What is your reasoning for thinking your low insulin might be a result of you taking high dose melatonin? I have never seen any evidence of melatonin improving insulin sensitivity or lowering insulin.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpi.12809
@Olafurpall, I got the idea it was a possibility from the above article. I believe someone on this site shared it. I’ve also been keto for awhile so that’s probably impacted it as well. I feel good though.
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I take a high dose melatonin. Because I do weekly blood tests I tend not to fast for them and the last time I had an insulin measurement (not all the labs I use do insulin as part of a package) it was 56.9 pmol/l. The range in pmol/l is 17.8-173.0.
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Thanks John. I’m going to retest in September. If I felt bad I’d be more concerned but in the context of having an normal fasting blood glucose of 80 I’ve decided to not be overly worried.
That sort of fasting glucose is a good result. Depending on your budgets I would run a CGM session to at least get a baseline of what happens with glucose. Abbott I think offer a free testing session. I am not quite sure how Dexcom handle their sessions, but they may allow you to buy only one session.
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Lower insulin generally means lower IR
“We conclude that melatonin ameliorated hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and insulin sensitivity, and the results are an update of a previous meta-analysis. Although more investigations are required, we clearly provide evidence for the use of melatonin as an adjuvant treatment for metabolic disorders involving IR.”
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Thanks for the input @John_Hemming and @desertshores. Initially I admittedly freaked out because the lab said critical but I think in my particular context it actually seems fine and perhaps even good.
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Lower insulin generally means lower IR
Yes. That’s exactly why I was surprised when she though melatonin improved insulin sensitivity. In particular since I had never heard of it reducing insulin, and quite on the contrary I have seen at least one study indicating that time release melatonin reduced insulin sensitivity in the morning.
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It is a bit confusing for me tbh. I do take at least 10mg time released melatonin every night and I’ve taken much higher doses at other times. My blood draw was in the morning about 12 hours after taking melatonin. I don’t have diabetes and corrected metabolic syndrome about 5 years ago.
Do you have any studies that say that CGM is accurate?
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CGMs have an allowed error which is I think 10%. But the glucose response varies for example even based on walking after eating and other things.
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“Some people wore 2 simultaneous CGMs”
Constant glucose monitors are problematic at best.
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I have used Dexcom G6 and G7 as well as Abbott Freestyle Libre 2 and was happy with all of them. I was not happy with the E500 which makes up the figures.
I have learnt a lot from them. Not least it is clear that simply walking home from the pub after having breakfast has a significant effect on blood glucose and hence the AUC. Also when I am drunk my blood sugar is really low which may give one reason why my HbA1c is quite low.
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Plus or minus 10% to 30% is FDA acceptable, com paired to certified laboratory measurement.
FWIW
This is my view
I have been using a E500 since October/November 2022.
Unit works fine for my use, you need to calibrate the app software “H Band” to a blood glucose monitor and or lab tests.
Also calibrate the blood pressure portion to a blood pressure monitor.
The data provided by the E500 is more than more than adequate when calibrated.
For a cost of less than $50.00 it is a “no brainier”
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“Alcohol reduces glucose throughout the brain and body and likewise impairs many forms of self-control. Furthermore, self-control failure is most likely during times of the day when glucose is used least effectively. Self-control thus appears highly susceptible to glucose.”
Interesting thought. Something I didn’t know or had not considered.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1088868307303030?journalCode=psra
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It is quite interesting. Alcohol has quite a wide range of effects. Some of those from ethanol, some from acetaldehyde, and some from acetate.
Some are good. Some are bad. The net balance is probably bad, but I am not certain about that.
To explain a bit more to provide context. I played a gig today at the St Giles Beer Festival.
I was quite tired when I came home so I have drunk 1 bottle of white wine (mixed with ice and 2 litres of soda water), 2 pints of lager and a can of cider. I have also taken 2g of pantethine and 1g of DHM.
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Ah my home town. I do miss a good Perry.
Self-control failures are more likely when glucose is low or cannot be mobilized effectively to the brain (i.e., when insulin is low or insensitive). Restoring glucose to a sufficient level typically improves self-control. Numerous self-control behaviors fit this pattern, including controlling attention, regulating emotions, quitting smoking, coping with stress, resisting impulsivity, and refraining from criminal and aggressive behavior.
The current results suggest that interventions designed to provide individuals with metabolic energy might foster more harmonious couple interactions. Interventions that increase brain glycogen, for instance, might help provide additional metabolic energy that can be used for the self-controlled restraint of aggressive urges (26). This may be an effective intervention beyond couples; giving individuals more access to food could be a potential tool for curbing aggression by bolstering resources for effective self-control. This intervention might be especially important in stressful settings in which aggression might erupt, such as in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and schools.
Relatedly, our emphasis on glucose levels neglected the possible importance of glucose tolerance—how effectively glucose is broken down into energy—in modulating our effects. Poor glucose tolerance is a core feature of some conditions, such as diabetes. Other research has also shown that elevated diabetic symptoms relate to greater aggressiveness (12). Future work may explore whether poor glucose tolerance represents a risk factor for intimate partner violence.
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