Re: Question about melatonin

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy, good question! So many parents in this & other groups have

used melatonin. But I never note if their kids are on any other

medication. Found this info:

" Taking dietary supplements such as 5-HTP, kava kava, or valerian in

combination with melatonin may increase its sedative side effects.

Similarly, taking melatonin in combination with medicines that can

cause drowsiness such as benzodiazepines (lorazepam, diazepam), pain

relievers (codeine or morphine), or alcohol may also increase the

sedative side effects of melatonin.

You should avoid melatonin supplements if you take medicines

affecting immune function such as prednisone, cyclosporine (brand

names Sandimmune or Neoral), or azithioprine (Imuran). "

at website:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxa1652_333181_sespider-

are_there_any_interactions_with_melatonin.htm

AND THEN more info here:

Antidepressant Medications

In an animal study, melatonin supplements reduced the antidepressant

effects of desipramine and fluoxetine. More research is needed to

determine whether these effects would occur in people. In addition,

fluoxetine (a member of a class of drugs called selective serotonin

reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs) has led to measurable depletion of

melatonin in people.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Melatonincs.html

>

> Hi all, I have read on here in the past about using melatonin for a

> sleep aid. Does anyone know if it is ok to take it with luvox and

> buspar? Bre is waking up alot at night and her p-doc is out of

town!!

> Thanks!

>

> Sandy

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Sandy,

I was told that it is completely safe to use with other things. My

daughter used it while on Zoloft.

nna.

NY

>

> Hi all, I have read on here in the past about using melatonin for a

> sleep aid. Does anyone know if it is ok to take it with luvox and

> buspar? Bre is waking up alot at night and her p-doc is out of town!!

> Thanks!

>

> Sandy

>

[Guest guest]

There's plenty of melatonin in warm milk for most folks. However, I'm

wondering if Logan would benefit from seeing a sleep specialist. Have you

discussed this problem with Logan's PCP?

granny

On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 9:08 AM, M. FRANK <michdock@...> wrote:

> My newest little guy, Logan, is 6. He goes to bed and screams. Not

> " angry, I don't want to go to bed " screams.. just a piercing scream, once

> every 5 or 10 minutes, perhaps to remind us that he is in there. He also

> does a lot of head rocking with a chant that goes with it. The bed is pulled

> 6 inches out from the wall so he can't head bang any longer.

> We have a " getting ready for bed " routine, he goes to bed with a bedtime

> tape, he has a nightlight, he shares a room with my 5 and 7 yr olds and THEY

> (for the most part) go to bed quietly.

> Once he's asleep, he will often waken during the night to chant, or scream,

> or bang around in there. I am up and checking on him often. Neither one of

> us is getting quality sleep.

> So, we have decided to try melatonin.

> We have 1 mg tablets and he is 42 lbs. Should I give him the full tablet or

> part?

> We did try it with Mav at one point and it had him very sedated the whole

> next day so we never gave it to him again. Logan is on no other medications.

> Thanks,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Granny,

We are still sorting through a lot of those things. Right now we are busy

ruling out reported food allergies and trying to find out what that 2nd

diagnosis is that keeps him from walking. No one seems to have a record of it.

Pretty much most of the little guys days are filled with negative attention

seeking behaviors which have decreased enormously in the 2 months we've had him,

but in some areas it's not going as fast.

Also, the fact that it's not every night has us more leaning towards behavioral

issues rather than medical issues at this time.

You would not believe some of the behaviors he exhibits and you would not

believe how far he has come in 2 months.

[Guest guest]

I would also explore other options about what

causes a child to wake up in the middle of the

night screaming. The first thing that comes to my

mind is reflux. I've heard that large percentage

of children with Ds suffer from reflux because of

low muscle tone, and it is very painful. Phoebe

has it and I have it as well. My reflux has

awoken me in the middle of the night in severe

pain. I would imagine a child who cannot

verbalize would be in pain and trying anything to

let his parents know something is wrong.

