Brain Fog, Melatonin and PPS
Question: Dr. Eulberg, probably because of all the world health issues that we are bombarded with constantly I have not been sleeping well so I decided to try Melatonin, 3mg at bed time. I have used it a few times and it does help me sleep, but the following day I feel like I'm functioning in a slight fog. I know that polio survivors have had some degree of brain involvement with the initial polio infection and I'm wondering if that is causing my foggy feeling.
Answer: Since you report the brain fog beginning after starting to take the melatonin, my first thought would be that the slight brain fog is a side-effect of the melatonin and not related to some brain involvement from your prior polio.
On days that you don’t take the melatonin do you have slight brain fog the next day? Or if you haven’t taken the melatonin for a couple nights, how do you feel in the morning? Although melatonin is generally safe, all chemicals, even if they are safe enough to be sold over the counter can still have undesirable side effects. You also have to decide whether the benefit of sleeping well is greater than the downside of slight brain fog the next day.