does anyone use melatonin?

Corey Rhodes - posted on 11/30/2012

My 4 1/2 yr old daughter has been on it off and on since she was 2. We were using prescribed meds for her and within a few weeks kept having to increase them. So giving her melatonin was a great thing. She has never slept through the night since birth. But here lately on 3 mgs she has started sleeping all night in her own bed. My 10 yr old son has been taking it off and on since he was 2. They had him on clonidine ( sp) but it caused him night terrors worse than he already had so he was placed on melatonine. He slept much better. I am now on it as well. My children both take 3 mgs I take 6 mgs and am able to increase upto 10 mgs. I hope this helps. We like it because it helps us and it is all natural. We have never had any side effects from taking it.

Lorielle - posted on 11/27/2012

my daughter is 3 years old and I give her melatonin. I have been giving it to her for the last 1 1/2 years.... Ever since she was 6 months old she has had to take Zyrtec on a nightly basis (doctor prescribed, without it she was always sick ) but now that she takes melatonin and can get enough sleep she does not have to take the Zyrtec as often. Before I started giving it to her she would hardly sleep at night and wouldn't go to sleep until after midnight despite being up since 9 that morning. I don't like having to give it to her but if I don't she goes right back to staying awake all day(except for an 1 hour nap around noon) from 9 am to midnight and some nights she wont even sleep at all without it. What I don't like even more is the lowest dose I can give her is 5mg any lower and it doesn't work. But it helps her so until there is a better alternative that is natural like melatonin that helps her sleep so she don't get sick all the time I am going to continue to give it to her.

Dana - posted on 11/08/2011

My 11 yr. old son also has Tourette's and would wake up at least 4 times every single night. He's taking 3 mg of melatonin every night during the school year and at the most only wakes up once now. It's probably the most natural sleep aid you can buy. Our bodies make melatonin naturally.

Michelle - posted on 10/30/2011

Melatonin has worked great for myself as well as my son. It's all natural so there's no after effects in the morning. It gradually lulls you to sleep as if you're own body is telling you its naturally tired. I highly recommend it and I am a huge non-medication believer.

Leah - posted on 10/28/2011

My 12 year old son has autism, we did not sleep through the night for the first 10 years of his life , he would either lay there for hours not being able to sleep or only sleep for 3 hours a night. We put him on melotonin and it was amazing, my son doesn't do well with taking pills but we put it in a spoonfull of ice cream and he does ok. I do suggest the time release for sure, the regular helped him get to sleep but he was still awake after a few hours.

Marion - posted on 10/27/2011

I use it for my son along with Clonidine. My son is 7 and has had issues sleeping since he was 2. We started just with the melatonin at 3mg..went from 2 hrs sleep a night to about 4, then his doctor uped it to 6mg and we went from 4-6 hrs. At that time his doctor added Clonazapam along with the melatonin and he went from 6-10 hrs. However, after 2 years of this treatment he started having one of the common side effects of night terrors and his doctor switched out the clonazapam for clonidine. My son now sleeps 10 solid hours a night and is flourishing in Grade 2 as he has so much more focus and calm. The only draw back for him now is he went from fully bathroom trained day and night to needing pullups at night as he is in such a deep sleep, and often needs reminded during the day to go to the bathroom as either the clonazapm or the clonidine has lessened the sensation he would normally feel when needing the bathroom.

Marilyn - posted on 10/27/2011

Hi Tania, melatonin was suggested by my son's psychiatrist because I object to most medication, and it is a natural substance the body produces (but some people don't produce enough to fall asleep naturally or soon enough in my son's case - 10:30/10:45 pm), but I haven't tried it yet. I'm leaning towards having him try it on a trial basis for maybe two weeks to see if I get any results. Best of luck.

Janet - posted on 10/27/2011

We use melatonin sometimes with our 10 year old. I try not to use it all the time but on the odd occasion he wakes through the night I give it to him to get back to sleep otherwise we are up until the next night! II also find it good if he is very unsettled, however, he will not necesarily sleep though the night but is good to get him to settle. Though it is not going to hurt him I find that if I give it to him a few times in a row he seems very unsettled the next few days. He is non verbal so it is his behaviour that I have noticed a bit of a pattern with. I also have a son ASD 7 yrs old, I only give it to him very occasionaly. He is also non verbal but not as severe. I also use it to settle him, but he also does not last the whole night with it. Good luck.

