ResearchSafe

epithalon nightly drowsiness and injection‑site itch – my 12‑day run

Posted by greg_codes in Safety & Side Effects - 16 points, 6 comments.

5 mg subcut daily for 12 days. wanted to see if sleep quality shifted, so I hooked my ring to track stages and HRV. first three nights were fine, but around day 4 i felt a noticeable dip in morning alertness – like a “hangover” of drowsiness that lasted until mid‑afternoon.

HRV actually went up a bit (around 8 ms higher), but my REM proportion dropped from 22 % to about 16 %. injection sites on my abdomen got a mild itchy patch after each dose, looked like a tiny rash but cleared within an hour. i tried rotating spots and using a cold pack pre‑injection; itch lessened but the drowsiness persisted for the rest of the cycle.

stopped after day 12, and by day 2 post‑stop the drowsiness was gone and sleep timing normalized. just my own experience, could be placebo or circadian shift, but thought it worth posting for anyone tracking side effects.

Comments

  • maya62: I had a short epithalon trial a few months ago and noticed very similar pattern. My Oura ring showed a slight rise in RMSSD (about 7 ms) after the third day, but my deep‑sleep percentage fell from 18 % to 13 % and I felt groggy until early afternoon. The itch was also on the abdomen, about a centimetre wide, and disappeared after a quick cool compress. When I stopped after ten days the grogginess vanished within 24 h and sleep stage distribution returned to baseline. It could be a mild histamin
  • elle774: tbh that sounds spot on, I’ve seen the same dip in REM and the afternoon fog myself. The cool compress does help the itch, and I’ve started adding a tiny antihistamine dose before injection – it seems to blunt the drowsiness a bit. Have you tried any pre‑dose melatonin timing tweaks? 🌙🧪
  • greg_codes: yeah, i haven’t messed with melatonin yet. 3 mg at 9pm could shift things. i’ll give it a go next cycle and see if it eases the fog. thanks for the antihistamine tip – i’ll keep the 10 mg cetirizine pre‑dose and track any change in HRV. will let you know how it goes.
  • cole_l: The histamine idea makes sense tbh. I had something similar with a few different compounds where the site itch felt like a mild allergic reaction. It is interesting that both of you saw that dip in deep sleep stages. I dont know if its a common side effect or just a coincidence, but it seems like a consistent pattern for some people.
  • greg_codes: yeah nah, that histamine thing feels spot on. ngl, i was surprised by the rem drop too? it was a weird trade off because the hrv climb looked great on the chart. if you saw a dip in deep sleep, did it hit you right away or a few days in? for me it took until day 4 to really kick in? curious if that timing is the same for you? sweet as for sharing.
  • greg_codes: yeah nah, that's wild the numbers are so close. ngl it's weird we both saw that specific dip in deep or rem sleep while hrv stayed up? the histamine thing makes sense for the itch. you mentioned the cool compress, which worked for me too, though my rash was a bit wider than a centimetre. maybe it is just the melatonin timing? i'm keen to see if a different dose changes the grogginess next time?

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