Dinkins-Borkowski; Nolan(5) nocf, Phoebe(3)

Ds & cf

<http://www.caringbridge.org/tx/phoebe> Phoebe

Updates CLICK HERE

" The future belongs to those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams. "

- Eleanor Roosevelt

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of

Gem Bordages

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 9:26 AM

Subject: Re: Question about melatonin

There's plenty of melatonin in warm milk for most

folks. However, I'm

wondering if Logan would benefit from seeing a

sleep specialist. Have you

discussed this problem with Logan's PCP?

granny

On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 9:08 AM, M. FRANK

<michdock@... <mailto:michdock%40msn.com> >

wrote:

> My newest little guy, Logan, is 6. He goes to

bed and screams. Not

> " angry, I don't want to go to bed " screams..

just a piercing scream, once

> every 5 or 10 minutes, perhaps to remind us that

he is in there. He also

> does a lot of head rocking with a chant that

goes with it. The bed is pulled

> 6 inches out from the wall so he can't head bang

any longer.

> We have a " getting ready for bed " routine, he

goes to bed with a bedtime

> tape, he has a nightlight, he shares a room with

my 5 and 7 yr olds and THEY

> (for the most part) go to bed quietly.

> Once he's asleep, he will often waken during the

night to chant, or scream,

> or bang around in there. I am up and checking on

him often. Neither one of

> us is getting quality sleep.

> So, we have decided to try melatonin.

> We have 1 mg tablets and he is 42 lbs. Should I

give him the full tablet or

> part?

> We did try it with Mav at one point and it had

him very sedated the whole

> next day so we never gave it to him again. Logan

is on no other medications.

> Thanks,

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

removed]

>

>

>

--

Not for ourselves but for the whole world we were

born

[Non-text portions of this message have been

removed]

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your input .

These are not " I'm in pain " screams. They are attention seeking, behavior

oriented screams. We get them throughout the day also, (along with other major

behaviors not seen in even a " typical " child with ds)... not just when he is

sleeping. If I felt it was at all a medical/pain issue, he would have been

checked out, actually for all I know he HAS been checked out, we are still

trying to gather and sort through all the information and misinformation.

I know, that with all that is going on, I could go to the Dr. and get something

to relax him and help him sleep. My choice, is to try take a more natural

route.

I know that Logan is adjusting and we are dealing with that.

I know that Logan is probably confused or rebelling emotionally and we are

dealing with THAT!

Our thoughts on the melatonin is that it would help us get some uninterrupted

sleep, (he and the whole family) and hopefully establish a new sleep pattern for

Logan and get him out of the negative patterns that have developed over the past

6 years.

My question was on the dosage of melatonin, not the cause of the screaming.

We are NOT uncaring parents who are ignoring our child who is in pain and unable

to verbalize this to us. We are tired parents who seek to give our son some

peace so that he can get past this behavior.

[Guest guest]

I am sorry . I did not mean to imply you

were a bad parent. That was not my intention at

all. Please accept my sincerest apology. I was

just trying to offer some of my past medical

knowledge. I am very sorry I implied otherwise.

I will try to be more careful in the future.

Dinkins-Borkowski; Nolan(5) nocf, Phoebe(3)

Ds & cf

<http://www.caringbridge.org/tx/phoebe> Phoebe

Updates CLICK HERE

" The future belongs to those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams. "

- Eleanor Roosevelt

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of

M. FRANK

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:48 PM

;

Dinkins-Borkowski

Subject: Re: Question about melatonin

Thank you for your input .

These are not " I'm in pain " screams. They are

attention seeking, behavior oriented screams. We

get them throughout the day also, (along with

other major behaviors not seen in even a " typical "

child with ds)... not just when he is sleeping. If

I felt it was at all a medical/pain issue, he

would have been checked out, actually for all I

know he HAS been checked out, we are still trying

to gather and sort through all the information and

misinformation.