Natasha - posted on 10/26/2011

we used melatonin on both my children when younger and still do occasionally to help them sleep. My daughter had a hard time sometimes getting her body to actually get to sleep. They make chewable ones and we just usually used .5-1mg caplet at night. Nice thing is its like vitamin C, if you get to much your body just gets rid of it! All it takes is a little time in the sun! I love it and whenever i run low i make sure to pick more up.

Tristen - posted on 10/26/2011

yes i ave a son with ADHD inattentive, Cronic severe asthma, along with food allergies, and wets his e still. On his medication it was hard for him to go to sleep. Doctor his given him melatonin 2mg. It is a life saver. It has not only helped is breathing but also helped the bedweting as he can now wake up i the night to go off to the toilet He is also not as anxious as he was before he was put on the melatonin. It is fanastic, he is asleep within 5 min. I do give it to him 2 hours before bed and no computer or tv within 2 hours of bed time. Hope this helps.

Lisa - posted on 10/26/2011

My son is Autist, his Pedi recommended 3mg of Melatonin a night, which it still did not work for us. His Nero suggested clonidine as well, which we got a 'script for. Best of luck~*

Amy - posted on 10/24/2011

We have been using melatonin for our autistic 9 year-old for several months on the advice of our developmental pediatrician, although at lower doses than what I have seen in the posts here...... we have 2.5 mg lozenges that we cut into quarters, because it was only recommended that we give him .5mg. We give it to him on nights that he is extra wired up from an activity too close to bedtime, or if he is feeling particularly restless, which equates to once a week if we are lucky. He used to be a champion sleeper, but as he has matured, he has started to have identifiable anxiety, and the melatonin helps with that as well. Hope it works for you!

Veronica - posted on 10/23/2011

absolutely! works every time :)

Colleen - posted on 10/23/2011

Hi Tania my son uses melatonin to help hime relax at bed time it works realy good for him. All the best. :))

Marlene - posted on 10/23/2011

Yes, I've been giving to my son since he was 18 months. He is 12 now. Although it doesn't always work, but I'm grateful when he does sleep.

Candace - posted on 10/18/2011

My son is almost 3 and he uses Melatonin nightly. It seemed to work at first but now it seems like his body isn't responding to it anymore. The neurologist prescribed Clonidine but I haven't used it because I don't feel comfortable drugging him. We filled the prescription as just a back up to use if we really need it. As for the Melatonin, I just increased his dosage by half a teaspoon and they seems to be working\. My son has an issue with textures so I special order the liquid version online.

Rita - posted on 10/17/2011

I think I have posted in this thread a while back, but I use melatonin every night. It really makes you sleepy. If you have questions about it...read a lot and then give it a try. Getting informed is the best medicine...and then trying what ever you use for your son. (as long as it isnt some prescribed med)

Jane - posted on 10/17/2011

We used it for a while but other than cause headaches, it was useless.

Susan - posted on 10/14/2011

My son has such high anxieties and ADHD that he cannot settle himself down for bed. About 2 years ago a friend suggested Melatonin, and it works great. We give it to him about an hour before bedtime and it helps him calm down and fall asleep so much better. Also, despite the bottle saying its for adults, our family GP has assured us it is safe to use in children. Melatonin is what you get from the sun, when you spend all day at the beach for example, come night time you are so tired and have a great sleep, it's the same idea. Also they come in different kinds, there's strips in Chocolate and mint, they're are chewables (harder to find) and there's onees that melt in your mouth, in mint and no flavor.
I hope this helps :-)

Karen - posted on 10/10/2011

my son has pdd-nos anxiety and agression...he wouldnt sleep at all..we couldnt get him to sleep nor get him to sleep during the nite...the dr recommended melatonin...we give it to him at 600pm and by 9pm hes ready to go to bed...we have had a lot of luck with it and there has been no side effects wsith him..it doesnt even effecgt him in the am at all...he is easy to wake up and isnt groggy...hope this helps

Caryn - posted on 10/10/2011

I've taken it myself but I've never given it to my son. I read you can take it for a number of weeks but then you have to give it rest. It worked for me. I see some parent have had some success. I may try it on my kiddo after I speak with his doctor. He wakes several times during the night.

