Melatonin for Pancreatitis?

Maybe you've read or heard that some research suggests that the hormone and antioxidant melatonin, which many people know of as a sleep aid, may in fact be of benefit for those who suffer from acute and/or chronic pancreatitis.

Right now we only know that lab rats benefit from high doses of melatonin but when I began drinking large amounts of grapefruit juice in 1982 nobody knew it would stop my acute pancreatitis attacks, but it did. Now there is research that proves grapefruit seed extract (made from the juice, pulp and seeds of grapefruit) protects rats from acute pancreatitis and pancreas damage. Grapefruit juice protected me years before it protected rats so who knows about melatonin?

So far the good news is that melatonin seems to be non-toxic: "The acute toxicity of melatonin as seen in both animal and human studies is extremely low. Melatonin may cause minor adverse effects, such as headache, insomnia, rash, upset stomach, and nightmares. In animals, an LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of the subjects) could not be established. Even 800 mg/kg bodyweight (high dose) was not lethal.[138] Studies of human subjects given varying doses of melatonin (1-6.6 g/day) for 30-45 days, and followed with an elaborate battery of biochemical tests to detect potential toxicity, have concluded that, aside from drowsiness, all findings were normal at the end of the test period.[139,140]" If you are a registered Medscape user you can read the whole article here.

In other words melatonin won't kill you in 30 to 45 days at high doses. However ...

The article goes on to say: "Preliminary animal studies suggest that melatonin may accelerate the development of autoimmune conditions.[146] Melatonin transiently exacerbated neurologic symptoms in 1 patient with multiple sclerosis.[147]"

The above is not a good accolade since if you do not have an autoimmune disease now you may have one after using large doses of melatonin or if you do currently have an autoimmune disease such as MS, Celiac Disease, Sjogren's Syndrome etc., melatonin may make it worse. Plus ...

There are some other adverse effects as well including concern regarding increased atherosclerosis in the aorta of hypercholesterolemic rats, delayed puberty and hypogonadism in children, reduced sperm mobility, bipolar disease and classic depression.

So if you'd like to get a good nights sleep melatonin in small supplement doses ( 1 - 5 mgs) may be the answer but in regards to acute and chronic pancreatitis and the huge doses of melatonin given per hour, if it were me, I don't think I'd be going there anytime soon especially since I know for a fact that drinking grapefruit juice and taking the pancreatitis supplements for years has worked for me with NO adverse effects what-so-ever. And ...

I mean we're talking some healthy doses of supplements for 18 YEARS and I'm still breathing and my last blood tests (about 2 years ago) for amylase and lipase levels, pancreatic enzymes used to determine a diagnosis for pancreatitis, were NORMAL.

Supplements for Pancreatitis

People ask me what supplements for pancreatitis I use to keep my pancreas happy and where to get them so I'll list them here for you. You can purchase your own wherever you choose I use this source because they deliver almost anywhere and I am lazy but they are also usually cheaper in price than everyone else too which is a nice benefit and if you purchase over $25 worth  of qualified product shipping is usually free (in the USA). Now ...

The health supplements for pancreatitis I personally use are gluten free because I am a celiac so wheat, barley, rye are not acceptable in my supplements. One is a vegetarian vcap, two are regular capsules, One is in tablet form and one is a powder formula. These are NOT in order of importance. ALL are important.

1) Curcumin puts out the fire of inflammation and so helps control pain. It is also a powerful antioxidant and it also inhibits cancer growth by actually causing cancer cells to die (according to some research). I use the Vcaps and I make sure I ingest plenty of black pepper during the day (in food) to help the absorption of the curcumin. There are those who will insist that you need to buy expensive curcumin in combo with Piperine but it seems to me that plain old black pepper works the same.

Jarrow Formulas Curcumin 95, 500mg, 120 Capsules

2) Grape Seed Extract is another very strong anti-inflammatory but it is also one of the most powerful antioxidants on earth and one of the few that will cross the blood-brain barrier. According to research grape seed extract causes cancer cells to die but more importantly grape seed extract in combination with curcumin and vitamin C help relieve nausea and pain (at least they do for me) that we all know are two rotten symptoms of pancreatitis. Over time it helps heal the pancreas, at least it did mine but instead of simply taking me at my word read this second to the last sentence in a sholar type article: "supplementation of GSPE ameliorates chronic pancreatitis in humans." The word ameliorates means "to make or become better, improve." So get some and see if it works for you too.

NOW Foods Grape Seed Anti 100mg

3) Vitamin C is another antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and essential nutrient. Vitamin C can do so many things and it has done wonders for me, in combination with grape seed extract and curcumin. The three in combination are extremely powerful pancreatitis remedies. This particular formula also contains bioflavonoids and rose hips.

