Ways to naturally increase melatonin levels

[Comefromaway]

To cut a long story short 15 yr old ds has never slept. School keep sending him home because he crashes. Investigated blood sugar levels, all fine. Dr suggested melatonin, consultant refused to prescribe, recommended ADHD assessment and possible ADHD medication (ds has an asd) CAMHS won’t accept this.

I know about getting sunlight (tricky as he spends a lot of time indoors doing music/drama rehearsals and music room is his “safe space at school”. Restricting screens at bedtime (leads to meltdown but hey ho). He just cannot get to sleep though he sleeps well once he is actually asleep.

He has a restricted diet due to food sensory issues but is there anything else we can do. School are concerned about his GCSE’s next year.

I have two children with ASD, and both are on melatonin.
I'm quite shocked the consultant would not prescribe it.
www.thechildrenssleepcharity.org.uk/
I have done a course with these lovely people and they helped tremendously.

He scared ds by listing all the side effects and told him it wasn't worth the risk, but then told him he thought he should be on ADHD medication. I tried to tell him CAMHS wouldn't be interested but to no avail.

Will he eat any of:
Bananas
Morello cherries
Porridge oats
Sweet corn
Rice
Ginger
Barley
Tomatoes
Radishes?

They are all melatonin-rich foods.

Also:
Dairy products (avoid cheese though)
Soy
Nuts
Seafood
Turkey and chicken
Whole grains
Beans and pulses
Rice
Eggs
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds

All contain tryptophan, which you need to make serotonin, which is needed to produce melatonin.

FGS! Children with ASD are often deficient in melatonin. Why would the consultant want to withhold it?

It was recommended by CAMHS but is prescribed for my DDs by our GP. Could you approach the GP?

I've heard really good things about the children's sleep charity too.

It was the GP who referred ds to the hospital consultant as he isn't allowed to prescribe it.

Out of that list he will eat

Milk & yoghurt (and he loves cheese on pizza, is that bad?)
Oats only in the form of a flapjack and sparingly
Sweetcorn
Rice (will try and swop from his usual pasta)
Won't eat tomatoes but will have smooth tomato based pasta sauce

Cheese is ok as long as it's not late at night.

If you live in southern England, just take a day trip to France and buy melatonin off the shelf in any pharmacy.

You can get melatonin from Biovea online.

It helped ds1 a lot.

Am horrified the dr wint prescribe it!

To be fair to GPs, they shouldn't be prescribing it unless they have been directly requested to by a Consultant Paediatrician or Psych, because melatonin is only licensed for over 55s in this country, so it will be an 'off-label' prescription.

Even Consultant Paediatricians/Psychs should only be prescribing it once they've established that good sleep hygiene measures (routine, diet, screen time breaks before bed, etc.) aren't sufficient to promote sleep.

They also recommend regular melatonin breaks, if possible.

I'm saying this with the background of DD1 (13) being on melatonin for over 9 years now.

You can buy melotonin in US without a prescription, OP. I wasn't aware there were any serious side effects. Could you order some from Amazon?

I’m a bit wary of using online companies I don’t know because of the implications with quality etc. I don’t know who is reputable.

Gp wouldn't prescribe my ds, referee to hospital and they refused even though he has a diagnosis of asd. I buy it online and it's a god send. Biovea website, melatonin gummies. I cut them in half as they are 5mg so he has 2.5 mg on a school night.

My DS did have it prescribed initially, but I buy it from Biovea now. I use their own brand 1mg liquid. It comes with a dropper. DS is nearly 15 and really doesn't need it that much anymore. He mostly uses it to return to a good sleep pattern, eg before term starts or coming back from abroad.

i buy mine either from the US when im there or from vitamin grocer, i get the natrol brand and never had any isues with them

Good sleep hygiene is supposed to help. Brain chemicals interact with environment. So...

No blue light in 2 hrs before bed time.
No distractions in bedroom. No screens!
Stay in the dark; as dark as possible at night and keep to relatively dim light in 2 hrs b4 bedtime.
No talking allowed.
Lovely comfy bed, not too warm, not too cold, quiet.