Virginia - posted on 10/06/2011

I've always resisted taking MELATONIN - even when i lived overseas, was traveling trans-atlantic a lot, and could have written an entire advice book about jet lag.

In addition to being 'natural', Melatonin is serious stuff. It's a hormone which means that it has very systemic, different and far-reaching effects on your body. Taking it for sleep without a LOT of care would be overlooking the other actions it has on the body - those that we know about and those that we don't know about.

One of the known area that it can affect is gonad development in males (testes) - as in, it inhibits it. It's a pretty complicated relationship but oversimplified it could be said that too much melatonin equals shrunken testes (yikes). My son is 5 and I am considering using it - sparingly and in very low doses (I think you can start at 0.3 mg). I just though a word of caution would be useful in this discussion thread. Good luck to you all and be conservative with all meds - natural ones too!

Katherine - posted on 10/04/2011

Our Neuro Doc started my son on it a month ago. J is 4 and hasnt slept through the night yet. She said that his epilepsy could be caused by sleep. We started off at 1mg and can go up to 3mgs. We do 2 weeks on, then take 2 days off.. Sleep is better although it is not perfect all the time, but waking up once per night is well worth it compared to the 5 times a night I was doing.. (as a single mom)

Corey Rhodes - posted on 10/01/2011

Each child is different. My son can take melatonin with no problems. My daughter with hydrocephalus on the other hand worked but with some issues. She would have a hard time getting to sleep, would only sleep for a few hrs and then wake up screaming and be up the rest of the night crying. I say get it a try for a week or 2 and see if it helps

Rita - posted on 09/28/2011

I take melatonin 5 mg, every night. It helps me to feel sleepy.

Susan - posted on 09/26/2011

both my 16 yr old daughter with special needs and my 12 year old with mild anxiety take 1mg melatonin and it works beautifully - we've been using it nearly a year and love it.

Jennifer - posted on 09/26/2011

It worked for about a week with my 3yro, his Neuro is now sending him to a Sleep Specialist

Kizzy - posted on 09/22/2011

it works wonders. My 11 year old son has aspergers.adhd and i have used it for a couple of years and it is great.

Nadine - posted on 09/22/2011

Hello Tania!!! My daughter has cerebral palsy, epilespy, sleep apena, asthma, and reflux. We have been using melatonin since she was 2 yrs old. She is going to be 6 this year. When we first started using it, we only gave it at night. She would sleep very well. She then went to not sleeping during the day so we decided to give it in the morning too. We gave it twice a day for about 3 yrs. She did very well with it. Just this summer we went back to taking it once a day and we give it at bedtime. She has done extremely very well with it . I think it works great!!! You should just give it a try and the worst thing it could do is that it does not help!!! I wish you the best of luck!!!

Ivelisse - posted on 09/22/2011

Yes I use it on my 12yr old daughter cause she won't go to bed early she can wake up at 6 am and won't go to bed till after midnight on a daily basis so doc recommended melatonin and she is asleep in no time I started her on 3mg and now she takes 5mg

Cassie - posted on 09/21/2011

My 8 yr old daughter uses it nightly and it seems to work well. We did have to up her dose at one point, suggested by her neurologist. Definitely worth a shot!

Fran - posted on 09/21/2011

My 10 years old son with autism had and has problems getting to sleep at night. As soon as he lays down, he would start repeating phrases he heard on the computer or tv, or he would bounce his head off the pillow, just acting REALLY wired. I would give him Melatonin (I first asked my doctor to make sure if it was OK) and it works for him.

Maria - posted on 09/21/2011

we tried it with lizzy (cp, epilepsy) and it made her scream and cry if she happened to wake in the night. We stopped it. Though I have heard it helps others.

Marcia - posted on 09/20/2011

Melatonin was recommended to me for my grandson by one of his therapists. It is a natural herbal remedy that helps with sleep. Without it, he would not be able to go to sleep and would be up most of the night. Melatonin helped him relax enough to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Peggy - posted on 09/20/2011

We used Melatonin for a while....however, we stopped when it stopped working. Now, two years later, its VERY hard to get out child to sleep. I personally would not recommend it.

Kris - posted on 09/20/2011

Melatonin is totally natural. used it with my daughter (autism) for a couple of years. She is now 5 and only use it when I get desparate. It gets her to sleep but unless you use the continuous/timed release won't keep him asleep. That kind only comes in a pill. Depending on how old he is there is a liquid and spray form, but not continuous release.

