Melatonin - what are your thoughts?

malcivar

Chris's pediatrician asked us at his 4 yr appt how he slept and we had to be honest - it's hell getting him to go to bed at night.  Some nights we're lucky and he'll just fall asleep on the carpet if he's been watching tv or playing and we just carry him to bed.  Other nights, when we start the bedtime routine it's an extremely frustrating exercise.  Sometimes wrestling is involved - literally - wrestling him into bed and then trying to keep him there.  He's clearly tired but just won't give over.  He'll sleep through the night most nights but it's just getting him to sleep that's the chore.

So the doctor suggested Melatonin - said it might help him get to sleep.

DH and I both shy away from 'giving him something' to get him to go to sleep but at the same time, we really can't continue literally fighting with our son to get him to go to bed.  It's exhausting physically and emotionally for all.  

What are your thoughts and experiences with Melatonin?

Thanks

realisticdreams

I was always hesitant to try the meltaonin, but we get a 5mg chewy from CVS (used to do the chewable 3mg from walmart but they reformulated and changed the taste so P won't take it anymore).

It would literally take over an hour to get her into bed, she just wasn't really tired, or she would fight and it would get pushed back later and later.

The first night we gave her the melatonin, at 9pm she was like, "i'm ready for bed"

Ahhh who are you and what have you done with my child.

Now she is on a pretty good schedule and goes to bed by 8pm, and falls asleep QUICK.  I mean quick, before, once I finally GOT her in the bed it would take another 1-2 hours for her to fall asleep.

So, for us it has been the most amazing thing ever lol.

Good luck!

kcisthebombdotcom

The research is mixed on melatonin. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/investigations/Doctors-Warn-Parents-About-Melatonin-for-Kids-167339615.html My dh takes it and swears by it. It gave me crazy nightmares and insomnia. We decided against it for dd. we started Epsom salt baths and massage before bed last night. It had the reverse effect and she was bouncing off the walls but I'm going to cut back a little tonight and hope she gets used to it.

pastalady

DD gets melatonin every night. It doesn't keep her asleep but helps her fall asleep.

Without it she doesn't tire until at least 18 hours since wake up. She wouldn't fall asleep on her own most nights until 4 am. We couldn't live without it. 

Honestly, I am not being dramatic when I say I was suicidal. She also goes at least once a month with a 30 hour minimum wake period and sometimes up to 40. I was hallucinating from lack of sleep and she was fine. For real, I was hospitalized lol! She has done so much better with melatonin. She is still up anywhere from 2 to 8 times a night but we do not dose her again. Just 2 mg a night. 

Only advice I have is to get a prescription, not the stuff from a health food store. You want it on his file for the doctor to monitor. 

realisticdreams

-auntie- said:

pastalady said:

DD gets melatonin every night. It doesn't keep her asleep but helps her fall asleep.

Without it she doesn't tire until at least 18 hours since wake up. She wouldn't fall asleep on her own most nights until 4 am. We couldn't live without it. 

Honestly, I am not being dramatic when I say I was suicidal. She also goes at least once a month with a 30 hour minimum wake period and sometimes up to 40. I was hallucinating from lack of sleep and she was fine. For real, I was hospitalized lol! She has done so much better with melatonin. She is still up anywhere from 2 to 8 times a night but we do not dose her again. Just 2 mg a night. 

Only advice I have is to get a prescription, not the stuff from a health food store. You want it on his file for the doctor to monitor. 

OMG. That sounds just awful.  

I'm glad you're getting some relief from the melatonin, especially since you do it nightly.

I'm not sure you can get a "prescription" version of this in the U.S. It's considered a "supplement" by the FDA and isn't as regulated as drugs are in terms of strength or purity. That said, anyone using this should get a synthetic version. Natural melatonin comes from the brains of slaughtered cows. So does mad cow disease. DS worked with someone who may have gotten vCJD in this manner. 

I always would say P was bionic lol she didn't need sleep.  I think she just meant that if it's filled at the pharmacy (even with the OTC stuff-and we do just grab the OTC unless we are ordering extended release or something, (I work in pharmacy) it will flag if it interacts with any other drugs in the computers.  

lyhmgt3

We just started melatonin this week. DS would lay in bed for 1-2 hours each night, sometimes bringing him to tears because "sleep wouldn't come." Poor guy! So far, the few nights we've given it to him, he's fallen asleep within 20 minutes of getting in bed! He never had trouble staying asleep and thus far that has remained the same.

mommytoconnor

Some people say that it doesn't work for them. I tried it on my son for similar problem. I only gave it for a short burst of time just to get him in a better sleep pattern, like maybe a week or so.  They say don't use it for much longer becuase it is a hormone based medication. I used it twice in this way and did have some benefit.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

lite-bright

I can't speak for my kid, but I did use it for myself when I was coming off a/ds and my insomnia (relieved by a/ds) was the first thing to come back. 

I used melatonin for about two weeks and it really did help me fall asleep faster and stay asleep. I didn't use it much after two weeks because it felt like I didn't need to, like once my body got that boost for awhile that it didn't need it any more and was taking care of things on its own. 

pastalady

realisticdreams said:

-auntie- said:

pastalady said:

DD gets melatonin every night. It doesn't keep her asleep but helps her fall asleep.

Without it she doesn't tire until at least 18 hours since wake up. She wouldn't fall asleep on her own most nights until 4 am. We couldn't live without it. 

Honestly, I am not being dramatic when I say I was suicidal. She also goes at least once a month with a 30 hour minimum wake period and sometimes up to 40. I was hallucinating from lack of sleep and she was fine. For real, I was hospitalized lol! She has done so much better with melatonin. She is still up anywhere from 2 to 8 times a night but we do not dose her again. Just 2 mg a night. 

Only advice I have is to get a prescription, not the stuff from a health food store. You want it on his file for the doctor to monitor. 

OMG. That sounds just awful.  

I'm glad you're getting some relief from the melatonin, especially since you do it nightly.

I'm not sure you can get a "prescription" version of this in the U.S. It's considered a "supplement" by the FDA and isn't as regulated as drugs are in terms of strength or purity. That said, anyone using this should get a synthetic version. Natural melatonin comes from the brains of slaughtered cows. So does mad cow disease. DS worked with someone who may have gotten vCJD in this manner. 

I always would say P was bionic lol she didn't need sleep.  I think she just meant that if it's filled at the pharmacy (even with the OTC stuff-and we do just grab the OTC unless we are ordering extended release or something, (I work in pharmacy) it will flag if it interacts with any other drugs in the computers.  

Exactly, just get it from the pharmacy so it is recorded. If you have an emergency, you may not think to say your kid takes melatonin and who knows? Now I need to check DDs and see if it is from cows. Ack! Scary stuff. We know eventually we will need a stronger alternative to melatonin.