melatonin for sleep

[Hopeful17349]

Following a sleep study for my difficult child 2 with a renowned doctor, we were advised that she only went into REM 7% of the time. As we were unwilling to put her on medications, the doctor suggested melatonin (3g) an hour before her normal bedtime.

It worked like a charm, she was sleepy in about a 1/2 hour and went to bed without any fuss (what a change from the previous 8 yrs). After 1.5 yrs she is just now starting to build up a resistance. I will be changing the dose to 6g to see if is still works for her.

Quite honestly, it has been a miracle as she has NEVER had an easy time falling asleep unless she has been out running (literally) all day.

 

[Nomad]

Our daughter, who always has had serious sleep/insomnia issues, has benefited from occ. use of Melatonin. She takes Seroquel for sleep. We try to keep her dosage relatively small. If she can't sleep with her RX, we add the Melatonin 1-3 mgs. and this does the trick. The Melatonin never worked alone. We use the Melatonin as an "add on" treatment and have been doing so successfully for many years.


Personally, I prefer Tryptophan and Magnesium when I sometimes have trouble falling to sleep. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often and it doesn't take much of these supplements to help me doze off.

by the way, I too have heard that Magnesium Taurate is helpful...but don't know any details. From the website YYM mentioned:


http://george-eby-research.com/

MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY -- AS POSSIBLE CAUSE OF MODERN ILLNESSES

Symptoms of possible magnesium deficiency syndrome found when blood serum levels are below 0.9 mmol/L Mg serum include: abdominal pain, arrhythmias, asthma, ataxia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), circulatory disturbances (arteriosclerosis, cardiac infarction, stroke), cluster headache, confusion, cramps, depression, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, hypertension, migraine, neuro-vegetative disorders, osteoporosis, Parkinsonism, preeclampsia, stress dependent disorders, tinnitus, tremor, weakness
Examine the Conclusions section for this list of magnesium deficiency symptoms. See the Full text article here: husband Liebscher, DE Liebscher. About the Misdiagnosis of Magnesium Deficiency. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 6, 730S-731S (2004).

Foods that contain high levels of magnesium: Whole Wheat Flour, Almonds, Cashews, Beans (particularly black beans), Pumpkin Seeds, Spinach and Tomato Paste.

 

[Lothlorien]

I have a magnesium deficiency and I've been taking magnesium supplements for a while. I had horrible leg pain. It was not restless leg syndrome, but this horrible aching that started in my early 20's. When I get lazy about taking the magnesium, the leg aching comes back.

 

[cfa3]

i am new here, but here is m 2 cents - my son who is very hyper has been on high quality liquid pure magnesium (not mixed with anything else) for a year now - i gve it first thing in the a.m. before food. also, i have gven 1 mg of a nice melatonin called Biochem, good quality for a year as well. although in a blood tests my sons magnesium levels came back normal, i continue to give the magnesium because im afraid if itsstill helping i dont want to stop - also because my son started havng HORRIBLE tics a few years ago and as soon as i started this magnesium ritual they stopped and i have not seen a single tic for 1 year and2 days (yes im countng) - coincidence? i dont know. the melatonin also works great and i dont see a tolerance. this is a child who sleeps very little, NEVER ever napped or could, doesnt lounge aorund or rest, i thouht it would take a horse tranquilizer to see him get sleepy but just 1mg 15 minutes before bed does it. now, wth such little research done and such little known about it, i just hope that melatonin is not BAD for his brain. i wish i knew more about it, but it works so well for him so far.

 

[AnnieO]

I used to use melatonin occasionally and it worked like a dream... (pun intended). therapist suggested it for difficult child, no effect whatsoever & she hates pills anyway. Should I ask them about upping the dose? Or give up on that since it doesn't seem to work? She has PTSD, possibly BiPolar (BP) though not diagnosis yet...

 

[Janna]

I believe it says on the bottle (depending the brand) you should not use it continually. We use it on a 2 week on - 2 week off basis because J has a horrible time falling asleep (we think it's because of the Concerta).

He is 10 and 55 lbs, and we give him a 3 mg tab nightly. But again - on and off. It's been a lifesaver here for D too when he's in high manic mode (he's 12 and 150 lbs and takes a 5 mg tab).

 

[anmari75]

i have been giving it to my boys ages 13 and 10 for quite awhile now. The doctor has told me to give them Benadryl every night but I did not want to do that. The melatonin seems to work fine with them.
My 13 year old has a hard time falling asleep and has insomnia...he can stay up all night so this helps him settle into sleep a bit easier.
My 10 year old has ADHD and he has said it helps his mind not be so busy when he wants to go to sleep. and I have had NO side effects from using it.

 

[crawwilk]

I am new and not familiar with some of this "lingo", however, I can comment that our 6 yr old son, diagnosed with ODD, has been taking a powder mix of Cal Mag and also Melatonin (3mg x 2) for over a year. We refused to do something pharmacutical for sleep. No side effects, no tolerance build up and adding the Cal Mag supplement keeps him asleep and reduces the night terrors which was our major issue. My son has been unofficially diagnosed with Bipolar and we just recently were able to get him seen by a Psychiatrist (8-10 mos waiting period here).

