My first try with melatonin as a COVID prophylaxis

[JacksinPA]

Without first calling to let me know he was coming this AM, a Dell tech arrived to work on my computer. He was wearing a mask. I asked him if he was OK, and got a yes. So he spent an hour in my office.

As an experiment, I opened a bottle of melatonin & took a 10 mg capsule about 3 hours ago, just after the tech had arrived. So far I feel no sleepiness or other effect from the drug. This is great as I was concerned about sleepiness affecting my driving ability back & forth between my doctor & the hospital.

My wife, however, refused my request to have her take one as she was concerned about getting sleepy during the day. She promised to take one before bed.

 

[Visbek]

Uhm... That isn't exactly proof of anything.

I might add, I'm seeing reports of possibly using it as a treatment, not a preventative.

I suggest you wait until some studies are complete.

 

[JacksinPA]

Uhm... That isn't exactly proof of anything.

I might add, I'm seeing reports of possibly using it as a treatment, not a preventative.

I suggest you wait until some studies are complete.

It was an experiment & I learned a lot from the results so far. I will be repeating this experiment when I receive crocin.

I'm not trying to prove anything but hope to learn a lot. Both chemicals have been shown to inhibit the viral maturation enzyme Mpro. Having them in my system while in a high risk environment I want to do whatever I can to either avoid infection or, if infected, suffer only a mild case that does not need a stay in hospital. That makes sense to me.

 

[JasperL]

Without first calling to let me know he was coming this AM, a Dell tech arrived to work on my computer. He was wearing a mask. I asked him if he was OK, and got a yes. So he spent an hour in my office.

As an experiment, I opened a bottle of melatonin & took a 10 mg capsule about 3 hours ago, just after the tech had arrived. So far I feel no sleepiness or other effect from the drug. This is great as I was concerned about sleepiness affecting my driving ability back & forth between my doctor & the hospital.

My wife, however, refused my request to have her take one as she was concerned about getting sleepy during the day. She promised to take one before bed.

I hadn't heard about this connection. The good news is I've been taking melatonin as a mild sleep aid for years, and so will continue.

It does have a sedating effect, but it's mild. I wouldn't suggest it during the day unless you don't really mind having that effect. But, sure, if you're otherwise engaged mentally or physically, it won't put you to sleep. It's useless for me on long plane rides, for example - too many distractions, seat too uncomfortable.

I guess the way it affects me is something like the difference between 10pm on a normal night, and 1am. If I want and there's a reason, I can function fine at 1am, such as at a party or binging on some show, tying flies for a fishing trip I'm excited about , but if I shut down, get into bed, turn out the lights at 1am I'm more likely to fall asleep quicker, and then stay asleep than at 10pm. That's roughly what melatonin does for me. And from all I've read it's very safe.

 

[JacksinPA]

I hadn't heard about this connection. The good news is I've been taking melatonin as a mild sleep aid for years, and so will continue.

It does have a sedating effect, but it's mild. I wouldn't suggest it during the day unless you don't really mind having that effect. But, sure, if you're otherwise engaged mentally or physically, it won't put you to sleep. It's useless for me on long plane rides, for example - too many distractions, seat too uncomfortable.

I guess the way it affects me is something like the difference between 10pm on a normal night, and 1am. If I want and there's a reason, I can function fine at 1am, such as at a party or binging on some show, tying flies for a fishing trip I'm excited about , but if I shut down, get into bed, turn out the lights at 1am I'm more likely to fall asleep quicker, and then stay asleep than at 10pm.

I have not tried it for sleep. I have found over the past few days that a number of hits off my ice bong in early AM usually gives me 3-4 hours of sound sleep. I'm keeping the melatonin as both a possible preventive & treatment should my wife & I get infected. Same with crocin.

I've studied the coronavirus family & they all (MERS, SARS, etc) share the same life style: upon entry into your cells, the virus is inactive from an infection POV. It has to undergo several maturation steps before it becomes infective. The key viral component responsible for maturation is known as the main protease, or Mpro. Both melatonin & crocin have been shown to have inhibitory effects on this enzyme. Inhibit Mpro & you either kill the virus or at least slow down its rate & severity of infection. Since neither is a drug, both products are available from sources like Amazon. They may not be 100% effective but it beats doing nothing & being powerless should you get the virus. I'm gambling to improve the chances of surviving it for both my wife & myself.

 

[snakestretcher]

It was an experiment & I learned a lot from the results so far. I will be repeating this experiment when I receive crocin.

I'm not trying to prove anything but hope to learn a lot. Both chemicals have been shown to inhibit the viral maturation enzyme Mpro. Having them in my system while in a high risk environment I want to do whatever I can to either avoid infection or, if infected, suffer only a mild case that does not need a stay in hospital. That makes sense to me.

 

[snakestretcher]

Without first calling to let me know he was coming this AM, a Dell tech arrived to work on my computer. He was wearing a mask. I asked him if he was OK, and got a yes. So he spent an hour in my office.

As an experiment, I opened a bottle of melatonin & took a 10 mg capsule about 3 hours ago, just after the tech had arrived. So far I feel no sleepiness or other effect from the drug. This is great as I was concerned about sleepiness affecting my driving ability back & forth between my doctor & the hospital.

My wife, however, refused my request to have her take one as she was concerned about getting sleepy during the day. She promised to take one before bed.

How about just leaving the room? It's a bit radical, I know, but...

 

[JacksinPA]

How about just leaving the room? It's a bit radical, I know, but...

Working on a computer that has a problem requires me to be in fairly close proximity to the tech.

 

[JacksinPA]

I felt no physical reaction to the 10mg of melatonin I took yesterday morning, which is good. No sleepiness.

 

[fireflygmf]

Uhm... That isn't exactly proof of anything.

I might add, I'm seeing reports of possibly using it as a treatment, not a preventative.

I suggest you wait until some studies are complete.

Well, he can't wait because the event happened now. He either has to take action now or not, there is no 'wait then act' option. So in that respect I agree with him, he has to act now, or do nothing.

It was an experiment & I learned a lot from the results so far. I will be repeating this experiment when I receive crocin.

I'm not trying to prove anything but hope to learn a lot. Both chemicals have been shown to inhibit the viral maturation enzyme Mpro. Having them in my system while in a high risk environment I want to do whatever I can to either avoid infection or, if infected, suffer only a mild case that does not need a stay in hospital. That makes sense to me.

Yeah, but what is it you think you are learning? Your observation is going to be anecdotal only, since you could have avoided infection without the use of melatonin, if you have a strong immune system. There really is no way of knowing anything with any degree of certainty here. If there are randomized controlled studies out there that have showed efficacy, then yes, you could lean on those and take action, sure. But don't think for one instant you are uncovering anything useful with a sample of 1.

 

[JacksinPA]

Well, he can't wait because the event happened now. He either has to take action now or not, there is no 'wait then act' option. So in that respect I agree with him, he has to act now, or do nothing.



Yeah, but what is it you think you are learning? Your observation is going to be anecdotal only, since you could have avoided infection without the use of melatonin, if you have a strong immune system. There really is no way of knowing anything with any degree of certainty here. If there are randomized controlled studies out there that have showed efficacy, then yes, you could lean on those and take action, sure. But don't think for one instant you are uncovering anything useful with a sample of 1.

I don't want the COVID-19 so I am taking reasonable steps to avoid it. This is a purely personal decision, the results being anecdotal or not. For all I care, you should skip melatonin. I hope it works out OK for you.