Now Foods, Vitamin C-500 Tabs

4) Enzymes are important simply because your pancreas produces digestive enzymes and the less your pancreas has to work the better. If your pancreas has sustained a large amount of damage it may not produce enough enzymes to digest your food and of course this makes an enzyme supplement mandatory. The enzymes I use contain pancreatin 4X which is Amylase, Lipase and Protease.

Super Enzymes Caps

5) Vitamins, Minerals and Antioxidants are important simply because with pancreatitis we can often suffer from malabsorption which simply means we do not absorb the nutrients in our food like we should. Extra vitamins, minerals and antioxidants may be very helpful in providing more energy and all-around better health. About this formula it may not be the best but if it isn't, and I have scoured the net and health stores it is very close. Most are natural vitamins/mineral from plant sources but a few are synthetic, which most of the well known multi-vitamins are and synthetic vitamins suck compared to the real thing. This formula also uses a much higher grade of B12 and B12 is important for making blood and except for one source of sea vegetation can only be gotten from animal products. That is why I use this formula. It's gluten free and of excellent quality.

Multiple Vitamins & Minerals - Fruit Antioxidant

Well, there you have them. Those are the exact formulas I use every day. You may wish to use different formulas, like I said I need to use those because they are gluten free and it is difficult to find quality, gluten free supplements. I use the ones above, I can vouch they work. The "they work" part is important. However ...

IF you decide to use another product, that is perfectly cool but make sure you do not buy grape seed or curcumin or vitamin C that is coupled with mineral or vitamins. You want your THREE supplements to be as pure as possible so that they are non-toxic in large doses. In other words you want quality, stand-alone grape seed extract and stand-alone curcumin. The vitamin C w/bioflavonoids and rose hips.

Now ...

How I take the supplements.

I take one capsule each of grape seed, curcumin and vit C in the morning when I get up, usually on an empty stomach and then have my coffee and a smoke lol. The enzymes I take just before I eat sometimes with another dose (one cap each) of grape seed, curcumin and vit C and then I take my last dose of grape seed, curcumin, vit C and the vitamin/mineral/antioxidant drink at night before bed. I only use HALF the dose on the label of the powder vitamin/mineral/antioxidant formula, one rounded teaspoon instead of a tablespoon because that is all that is needed to get a good dose of nutrients However ...

When I started with the supplements years ago when I was still quite sick I took them (grape seed extract, curcumin and vit C) 4 times per day and the grape seed extract in fairly large amounts of 200 milligrams, 4 times per day. The curcumin I was using at that time came in much smaller amounts so it comprised about 400 mgs total per day for curcumin at that time. And the vitamin C was about 5,000 milligrams per day. I've taken upto 10,000 mgs per day of vitamin C with no adverse effects but some folks get stomach cramps and diarrhea with large doses of vitamin C similar to eating to much fruit or to many green apples. So start with small doses and work up to about 4,000 - 5,000 milligrams per day.

All three are non-toxic so you can take large amounts without fear of a lethal overdose however ...

When you first start out you may experience some unpleasant effects due to the fact that those powerful pancreatitis supplements are purging your body of toxic waste so it may be prudent to start off with the minimum dose of once per day and then add another dose and then another and so on until your pain and other symptoms resolve. Then stay at a fairly strong dose until your abdomen is no longer tender and your symptoms have disappeared.

I must say this - and this is important - the supplements work however they alone did NOT do it for me. It was Supplements and MY Pancreatitis Diet in combination that worked to heal my pancreas. ONE (either one) helps but will not produce healing - at least it didn't for me. It wasn't until I learned that I NEEDED BOTH to heal that my healing began.

I also drank large amounts of grapefruit juice, probably a gallon per day, starting in 1982 which was years before I found the supplements. YES, I said a gallon. If it wasn't a gallon it was damn close to it. It was grapefruit juice that first stopped my acute pancreatitis attacks. I did NOT know that until I found research several months ago that said grapefruit protected mice from acute pancreatitis. Yes, I know we are not mice but I don't think it is simply happenstance that my acute attacks resolved once I started drinking large amounts of grapefruit juice because grapefruit juice contains OPC's which are found in larger quantities in grape seed extract.

So, get yourself the supplements, take them religiously for life (they are not a cure - there is no cure), adhere to my chronic pancreatitis diet and start healing. Of course you can do what you want but so far this regimen or whatever you want to call it has bought me some really good years I may not have had otherwise. In fact, I may have already been dead by now.

Good luck and I hope you find healing!