Diane - posted on 09/20/2011

My son, 13 Autism, ID, Verbal Dyspraxia & Epilepsy has yet to sleep through the night since birth.... BUT we have been using Melatonin for over a year now and he sleeps about 4-5 hours straight!!! Getting the un-interrup0ted sleep has improved his overall wellness, much happier and content as I am sure we all are after a good night sleep. I like it because it is something natural that occurs in the body so it is not a chemical drug which I am happy with. Good luck and I hope it works well for you!!!

Jane - posted on 09/20/2011

Yes we do My son has ADHD and could.t get to sleep at night. The Melatonin helps switch his brain off and he hasn't had any trouble sleeping since starting on it. I love it. It is prescribed by the doctor so is stronger than the over the counter version.

Maranda - posted on 09/20/2011

Love it and it's already found in your system it's what makes you tired and get to sleep. The youngest I have started to use it with my girls was about 5 years but that didn't sean to need it before that. I have used a half dose but a full dose is fine for children, 2 pills can safely be taken for adults per my doc. Good luck

Allie - posted on 09/20/2011

We love melatonin.....i even use it! My oldest uses it and i think it is more affective then perscription sleep meds!!!

Christa - posted on 09/20/2011

YES!!! My son is 10 has PDD-NOS (a form of autism) and has been on melatonin for 5 years. Before he was on the melatonin he wouldn't fall asleep until 11 or 12 at night!! Now I give him 6 mg a half hour before bed and he falls asleep easily most nights (some nights he might be a little hyper from the ADHD and it takes a little longer.) I buy mine at the grocery store in the health foods section. Good luck I hope it works for you!! {{{HUGS}}}

Cathy - posted on 09/20/2011

Hi Tania...I use Melatonin for my 11 year old son who has AD/HD and mile OCD. I give him the sublingual one - 3 mg each night about an hour before you want to do go to sleep. You can start with 1mg, depending on his size and age, and then increase as appropriate. 3mg is the max you can give in one night. Good luck hope it works for him!!!

Angel - posted on 09/20/2011

My son is 13 now and has been using Melatonin for 2 years, my step children (now 21 and 19) also used Melatonin for many many years from their pre-teens up. My son takes 6 mg at bedtime and it helps him to fall back to sleep if he wakes up. His pediatrician and opthomologist recommended it b/c he was getting headaches and migraines from lack of sleep We also do a cup of Hot Red Roobios Herbal tea and he feels it helps him to relax.

Autumn - posted on 09/20/2011

my son used to stay up till 1 or 2 am every night. We started giving him a very small dose of melatonin and he SLEEPS. After a while, he gets used to it, and we need to give his body a rest... and sometimes he is a little weird in his sleep... but he sleeps.

Denise - posted on 09/20/2011

I have two sons, both of whom have issues with getting to sleep at night. They are now 16 and 12. We have been using melatonin for a number of years on the advice of our psychologist. It has worked very well for us. We now are at the stage where we only need to use it sometimes, but for quite awhile we used it nightly.

Ali - posted on 09/20/2011

We tried with our daughter and it had the opposite affect and kept her awake. She would pace around her room. I too have many friends though that have used it with great success. I wish we could use a more natural sleep aide but we have to use benedryl for now.

Melissa - posted on 09/19/2011

I have a 4 year old and she has had problems not going to sleep so we have started the melatonin just 3 mg a night before bed which was suggested from her neurologist works wonderfully. She wakes up well rested now.

Rochell - posted on 09/19/2011

We tried it, and it did not work, we did the lavender bath's etc., but yet.. on another note, I have heard from many mothers that say it works excellent. Even adults use it. You will just have to try it and hopefully it will give you some relief.

Heather - posted on 09/18/2011

Yup. good stuff. My son has sleep issues and has from birth. His neuro actually was the one who recommended it.

Tam - posted on 09/17/2011

Hi i'm new to this site but my daughter is going to be 18yrs old and yes we started using melatonin about 2 years ago. i give it to her only when she is having a hard time settling at night which is not every night. seems to work good for shutting off all the anxiety and thoughts in the mind but doesn't work for the whole night if she wakes thinking of something.