DOSE:

3 mg

oral

Melatonin

(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

145 lb

I had not used Melatonin before this experience, and don't plan on doing so ever again.

My sleep pattern today was on the unusual side, I stayed up all night after not having slept all day (So I was awake for approx. 20 hours). Today, when I tried to stay up the entire day to reset my sleep schedule, I fell asleep at 10:00am, and then slept until approx. 5pm.

I went to bed last night with no Melatonin at 11:00 pm, falling asleep almost instantly. I had a short dream, almost nightmarish, but mostly just frustrating. Having slept earlier in the day, I awoke at 2:00am. I attempted to fall asleep again, but could not. I decided to take some Melatonin to see if it actually worked, thinking there would be no harm in it. A time line of the events follows:

At 3:15am- 3mg Melatonin (pill format) administered sublingually (under the tongue). Pill dissolves completely in around 3 minutes. Pill was delightfully minty.

At ap. 3:45am- No effects yet, I am thinking that the melatonin is not going to work.

At ap. 4:00am- I begin to fall asleep, imagining a conversation with someone. I continue to imagine this conversation, when I mention that my uncle was assassinated (all my uncles are alive and well, save for one who died before I was born, so I must have fell asleep). I begin to feel pressure on the right side of my neck, making it seem like my blood is having a harder time moving through that area. I awake suddenly still feeling pressure in my neck, having a sense of unease. I had fallen asleep without feeling like I fell asleep. It felt like I was halfway awake through the entire dream.

At ap. 4:15am- Pressure in neck has dissipated, unease still present.

At ap. 4:25am- I turn over onto my other side, flip the pillow over to the cool side. I notice the pressure in my neck is present again. I think that if I raise my neck off of the pillow completely, I'll feel better. I grab my smaller pillow and place it under my head, elevating my neck off the pillow. No change, pressure still present.

At ap. 4:40am- I begin to drift to sleep. I notice that when I close my eyes the pressure in my neck increases unpleasantly. I keep my eyes closed because I need to sleep.

At ap. 4:45am- I begin to think of how a noise in my house (the water softener, I believe) sounds a bit like a machine gun (I know it sounds nothing like a machine gun, I think I might have been having an auditory hallucination). With the machine gun thought in my mind, I begin thinking of Saving Private Ryan, which I had watched the previous night. I dream of myself as a German in one of the bunkers on Omaha Beach, gunning into the doors of the landing craft. Pressure in my neck becomes unbearable, throbbing with the machine gun sound. I wake up suddenly, pressure in neck very high.

At ap. 4:50am- I notice that in the previous dream experience, I imagined everything, but I didn't actually see anything. This unnerves me a great deal, to the point of being actually terrified. I am lying on my side, so I pull the blankets over my head and leave a space for my mouth and nose, but not my eyes.

At ap. 5:00am- I tell myself to ignore the pressure and fall asleep. I close my eyes completely and the pressure builds quickly, and the terror fades to great unease. I begin to drift off and the pressure goes away. It then comes back with a roar and I realize that I am both awake and paralyzed. I am absolutely terrified. I can't see anything because of the blankets over my head, but I just don't want to look around. I am by no means a supernatural believing person, but I felt that if I looked around I would see people all over my room staring at me. This thought stream continues for around 15 seconds when I feel my body relax. I then throw my covers off and drink some water.

At ap. 5:03am- I stay awake, get out of my bed, walk around my house to calm down.

At 5:10am (I finally checked my clock)- I lie back down, hoping to get some sleep. I close my eyes and pressure builds again. I open my eyes.

At ap. 5:13am- I close my eyes again, pressure builds quickly. Open eyes again.

From ap. 5:13am-5:40am- I close and open my eyes numerous times. I notice that if I take my ear off of the pillow, the sense of unease that comes with the pressure lessens. It may simply be that I feel more secure because I can hear more clearly.

At 5:40am- I give up on sleep, turn on my lights and start writing this report.

At 7:10am- I finish transferring this report from paper to my computer. I notice how damn cold I am, despite being wrapped in blankets with my house heater on.

Summary:

My mother and brother have used Melatonin with no side effects and nothing but glowing reports of its efficiency in regulating sleep. I know that there may be several factors in my bad experience:
1. A previous dream, bordering on a nightmare, may have put me on my guard.
2. The dose of Melatonin may be excessive.
3. My terrible sleeping pattern.
4. Melatonin synthesis is present during the use of many drugs like Cannabis and LSD. It is possible that a sudden increase in Melatonin (as opposed to a gradual increase due to darkness, as is natural in the human body) triggered these effects. I may have just had a bad trip.

I do not plan on using melatonin again. My sleep schedule is messed up, and attempting to regulate it halfway through the night was not a good idea. If I need to fall asleep again, I'll just take some Gravol and deal with the drowsiness the next day.

Exp Year: 2009	ExpID: 77249
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Nov 9, 2022	Views: 481
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Dreams (85), Melatonin (94) : Alone (16), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Difficult Experiences (5)