Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking melatonin as follows:
- Melatonin can take some time to fairly adjust to your body and reach a therapeutic level in your blood, before offering the desired beneficial effects without any unwanted side-effects. Your physician might have to work a little around your dose, to reach a dose ideal for you. Do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Melatonin, in higher doses, can induce some day time drowsiness and headache the following morning. Starting melatonin on a low dose and gradually increasing it to the desired dose, if needed, can help avoid this discomfort. If the drowsiness becomes bothersome, report it to your physician and other health care personnel, for any change in plan of care to be considered. Stay away from activities, such as, driving and operating heavy machinery, until they are used to the side effects caused by melatonin.
- Continue taking melatonin as ordered, even if you experience relief from insomnia and difficulty falling sleep. Discontinuing or significant reduction of melatonin dose intake abruptly, after prolonged use, can result in exacerbation of anxiety, relapse and rebound of the panic episodes, precipitation of seizure episodes, muscle spasms, unpleasant withdrawal symptoms of insomnia and behavior changes. Discontinuing the medication should be gradual, using tapering doses, and only as recommended by your physician.
