Melatonin supplements?

cindy324

Mon, Dec 17 2007, 2:17 pm

So my 12 year old is having a hard time falling asleep at night. Every night is the same story. I send her to bed at 10PM, the answer is she's not tired. The next morning , it's a hassle to get her out of bed, some days are better than others, but the complaint is always the same. She claims that she doesn't fall asleep until much later, and even if she does, she often awakens in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep for hours, resulting in a very tired kid in the morning.

I asked her ped. about Melatonin, and she agreed that she can try 3mg. of Melatonin , see how it works, and up the dose if it doesn't.

Did anyone else try this with their dd/ds? How did it work? How long were they on it, and once they got off , were they able to fall asleep on their own?

Thanks!

chavamom

Mon, Dec 17 2007, 2:30 pm

My oldest takes melatonin. He hasn't gotten off of it, so I can't tell you there. The biggest problem he has is that he is resistant to the idea of "sleep hygeine" (going to bed at the same time and waking at the same time - no napping) and that is really what he needs to do to get over the problem.

Garden

Mon, Dec 17 2007, 3:28 pm

I take it whenever I have a hard time falling asleep and it's great! My 6 year old also takes the 1 mg. and it works great. However it is no addictive and if I'm tired I have no troube falling asleep without it.

Last edited by Garden on Wed, Sep 17 2014, 5:08 pm; edited 1 time in total

cindy324

Mon, Dec 17 2007, 9:50 pm

Thanks for your responses. I just gave it to my DD about an hour ago, she seems to be getting tired, but was playing on her Gameboy, so I don't know how well it works if you're not just willing to lay down and let sleep take over. I told her to turn it off and lay down, and she didn't really argue (sign of tiredness maybe? Wink

) she just mumbled something about saving the game . I guess we'll have to wait and see.

rainbow

Wed, Dec 19 2007, 10:23 am

L-tryptophan works well too. With l-tryptophan I wake up feeling rested, whereas with melatonin I do not feel rested. My 14-yr-old takes a 2-mg tablet of melatonin.

And about the gameboy thing, isn't it kind of addictive, so that unless one is seriously exhausted it is hard to put it down....?

Garden

Wed, Dec 19 2007, 10:29 am

rainbow wrote:

What is this L-trptophan?Is it a vitamen supplement like melatonin? Is it something I can buy in walmart as I do with the melatonin? Approx. how much does it cost? Does it help you fall asleep too or just that you wake up feeling rested? Lately I've been falling asleep okay but I wake up so many times in the middle of the night that I just cant get decent sleep anymore. I'd love to take something that will keep me sleeping

boruchhashem

Wed, Dec 19 2007, 12:02 pm

swimmer wrote:

rainbow wrote:

It's called Ambien CR. It is a prescription med, but it helps you fall asleep and stay asleep all night. Hence the CR=continued release.

Garden

Wed, Dec 19 2007, 12:04 pm

boruchhashem wrote:

swimmer wrote:

rainbow wrote:

It's called Ambien CR. It is a prescription med, but it helps you fall asleep and stay asleep all night. Hence the CR=continued release.

edited because I made a mistake. I mixed up two medications

Last edited by Garden on Thu, Dec 20 2007, 9:41 am; edited 1 time in total

cindy324

Wed, Dec 19 2007, 2:20 pm

Quote:

And about the gameboy thing, isn't it kind of addictive, so that unless one is seriously exhausted it is hard to put it down....?

Not really...once you get tired enough you run out of patience for it. It really strains the eyes.

Anyway, it's been 2 days now that she's taken the 3mg. melatonin and wow! what a difference. Last night she herself decided that she's going to take a shower right before she's ready to go to bed. So I gave her the pill before she went into the shower, when she came out, she went into her bed with her iPod, and by 9:30 she was fast asleep!! And for the BEST side effect...she woke up this morning a pleasant , upbeat person!!!! She was so well rested, that it took her only about 5 minutes to get out of bed after I woke her. We had a nice civil conversation, she TALKED to me, didn't grunt, didn't slam any doors, she smiled , and left the house HAPPY, CALM, COLLECTED!!

I wish I had started this poor sleep-deprived child on the melatonin sooner, would've saved us all some very unpleasant mornings.

rainbow

Thu, Dec 20 2007, 9:25 am

l-tryptophan can be found at the health food store. Ambien cr is a prescription sleeping pill. I do not recommend it, unless melatonin/l-tryptophan/valerian/etc. have not helped.
Valerian is another helpful product to take for sleep. It helps you fall asleep and remain asleep.
l-tryptophan relaxes you and helps you fall asleep. However, if your stress/anxiety level is very high you may need to add some valerian or melatonin, etc.
Bekitzur, there's melatonin, valerian, l-tryptophan, and probably lots more. See what works for you.
A few years ago I tried l-tryptophan and it didn't work for me. Now it does work. Difference is that back then I took one 500-mg. tablet and now I take 4 or 5 of the 500-mg. tablet.

BrachaVHatzlocha

Sat, Dec 22 2007, 10:19 pm

as recommended on this site, I asked my pediatrician about my 3 year old taking melatonin. (cuz he'll go into bed 7:30-8 and not fall asleep until 9 or so...). Dr said he doesn't not advise it.

Milk Munch

Sat, Dec 22 2007, 10:47 pm

I just finished my reflexology course so I have to share this information:
The spot that reflexes your pineal gland (that what secrets your melatonin) is located on the inside of your big toe right next to your nail bed.
You can push in firmly with your finger and make little circles on that spot.
I don't think that just doing it one time you will feel much, but I'll bet that if you do it on a regular basis you will start to see a difference.
(But I'm not prescribing, predicting or promising anything so don't come sue me if you don't feel anything)

amother

Mon, Oct 24 2011, 11:22 am

amother wrote:

I was recommended to take 5HPT 100 mg for sleep. Didn't buy it yet though.
I think it is related to the l-tryptophan family. Anyone tried it?

I am the amother who posted the above.
Just so to not confuse the OP, I forgot to mention that I am over 35... ... I don't think 5HTP it is recomended for children.

amother

Mon, Oct 24 2011, 11:23 am

amother wrote:

I was recommended to take 5HPT 100 mg for sleep. Didn't buy it yet though.
I think it is related to the l-tryptophan family. Anyone tried it?

I am the amother who posted the above.
Just so to not confuse the OP, I forgot to mention that I am over 35... ... I don't think 5HTP is recomended for children.