Melatonin

[airial95]

We've been off the abx for about 2 wks now, and it's not been quite as disasterous as we expected. We've seen a small flare up in his OCD, but nothing unmanageable. And when he does have a fit, they're closer to the meltdowns of old - but still, not quite as bad.

 

Dr. Murphy's office wants to keep him off the abx for as long as they can to give his system a rest (he's been on for just shy of a year) - they're hoping for at least 2 months, but if we have 5 days of bad symptoms in a row, we're back on. So we're hanging in there for now.

 

My issue is since the day he went off the abx, he has not slept a single night!! In 2 weeks!!! If he does fall asleep at his normal bedtime, it's only for a couple of hours, and then he's up on and off until about 6 AM. If he doesn't fall asleep at bedtime, he's up playing until about 2-3 AM. Considering he's only 3, if he's up, so is mommy - which has not made for a happy household.

 

He's still been napping for us, but not as well as normal either with the exception of a couple of really good ones that I think were the result of the lack of sleep catching up with him. (And of course the long naps didn't help at bedtime!!)

 

The Dr. recommended using melatonin to help him out, however, she didn't specify any dosage, and I'm very confused.

 

He's 3, and just finally cracked 30 lbs. The only information the pharmacist could find for children specified 2.5-7.5 mg, but gave no specifics.

 

We gave him 3 mg last night, and after a pretty bad seperation anxiety episode about letting my husband leave the room, he actually slept until 4 AM - but he woke up terrified with the worst nightmare I've ever seen him have.

 

Is that a common thing with melatonin?

 

We've never used it, so any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[NVAmom]

We have not seen bad dreams with melatonin. However, I think it may have made my son irritable the next day....BUT that was before we knew about PANDAS so it could have been exacerbations and not the melatonin. We use it with our dd8 and I haven't noticed any side effects. The first time I gave it to her she took it with her augmentin and did not even ask what it was or why she was taking an extra pill. The next morning she woke up and said 'I've never fallen asleep so fast before'. I give her a 3.5 mg pill cut in half when she is having an exacerbation or has mistakenly had food dyes. I hope you both get some sleep soon:)

[dcmom]

I do think nightmares can be an issue w/ too much melatonin. My 40 something lb daughter uses .5 mg, and my 70lber uses 1 mg.

 

I think it is trial and error, and I would start low, see what the lowest dose that works is.

 

It has been a lifesaver for us. It almost always works to get them TO sleep. Does not, I think, always prevent night waking - but we haven't had too many issues with that.

 

I wish you rest.

[philamom]

We've been off the abx for about 2 wks now, and it's not been quite as disasterous as we expected. We've seen a small flare up in his OCD, but nothing unmanageable. And when he does have a fit, they're closer to the meltdowns of old - but still, not quite as bad.

 

Dr. Murphy's office wants to keep him off the abx for as long as they can to give his system a rest (he's been on for just shy of a year) - they're hoping for at least 2 months, but if we have 5 days of bad symptoms in a row, we're back on. So we're hanging in there for now.

 

My issue is since the day he went off the abx, he has not slept a single night!! In 2 weeks!!! If he does fall asleep at his normal bedtime, it's only for a couple of hours, and then he's up on and off until about 6 AM. If he doesn't fall asleep at bedtime, he's up playing until about 2-3 AM. Considering he's only 3, if he's up, so is mommy - which has not made for a happy household.

 

He's still been napping for us, but not as well as normal either with the exception of a couple of really good ones that I think were the result of the lack of sleep catching up with him. (And of course the long naps didn't help at bedtime!!)

 

The Dr. recommended using melatonin to help him out, however, she didn't specify any dosage, and I'm very confused.

 

He's 3, and just finally cracked 30 lbs. The only information the pharmacist could find for children specified 2.5-7.5 mg, but gave no specifics.

 

We gave him 3 mg last night, and after a pretty bad seperation anxiety episode about letting my husband leave the room, he actually slept until 4 AM - but he woke up terrified with the worst nightmare I've ever seen him have.

 

Is that a common thing with melatonin?

 

We've never used it, so any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

That does seem like a strong dose for a 3yr old. We use Natrol Melatonin liquid purchased from Rite Aid (recommended by Neurologist), so we can control how much to give. We started with less than 1mg and increased if needed. Fortunately, my daughter no longer needs it. I did find if I gave to high of amount she would have nightmares.

[airial95]

Thanks - I didn't see any liquids, they only had 3mg, 5mg, or 10 mg pills. I'll try cutting one in half tonight, and keep looking for the liquid!

 

Thanks

[dcmom]

We use source naturals liquid sublingual melatonin, which was recommended on the forum, ordered from amazon.

 

Works well, kids don't mind it.

[kimballot]

my adult-sized teenage son gets nightmares with 3mg, so I can relate. We split the pills. When he started a few years ago he only took 1/4 tablet (.75mg) per night.

 

Recently I started using 5htp at bedtime in addition to melatonin. It seems to help calm without nightmares, and should improve mood too.

 

We use 100 mg of 5htp, but that is a large dose from what I understand. You can purchase 50mg capsules too.

[philamom]

Thanks - I didn't see any liquids, they only had 3mg, 5mg, or 10 mg pills. I'll try cutting one in half tonight, and keep looking for the liquid!

 

Thanks

I asked the pharmacist to order it (they got it in the next day)...I think it was around $5.00. Oh, and I added it to apple juice.

[Bio and adopt]

Oh wow! My four YO son who weighs 35 lbs has been on Melatonin since about 18 Months old. He started with 1mg and he would wake up having night mares so he now takes 1/2 Mg sublingual(Cherry from GNC) and that works great for

[MomWithOCDSon]

Interesting! We've had no complaints about nightmares, and we've tried everything from 1 mg. to 3 mg. here . . . basically, whatever I could get my hands on at the time. But when taking the 3 mg., I was feeling sluggish in the mornings, so I began to think maybe it was even too much for me. So now our whole family (including PANDAS DS13-almost-14) who's 140 lbs.) has settled at 2 mg. All's well thus far! Thanks for the info, though. Who woulda thought?!?!

[Stephanie2]

Here are the doses that I use/have used on my boys with great success (also source naturals, orange flavor, liquid sublingual - got from whole foods):

 

ds6 (50 lbs.): 1.25mg

ds2 (30 lbs.): .65mg

 

Good luck!

[airial95]

Thanks again for all the tips. i cut the pill in half last night (so it was 1.5 mg) and he did great with it. Slept through the night, and woke up about an hour earlier than normal, but stayed in his room and played until he heard our alarm go off.