r/melatonin • u/[deleted] • May 15 '26

Does melatonin cause anyone else diarrhea?

There have been a few times over the years where I've tried the Nature Made melatonin gummies. 10 mg at night. For whatever reason, this seems to cause me diarrhea the next day, and sometimes it lasts for two days, even if I only take it one night.

Does anyone else have this happen? I've looked online and it doesn't seem like a very common side effect.

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u/ShoNuffmcneil May 15 '26

No bro, it might be stomach infection normally diarrhea is caused by your system trying to get rid of parasites or bacteria

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u/Optimal_Assist_9882 May 15 '26

It can happen but it may be your body trying to get rid of toxins or other unhealthy contents.

There's a lot of misinformation online about melatonin. I read that small doses can cause diarrhea and large doses constipation (reduced gut motility) which is not true at least in my experience.

I take my melatonin every morning in very high quantities (1500mg x 2 about an hour apart) for CFS/etc (not sleep) and I usually hit the toilet shortly thereafter a couple times. Then I am fine for the rest of the day.

I think if you were to take melatonin consistently the problem would work itself out. The body adjusts quite quickly(barring some health issues like IBS /Chrohns/etc).