If you ask your doctor, s/he should tell you that it is a psychostimulant drug, with all the potential side effects. History shows a poor track record for all similar drugs (amphetamines, cocaine, phentermine, fenfluramine etc)

It is licensed for narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnoea and shiftwork sleep disorder by the FDA in the US.

dito here: this is exactly how i do it.
3mg, that is.

Thanks for the insight everyone.
Jaas

I have not had any meds/pills (prescription or otherwise) to help me deal w/jet lag flying east.

However for what it's worth: If I'm flying to Europe, it's usually a late afternoon/early evening/late evening flight, which takes you to your destination in the early morning local time. In this case I tend to start my day a bit earlier than usual (4/4:30a or even earlier), go abt my regular day, and make sure that by the time I'm seated in the a/c I'm pretty much done w/my day - the logic being - the more I tire myself out during the day, the easier it would be for me to sleep on the plane - and hence wake up fresh across the pond.

As for as flying to Asia is concerned....I'm yet to figure out a fool-proof way to deal w/jet lag, but I've found *not* sleeping on the first long leg flight (to Europe) and *sleeping* on the flight to your Asian destination *usually* helps....but not quite, since flights to Asia reach in the middle of the night(at least mine anyway) and I end up staying up all night to catch a domestic flight....but I'm still able to pull of the next day as a regular day and maybe sleep a bit earlier in the evening.........after that, no jet-lag

Just my experience. Not sure if it's even related to your post, since you were specifically asking abt pills.

I have the exact same pattern except that I supplement the melatonin with several drinks at the airport bar before I board.

When I get to my destination I stay up until the sun sets and if possible walk around until the sun sets.

Right on the bottle it says not to mix with alcohol. If you drink before taking Melatonin, you may be playing with fire.

Not on my bottle

In our bodies, melatonin is produced by our pineal glands - so would that mean that we should never consume alcohol?

(but on a serious note, I'm not a doc so follow all directions on the bottle and not advice on FT)

It does not work for me at all. Sometimes I use Tylenol PM.

From what I've read here over the last few years, there's a tremendous variance among interventions that are successful.

I'd definitely say try them at home first.

How monfanil affects one likely depends on the individual. I find it wonderful for 6 - 12 hour time zone changes. I take a small dose for the first and second day and do not have amphetamine-like reactions at all - I don't even feel as jangled as I do after a cup of tea - I just feel alert, a tiny bit more outgoing and talkative if I am with others, but not at all "hyper" if I am by myself.

For sleep I find Lunesta gives me no hang-over, no drugged feeling.

Sylvia

Re: OP. I tried the stuff back when that first overhyped Conde Nast Traveler story came out years ago that started all this. Bottles of the stuff cost $20 or so back then. All it did was give me a headache.