Help! Melatonin dependence

animeme

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 8:27 am

Teenage ds has always used melatonin every so often when he has trouble sleeping, as per our doctor. This year he's in a dorm and he's been using it a lot, often nightly. Now he has found that even when he's home, he has trouble getting to sleep without it.

We need to get him off of it, but he can't afford to not sleep for the couple of weeks to a month that it might take.

Any ideas?

chani8

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 9:24 am

Certainly don't go cold turkey taking him off of it. He needs to cut the supplement gradually.

Just know that herbs are so much safer and non-addicting. Please try chamomile drops (like "Reckeweg R14") or chamomile tea, or even, Valerian Root drops.

animeme

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 10:07 am

Chani, we have ragweed allergies in the family that take away our ability to use chamomile (it's close to the same thing). Do you know what family valerian root is? In the past I was told to stay away from it unless you need it because it's powerful enough to contraindicate with certain drugs and can lead to dependency as well.

And my kid hates sports/exercise. I wish he didn't. He sits in the bris medrash, he goes to class, he eats his meals, and he goes back to his dorm to get ready for bed on his own rhythm, but his roommate is just starting his night then so Ds is trying to adapt.

chani8

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 10:11 am

animeme wrote:

I did a Google:

Quote:

Some of the most popular herbs such as echinacea, chamomile, milk thistle or valerian are in the ragweed family

So no, not for those with ragweed allergies. I'll try to think about what else might help. Good luck!

chani8

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 10:31 am

I have a daughter who needs a particular herb to not feel moody. She is dependent on it only in the sense that if she wants to feel good she should continue to take it. Why should she stop? Same with your son. Why stop a good thing when it seems to work so well for him? Finding the right stuff for a person's brain is hard to do.

http://drug.addictionblog.org/.....onin/

If he needs to get off of it because it's not working for him, then another possibility is guided meditation, which you can download to an MP3, or biofeedback with a professional. Have you heard of either of these things?

animeme

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 10:59 am

The melatonin is no longer working as we'll as it should, and I don't want to raise the dose much. And I don't like to keep any kid on a hormone longer than necessary.

We've done progressive relaxation with him years ago, with moderate to low success. He's not great at it (the actual doing of the relaxing each part), and he needs complete quiet for it and he's in a dorm. He can't use it on Shabbos either, unless I read it to him, which isn't realistic. We can try it for motzai Shabbos, I guess- see if it helps.

chani8

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 11:09 am

I found a long article that listed homeopathic remedies at the end of it. I forgot about homeopathy as an option. Of course, you'll have to check each one to see if it's in the ragweed family. I can get homeopathic remedies here in Israel, but not sure where you get them in the US. Perhaps online?

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/g.....leep/

Good luck!

FranticFrummie

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 11:30 am

Been there, done that! DD takes melatonin, too.

Last year was really hard for her at school, and I found out that when she woke up in the middle of the night she was sneaking extra tablets. Poor kiddo, she wanted to sleep SO badly, and was just having a really tough time of it.

When I figured out what was going on, and she admitted how much she'd been taking, we started tapering down over the summer. It took us about 2 months all together, and now she's doing great with 1.5mg every night.

What really helped was getting a weighted blanket made for her. Now she falls asleep in 10 minutes instead of a half an hour, and she stays asleep most of the night. Best of all, it's stopped her sleepwalking completely!

This Etsy seller is wonderful https://www.etsy.com/transaction/208369244 You can request any fabric you can find online, any pattern, color, etc. She'll help you calculate the proper weight for the blanket, based on your weight and needs.

amother

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 4:11 pm

I read an article that said that most people take too high a dose of melatonin and it actually works less the stronger the dose. doses should range from 1/3 to 1 whole mg. DS (5yrs) gets a quarter of 1 mg each night and it works great.

amother

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 5:29 pm

Just as an fyi if you are interested in making your own weighted blanket (someone suggested using one) I made one for my sensory seeking dd who also uses melatonin. It took 20 min and was no sew, cost me like $8.00. You can look it up on pinterest. Its not pretty like the etsy one though!