Melatonin slow release experience?

[Henke]

Ok - 

So until last night I was pain free on Melatonin.

Two weeks into my last episode I started Melatonin 10mg at night before bedtime, I've never tried it before. (I have tried most except brain implants and Lithium.) Anyway - first three days I went from 2-3 attacks a day to one which always came at about 9pm, which is an unusual pattern. My brilliant mind then came up with the idea of taking an extra 5mg at about 6pm (still taking the 10 mg just before I go to bed at about 11pm). Amazingly I was completely pain free for 10 days!!! Needless to say that has never happened mid-cycle before and it has been such a high not having attacks for so long. The less brilliant side of me decided to reduce the nighttime 10mg to 5mg two days after which I woke up with a headache (last night really bad one) I think a few hours after having gone to bed. (I didn't check the time and was a little confused as I was late in taking the zomig nasal spray - partly because I had been completely without attacks for so many days and convinced I had solved the whole thing and partly because Melatonin makes me have weird dreams and part of me hoped I was dreaming). So I'm going back to 5mg at 6pm and another 10mg at about 10/10.30.

My question is now if anyone else has tried any type of slow release Melatonin or in any other way tried to divide up the dose? In that case how?

Melatonin doesn't make me sleepy or drowsy but like I said really funky vivid dreams. I'm a pediatrician and every two weeks or so I am on call/duty and have to answer the phone at night and make medical decisions. I only had one night on call about a week ago and I was fully alert no problem when the phone rang but I did find easier to go back to sleep after each time I was disturbed. I'm 47 and I've had CH since my late teens with attacks 2-3 hours with episodes usually lasting about 3 months until about 3 years ago when I went chronic for about 9 months and then pain free for about a year and a half until about a month ago. Usually I get by with Zomig nasal spray but can have really bad "shadow" pain for 2-3 days sometimes.

[FunTimes]

I use Melatonin at 20mg every night. I started out at 5 and worked my way up to 20. I also find it does help with overnight hits and when things get really bad I add Benadryl at bed time. I take it all at once and never thought of splitting it up a few hours before I go to bed and then just before I lay down. 

It does help