melatonin

[smartyjones]

okay - so i'm working on my vitacost order. . .

 

my older(8) non-pandas son takes an extrememly long time to fall asleep. he's not troublesome, just quietly tries to get to sleep. he may call for something or i'll put something in his room and i'm amazed he's not asleep yet. he has always - since a baby - been a great sleeper. this is something in the past year or so.

 

is melatonin to help with that? how long before bed do you give it?

 

thanks.

[kimballot]

Hi - you may find this thread regarding melatonin interesting http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...amp;#entry65502

 

I had also included a link to a melatonin information website in that thread. Hope that is helpful!

Edited May 10, 2010 by kimballot

[MomWithOCDSon]

Melatonin has been a life-saver for us. We give it in the 3 mg. gelcaps, though I know there are sublingual lozenges for younger kids or those who don't like pills, also. We give it to DS about a half-hour before lights out, and he is out very quickly.

 

Before melatonin, he would lie awake for hours in his bed, unable to shut his mind down sufficiently to sleep. We've not had that problem since introducing the melatonin some 4 months ago now!

 

Happy ZZZZZZzzzzz!

[peglem]

I give 1.5mg @ 1/2 hour before sleep. If she's not asleep in 1/2 hour, I give another 1.5 mg. But, I'm trying to cut down- not because its dangerous, just that I want to get her back to where she sleeps on her own. I used to start out w/ the 3 mg and she would fall asleep exactly 1/2 hour later. Usually, she does fall asleep w/ the 1.5, just sometimes it still takes more.

[momaine]

In the past I've given it right before bed and dd will be asleep in 20 minutes or so. It helps her shut her mind off so she can sleep but if she's supre anxious, it doesn't help. She still has to allow herself to fall asleep.

 

Angela

[dut]

Hi - melatonin has also been great for us to get ds2 and dd6 asleep quickly but 1 thing I've been noticing with dd6 is an increase in bad dreams and it seems to coincide with her using the melatonin. I give it to ds nearly every night but only occasionally to dd and on many of those nights she has more vivid dreams and if they are bad she wakes up and finds it hard to go back to sleep, which usually isn't a problem for her if not in an episode.

 

Still using it for ds but leaving it off for a bit for dd to see if the dream increase/recall increase stops.....

[kimballot]

Hi - melatonin has also been great for us to get ds2 and dd6 asleep quickly but 1 thing I've been noticing with dd6 is an increase in bad dreams and it seems to coincide with her using the melatonin. I give it to ds nearly every night but only occasionally to dd and on many of those nights she has more vivid dreams and if they are bad she wakes up and finds it hard to go back to sleep, which usually isn't a problem for her if not in an episode.

 

Still using it for ds but leaving it off for a bit for dd to see if the dream increase/recall increase stops.....

 

 

dut- did you try decreasing the dosage for dd6? My ds can only take 1.5 mg and used to only be able to do .75 without vivid dreams... but it still helps to fall and stay asleep even at the lower dosage.

[parents4eyes]

x

Edited September 8, 2010 by parents4eyes

[dut]

Kimballot - she was using the 1mg but I know from chemar's posts you can get it in the micrograms, so I may try using less like you suggest.. it would be great to still have it in the arsenal. When she has super minor flares, we have some worries at bedtime just before falling asleep and the melatonin doesn't allow enough time for that to happen

 

thanks for that idea.. so far I'd been too dumb to think of that ( I do tend to be an all or nothing kind of gal ).

[saidie10]

Melatonin is highly recommended by our family! DS7 would take some 2-3 hours to fall asleep before we started using it. The first night we used it I gave it to him at 7:30 and thirty minutes later he told us he was ready to go to bed. We were floored! We give him the chewable from a local healthfoods store. They are 1mg tabs and we cut that in half so he takes a very small dose. He is little though, only 40 pounds at 7.

 

Good luck...I think you will be very happy with the results. We have seen no negative effects at all. If he is really tired and we skip the melatonin he can eventually fall asleep on his own but it just takes a little longer.

 

okay - so i'm working on my vitacost order. . .

 

my older(8) non-pandas son takes an extrememly long time to fall asleep. he's not troublesome, just quietly tries to get to sleep. he may call for something or i'll put something in his room and i'm amazed he's not asleep yet. he has always - since a baby - been a great sleeper. this is something in the past year or so.

 

is melatonin to help with that? how long before bed do you give it?

 

thanks.

3