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Lynden

Melantonin

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We saw Logans consultant yesterday and I talked to her about his sleep issues because it is getting to the point where lack of sleep was affecting the rest of the family too - namely me :lol: I hadn't heard of melatonin so am quite keen to try it because it is natural. Next step for us would be to contact Sleep Scotland who deal with sleep issues in autistic kids but I'm hoping the melatonin works a bit.

 

How long does it take to have any effect?

 

Lynne

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you give it an hour before the child goes to bed and it works straight away. The child sleeps is more restful and they wake up refreshed. You may need to try with different doses. We started at 2.5mg and then went up to 5mg and then back down to 2.5mg. We do not give it to our child on a friday or saturday or during holidays. If hes stressed or a visit is coming up then we might increase it for a few days. Ask school how your childs behaviour is or if there is not problem at school does his behaviour deteriorate at home.

 

Jen

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you give it an hour before the child goes to bed and it works straight away. The child sleeps is more restful and they wake up refreshed. You may need to try with different doses. We started at 2.5mg and then went up to 5mg and then back down to 2.5mg. We do not give it to our child on a friday or saturday or during holidays. If hes stressed or a visit is coming up then we might increase it for a few days. Ask school how your childs behaviour is or if there is not problem at school does his behaviour deteriorate at home.

 

Jen

 

Thanks Jen

 

The consultant said just to give it when we thought he needed it. ATM Logan is just 2.5 so not in nursery till August but if his routine deviates it usually means even less sleep than normal so I'm looking forward to giving the melatonin a try! Even if it doesn't result in him sleeping through, I'd be glad to just have him settle easier through the night when he is awake!

 

Lynne

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It does ease anxieties, so results in a calmer child, even when it doesn't induce sleep. If the ordinary melatonin works but doesn't keep him asleep all night you can combine or replace it with a slow release version.

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We follow Taz suggestion last year and got some for our son. It did the trick and now we dont need it.(at the moment)

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William has been taking melatonin since the beginning of January. He has 5mg, and with trial and error I've worked out the best time to give him it is 5.30pm; then without fail (for the past couple of weeks anyway) he volunatarily goes to bed at 8pm with the light off!!! :thumbs:

 

He is also so much calmer. A few weeks ago he was having a major meltdown and I gave him the melatonin. Within about an hour he had totally calmed down.

 

Lauren

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wade's been on melatonin since October and it is wonderful..also when His tics get bad and the sertraline isn't helping we increase His melatonin to 6mg and it truly helps Him to relax and his tics slow back down

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Hi

 

Char is on 10mg at the mo but started at 2mg we slowly increased it over weeks.We don't have a break he does take it 7 days a week but that is because he is a dreedful sleeper.We too give it half an hour before bed, it makes him go to bed quietly and is easy settle but in our case it does not keep him asleep and we still are up for good around 3 / 3.30 am. He also wakes serval times before getting up at 3am / 3.30 am.The first time we gave it to him he was spark out within half an hour and only woke once that night but for us it was short lived.I think it is a wonderful thing tho' and it does make a big difference to Char and gives us some quality time as a couple.

 

Lisa x

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Im actually going through a programme with Sleep Scotland at the moment ! Just at the early stages of filling in sleep diaries etc. Daughter ( aged 4 ) takes 1.5mg of melatonin about 1/2 hour before bed.

 

When I tried her on higher doses it seemed to reverse her sleep cycle - she stayed up most of the night and slept during the day!! It took me a long time to experiment with it again after that but the smaller amount definitely has a calming effect on her although it doesn't stop her hight time wakenings!

 

Biggest breakthrough I've has is letting my daughter watch a tape of 'House of Tiny Tearaways' where the little girl constantly got up during the night as she wanted to sleep with her dad and mum got relegated to child's bed. When the parents were doing the 'rapid return' technique the child got up something near 300 times during the night . It was unbelievably stressful for the parents and my child was horrified at what was going on. When I explained to her how much nicer it would be if she stayed in her bed it seemed to click that she wasn't much different! Since then she has been trying really hard to stay in her own room and is now much more receptive to reward stickers etc which didn't seem to motivate her at all before.

 

I think actually seeing on screen how not sleeping well affected the whole family has helped her to see the bigger picture - early days yet though.

 

Good luck with your endeavours!!

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I belive there is a trial going on the US at the mement where Autistic children are being given very small (too small to affect sleep) doses of melatonin throughout the day to see if it helps tham manage their anxiety better.

 

Simon

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Melatonin is also used to this country in small doses during the day to manage anxiety and hence also behaviour directly related to the anxiety, I believe it is also a trial. A's Consultant says that she prescribes it in this manner and is very impressed with the results. She also prescribes it in larger doses to be used to "bring children down when they are climbing the walls" as she puts it ,or hysterical. She tells me that the worst that can happen is that they will fall asleep, but for the most part they are too hyped up for that and melatonin just brings them back to earth and relaxes them.

