My comment on melatonin for GERD to a newspaper blog.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/12/but-does-melato...
I take 6 mgs of melatonin and this dose stops
all symptoms of GERD. And there are 2 or 3
studies that have shown this benefit. And it
take this dose not 3.0 or 0.3 to do the job.
Do a Pubmed search with the search words
GERD and melatonin and then read the abstracts
and linked full articles.  And note the primary
producer of melatonin is the gut not the
pineal gland.  Melatonin works in part by
helping the lower esophageal sphincter to close
more tightly. Nor is this the only mechanism of
action. Do the reading.
Melatonin is vastly safer than the PPI meds which have
a list of known harms. Some of which I experienced
when taking this nasty class of meds.
Trig

Interesting. Why do you say it takes 6 mg?  Most of the papers I found
didn't give the dose, and a recent study found that 0.3 mg is most
effective for other purposes, higher doses having more negative side
effects.

Because IF you would read the limited research that was the effective
dose and plus it matches personal experience. In my personal
experience the 0.3 dose is piss poor advice even for the humble
task of getting off to sleep after you've taken it for a number
of days. The 0.3 dose was an dose advocated by an individual
who sought to seize melatonin from the public domain by
way of a patent.

I have never seen supplements with 0.3mg - suggest you read your
container again. What I see around (stores, etc) is 3mg - not 0.3.
This 3mg is what I have been taking for years.

Many suppliers offer the 0.3 mg dose or lower.  Puritan's Pride has a
0.2 mg dose.  What I'm concerned with is finding a dose that maximizes
sleep and doesn't leave you tired in the day, since my reflux is more or
less controlled by omeprazole.  Also the time of day that melatonin is
taken seems to be important.  Some studies have suggested that it be
taken in the late afternoon, but I don't see any clear consensus.

I'll warn you that omeprazole and all its chemical cousins have
dangers
over time. I suspect it raises ones odds of either breast cancer or
prostate cancer. It is literal bad to the bone to use a pun. Plus
the PPI drug class may impair the availability of calcium, folate,
vitamin B-12,
and possibly inositol. Look at the PDR listing of adverse effects of
all the members of this drug class and believe it and then add to it.

Sure the time of day is important. Take it sometime before bedtime so
that it
is metabolized when you go out into the bright sun or at least
wear sun glasses if you get up early after the dose and go
into the sun assuming a nonstandard sleep schedule.

Trig

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/12/but-does-melato...
I take 6 mgs of melatonin and this dose stops
all symptoms of GERD. And there are 2 or 3
studies that have shown this benefit. And it
take this dose not 3.0 or 0.3 to do the job.
Do a Pubmed search with the search words
GERD and melatonin and then read the abstracts
and linked full articles.  And note the primary
producer of melatonin is the gut not the
pineal gland.  Melatonin works in part by
helping the lower esophageal sphincter to close
more tightly. Nor is this the only mechanism of
action. Do the reading.
Melatonin is vastly safer than the PPI meds which have
a list of known harms. Some of which I experienced
when taking this nasty class of meds.
Trig

Interesting. Why do you say it takes 6 mg?  Most of the papers I found
didn't give the dose, and a recent study found that 0.3 mg is most
effective for other purposes, higher doses having more negative side
effects.

Because IF you would read the limited research that was the effective
dose and plus it matches personal experience. In my personal
experience the 0.3 dose is piss poor advice even for the humble
task of getting off to sleep after you've taken it for a number
of days. The 0.3 dose was an dose advocated by an individual
who sought to seize melatonin from the public domain by
way of a patent.

I have never seen supplements with 0.3mg - suggest you read your
container again. What I see around (stores, etc) is 3mg - not 0.3.
This 3mg is what I have been taking for years.

Many suppliers offer the 0.3 mg dose or lower.  Puritan's Pride has a
0.2 mg dose.  What I'm concerned with is finding a dose that maximizes
sleep and doesn't leave you tired in the day, since my reflux is more or
less controlled by omeprazole.  Also the time of day that melatonin is
taken seems to be important.  Some studies have suggested that it be
taken in the late afternoon, but I don't see any clear consensus.

I'll warn you that omeprazole and all its chemical cousins have
dangers
over time. I suspect it raises ones odds of either breast cancer or
prostate cancer. It is literal bad to the bone to use a pun. Plus
the PPI drug class may impair the availability of calcium, folate,
vitamin B-12,
and possibly inositol. Look at the PDR listing of adverse effects of
all the members of this drug class and believe it and then add to it.
Sure the time of day is important. Take it sometime before bedtime so
that it
is metabolized when you go out into the bright sun or at least
wear sun glasses if you get up early after the dose and go
into the sun assuming a nonstandard sleep schedule.
Trig

Understand I take melatonin instead of the PPI meds which
became too toxic for me to take. And it take 6 milligrams not 0.3

If one take it an hour or half hour before bed the timing works out.