To take medication if everyone is sleeping better?

[username210574]

DD's (11m) sleep was so bad she was being disturbed up to 20 times a night. We'd seen all manner of professionals (Inc sleep consultant, GP and HV) and no one could help further and we were told "it is what it is" and to ride it out. DD was constantly tired from the unrefreshing sleep, clearly not good for her development and I began suffering big time too.

I saw the GP 3 times regarding insomnia and my mental health as a result of sleep deprivation. The first time he put me on amitriptyline which I couldn't tolerate, the second time he put me on antidepressants (even though I said I just needed sleep and wasn't particularly comfortable with the known risks to DD as I still EBF), and the third time he said he'd either continue the ADs or give me nothing.

I took it upon myself and got some melatonin. It's not any higher of a dose than a GP would prescribe. I've taken it the last 3 nights and for literally the first time in 11 months I've got 5-6 hour stretches of sleep, DD is much happier and napping better in the day, and DP is also not disturbed from the other room.

AIBU to continue taking it even though I'm indirectly medicating DD? Not asking for medical advice, just wondering if supplementing us both to sleep makes me a bad mum when all other methods we've tried have failed (we've spent £1,000 trying to resolve this and by the end it was worse than ever) and if it means we both get much more restorative sleep.

Have you considered stopping breastfeeding? There’s no great benefit at that age and would remove that concern about “indirectly medicating”.

From the EMC:
There is insufficient data on the excretion of melatonin / metabolites in human milk. Endogenous melatonin is secreted in human milk.
Available pharmacodynamic / toxicological data in animals have shown excretion of melatonin / metabolites milk (see Section 5.3).
A risk to the suckling child cannot be excluded.
Melatonin 3 mg film-coated tablets should not be used during breast-feeding.

I would stop breastfeeding. I haven't heard of 11m old being prescribed melatonin, my son takes it at 4 so I'm absolutely not anti but I would feel uncomfortable using something on prescription without being under medical care

There definitely is a benefit (many actually) of breastfeeding until age 2. Of course if someone wants to stop they absolutely should, but we shouldn't really be telling people that there's no benefit to breastfeeding an 11 month old.

Melatonin is totally harmless, breastmilk already has it in it anyway.

You can think of it like a vitamin supplement. It will only help you sleep if you're deficient in it. It's not like a sedative that actually knocks you out.

Are you taking it or dd?
If it's you I'm not sure why it helps her sleep.

If it's her, then give her a couple more days then try a night without.
I had a terrible sleeper. Eventually aged about 20 months the Dr have her medosed which is no longer licences for children, and told me not to do more than three days of it.
I gave two with glorious 10 hour sleeps a night and reluctantly didn't on the third, but it seemed to have tripped something in her and she then normally slept 8-10 hours. If she had a couple of days after that where she woke I gave her another dose and She then slept fine again.
So you may not need to do it long term.

Oh my god how ill informed can you be.

Please research before sharing such utter rubbish!

Children need milk (breast or formula) for the first year (alongside solids from 6 months).

Breastfeeding has benefits for as long as you do it. It doesn't magically stop having benefits!

As for the melatonin the breastfeeding network have a drugs page and can tell you the risk.

Also i'd chill a bit with the sleep it helps when you dont stress about it. 11 months is young still. Do you co sleep?

DD still takes a relatively high amount of milk for an 11m old due to slow progress weaning (part of a more complex issue that I strongly believe has been contributing to her difficulties with sleep). She has never taken expressed milk out of a bottle and I do not believe would consume enough of it from a cup compared to when she feeds directly. I wouldn't be comfortable weaning her until she is able to eat more.

I'm not concerned per say that I'm indirectly medicating her... I'm aware that it's the sole reason she's suddenly had a few nights of better sleep and that feels like such a relief to know. I'm more wondering if allowing us both to get some proper sleep finally, but through the use of melatonin as that seems to be what it's come to, is unreasonable compared to chronically tired infant and a mother who is under perinatal psychiatry as a result.

Which is the lesser of two evils I guess is my question.

Regardless of age? I know someone who was breastfed until the age of 7 and that’s just outright wrong

I read recently that melatonin is great initially, but stops working after a while. This is apparently because your body stops producing it naturally when it detects the supplemented melatonin, so you need more and more over time.

Regarding the BF though - I would definitely stop if you're going to continue taking it.

I would personally stop the medication or stop breastfeeding. There’s no conclusive answer as to whether it’s considered safe in breastfeeding. There’s not enough research and that would play on my mind.
GPs here aren’t keen to prescribe melatonin and my understanding is that if they do it’s usually only for adults, older people and on a short term basis. When children have any prescription of it, it needs to be prescribed by a specialist, paediatrician, psychiatrist etc!
I know that prior to prescribing melatonin to children it’s often recommended that they try melatonin rich foods, can you increase your and your child’s intake of those as a bed time snack?

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/melatonin/pregnancy-breastfeeding-and-fertility-while-taking-melatonin/

Basically, the NHS says don’t co sleep if you’re taking it but you should be fine breast feeding.

I’m not against melatonin use at all, Ds has been on it since he was about 6.

but persoanlly i wouldn’t happily give such a small baby medication like that without it being done with medical approval.

you say she has some other health issues - is she under a peadiatrican? They may be better placed than the gp to advise.

I think you are fine to take it. I took it with my last who was bf as my sleep was all over place. Melatonin is natural and found in food.
I wouldn't stop bf it's so beneficial for bub.