Melatonin
Posted by
Elena - former Community Manager
on 17th June 2009
at 11:52
Hi Lizzie, welcome to the community! : )
I'll be very curious to hear what people have to say about melatonin. My sister gave her 9 year old daughter melatonin for insomnia (I'd never heard of a 9 year old insomniac but I suppose it must happen!). I recall that it seemed to help a bit, though I also recall that it took some time to start working - maybe a couple of weeks. It seems that it has to build up in the system. With a 3 and a half year old I would definitely stick to the dosage recommended by the paediatrician and perhaps keep a log of how much you give to him and when, so that you can review it with the paediatrician next time you go in...
By the way, we're on Facebook and Twitter if you want to join us there also:
www.facebook.com/talkaboutautism
www.twitter.com/talkaboutautism
Elena Goodrum
Community Manager
talk about autism
Posted by
MySonJack
on 17th June 2009
at 11:55
hello,
I dont know about Melatonin, but my son is on Catapres for sleeping and calming down at school. My son is 7, so im not sure if a 3 1/2 year old can have Catapres, but it really works for me. He sleeps right through the night now, where as before, he wouldnt sleep at all. My son has improved out of sight with communication, being on Catapres and fish oil. Any goodluck, i hope you find the right meds for your son, to suit him. All children are different, so dont rush out and get Catapres just because i am using it.
Deb
Posted by
Josie Barnshaw
on 17th June 2009
at 14:00
Hi
Just popped in to welcome Lizzie P to the forum. My son isnt on any meds so can help with this one.
Josie
Posted by
Elena - former Community Manager
on 18th June 2009
at 10:43
There's a person on Facebook - Louise Masters - who says: "my son has been taking melatonin for four years all i can say it has worked great for him"
Posted by
Elena - former Community Manager
on 18th June 2009
at 12:29
I've got a few more replies from Facebook for you! : )
From Shirley Williams:
"Hi Elana, I have a 10 year old son who has high functioning ASD, we
were offered Melatonin for a number of years, we always refused, our
son always worried at bedtime he shares a room with his little brother.
This resulted in both of the children getting very distressed at
bedtime, which also meant us parents getting stressed. Eventually a
year ago we were all that exausted when we went to see the doctor, she offered
it again, we accepted but was very unsure as to what to expect. We were
advised to give him 2 ml liquid form to start off with, and could
increase over the week if it had little affect. The first time we gave
it to him we felt guilty but gave him 2ml like the doc suggested. He
went to sleep withing half an hour, this was unheard of with our son.
We then decreased it to 1ml to see if it had the same affect, and to
this day continue to give 1ml, it has helped in our case bedtime is
enjoyable now and not dreaded as in the past."
And a second comment from Shirley:
"I have heard though from friends of the support groupo
www.yardleyasd.com , that it has not worked for them, and we only give
him the melatonin when he has school, so at weekends he goes to bed
later but has not got as much anxiety anyway because he has no school
the next day, I am not saying it has cured the waking during the night,
but its the initial getting to sleep we couldn't cope with, hope this
helps you x"
From Lisadom Irishautismaction
"Yes, I want to build a monument to the person who discovered it. Doesnt
keep them asleep but it makes them go asleep when nothing else will.
And it doesnt affect them next day.
xx"
From Elaine Teasdale:
"My son is 13 years old and has been using Melatonin for 9 months, he`s
able to sleep a lot better with it than without. He does still have
some days where he is unable to sleep but thats only if he`s had a bad
day"
From Jonelle Faulkner-Bird:
"My son was put on circadin (which is slow release melatonin) about 1
and half months ago... Circadin has not long been released for use. He
was on 2mg for a week which seemed to take about 5 hours to start to
work... then when it was upped to 4 mg he was asleep within 2 hours and
it seemed to calm him down in the meantime too.... however since ... this
weekend they dont seem to be working and everynight has once again
become a war zone... when they were working though it was lovely, calm
and peaceful in the evening and he was far more refreshed for school
the next day."
Posted by
bumblebee
on 18th June 2009
at 17:15
Hi there,
My daughter is 11 and has Aspergers & ADHD, among others! She has taken Melatonin since she was about 6 (6mg) and it has always worked well for her. (She now takes 9mg) She started taking it because she couldn't fall asleep, but once asleep didn't wake up. The Melatonin really helped and about 45 mins after taking it, she was snoring!! The first night she took it, we kept checking her to make sure she was still breathing!! Aged 6, she fell asleep happy for the first time!
Hope this helps!.......Claire X
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Posted by
Lizzie P
on 17th June 2009
at 10:09
Hi there. I am new to the forum and need some advice on Melatonin. My son is three and a half, and has a full diagnosis of Autism and is currently being assessed for for ADHD. He is on the "go" 14 to 15 hours a day and has a great deal of difficulty going to sleep at night. He never sits quietly to play, eat or watch tv. He wakes in the night on average 3 times a week, and sleeps very fitfully - turning in his bed, rolling, talking and wimpering etc. He seems to be unable to read the signals of tiredness, yet I have such trouble getting him out of bed in the morning to go to school. A paediatrician has recommend 3-6mg of Melatonin at night to help to try to regulate and improve the quality of his sleep and mine! Does anyone have any experience of this, good or bad?