Re: melatonin--tried for the first time last night...

May 6, 2002

some notes on melatonin

http://members.tripod.com/mueller_ranges/links/compendium.html

number 33 towards the bottom of the page

> I am amazed at the results! My thirteen y/o son (aspergers & OCD)

> was asleep within the hour of taking a 1 mg tablet of Melatonin

last

> night. I have waited 13 years for this. Why didn't a doctor ever

> recommend it to us??? I have told every doctor we have ever seen

> that the child can't go to sleep at night and they all do

> their " mmmm " and nod and then nothing.

>

> For many years I would wait and wait for him to fall asleep because

I

> couldn't sleep until I knew he was out. The last couple of years

> I've given him strict guidelines on what he can and cannot do after

> he's been tucked in and then I just shut my door and go to bed. I

> had to because I couldn't wait until 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. for him to

fall

> asleep anymore. He would stay in his room and read or play quietly

> or just think, but he has always been so moody and quick to anger

> during the day and I always knew it was due to lack of sleep.

Since

> he's been on enzymes I've seen an improvement in that area (among

> others), but still not adequate. I can't wait to see how he feels

> today after a good night of sleep.

>

> Laurie

May 6, 2002

Hi Laurie-- docs don't recommend it because it is not a money maker

for the drug companies... that's why. I too have found melatonin to

be very helpful. I think that sleep issues are big issues, and it

helps our kids bodies heal when they can get enough sleep. Use what

you have to use, and if it is melatonin, great.

You can also experiment with the amount-- ex. if you are using the 1

mg tablet, you can try cutting it in half with a knife-- sometimes

that is all that is needed.

W

--->

>

> > I am amazed at the results! My thirteen y/o son (aspergers &

OCD)

> > was asleep within the hour of taking a 1 mg tablet of Melatonin

> last

> > night. I have waited 13 years for this. Why didn't a doctor

ever

> > recommend it to us??? .

> >

> > Laurie

May 7, 2002

Dear Laurie,

I, too, was amazed as to how quickly My 13 year old daughter would fall

asleep after using melatonin. Unfortunately the next day she was miserable

and cranky. I reduced the dosage to 200 mcg. the smallest I could find at

the health food store and only use it when I'm desperate to get her to

sleep. She still has a bad day the next day from it.

[ ] melatonin--tried for the first time last

night...

> I am amazed at the results! My thirteen y/o son (aspergers & OCD)

> was asleep within the hour of taking a 1 mg tablet of Melatonin last

> night. I have waited 13 years for this. Why didn't a doctor ever

> recommend it to us??? I have told every doctor we have ever seen

> that the child can't go to sleep at night and they all do

> their " mmmm " and nod and then nothing.

>

> For many years I would wait and wait for him to fall asleep because I

> couldn't sleep until I knew he was out. The last couple of years

> I've given him strict guidelines on what he can and cannot do after

> he's been tucked in and then I just shut my door and go to bed. I

> had to because I couldn't wait until 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. for him to fall

> asleep anymore. He would stay in his room and read or play quietly

> or just think, but he has always been so moody and quick to anger

> during the day and I always knew it was due to lack of sleep. Since

> he's been on enzymes I've seen an improvement in that area (among

> others), but still not adequate. I can't wait to see how he feels

> today after a good night of sleep.

>

> Laurie

>

May 7, 2002

,

The next day was not good for my son either after the 1 mg dose.

Last night I split the tablet and gave him a little less than half.

He fell asleep quickly and seems to be in very good spirits today.

I'm going to keep experimenting and researching because I think we

have found something very useful here. I have never seen anything

actually put him to sleep. It's almost scary how powerful it seems.

Laurie

> Dear Laurie,

> I, too, was amazed as to how quickly My 13 year old daughter

would fall

> asleep after using melatonin. Unfortunately the next day she was

miserable

> and cranky. I reduced the dosage to 200 mcg. the smallest I could

find at

> the health food store and only use it when I'm desperate to get her

to

> sleep. She still has a bad day the next day from it.

>

> [ ] melatonin--tried for the first time last

> night...

>

> > I am amazed at the results! My thirteen y/o son (aspergers & OCD)

> > was asleep within the hour of taking a 1 mg tablet of Melatonin

last

> > night. I have waited 13 years for this. Why didn't a doctor ever

> > recommend it to us??? I have told every doctor we have ever seen

> > that the child can't go to sleep at night and they all do

> > their " mmmm " and nod and then nothing.

> >

> > For many years I would wait and wait for him to fall asleep

because I

> > couldn't sleep until I knew he was out. The last couple of years

> > I've given him strict guidelines on what he can and cannot do

after

> > he's been tucked in and then I just shut my door and go to bed. I

> > had to because I couldn't wait until 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. for him to

fall

> > asleep anymore. He would stay in his room and read or play

quietly

> > or just think, but he has always been so moody and quick to anger

> > during the day and I always knew it was due to lack of sleep.

