Melatonin night 3 - what have we done wrong?

[LeChien]

First 2 nights ds had melatonin and it seemed to work well, last night he was asleep by 9.30 which is the earliest in a long time.
Tonight, he had it at 6.30 so we could aim for an earlier bedtime, had him in bed by 8.30, he's still wide awake, not feeling sleepy at all, has been angry all evening and is now cross as he can't sleep.
Have I done it wrong? He's on 2 mg.

[LeChien]

For more information, yesterday (day after he first had it) he was sleepy all day up til about 5/6 pm, we put it down to him catching up and feeling groggy.
Today he has been fine.
Now he's a little angry thing that can't get to sleep and I'm not sure what to do.

[glitch]

DS has his melatonin 30mins before bed. Any longer than that and its impact has worn off (it has a really short time that it works, 30-60 mins I think). You may just be trying to get him to sleep too late after taking.

[Hedgyhoggy]

It might just be he needs time to adjust to a new sleeping pattern. Melatonin won't make him sleepy the day after he's had it and it will not make a child sleep unless they are tired, it just helps them settle. I give my ds pill just 30 mins before I expect him to sleep, 6.30 would mean a 7 o clock sleep (unheard of for us!)

[LeChien]

Ah ok, the gp said 1-2 hours before.
Will try later tomorrow night, thank you.

[LeChien]

6.30 was obviously pushing it!

[Ineedmorepatience]

Hmmm, we had a blip last week where Dd3 was grumpy all day after having melatonin the night before.

This week I have been stricter about her having it at 9 although she is still awake now but is settling! Most nights she has been asleep by 10.15 and awake at 9 ish in the morning!

She is also on 2mg and is nearly 13 and massive but my friends little weeny 4 yr old takes 5ml!! I think it is hit and miss.

I asked on a facebook group the other day and many people were saying that they crush the slow release tablets to make them work faster, which would be an option for me as Dd3 does stay asleep once asleep but I dont know about your Ds! We were told we could double the dose if 2mg didnt work!

Sorry not much help really!

[BitterChocolate]

DS has liquid melatonin, and he has a super-sleepy time about half an hour after he takes it, I find he often heads off to bed at about that time so he is falling asleep about an hour after taking it. I find it works best if he takes it at exactly the same time every night and we aim to have him in bed at the same time, so his body starts to anticipate being sleepy. He always did have a very firm bedtime, so he's used to that, but he used to lie awake for hours and hours and keep calling to us before we tried melatonin.

I think his starting dose was 3mg, but it's down to 1mg now unless he happens to be particularly agitated or anxious that evening, in which case we might give him 2mg.

[shazzarooney99]

we give melatonin at 9pm/ 10pm or even 11pm and that depends sometimes.

[shazzarooney99]

I just have to say giving it too early doesnt work.

[LeChien]

This is brilliant, thank you!
Tomorrow's plan is to crush it and give it at 8.30 to aim for 9 pm sleep.
Once he's asleep he does tend to sleep, it's getting him to sleep in the first place that's the problem!

[shazzarooney99]

M son used to fall asleep at 1/2am, now he has his meds at 9/10/11pm and sometimes it works, we are on 3mg, i personally think it needs upping.

[Cantfindaprepschool]

2 hours before bedtime seems too early. Effects can often be felt within half an hour. If you leave DC with the lights on after taking it, it will negate the effect. Also, maybe have a think about if you want DC to be on immediate or slow release and if the dosage is correct. It's also worth reading about Melatonin and light, especially with regards to ipad / computer use before bedtime.

[kojackscat]

I don't have much to add, just that I hope it gets better. As I said on the other thread, we were told to crush it and give it very last thing at bed time. He has his on a petit filou whilst we are reading his story. We also have a red light bulb in his room, which is supposed to stop the melatonin being broken down, which normal white light does.

[LeChien]

Will look into red light bulbs as well, thank you.

[kojackscat]

How did it go tonight, LeChien?

[LeChien]

We crushed it and gave it to him at 8.45, he was asleep by 9.40, so better, thank you :)

[kojackscat]

[LeChien]

Still going ok, which is a massive relief!
One thing we're finding is that about 20-30 minutes after taking it, ds's eyes go really sensitive to light, even in his room with blackout curtains. He doesn't recognise that he's tired, just gets angry usually, so could this just be him getting tired and not recognising the feeling?

[LeChien]

He's irritated, but for the last couple of nights (so not long I know!) it's signalled the time when he's ready to settle.
I've ordered some red light bulbs, but may get some dimmer lights for other rooms.

[kojackscat]

Hows it going, LeChien?

Its like magic here, ds is asleep within 20 mins, and no aggressive behaviour.

I haven't seen any impact on his behaviour during the day, I was hoping that when he was getting more sleep his behviour might improve.

h well, at least he sleeps now, and me and dh have some time to spend together in the evenings.

[LeChien]

We think it might be making him more aggressive :(
Not 100% sure though.
I've got some vitamin tablets to see if we can embrace the placebo effect!
I've told ds that we've got some different tablets that won't make him feel angrier.
We'd hoped that more sleep would have a calming effect, but haven't seen any improvement on that score at all, and ds says he feels more angry.
Really pleased it's working for you, long may it last! It makes such a difference having an hour or two without having to deal with stuff!

[kojackscat]

Interesting idea with the vitamin tablets. I hope it works.