4 ms·
The dosage of melatonin you can buy over-the-counter in the US always surprises me. In the UK I believe it’s only 2mg with a prescription, but I was seeing 5mg+
by cjrp 3y ago
The dosage of melatonin you can buy over-the-counter in the US always surprises me. In the UK I believe it’s only 2mg with a prescription, but I was seeing 5mg+ just in a grocery store.
- matthewaveryusa 3y agoBehold the new target market: children at 1mg [1]. The US markets melatonin as a vitamin. I really have no clue on the long term adverse effects, but having used 5mg as a sleeping aid for a bit, one thing is for sure: melatonin is really not for OTC child use. I'm shocked that this is legal! [1] https://www.target.com/s/kids+melatonin+gummies https://www.target.com/s/kids+melatonin+gummies
- cjrp 3y agoMy friend, a children’s psychiatric nurse, said they offer something like 0.2mg doses for kids in their care. 1mg is huge!
- vl 3y agoYes, let’s make everything illegal, so you have to pay somebody to give a prescription to you any time you need anything. Somebody else always knows better what is good for you! Especially it will help poor people, which already shop at veterinary stores instead of pharmacies.
- loeg 3y agoPart of the problem historically (into the 2010s) was that MIT had a patent on doses of melatonin under 1mg[1]. So manufacturers could only avoid the patent by selling larger doses. That patent is expired but to some extent customers probably still think more is better. Personally, I use a fairly large dose of melatonin daily without ill effect; and it works better for me than smaller doses. [1]: https://patents.google.com/patent/US5641801A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US5641801A/en
- Zak 3y agoI've seen few better examples of what's wrong with the patent system than this.
- vidarh 3y agoUp to 2mg for sleep, 3mg for jet lag in the UK. 3mg affects me badly - I take at most 1mg.