GP will not help my son

[mummytotwoxo]

To sum it up my son is neurodivergent. ADHD. We have struggled with sleep for years. The past 6 weeks it's getting really bad, he's taking 3-4 hours to get to sleep and waking and wondering through the night. My daughters HV mentioned discussing melatonin with the GP, I've contacted every day this week, they cannot even call me back for several weeks due to high demand. I called 111 because we had to keep him off school due to not sleeping, 111 doctors booked me in for a same day phone call with my sons gp surgery on Wednesday it's now Friday and no one has contacted me. I don't know what to do☹️

I second magnesium, as pp recommended above. Honestly, magnesium gives me such a good night's sleep. It's amazing stuff! You can get it in tablets, sprays, creams etc.

Is this safe to buy over counter?

I bought mine on amazon but it's for me, an adult. I'm sure you could get it from a pharmacy in-person. I understand your hesitation to give your child something bought online.

I do this as well. DS only takes 1 mg (lowest dose for his age) and we've managed to drop it to only needing it occasionally now - it has actually helped get him into a routine where he is able to sleep at a reasonable time. He doesn't have diagnosed ADHD but his Dad has insomnia (struggling to get to sleep rather than waking early) and DS is similar - very much a night owl. We had tried literally everything else - all the sleep hygiene, sleep sprays, lavender etc, routines, reduce screen time etc etc. Nothing worked but a small dose of melatonin has really helped.

I've just looked and Holland and Barrett do kids magnesium gummies. Have a look at the different options.

Gp won't prescribe, you need peadiatric or sleep clinic. Who did the adhd assessment ?

Cherry concentrate can also be helpful from a reputable health food source. It has naturally occurring melatonin

We buy melatonin from Biovea too (5mg fast release), as suggested by DD's psychiatrist. Your GP won't really do anything.

We do get melatonin on prescription from GP (slow release only) but it is overseen by psychiatrist - however, I have heard that GPs are no longer keen on taking on shared care agreements.

How will that help exactly? Urgent care is hardly likely to prescribe melatonin or anything else for this.

As others have said, GP cannot prescribe melatonin. Your son must first be seen by professionals (psychiatrist), they will issue, work up to the safe correct dose for him, and continue to give repeat prescriptions. NO WAY would I buy medication online, despite other posters being happy with this. I would give any health supplements suggested, but I would research them first. Weighted blanket can be great, you can find them pretty cheaply now too. Look at his sleep hygiene and see if you can improve anything there. Good luck 🤞🏻

I buy mine from piping rock...my psychiatrist recommended it

As PPs have mentioned - an NHS GP is unlikely to prescribe. Would an appointment with a private GP be an option? As your son has an ADHD diagnosis they might be happy to prescribe.

Another recommend for biovea gummies. Adhd in my house, we used them regularly for all us. My daughter now gets melatonin prescribed (2 year wait post diagnosis) but the adults still take the gummies.

have a look at all the sleep charity websites, lots us helpful info if you can get your son to do it. Banana milkshake before bed (made with actual banana blended in). Porridge. All foods that release the right things to enable sleep.
Read or do calming activities before bed, no screens (yes I know it’s hard)
cakming music, white noise.

@mummytotwoxo Valerian root?

I have heard that valerian is a mild sedative {can be bought from pharmacies and online} - it is sold as a ''sleep aid''.

This could just be my experience but GP won't prescribe melatonin it's got to be a paediatrician. How old is your son? Initial consult was paediatrician but it's managed by GP for us. Can you get melatonin gummies while you wait for appointment?

It might be worth checking if your DC is eating anything with a huge amount of vitamin D in it. (like certain oily fish or UV grown mushrooms or anything).

If you have a large amount of vitamin D in your diet then that uses up a lot of magnesium for processing and the magnesium deficiency that results causes insomnia.

If you just cut down the vit D then that has the same effect as adding in more magnesium.

You can also just buy tesco magnesium supplements and it will say on the box what ages it is suitable for.

https://www.trolley.co.uk/product/tesco-health-50-magnesium-magnesium-tabs/KMX666

GPs can't initiate melatonin. It needs to be a paediatrician or a psychiatrist or whichever org diagnosed hid ADHD. This is not your GP being difficult it's to do with license of medication.

I also use magnesium glycimate in our family, it's a health supplement so no need for prescription. I buy it off Amazon but you could check in Holland and Barrett.
Magnesium glycimate is better than the cheaper forms of magnesium.

Also re melatonin online, biovea is a reputable source with low doses available.

Yes - melatonin is pretty tightly regulated i the U.K.

Like another poster on here, I also bought it from BIOVEA. However, for me, it wasn't the magic solution I was looking for. Yes it made me a bit drowsy, but I'm also very sensitive to alcohol and it was unclear if I felt a bit drowsier due to the melatonin, or that.

Be careful with melatonin produced in the U.S. I've seen reports of bottles containing almost next to nothing compared to what's meant to be inside, and other bottles containing 3x or more the stated amount!! One only needs a tiny amount of this hormone, so overdosing might be a real risk factor.

It's the last thing your son will want to do right now, but how often does he go outside and let direct sunshine into his eyes? Not looking at the sun obviously, but being outside preferably on 4 hour long stints?

As an experiment, I would take him on one of those hikes if you can. Please don't tell him why you're doing it otherwise the experiment won't work, but I'd like to know what he'd be like if he got a 4 hr long hike on the weekend. It doesn't have to be very strenuous. The point is not to push him to that extent, but it should be mild-moderate consistent exercise, and preferably in landscape he likes (some people much prefer coast to woodlands for example).

I get melatonin from Piping Rock. They do 1mg. son has been diagnosed with adhd for years and takes medication, has gone through sleep clinic etc and they still won’t prescribe it.

We are in Australia and the prescribed melatonin (circadin) is $$$ so most families buy online from iherb. Try a really low amount 1-2mg. Circadin tablets are usually 2mg.
au.iherb.com/pr/natrol-kids-melatonin-gummies-ages-4-raspberry-1-mg-90-gummies/90771

Thank you for this. I haven't been taking Vitamin D for a while but certainly something to consider for me.

I wonder why we are so precious about melatonin here when it’s so freely available in other countries?

Our bodies naturally produce melatonin so there are a few things you can do to help boost it. Being outside in daylight for a walk will help particularly in the early part of the day. You can also buy milk from cows with increased melatonin which can help.

The reason to be careful about taking melatonin is that if you add in too much as a supplement then your body might stop making it naturally as it doesn't see the need any more. So if the person then stops taking supplements (perhaps due to developing intolerance to another ingredient in the pill), then the body might have forgotten how to make melatonin, and then the insomnia would be really wild.

I think that's the rationale for not prescribing unless absolutely necessary.