Sleep issues caused by TRT

[Vince]

Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of cancer

 

[Gman86]

Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of cancer

I didn’t read the whole thing, but there is no doubt that melatonin is an amazing and powerful hormone. It’s definitely an underated hormone. And in short term use, I wouldn’t doubt at all if it helped cure some individual’s cancer. Its a very powerful antioxidant. But it’s probably not something that a person should take on a regular basis, at least not without any testing of their own melatonin levels first.

In the future, I’m sure melatonin testing is going to be just like testing for any other hormone. But just like all the other hormones, you only want to take it if you test low in it and have a clinical need. You never want to shut down your own production of a hormone too early, if you don’t have to. And also, just like you don’t want any hormone levels too low, you obviously don’t want them too high either. Having hormone levels too high can cause its own set of unwanted problems, as we all know. Our body produces roughly 0.25mg per day of melatonin, I believe, yet most people take between 1-5mg, some even more. So until there’s more research on proper dosing, and people are actually testing their melatonin levels, I personally wouldn’t just take it on regular basis. I wouldn’t take any other hormone without having my levels tested before and during treatment with it, and from what I can tell, melatonin isn’t any different.

 

[Vince]

I didn’t read the whole thing, but there is no doubt that melatonin is an amazing and powerful hormone. It’s definitely an underated hormone. And in short term use, I wouldn’t doubt at all if it helped cure some individual’s cancer. Its a very powerful antioxidant. But it’s probably not something that a person should take on a regular basis, at least not without any testing of their own melatonin levels first.

In the future, I’m sure melatonin testing is going to be just like testing for any other hormone. But just like all the other hormones, you only want to take it if you test low in it and have a clinical need. You never want to shut down your own production of a hormone too early, if you don’t have to. And also, just like you don’t want any hormone levels too low, you obviously don’t want them too high either. Having hormone levels too high can cause its own set of unwanted problems, as we all know. Our body produces roughly 0.25mg per day of melatonin, I believe, yet most people take between 1-5mg, some even more. So until there’s more research on proper dosing, and people are actually testing their melatonin levels, I personally wouldn’t just take it on regular basis. I wouldn’t take any other hormone without having my levels tested before and during treatment with it, and from what I can tell, melatonin isn’t any different.

I take 10 mg of melatonin daily, right before bed. I think it would be hard to test melatonin levels because we make it late in the day, but who knows. If they can make money off it they will.

 

[Vince]

I take 10 mg of melatonin daily, right before bed. I think it would be hard to test melatonin levels because we make it late in the day, but who knows. If they can make money off it they will.

Also when we digest melatonin I wonder how much actually gets in our bloodstream. I'm sure it's a lot less what we put in our mouth LOL.

 

[Gman86]

I take 10 mg of melatonin daily, right before bed. I think it would be hard to test melatonin levels because we make it late in the day, but who knows. If they can make money off it they will.

Haha very good point about the money part! Didn’t even think of that. But ya I think you’re probably right. It might be a tricky one to test for. To me, it seems like melatonin and HGH are kind of similar, due to the biggest pulses of each coming at night. So if we can test and supplement with HGH, they can probably figure out a way to accurately test for melatonin.

Maybe there’s a metabolite that’s produced downstream from melatonin that we can test for, just like we do with HGH. To check your growth hormone levels, we don’t test HGH directly, HGH is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland into the blood stream, which then stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1, which for whatever reason is what we test to check our growth hormone levels. So maybe there’s a similar process we can do to test melatonin levels.

 

[Gman86]

Also when we digest melatonin I wonder how much actually gets in our bloodstream. I'm sure it's a lot less what we put in our mouth LOL.

Very good point as well. Hopefully more focus is spent on researching melatonin for hormone optimization. I’ve done a decent amount of research on it, and it’s definitely an amazing hormone, with a ton of benefits. And as we know, sleep is always the most important thing for health, so any hormone that specifically deals with sleep should probably be well studied and more commonly utilized in hormone optimization protocols, I would imagine.

 

[Vince]

Ever since I started taking 25 mg of DHEA, 10mg of pregnenolone and 10 mg of melatonin before bed, my sleep quality has definitely improved.

 

[Gman86]

Ever since I started taking 25 mg of DHEA, 10mg of pregnenolone and 10 mg of melatonin before bed, my sleep quality has definitely improved.

That’s awesome to hear. If I was you I would try tapering down the melatonin slowly, and see if sleep quality gets worse. If it does, obviously just go back to taking the full 10mg. But I think it’s worth a shot to see if the DHEA and pregnenolone are enough to do the trick.

 

[Vince]

I've tried 1 mg, 3 mg, 6 mg slow release and I finally settled on 10 mg. The main reason I increase my dose of melatonin, was because of all the health benefits that I've read about. I buy a very inexpensive brand, plus there's a hundred twenty in a bottle or at least I believe that's how many.

 

[Gman86]

I've tried 1 mg, 3 mg, 6 mg slow release and I finally settled on 10 mg. The main reason I increase my dose of melatonin, was because of all the health benefits that I've read about. I buy a very inexpensive brand, plus there's a hundred twenty in a bottle or at least I believe that's how many.

Ya there’s a ton of benefits to it, no question. I would just be careful. Literally every hormone in the body has a ton of benefits, our bodies wouldn’t produce them if they didn’t. But just like taking too much testosterone, HGH, cortisol, vitamin D, progesterone, etc., isn’t good for us, melatonin is going to be the same. I mean taking anything in excess has negative consequences, whether it be hormones, vitamins or minerals. I personally think you’re doing more harm than good with taking melatonin at the dose you are, but that’s just my opinion. No offense or anything obviously.

I’ve had to learn the hard way how something that seems harmless can do harm when taken in excess. I took 8,000iu’s of vitamin D for years, and ended up with imbalances because of it. I’ve been working really hard at fixing those imbalances, but it hasn’t been easy. So just be careful, that’s all.

 

[Vince Carter]

Any thoughts on CBD or Cannabinoids...not medical marijuana.

 

[Gman86]

I’ve never tried CBD oersonally, but have two friends that use CBD, and they both have told me it has helped with sleep for them. Not all CBD is the same though. Before trying, I would research what kinds have helped others sleep. For example, you first off want to make sure it’s top quality. So research which companies are best. Then the route of administration might make a difference. Whether you’re going to vape it, rub it on your skin, or if it’s a tincture that you’re going to take sublingually. Then they have isolates and full spectrum CBD I believe. So find out which one helps more with sleep. Also each brand makes different kinds, just like a dispensary will have different names for each kind of marijuana. Each company will have different CBD oils that might have different effects. And lastly find out proper dosing. I’ve heard the dose can make a big difference in regards to helping or hurting sleep.

Me personally, have found magnesium to be the best sleep aid. Taking some magnesium before bed seems to work every time. Whenever I remember to take it, I fall asleep quickly, usually always remember a few dreams, don’t wake up as much and end up waking up after 7-9 hours instead of 6-7 if I don’t take it.