melatonin EVERY night????? Safe??????

718

Tue, Oct 18 2011, 10:56 pm

His room is completely dark.
He is outside under sunlight for as long as possible.
He has a bike, scooter, roller blades, plays hocky and baseball, he is above average active for a kid his age, we try to keep up...

The situations I know have ziltch to do with ritalin. Ritalin is a serious drug for a serious problem. You cant say that melatonin is sometimes given in cases where ritalin is needed. Thats absurd.

Last edited by 718 on Tue, Oct 18 2011, 10:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

sim

Tue, Oct 18 2011, 10:57 pm

I'm reading this thread with a lot of interest. One of my children has been having a very hard time falling asleep, and he often does not sleep well once he does. I spoke to my pediatrician about this problem. She first spent some time talking to him, to see if there was any underlying problem (anxiety, etc.) and then did a full physical. After ensuring that there was no apparent reason for the lack of sleep, she recommended 1 mg of melatonin for a series of three to four nights. According to the doctor, that should "reset" his sleeping schedule. She cautioned against using it as a long-term "sleeping pill" b/c she doesn't know enough about the long-term effects, but told me that I could give it to him again the same way after a schedule-altering series of nights (like yom tov, for example). It seemed to do the trick. I will emphasize, however, that while the dr. recommended it for short-term use, she made it very clear that no one really knows enough about its effects on growing children for anyone to approve its long-term use. I've found that when a dr. admits ignorance, you're very well off paying attention.

Mama Bear

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 12:00 am

My son was pretty much on it almost every night between age 4 and 5 because he would literally lie awake for hours in bed and wake up his little brother. At age 5, his Rebbe gave out a "zaiger tzetel" - every boy HAD to be in BED by 7 p.m. - and it was almost like magic: being in bed at an earlier hour helped him fall asleep on his own! He had to be at the bus at 8;45 so there was no sleeping in in the morning, after 2 nights of being tired he didnt need melochews anymore.

I still use it now and then; this whole chol hamoed, when I was in charge of bedtime I did not give it and he was indeed awake til midnight; when dh was in charge, he gave it to him at 9 pm and he was out cold by 10...

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 2:41 am

718 wrote:

Im confused. Isnt melatonin a natural resource? Why is it being referred to as a prescription, drug or hormone then?

My son is 4 and lately has also had a really hard time falling asleep. Before I knew that there might be more to it, I was frantic and upset at ds for giving me such a hard time at bedtime. I was speaking to my sister as I was trying to "massage" my son to sleep and she mentioned that she gave her 6 year old melatonin at the doctor's recomendation. Now that I know this might be an actual proble, Im trying different tactics.

Its common in active boys. I have a 4 year old nephew who takes it every night.

Personally I dont want my son to become dependant on anything, even natural. I would consider it if the situation became impossible but B'H Im not there.

I was hoping to hear more support for this problem... Most parents dont try to "get away" with anything. Its a temporary solution for a difficult problem.

I am the OP. Not for the mother who I am talking about. She uses it every night for her daughter, not a temporary anything, unfortunately.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 5:38 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I have a relative who told me that her 4 year old does not fall asleep at night unless she takes melatonin.
Is this safe? To take it every night?
Wouldnt it make more sense to sleep train her? I know she is 4 already, but it is better late than never, no????

So, getting back to your original question - several of us have given you our opinions already. What kind of a response were you hoping to get? That she's a selfish monster for wanting her child to get enough sleep? I'm seriously starting to get the feeling that you've got some sort of agenda against this mom, and judging her parenting skills. Why don't you just leave the medical issues up to her pediatrician?

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 7:08 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

why the need to be so nasty? I dont know you and you dont know me. WOW, and right after yom kippur.
No I dont have an agenda, I just wanted to hear what others thought.

life'sgreat

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 2:00 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Perhaps because she's genuinely worried that her friend might be misguided in thinking that it's perfectly ok to stuff a kid with melatonin each night because it's 'natural'?

flowerpower

Wed, Oct 19 2011, 4:31 pm

I didn't read through the post but let me tell you this. My kids have a very very hard time falling asleep. Nothing helps-not bedtime routines, not earlier or later bedtimes, they don't wake up late no matter what so can't be bec they slept in the day before...even when going to other houses they stay awake so it's not me either. I give it like 5 nights a week for over two years. On pesach when I didn't give it because of chometz they were up until two am-promise you! It was hard for them. I tried every other vitamin and trick the health food stores gave me and nothing worked. I am careful not to up the little dose they get though.

simi5771

Thu, Oct 20 2011, 11:10 am

Mama Bear wrote:

his Rebbe gave out a "zaiger tzetel" - every boy HAD to be in BED by 7 p.m. - and it was almost like magic: being in bed at an earlier hour helped him fall asleep on his own! He had to be at the bus at 8;45 so there was no sleeping in in the morning

this is the secret. An HOUR in bed earlier really helps. My daughter has the same problem and the ONLY time she sleeps well is when DH does not fight me on this and lets her go to bed early. When she's allowed to go to bed late she does not sleep! DH believes with a PASSION that the later you go to bed, the better and more easily you will sleep.

Wish we had a Rebbe like yours!

granolamom

Sun, Oct 23 2011, 12:42 am

718 wrote:

I guess I wasnt being clear, that isnt what I meant to imply.
only that a ped recommended melatonin for my dd (she doesnt have ADHD or need ritalin) and when I asked to see studies, he gave me a study that was done with kids who were evaluated for ADHD and were prescribed ritalin. the hypothesis was that in *some* cases of diagnosed ADHD, chronic sleep deprivation might be a possible cause for the symptoms leading to diagnosis. or something to that effect, it was a while ago that I read the study. anyway, they found this to be the case in some of the kids studied, once they were sleeping regularly, their ADHD symptoms either disappeared or were reduced to subclinical levels.

I mentioned it only because people were asking about studies done with children and melatonin, and that melatonin is not 'all bad', and that depending on what the options are for a specific child/situation, it might actually be the best choice.

I didnt mean to imply that kids with sleep issues have adhd or that kids who are active need ritalin or that kids who do need ritalin should be treated with melatonin. also did not mean to imply that anything is necessarily amiss in the parenting of a child who isnt sleeping, only sharing some of the things I've learned along the way.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Oct 23 2011, 5:09 am

I just got a letter today from DD's doctor at Children's Hospital. Based on her most recent evaluation and her current sleep patterns, he told me that I should be giving her MORE melatonin. He wants me to go from 1/2 mg to 1 mg, and to go as high at 3pmg a night, for as long as I want.

Feel free to PM me if you want his phone number.