Could Melatonin Relieve Pain?

I find this one interesting - Has anyone every had a test to check hormone levels - It just occurs to me that when pregnant migraine tend to disappear......
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Have you ever been in pain? Chances are you’re wincing as you answer that question. Pain is the most common symptom of all medical conditions. Therefore, pain relief is not only essential for recovery but also key for keeping you sane. We may now be able to turn to nature for help with this ubiquitous ailment. A recent review examined the use of the hormone, melatonin as a painkiller in fibromyalgia, irritable bowl syndrome (IBS) and migraines.

What Is Melatonin

Melatonin is naturally produced in the brain from tryptophan but can also be found in dietary sources such as tart cherry juice, tomatoes, grape skins and the seeds from fennel, celery, poppy and sunflower. Although dietary sources may not contain the dosage similar to the synthetic version, the natural hormone may act as an antioxidant protecting against free-radical damage.

1. IBS Relief: When measuring pain tolerance in rats, those given synthetic melatonin showed a higher tolerance for pain as compared to a control group. In human studies, pain was reduced in patients with IBS.

2. Chronic Migraine Relief: Even more interesting was that migraine frequency and severity was reduced among the melatonin users. Current pain relievers such as nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and morphine can be addictive, have adverse side effects and can actually increase your chances of developing chronic migraines.

3. Fibromyalgia Relief: In looking at studies of patients with fibromyalgia, which is a condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and sleep problems; those who ingested synthetic melatonin reported less pain than the control group. It is thought that fibromyalgia amplifies pain by affecting the way your brain processes the signals. For the one in 50 Americans whom are estimated to have fibromyalgia, pain management is a struggle. Up until now, medicine, sleep, exercise, stress reduction, and yoga have been helpful in managing symptoms.

It remains unclear how melatonin acts as a painkiller. Scientists performed a review of studies conducted in both rats and humans. Although when examined in these studies, melatonin was not found to have any adverse side effects. However, the hormone is not recommended during pregnancy, lactation or with some medications so consult your physician first.


Read more at FYI Living: http://fyiliving.com/diet/vitamins-supplements/could-melatonin-relieve-pain/#ixzz1QBClF4Fs

My GP issued me with a teeny dose of this but warned me it can cause headaches....Like how would I know if I had one all the time..helps you sleep too but GP are reticent to give you the dose you need.

J
x

Another one I've tried! I managed to get hold of some years ago (sounds like I did some sort of drug deal, doesn't it?!) I only gave it a short trial, but I think it made things worse, or that was the feeling I got, so I stopped.

In terms of pregnancy, I thought (but I'm not sure) that the reason pregnancy normally halts migraines is the high amounts of progesterone, ie that oestrogen levels being high and progesterone low is the trigger. This would also explain why people's hormonal migraines tend to get worse in the years prior to the menopause, as oestrogen drops, but not as fast as progesterone does.

Mine didn,t disapear,they became worse,thats how l new l was pregnant ,with always 3 toghether.Apart from the migraines,which were without end,HM always with aura,l had chronic nausea and vomiting ,fainting ,l was unable to stand up,and after a migraine with my 2nd child,l was unable to lift my arms up for 3 mths,this would go on until the 5-6 mth then l became kinda normal.l even breastfed as l really wanted to,more than anything ,and for the 1st year l was free of any migraines,but wouldn,t be able to breastfed for ever,also it didn,t put me off as l have 3 children ha!oh! l had a migraine after my 2nd boy was born the day we came home from hospital.And had to take medicine to stop labour pains which started early to stop them being premature.