[hunson_abadeer]

> You can thank Mel Gibson and industry lobbying

Why do we always need a boogeyman?

Melatonin appears nearly harmless. Isn't it strange that we've grown so accustomed to so many things being restricted that we're taken aback by this sliver of medical self-determination, and we publish hard-hitting investigative pieces about how supposedly terrible that is?

I get it that we maybe don't want to go back to the era of "patent medicine" containing radium, but when we require prescriptions for birth control, eyeglasses, and non-narcotic sleep aids, maybe we've gone a bit too far.

[wnevets]

> Melatonin appears nearly harmless.

Does it? We really haven't done enough science on it.

> Melatonin has been linked to headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, drowsiness, confusion or disorientation, irritability and mild anxiety, depression and tremors as well as abnormally low blood pressure. It can also interact with common medications and trigger allergies. [1]

[1] https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/health/melatonin-overuse-well...

I've personally stopped using it because of how it started to make me feel. "Brain fog" was not uncommon, not to mention the lack of quality control of the dosage amounts on a pill to pill basis.

[vmladenov]

I don’t mean to be flippant but aren’t those all symptoms of sleep deprivation? I’m wary of phrasing like “linked to” in science reporting because it falls short of asserting causality.

[wnevets]

Like I mention not enough science has been done on this. However I felt better almost immediately after I stopped taking it.

[scrollaway]

Commenting on HN has been linked to most of these symptoms yet it’s not regulated either.

[wnevets]

If posting on HN is triggering allergies, stomach cramps or low blood pressure you should see a doctor and get off of HN.