing to ask others or bring it up, so I kind of just waited these symptoms out to see, if indeed it was the melontonin. Sure enough, the deeper I read-up on these symptoms (which aren't reported or written under SIDE EFFECTS/ Symptoms for Melatonin), THEN, I FOUND THIS LOVELY WEBSITE. I read every single sad story and experience. I can relate to most of them! I even thought... gosh.. How am I going to travel and be out and about, if I have to run to the bathroom with watery-bowel movements so often w/ hard-core diarrhea?! Like that's not gas or just feeling bloated.... it was on the verge (the verge of starting a blow-out!) GOSH... so gross & embarrassing (and noisy!) lol. I always had strong whole- healthy poops and the last 3 weeks since melatonin... completely changed for the worst. So, super glad I read these comments and put two & two together. I believe God gave me the wisdom to realize what to stop taking. LOL. So weird.. never had any weird health issues like this and glad it's only temporary and something I can change and improve. STOP TAKING MELATONIN, DRINK WATER, EAT HEALTHY AND WORK-OUT DAILY! They really need to include bloating, gas, bowel irritability and diarrhea symptoms may occur. Thank you for taking the time to read, understand and make your own personal changes. *must note, melatonin does put you to sleep peacefully, but risky with your bowel movements, etc. SAY NO TO MELATONIN. :-/ -S- 9-27-2018

Post Edited (CO Girl20) : 9/27/2018 6:48:02 AM (GMT-6)

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Maci
New Member
Joined : Oct 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 10/11/2018 3:43 AM (GMT -8)
I have all those symptons. Really bad. I take melatonin at night
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Normally optimistic
New Member
Joined : Oct 2018
Posts : 2
Posted 10/18/2018 8:39 AM (GMT -8)
Hello fellow melatonin users, this is my first ever posting on any subject but I had to weigh in on the nightmare this supplement has caused. Like most I've had massive diarrhea after probably 3mos taking melatonin every night. We don't need so much melatonin and I think it's our body telling us. Since stopping I'm experiencing withdrawal like symptoms and not able sleep. Oye. This too shall pass
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Elene
New Member
Joined : Nov 2018
Posts : 4
Posted 11/16/2018 10:28 AM (GMT -8)
I share with you this application that helped me feel better

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromo.dev663851.app871104

Post Edited (Elene) : 11/16/2018 11:33:40 AM (GMT-7)

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Normally optimistic
New Member
Joined : Oct 2018
Posts : 2
Posted 11/16/2018 11:58 AM (GMT -8)
Hello all, normally optimistic writing to say I'm back to optimistic since the melatonin is out of my body. (Both my doc and naturopath don't think melatonin would cause diarrhea) Sleeping like a baby drinking Nighty Night tea. There is hope...
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Tbredtj
New Member
Joined : Nov 2018
Posts : 2
Posted 11/20/2018 10:47 AM (GMT -8)
After spending some time trying to figure out why I've had diarrhea for over a week, I stumbled upon this forum. I'd been taking Melatonin (10mg) nightly for about 10 days when I started to have all of the symptoms described in previous posts. I've had diarrhea for about 8 days now and have tried several approaches to help stop it but nothing has worked. I've been taking supplements for years with no issues so I'm guessing that the melatonin is the culprit. I will report back to the forum and let you know how things work out, but I suspect, based on all of these posts, that my symptoms will start to abate and eventually clear up.
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Tbredtj
New Member
Joined : Nov 2018
Posts : 2
Posted 11/24/2018 3:39 AM (GMT -8)
Update Tbredtj: I stopped taking the 10 mg of melatonin the evening of my previous post on 11/20. The next morning my cramping was less and the diarrhea slowed down to a couple of bowel movements in the morning. Day two and three my symptoms got better and this morning I had a normal bowel movement.
I think the fact that I was only on the melatonin for 18 days aided in my quick recovery. Based on some of the posts, I consider myself fortunate that I caught this quickly since it seems that many people had a protracted recovery, sometimes taking weeks to get back to normal. Just for the record, the brand name was NATROL Advanced Sleep/10mg. There was NO WARNING on the label!
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buzz55
New Member
Joined : Dec 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 12/13/2018 8:53 AM (GMT -8)
I have had these exact symptoms and I have been taking NATROL Advanced Sleep/10mg for about 7 weeks (almost every day) and have had symptoms for the last 2.5 to 3 weeks. I did not take last night and plan to never take again. I will keep you posted if and when it goes away. I have had all the blood work and stool samples (good report) and have a colonoscopy ordered. I will try to avoid that if as I had one 5 years ago with a clean bill of health. I agree that this should be a warning on the label of Melatonin as a side effect, I know many can take it with no issues.
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scurfie
New Member
Joined : Jan 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 1/11/2019 1:10 PM (GMT -8)
I had been using melatonin (3mg) at night for about three months. The week before Thanksgiving I started having stomach cramps. I am Lactose intolerant, and the feeling I was experiencing was exactly the same. I didn't suffer explosive diarrhea, but I did have the loose stools. I eventually went to our family practice, had the stool exams, and was told to try using a lactase. Thank God I found this site! I too thought I was going to die. My condition was continuing to worsen, bouts of diarrhea, cramping, to the point I started fasting because it had to be the food right? Wrong. I have been off the melatonin 2 days now (1/11/2019) and I can already feel the difference. No more melatonin for me.
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Straycat
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Joined : Mar 2019
Posts : 8
Posted 3/4/2019 8:39 PM (GMT -8)
I found this site the day before my CT scan for ongoing nasty watery diarrhea with lots of gas several times in the morning every day. Stomach noises were awful - gurgling, moaning, growling! Been going on for 3 months - I thought at first it was breakfast coffee but turned out it wasn't. My doctor ran 16 different blood tests & a fecal test - all normal. I went ahead with the CT scan & yes, you guessed it. Normal!