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my son sleeps badly at nite ,the fallin asleep is the problem we tried melation 2 mg and he within half an hour fell asleep ,he still woke up in the night but he was asleep before 9 pm .it was so strange that i was unsure what to do with myself that nite,i normally spend my evenings tryin to get him to sleep.i thought i had the answer to my prayers but then i noticed a blotchy rash coverin his body ,yes a reaction to melation which lasted for 4 days and made his behaviour even worse.so again its back to the drawin board im back to the nite time battle and left exhauted ,but that one nights peace was priceless

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Blimey, never heard of melatonin causing a reaction, it is made naturally in the brain, maybe the medical version is slightly different to our own melatonin?

Anna x

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It must have been made up with something he's sensitive to. William's latest batch came in capsule form but he usually gets the tablets. I'm waiting for a new prescription and meanwhile he's taking mine!!! The capsules are massive and I have trouble swallowing them myself!!

 

If they helped his sleep, then I'd go back to who ever prescribed them and ask for a different type because it could be the compound they came in.

 

Lauren

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Lauren the capsules can be opened up and the powder put into a drink and taken much easier than trying to swollow them.

 

Lisa x

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How do you get melatonin for your child? What are the requirements for giving it?

 

Ds used to be so good at going to bed, now it is an anxious performance with lots of delaying tactics and more support objects - used to be just blanket, now its blanket, tiger, reindeer, giraffe depending on how stressed he is. He is waking early, I suspect he isn't asleep until 9pm and he has bags appearing under his eyes although he does tend to sleep through, although this week he has so far woken in the night three times. He isn't up all night and I suppose he doesn't go to bed that late but he always used to be in bed by 7.30 at the latest often earlier and I really miss the peace in the evenings. Do you think it is just the light summer nights/mornings?

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How do you get melatonin for your child? What are the requirements for giving it?

 

Ds used to be so good at going to bed, now it is an anxious performance with lots of delaying tactics and more support objects - used to be just blanket, now its blanket, tiger, reindeer, giraffe depending on how stressed he is. He is waking early, I suspect he isn't asleep until 9pm and he has bags appearing under his eyes although he does tend to sleep through, although this week he has so far woken in the night three times. He isn't up all night and I suppose he doesn't go to bed that late but he always used to be in bed by 7.30 at the latest often earlier and I really miss the peace in the evenings. Do you think it is just the light summer nights/mornings?

 

Hi Klou - we had it prescribed by our paediatrician. Unfortunately it didn't work for Logan at all but its always wroth a try!

 

Lynne x

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We buy ours online as he's been using it since before it was available on prescription here. His consultant recommended it and we decided to keep with a brand we knew and trusted (natrol) rather than change to whatever came with the prescription. Luckily P sleeps well with only a tiny dose (1mg), and we leave it off in the holidays. he just has a night every now and then when it doesnt work and he's awake all night.

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Just another point about Melatonin,

 

Apparently it works best if you still go through the calming rituals before bed time, as it's not a sedative it promotes natural sleep, so if a child is climbing the walls when they get it, it might not work.

 

dd takes hers when she is in bed after she has been reading for sometime and when she is ready for sleep, she takes hers the cuddles down and is usually asleep within 30mins.

 

She is nearly 12 though and understands her need for sleep it can be hard with the younger ones that still don't 'want' to sleep.

 

Anne

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My son has been taking 2mg for several weeks now and it has made a big difference,no more crying and fretting , no nightmares and hallucinations, he has it an hour before bed and wakes up more relaxed and calm too.

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Can I just add another reply J stopped his melatonin for a christmas break and not asleep before 2am and had refused to retake it after the new year,

he has taken it since monday and already he is going to bed before 11pm, I believe it is brilliant, if your having sleeping issues please do request melatonin and give it a try, every child is different, but its worth a try.

 

JsMum

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Hi

 

My son is on melatonin. I wasn't keen to put him on any medication, but after knowing a bit more about it, I know have no qualms. Melatonin is a natural hormone found in the body and is available for use on people who suffer from jet lag and sleep problems. It is not a sedative. It will help the recipient get off to sleep, but will not keep them asleep.

 

My son awakens every night without fail. He'd run riot all night and be up at the crack of dawn and around 3-4am. I got to the stage where I was utterly worn out. Melatonin has helped a lot, but it hasn't resolved the issue of my son getting up through the night. In honestly, I can cope with that because at least now I'm getting him off to sleep at a more reasonable time of night and getting a couple of hours to myself to unwind. It's been well worth it.

 

I wouldn't say that it has made my son calmer, but the fact that my son is getting more sleep he's probably more able to function in the morning.

 

Caroline.

Edited by cmuir

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