I know, that with all that is going on, I could go

to the Dr. and get something to relax him and help

him sleep. My choice, is to try take a more

natural route.

I know that Logan is adjusting and we are dealing

with that.

I know that Logan is probably confused or

rebelling emotionally and we are dealing with

THAT!

Our thoughts on the melatonin is that it would

help us get some uninterrupted sleep, (he and the

whole family) and hopefully establish a new sleep

pattern for Logan and get him out of the negative

patterns that have developed over the past 6

years.

My question was on the dosage of melatonin, not

the cause of the screaming.

We are NOT uncaring parents who are ignoring our

child who is in pain and unable to verbalize this

to us. We are tired parents who seek to give our

son some peace so that he can get past this

behavior.

[Non-text portions of this message have been

removed]

[Guest guest]

,

weighs 47 lbs. Dr Concannon just wrote an order for him for

melatonin for .75mg.for our respite nurses. We buy the 3mg of

melatonin(I use it also) and divide it up into quarters.

sleeps pretty good most nights with it.We give it at 8pm and

he asks to go to bed at 8:45 on the dot every night. So I guess for

him it takes 45mins to get into his system. We haven't had any

problems with it.

Janet H

[Guest guest]

,

I read that you guys are still figuring things out but

could there have been an issue with him and bedtime or

sleeping that causes him trama?

As far as Melatonin, is it a problem falling asleep or

staying asleep? We have used it on our almost

5 since he was 2. As he gets bigger, we test dose as

his neurologist says up to 6mgs time release.

has a problem staying asleep and that has worked

wonders. We curently give him about 2.5-3mg and he is

45 pounds (very tall). I noticed he was a much

happier boy after getting some good sleep.

If you give it to him and notice no difference up it a

little. I have had the best success with Natrol and

Source Natural all from The vitamin Shoppe.

I hope this helps. B

--- " M. FRANK " <michdock@...> wrote:

> My newest little guy, Logan, is 6. He goes to bed

> and screams. Not " angry, I don't want to go to bed "

> screams.. just a piercing scream, once every 5 or 10

> minutes, perhaps to remind us that he is in there.

> He also does a lot of head rocking with a chant that

> goes with it. The bed is pulled 6 inches out from

> the wall so he can't head bang any longer.

> We have a " getting ready for bed " routine, he goes

> to bed with a bedtime tape, he has a nightlight, he

> shares a room with my 5 and 7 yr olds and THEY (for

> the most part) go to bed quietly.

> Once he's asleep, he will often waken during the

> night to chant, or scream, or bang around in there.

> I am up and checking on him often. Neither one of

> us is getting quality sleep.

> So, we have decided to try melatonin.

> We have 1 mg tablets and he is 42 lbs. Should I

> give him the full tablet or part?

> We did try it with Mav at one point and it had him

> very sedated the whole next day so we never gave it

> to him again. Logan is on no other medications.

> Thanks,

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

> Click reply to all for messages to go to the list.

> Just hit reply for messages to go to the sender of

> the message.

[Guest guest]

I would give the slow release melatonin a go Sandie, they should

have their stocks built up by now. I have never ad any trouble with sleeping so

can't help your question regarding hCG and whether people get benefits of

improved sleep.

Luv - Sheila

I've been taking 3mg of Melatonin for a few

nights now and it's made no difference, I'm still waking several times a night.

So last night I decided to take 2 tabs (6mg) I still woke once on my own and

again because my daughter was crying out….I'm

on day 2 of loading (HCG diet)how long into the diet have people seen benefits

of improved sleep?

Thanks

Sandie.

[Guest guest]

Mu daughter has been taking melatonin on prescription for a few years now. When

the doctor first put her on it he said that it can take a while before it works

properly. it took about a month with my daughter.

>

> I've been taking 3mg of Melatonin for a few nights now and it's made no

difference,