 

[dreamcatcher]

My son was on melatonin for sleep for quite some time but I think it was irritating his system so we switched to epsom salt on advice of my brother in law. Good news though....we have been using a new kind called Pepsom and it seems to be working the best. He is sleeping much better which means I am too!! Anyways I was reading the posts and saw some people weren't having success with epsom salt but I suggest they try pepsom. I don;t know if it is the spearmint that they add or its just the epsom salt but it is a miracle.

 

[Lothlorien]

Epsom salts is made from Magnesium Sulfate. Magnesium is excellent for muscle relaxing, so it makes sense that he would sleep better.

I recently read somewhere that adding epsom salts to your garden is not only good for the plants, but also makes the plants produce more magnesium, which is a good thing!

 

[amazeofgrace]

use it on my 12 y/o difficult child, have for the past 2 years or so, love it! Also have used on my oldest, although he now realizes it knocks him out so he protests it.

 

[ML]

Our GP just last week said we could certainly try it and that it would cause no harm. But since manster's problem is waking up in the middle of the night it probably wouldn't help. It's more beneficial for getting you to sleep then keeping you there. Sigh (up since 4 here).

 

[parenttotwowhackadoos]

I don't mean to just jump in but I wanted to say add that when I put DS on melatonin it was because he woke up multiple times a night. I started with just 1 mg and over six months later haven't had to up the dose. I didn't think it would work considering it is just for helping to fall asleep and not actually staying asleep however in our case it has worked for both. I say to those of you who aren't sure to give it a shot for awhile and see how it fares in your child.

 

[militarybratt]

My daughter is 13 & was diagnosis 6 yrs ago w ADHD. a yr ago she was diagnosis'd with- ODD. We tried melationin, she was up to 10 mg a night. We Switched to Altril. She takes 2 tablets & it works.

 

[therese005us]

My DS has been complaining about not being able to sleep or stay asleep. He's 19, any suggestions abotu him trying melatonin and what dose do you think?

 

[Mandy]

I have Little Bear on 1.5mg of melatonin every night and it works wonders. I buy the 3mg pills and cut them in half. I would try somewhere between 3-5mg and see how that works.

 

[Lothlorien]

Start out with the 3 mg dose and work up.

I would also suggest a Vitamin B complex...a good one, not just one that is found in a grocery store. The ones found in a grocery store, here, just aren't that great. In the US, the vitamins just aren't regulated like medicine is. Not sure if it's the same in Aus.

 

[Adizziedoll]

We've been using melatonin for a few years now for our little insomniac. We started with 1.5 mgs, and have upped the dosage to 3mgs. I'm not sure if his body weight has anything to do with that or if it was a resistance.

Ever since he was born he had trouble getting to sleep, and staying asleep. The melatonin is an absolute miracle in getting him to sleep, but it only works for about 4 hours before he's back to his normal sleep behavior (tossing and turning, talking/screaming, and actually waking up). If your problem is just getting your difficult child to sleep, I would certainly run it by the doctor and give it a shot. You'll never know until you try.

I think I will be trying out magnesium on top of the melatonin to see if that helps with my little guy's sleep issues.

 

[Sleeplessof2]

I am a mom of a 7 1/2 yr old boy with-o a diagnosis at this point. My husband & I have been doing an incredible amount of our own research. Our "diagnosis" at this point seems to be ODD with a couple of other disorders sprinkled here & there. He has ALWAYS had sleep problems. But just the opposite of most kids. He goes to sleep with-o a problem. He just wakes very early between 4-5:30 every morning. We had two different sleep studies with no evidence of any kind of real sleep disorder. There are many nights he wakes at 3 then goes back to sleep, then 4, then 5 and up for the day. Doctors and friends have told us to keep him up later at night. That just makes him grumpier the next day. It doesn't matter what he does the day/night before he will wake same time every morning. We have tried melatonin, haven't seen any real results from it. Maybe our dose isn't high enough. It's 3 mg's. You name it we have tried it, to get his poor boy more restful sleep (and his parents). Love to read more on this issue.

 

[tiredmommy]

Welcome Sleeplessof2... my daughter was (and still can be) much like your son. She needs a regular bedtime and has always (until this year) gone to bed earlier than her peers. Staying up later resulted in her waking up earlier. We used melatonin for a short period of about six weeks when she was four (if I remember correctly) when we wanted to reset her internal clock so she could fall asleep a little earlier. She still isn't the best sleeper (tossed and turned a lot last night) but she has improved overall since she was diagnosed with cough-variant asthma. Having her asthma well controlled has allowed her to get a better night's sleep. This also helps her ODD.

Many kids can look like they have behaviors which should be attributed to various disorders such ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety, etc when they are actually sleep deprived. I recommend verifying there is no physical cause such as enlarged adenoids or tonsils, allergies, asthma, etc. We thought Duckie didn't have asthma because she never once wheezed. Not Once. But she did and it wreaked havoc on her sleep and behavior. I'm not saying that this is every child's cause of ODD symptoms but I do feel it warrants ruling out.