To ask for melatonin experiences?

[ronan1]

In particular prescribed to children. Been having absolute hell with my 3.5 year old for about 2/3 months now - every night the same. Extremely hyper at bedtime, not able to relax, can't drift off. Taking hours to get him to sleep.

We've tried a few things, such as no screens before bed and all the usual stuff but nothing works.

We're awaiting an autism diagnosis but I can't go on like this anymore. I have a paediatrician appointment next month so I will be explaining everything then, but are they really likely to do anything to help?

My Dd took it for a while at age 5. It didn't do much for her. We had to go down a more psychological route. Weighted blanket. Guided meditations. The doctor was happy to prescribe it based on me saying that preschool had suggested it and so had a private sleep consultant we were working with at the time.

Oh but her main issue was split sleep waking at 1:30am for hours, rather than getting to sleep. Which might be why melatonin was limited use.

I buy it from piping rock. Game changer for my ADHD traits teenager. I've taken it myself a few times as I'm quite insomniac and had no ill effects.

My DS aged 7 uses it. Huge difference getting him to sleep but he still wakes overnight. A bit of help though. We were initially prescribed through paediatrician and now GP fulfils.

Melatonin a game changer for my child with cerebral palsy (and associated issues) - he goes to sleep, stays asleep and wakes up rested. Previously a nightmare to get to sleep, wouldn’t sleep well and would wake exhausted. I think it needs to be prescribed by a paediatrician rather than GP, then it goes on your repeats. I would go armed with as much evidence as you can - sleep diaries, what techniques you’ve tried etc. I think, fairly reasonably, they’ll want to be sure you’ve tried the obvious stuff first (I’m sure you have, but as much you can provide to show this will help). Good luck!

Thanks @roughtyping. With us, we've never had a problem with DS sleeping through, it's the actual getting him to sleep that's the problem. So I'm hoping melatonin will help us with that part 🙏🏻

Our Ed psych suggested it for our dd 10 following an asd diagnosis. It was a game changer. She used to take hours to get to sleep esp if she was worrying about something or a change was on the horizon. Now she’s asleep by half 8 if we time bed time right. Honestly just brilliant.

be wary of sleepy teas if you think about heading down that route - we tried it and it gave her awful nightmares.

Just be aware they do recommend short breaks from it every so often as children can become immune to the effects

My daughter's paediatrian wouldn't prescribe it for her as he said it was for children with diagnosed neurological conditions.

But since seeing a sleep neurologist we are just about to get it on prescription. It's not an easy drug to get prescribed, from my daughter's experience. She has a sleep disorder and autism, I thought she would have got it quite easily from her general paed.

Can buy melatonin drops online. Work quite well. Have had them myself and they just seem to ease you to sleep x

Ps my sons autistic and we went between GP and the clinic where he was diagnosed (but discharged) and we’re told quite simply that they don’t prescribe it but could be different in different areas I guess

Melatonin is a godsend. DS1 does not go to sleep without it - his brain doesn't switch off (ASD). Once asleep he's fine, but getting to sleep was a nightmare and stressful for him.

We got some in the US first (available widely, in any pharmacy, often supermarkets - not considered medication, just a supplement), then asked the GP here for it, saying we'd tried it and it worked. They gave us a prescription without any issues.

We still buy in the US (family there, so we go a lot) as it's a fast-acting variety and the GP's is slow-release, and we can get varying amounts. Currently have 1mg, 2mg (slow release from GP) , 2.5mg, 3mg, 5mg in the house! We vary dosage depending on the day.

its well.worth a try but unfortunately it doesn't work.for all.children ,it never worked for my son but I do know lots of children for whim it did work for .

Is there a typo on this thread or did someone say they gave a two month old baby melatonin?!

Our GP explained that it only really works if you are one of those people who don't naturally produce enough melatonin for some reason (which is often the case with autistic children). He wanted to prescribe it for ds but in our area oly a consultant can prescribe and the one we were referred to wanted to investigate ADHD and possible ritalin instead!!!!!. After 2 years of to-ing and fro-ing and eventually being tested we found out what we already knew that ds was not ADHD but he WAS autistic and melatonin would most probably help with his sleep.

By this time I had given up, bought from Boivea and the nurse practitioner who did the ADHD testing advised us to carry on with what we were doing.

The reason it is prescribed in the UK is because it isn't licensed for children here as in there is no evidence of long term effects. It is normally produced naturally in the body but children with autism and adhd struggle to produce it so this is a synthetic version. It is avaliable in tablet and liquid form (you will have to request if you want liquid as not routinely given as more expensive). It is prescribed as per weight so you may not give the correct dosage if buying it online. It is not recommended to give with Piriton. You can try melatonin producing foods such as oats or bananas before bed (we don't due to sensory issues around food)

It's horrible and we only use it in absolute emergencies otherwise we suffer with bad behaviour for several days after a dose.

To add it was prescribed by a consultant and it does what it is intended to do when we do use it but it only helps them fall asleep, it doesn't help keep them asleep so we still endure multiple night wakings

If you research magnesium you may find this helpful.

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate the responses. I suppose it will do no harm to give it a try. Hopefully the gummies work for him 🤞🏻

GP recommended ordering it online for my son who is awaiting an adhd assessment. I order it from Piping Rock in the USA.

He only takes 1mg, that seems to be enough.

@GoldenKiwi That's where I've ordered from 🤞🏻

Melatonin definitely makes a difference to DS's activity levels. Much more relaxed after taking it. He also takes a supplement I had recommended to me on an ADHD forum called theanine. It's green tea extract. About 1.5tsp of powder in juice before the melatonin. It's been very effective in promoting sleep, more so than the melatonin. I get it from a health food shop, and it's mixed with magnesium powder.

I'm really interested to know more about L-theanine. Can you post a link to where you buy it?