I couldn't believe the answer was so simple as the melatonin! I had been taking it for about 3 months, 3 mg every nite. & then in the mornng, had to run to the bathroom, up to 3 or even 4 tmes. SOMETIMES in the afternoon but that was rare .Everything seemed to settle down after noon & I felt normal. Until the next morning.

But one thing I had that I don't think has been mentioned here is anxiety. Every morning when I wake up I am conscious that I have just been dreaming - not bad dreams, just strange ones, & they leave me with a feeling of anxiety, even dread. Has anyone experienced that?

Anyway needless to say, I have stopped the melatonin .It's been a week now & obviousdly I have a way to go as the early morning run is still the routine altho the second run today seemed less watery & everything after that was just the dratted gas. Hopeful that a week from now it will all be over . I have an appt with my doctor for a post-CT scan discussion in a week but hopefully the talk o f colonoscopy that was going to happen then, won't.

Good night all, May everyone have a good night & a decent morning
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Straycat
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Joined : Mar 2019
Posts : 8
Posted 3/21/2019 10:48 PM (GMT -8)
I am wondering how all those who posted on this topic when it appeared are doing now. Do you find that you are completely free of the symptoms that we were all so familiar with now that you have stopped taking the melatonin?

For me I stopped taking if when I discovered this thread. Had been taking it for about 3 months which coincided with all those awful symptoms. I have now been off it for close to a month but find that I am still very gassy, that my poops are still not normal, tho they are not as bad as they were.

