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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Melatonin from Mexico

119 replies

Filbertfishlips · 03/12/2022 22:07

Going on hols to Mexico in January.
I have a child who would benefit from melatonin for help in getting to sleep.
I can but it over the counter in Mexico.
Is it a more harmful version than what is prescribed in the UK?

OP posts:
Lemonlady22 · 04/12/2022 17:00

Yes, good idea..stock up on drugs from a third world country for your child….unbelievable!

Filbertfishlips · 04/12/2022 17:01

IDontWantToBeAPie · 04/12/2022 16:24

Do not give it to children it cab affect their ability to sleep themselves.

I went to Mexico in January and got some for myself (insomnia) it worked for a few weeks and then stopped working. Don't bother.

Yes I’m aware of both of those things
I just want to try it on those really bad nights that my child has to try and help her, not on a regular basis.

OP posts:
NewNovember · 04/12/2022 17:01

@ideamining no it won't be destroyed it's perfectly legal to import.

Filbertfishlips · 04/12/2022 17:04

Lemonlady22 · 04/12/2022 17:00

Yes, good idea..stock up on drugs from a third world country for your child….unbelievable!

Thank you for your extensive insight. I’m glad your a perfect parent

OP posts:
SixDinnerSally · 04/12/2022 17:15

@Filbertfishlips you say you want it for those bad nights but that’s fyi that if not how melatonin works. You have to take it an hour before bedtime, not when / if they can’t sleep. CAMHS advised us to use it for two to three nights in a row, if DD had had three bad nights in a row (to try to get a better routine in place)

SixDinnerSally · 04/12/2022 17:15

And befits we got it from CAMHS the GP was supportive of buying it online.

SixDinnerSally · 04/12/2022 17:16

Before

Siepie · 04/12/2022 17:16

I've bought melatonin back from France for myself. It's perfectly legal to bring back.

I think I'd be hesitant to give it to a child, but you sound like you're running out of other options.

name78change · 04/12/2022 17:17

@HairyKitty I wonder if the reason for not prescribing to menopausal women is more complicated than that, one of the things it did to me was completely throw off my cycles, I was almost 2 weeks late (unheard of for me) and then had awful PMT symptoms for that month, I only took it a few days, on googling this is a very common side effect of melatonin in women.

AccioChocolate · 04/12/2022 17:17

It's the thing most recommended for children with ASD and causes the fewest side effects it's available OTC in countries with excellent health care all over the world. This thread is littered with xenophobic ignorant posters who can't fathom that the NHS isn't seen as the only authority around the world and systemically fails children in this area.

CrookCrane · 04/12/2022 17:20

Jumpinginwithbothfeet · 03/12/2022 22:55

I bought some for my son (who suffers with anxiety and struggles to sleep) from America. I assume no different than buying from Mexico providing from a propwr pharamay etc. It worked well for a week and now we are back to no sleep though. Has anyone had better success with Melatonin?

We had that with my DC. Now they’re prescribed slow release instead and it works perfectly.

Lemonlady22 · 04/12/2022 18:21

Filbertfishlips · 04/12/2022 17:04

Thank you for your extensive insight. I’m glad your a perfect parent

Your welcome!

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 04/12/2022 18:33

BabyFour2023 · 04/12/2022 10:49

You're wrong; it is difficult for me to understand why you’d buy your child a drug they hadn’t been prescribed.
My son has it so I’m aware some struggle to get it but I would never buy something from abroad if they hadn’t been prescribed it.

Ah. See, if you'd said that in the first place rather than passive-aggressively pretending to misunderstand the OP, you could have had a conversation about that straight away rather than titting around.

Cruisebabe1 · 04/12/2022 18:57

Filbertfishlips · 03/12/2022 22:07

Going on hols to Mexico in January.
I have a child who would benefit from melatonin for help in getting to sleep.
I can but it over the counter in Mexico.
Is it a more harmful version than what is prescribed in the UK?

I buy mine in Spain , it’s sold there as a food supplement. With having Fibromyalgia it’s a godsend to get some sleep with taking them my GP doesn’t want to know about sleep disturbances.

HoollyWugger · 04/12/2022 19:09

This reply has been hidden

This reply has been hidden until the MNHQ team can have a look at it.

booboo82 · 04/12/2022 19:16

You can buy melatonin from online pharmacies in the UK

LynetteScavo · 04/12/2022 21:18

You can just buy melatonin online in the UK- if you want to know what dose for a child it's also easy to Google (have a look at the sleep foundation) I bought some over the counter in the US for myself, just because I could when I was buying painkillers.

lovemelongtime · 04/12/2022 21:25

Just to add Italy have the best haemorrhoids cream in the world! Almost worth my drama school reignactment to describe what I wanted.

GyozaGuiting · 04/12/2022 21:29

A side point but those saying the UK is a third world country, have you been to Mexico? I have, and I know where I’d rather live. Abject poverty, horrific violence at the hands of drug cartels and areas that we never went in at night for fear of gang violence.
I lived in Peckham for many years and never felt this way.

frozengoose · 04/12/2022 21:46

It is a very unequal society with significant endemic corruption, very misogynistic culture and pockets of extreme violence. But that is only part of the story.

Where we lived the town center was very safe at night, there was no public drunken behavior. The private healthcare was very good and affordable.
The culture was warm and welcoming to outsiders. The quality of food excellent. The attitude to dc inclusive.

We lived there very happily for several years and raised dc there.

None of which has much to do with being able to cheaply and easily buy melatonin in the vitamin section of Walmart.

CherryBlossom321 · 13/12/2022 23:43

MadameMackenzie · 04/12/2022 12:57

Four years???? I just called my GP who made a call to a Paediatrician and the next day we had a prescription! That's madness

Yes. There seems to be a divide between people who get it no problem and people who have to fight tooth and nail. I was repeatedly sent away by GP’s with leaflets on sleep hygiene 🙄

CherryBlossom321 · 13/12/2022 23:45

LynetteScavo · 04/12/2022 21:18

You can just buy melatonin online in the UK- if you want to know what dose for a child it's also easy to Google (have a look at the sleep foundation) I bought some over the counter in the US for myself, just because I could when I was buying painkillers.

When I tried to do this, it was prevented from being shipped by customs and I was told it’s now illegal to ship melatonin into the UK.

CherryBlossom321 · 13/12/2022 23:46

booboo82 · 04/12/2022 19:16

You can buy melatonin from online pharmacies in the UK

Which ones?

Florenz · 13/12/2022 23:49

Why is it not available OTC in Britain if it is everywhere else?

SeveruslyFrazzled · 14/12/2022 02:42

You can buy it from America. We get it from piping rock