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Original poster

melatonin- can I buy in the UK?

42 replies

byejacques · 15/07/2022 01:02

I’m typing this at 1am, staring down the barrel of another sleepless night. i know in America you can buy melatonin OTC but from my googling it appears to be prescription only in the UK. However I’ve seen people on here mention that they’ve bought it from Amazon etc. are the products available online not ‘real’ melatonin? Because that would be illegal to sell I assume?

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 02/08/2022 09:54

You can buy it online, it's legal to ship medicines within Europe. It doesn't make much sense but I hope they don't close that loophole as Ovex is prescription only where I live (bloody Ovex!!) and getting a prescription for it is a giant hassle so I buy online from Belgium or Netherlands where it's OTC.

x2boys · 02/08/2022 09:58

byejacques · 15/07/2022 13:32

Thanks for the info! Do you find it effective?

It can work really well for some people, it didn't for my son but it works for many people.

chipsandpeas · 02/08/2022 09:59

i used to get mine from vitamin grocer which sent it from the USA not bought it in a while as last time i was in the US i brought enough back to last about a year if i was to take it every night

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BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 02/08/2022 09:59

Biovea do a liquid ones that come with a dropper which gives a more consistent dose IME. They are much lower dosages too, either 1mg or 3mg, the gummies are far too high, usually at least 5mg.

I take it occasionally but my last three orders haven't made it through border controls so I'm trying Kalm nighttime instead. It's not actually illegal for me to order melatonin so they just seize it and send me a letter warning me not to buy prescription goods. They might be a bit more lax in the UK though, they seem to have tightened up here in Ireland because five or six years ago I had no problem getting an order through.

Forthelasttime09 · 02/08/2022 10:00

PollyPingit · 02/08/2022 08:50

I bloomin love mumsnet! Just came on to do a search as my poor dd was crying last night saying she just wants to get a nights sleep…. I’ve ordered from biovea now :)))

How old is your daughter?

longtompot · 02/08/2022 10:06

My dd buys an antihistamine tablet which has a fairly strong sedative effect and helps her sleep when she's had a bad few nights (arthritis and fibro pain) She doesn't take it too often as the effect can wear off, but when she does she sleeps for 15 hours!

paulmccartneysbagel · 02/08/2022 10:14

monicagellerbing · 02/08/2022 09:36

@paulmccartneysbagel can you tell me the name please? My son is undiagnosed as yet ADHD and sometimes takes 3 hours to fall asleep

It's called Super Smart melatonin spray - 60ml bottle and each spray is 1mg.

2 sprays are enough for my 10 year old.

LindaEllen · 02/08/2022 10:32

You should absolutely go through the GP rather than order things online from random countries to give to your child.. Jesus.

MissyCooperismyShero · 02/08/2022 10:49

Do people seriously think you have to go through a gp to get drugs? And that it's illegal to buy non prescription medication? Neither are true.

TeenDivided · 02/08/2022 11:19

MissyCooperismyShero · 02/08/2022 10:49

Do people seriously think you have to go through a gp to get drugs? And that it's illegal to buy non prescription medication? Neither are true.

No, but I personally would be wary of buying from abroad as there wouldn't be the usual checks on quality as medicine bought from reputable stores in the UK, or prescribed.

Maybe I'm lucky, but my DD was prescribed melatonin. I'd like to try her without it, but we are withdrawing her from other things right now and I don't want to change too much in one go.

Comefromaway · 02/08/2022 11:26

in my are GP's can't prescribe it. My GP agreed autistic ds needed it and referred him to the consultant, who decided he needed to be assessed for ADHD instead with a view to being prescribed something else. Two years later his ADHD assessment finally happened and he was found to be definitely autistic and did NOT have ADHD.

By which time I had discovered a company called Biovea who ship from the US. The nurse who did his ADHD assessment told us we were doing the right thing and we could up his melatonin dose but that it wasn't allowed to be prescribed.

BertieBotts · 02/08/2022 12:05

No, but I personally would be wary of buying from abroad as there wouldn't be the usual checks on quality as medicine bought from reputable stores in the UK, or prescribed.

True for some countries, but I have absolutely no issue with buying OTC products from within the EU for example.

I don't know why people think it isn't the same stuff as what gets prescribed - why wouldn't it be?

DonateBloodNCheckSmokeAlarms · 02/08/2022 12:45

I got mine here: www.pharmica.co.uk/jet-lag/

Kennykenkencat · 04/12/2022 03:20

Brendabigbaps · 02/08/2022 09:33

the melatonin you can buy abroad isn’t the same as prescription, be careful with what you order!
melatonin also doesn’t work indefinitely, tapers off after 4 weeks.
this is info from an adhd practitioner

I took it for a few years. I got it from the US
The U.K. stuff was useless

I take Ashwagandha. That works very well for me

melatoninuser · 22/01/2024 20:54

Piping Rock worked really well for me, the shipping was just £4, amazing!

Rivieranights · 22/01/2024 21:07

I ordered some from https://www.farmaciaenandorra.com/shop/ before Christmas. It took about 10 days to arrive, had to pay a very small customs charge. They had labelled it as toothpaste so it got to me fine.

Farmacia Tristaina | Andorra la Vella

Farmacia Tristaina en Andorra la Vella

https://www.farmaciaenandorra.com/shop/

RandomMess · 03/02/2025 18:17

I've just put an order in for Biovea, GP told me to buy it on line.

Have been on the ADHD waiting list 2 years but apparently it is now 4+ years...

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