I am glad of the improvement but just want to be totally NORMAL again!
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Blademan
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Joined : Apr 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 4/11/2019 2:29 AM (GMT -8)
Hello I'm from the U.K. and i sent off to the USA for the Melatonin, it arrived just before Christmas 2018.I was taking 3, 3mg tablets every night, after about a month, i started with the diarrhea, stomach cramps etc, never felt so rough in my life. So glad i found this site and read all the horror stories. Been off it about a month or so, still feel a bit crap, with occasional diarrhea. How long does stay in your system?
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Mikeyinsomniac
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Joined : Apr 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 4/13/2019 1:45 PM (GMT -8)
I'm glad I found this forum. As I write this, my tummy is grumbling. I started talking about 3 mg melatonin some time ago. I have trouble sleeping and used several medications to sleep; anything from tricyclics, xanax, ativan, and trazodone. I began using 10 mg melatonin with the trazodone and my symptoms really began; same exact symptoms about which everyone wrote. I figured it was the trazodone as I googled it and read some stuff about serotonin syndrome. I continued the melatonin for a while and the symptoms lessened a little, but got worse. I stopped the 10 mg melatonin when a coworker suggested it wasn't healthy. I ended up having relatively normal BMs again, but little sleep. Then I started REM PM from man sports. It's what I'm still using. I sleep great.... but, like I wrote, my stomach is grumbling. I have been to the bathroom several times today. No watery stools, just loose. REM PM does have melatonin. I'll be discontinuing it tonight to see what happens.
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ArnieP
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Joined : May 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 5/8/2019 1:20 PM (GMT -8)
This is a life saving forum. I'm usually a very active person. UNTIL I started taking melatonin "Natrol" 10mg. I too blamed the explosive diarrhea on every thing else. I had stool sample analysis (which itself is a real test of self determination). You have to crap into a plastic hat and then bail samples into 5 little sample bottles with a wooden Popsicle stick. All came back negative! I had to back off biking because I couldn't find a route with a rest-stop every 2-3 blocks. I couldn't go to Yoga because I was afraid of crapting my pants in "Proud Warrior" stance. Like so many others in this info blog I just started eliminating possibilities one by one. Bingo. A few days after eliminating Melatonin I was pretty much back to normal. Sooo like an idiot I thought I'd give-it-a-go again. You all know the result;> Bye the way the medical professionals do not appear to be aware of this hideous side effect of taking melatonin. My biking buddies have allowed me back into the pack and I'm doing
"Proud Warrior" and more. Thanks to to all !!!
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FREDDOZ
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Joined : Jun 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 6/19/2019 3:17 PM (GMT -8)
I was having diarrhea for about week before contacting my doctor. Since it was only twice a day, I wasn't terribly concerned but this was the first time it ever lasted this long. I have not had any major health issues other than high blood pressure, BPH which I currently take medication for and I started taking 10 mg of Melatonin about two months ago on the doctors recommendation. After consulting with the doctor he recommended taking KEFIR Probiotics for the next six days to see if it cleared up. Needless to say it didn't. He also wrote me a prescription for Lomotil which stopped the diarrhea for a short while. I eventually weaned myself off the Lomotil from 8 a day to 4. I'm taking 2 a day now. All the drugs other than the Melatonin I have been taking for over a year. I really didn't want to sacrifice my sleep but the diarrhea thing was far worse. For the last three days I have gone from 10mg to 3mg of Melatonin and things are much better. Far from where I was normally a month ago but improving. The doctor didn't say how many mgs of Melatonin I should take I just grabbed it off the shelf not realizing that 10 mg was a very high dosage.
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jubei
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Joined : Jul 2019
Posts : 2
Posted 7/16/2019 10:54 PM (GMT -8)

Straycat said...
Straycat

I have the same symptons, are you better now? In my case just I ate 3mg melatonin from Now during 16 days, and I've found this place, glad to know this, because I've started to have the same issues. Im off since 3-4 ago but I have same problems than you.
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jubei
New Member
Joined : Jul 2019
Posts : 2
Posted 7/18/2019 7:22 PM (GMT -8)
is the people of this forum alive? haha

I quit since one week ago and my poops are better than before but looks acid and itchy
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hwaymich
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Joined : Aug 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 8/23/2019 10:38 AM (GMT -8)
I had made appt with doctor and was dreading the tests they would likely conduct. Then I searched "loose stool melatonin" and found this thread. Hit my issues squarely--taking 2 melatonin gummies to sleep and after few weeks--not just loose stool but watery most of the time. I am gluten sensitive but the melatonin I was taking said GF. At any rate, I stopped the gummies and within 2 weeks--back to normal. Cancelled appt with doctor but made certain I told the nurse how the gummies had affected me. So for now, drinking Nighty Night Tea before bedtime and counting backward from 1000. So So happy I found this info. Thanks to all who have posted
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TankH63
New Member
Joined : Sep 2019
Posts : 1
Posted 9/18/2019 9:56 AM (GMT -8)
YUP!!!! Fifteen years ago I took melatonin and had terrible diarrhea. At that time I connected the two as I had stopped taking it and the diarrhea went away. about a year later I ended up meeting someone who was working for a company that sold it, I told him I took it for awhile and had terrible stomach cramps and diarrhea. He told me that there were no such reports of any other people having those symptoms. He said it was probably coincidental to my melatonin use and was most likely something else. I asked him if there were any fillers in the pill such as lactose . He said no.
I recently tried it again. Now, I wake up at night with cramps and have terrible, urgent diarrhea. At first it was just a terrible stomach ache.I thought it was due to take out food at first.But even when I don't get take out food, I still have the problems. The diarrhea lasts until about noon the next day, and after that, my guts still feel uncomfortable. It sounds and feels like someone is pouring a bucket of acidic water through my guts that runs into the toilet bowel when I go to the rest room. My legs and joints are achy. I definitely have a lot of inflammation somewhere in my digestive system, most likely my colon or large intestine. My guts always feels painful.
I'm throwing the bottle away after I post this. This stuff is AWFUL!!! I'm SURE it is the melatonin. Oh, there is another side effect. Perhaps it is due to the gastrointestinal symptoms , but I feel extreme fatigue throughout the next day, in waves, and also seem to have depression.
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