Since

> > he's been on enzymes I've seen an improvement in that area (among

> > others), but still not adequate. I can't wait to see how he feels

> > today after a good night of sleep.

> >

> > Laurie

> >

May 9, 2002

Melatonin made my ASD son very upset. Even a very small dosage sent him

through the roof - lots of crying, whining, even tantrumming before falling

asleep. I won't use it anymore. For my younger son only a tiny drop will make

him fall asleep. But I only use it for him if he's had an unusual late nap &

can't fall asleep at night.

I heard something about melatonin causing early puberty if used regularly -

perhaps someone else knows more about that?

(If it was written forgive me as I wasn't following along too closely).

Michele

(mom to , 7.5 yrs with autism, Logan, 4 yrs, Jolie 10 weeks)

May 9, 2002

Thanks Rivky,

I have been researching melatonin to make sure I know what I'm

doing. I did start breaking the 1 mg tablets and have been using 1/4

of a tablet for the last two nights and it seems to be just enough to

take the edge off and get him to sleep. This still seems like a

miracle to me. I did read that you can build an immunity to it

(maybe that's not the correct terminology but...)if you stop it for a

few weeks rather than ramping up the dose, you can usually start

using it again with good results. I'm going to keep toying with it

until I've got the smallest dose with the most comfortable effect for

all of us. Maybe I'll start using the 1/4 tablet every other night

and see how that goes.

I was concerned about the mother that said she had been overdosing

her 5 year old (are you out there?)and so had now brought it down to

1.5 mg (or was it 2.5 mg?) because my son is 13 and weighs 130 lbs

and 1 mg seemed to be way too much for him. He was able to describe

to me how it made him feel shortly after he took it--said he felt

empty inside, like all his internal organs were missing. The next

day he was really not feeling well at all. Just imagine a younger

child or a non-verbal child having similar feelings but not being

able to tell you. Now, on the smaller dose he's not noticing any

strange feelings--just relaxing tiredness at the end of the day (as

it should be).

Laurie

> I use to use melatonin for my son. 1mg. It worked for a long time

but then

> his body seemed to become " immune " to it because it stopped

working. Someone

> mentioned to me that 1mg is alot. The reason i am telling you this

is

> because i dont want this to happen to you. I dont know much about

the

> subject, but perhaps you can find out what is the lowest dosage

your child

> needs to fall asleep. People do give melatonin in a fraction of a

mg. People

> have been known to break a 1mg tablet. You also might look into

seeing if

> your child really needs this every single night, or only a few

times a week.

> Like you can give a 1mg melatonin one night, but then not give it

the next

> night and see if he falls asleep. Ask people you know who are on

melatonin

> about these things. Perhaps other people on this list know more.

>

> Rivky

>

> [ ] melatonin--tried for the first time last

> night...

>

> > I am amazed at the results! My thirteen y/o son (aspergers & OCD)

> > was asleep within the hour of taking a 1 mg tablet of Melatonin

last

> > night. I have waited 13 years for this. Why didn't a doctor ever

> > recommend it to us??? I have told every doctor we have ever seen

> > that the child can't go to sleep at night and they all do

> > their " mmmm " and nod and then nothing.

> >

> > For many years I would wait and wait for him to fall asleep

because I

> > couldn't sleep until I knew he was out. The last couple of years

> > I've given him strict guidelines on what he can and cannot do

after

> > he's been tucked in and then I just shut my door and go to bed. I

> > had to because I couldn't wait until 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. for him to

fall

> > asleep anymore. He would stay in his room and read or play

quietly

> > or just think, but he has always been so moody and quick to anger

> > during the day and I always knew it was due to lack of sleep.

Since

> > he's been on enzymes I've seen an improvement in that area (among

> > others), but still not adequate. I can't wait to see how he feels

> > today after a good night of sleep.

> >

> > Laurie

> >

May 9, 2002

I use to use melatonin for my son. 1mg. It worked for a long time but then

his body seemed to become " immune " to it because it stopped working. Someone

mentioned to me that 1mg is alot. The reason i am telling you this is

because i dont want this to happen to you. I dont know much about the

subject, but perhaps you can find out what is the lowest dosage your child

needs to fall asleep. People do give melatonin in a fraction of a mg. People

have been known to break a 1mg tablet. You also might look into seeing if

your child really needs this every single night, or only a few times a week.

Like you can give a 1mg melatonin one night, but then not give it the next

night and see if he falls asleep. Ask people you know who are on melatonin

about these things. Perhaps other people on this list know more.

Rivky