Melatonin for sleep? | ADHD Information

It hasnt been recommended by his Dr yet. He starts his meds for the first time tomorrow. Im off and Im keeping him out of school so I can keep an eye on him. I just anticipate the worst I guess, thinking ahead to what IF he has trouble sleeping. So its good to know its not Rx. My son is 5 as of this past August and was just diagnosed with ADHD and ODD....some of our story in the Parents Forum. Thanks so much for the info!

i had to go back and check if you were the same person i just answered to on the parent board..you are lucky,my ADHDH child is up 14 hours a day and it takes 2 hours to settle him,he is up an average 5 times a night.

i think you can get melatonin over the counter in america.it worked great for 6 months but stopped so we did not give it to him for 6 weeks and now it is working again.

i forgot to ask you how old is your son,my son is 4 and not medicated as my doc don't believe that meds are effective until they are 6 and i agree with him,he probably will need meds when he starts school thought.

Melatonin is an over-the-counter product. Our pediatrician said it would be
great to try with the sleeping problems we were having. He is all for trying
something natural. My son is 6 and he suggested using 1/3 of the pill. The
pill is 3mg, which means DS is getting about 1 mg. It seems to work, but
does take some time to get him to feel sleepy after taking it. We only
started using it because the Concerta is causing some insomnia. Before
ADHD medications, my son would go to bed just fine and sleep all night.

Was it recommended to you because your son gets up in the middle of the
night?Is the melatonin by Rx only? My son now is hyper all day long, but by the end of the day, he is ready for bed. He will usualy wake up in the middle of the night and get in my bed, but I dont notice it so it doenst bother me really, and he goes right back to sleep. Im really worried about this medication  have an adverse effect on his sleep, which is like i said, really good now.

does anyone know how much Melatonn to give a 5 yr old vs a 38 yr old?

I want to try it also?

Thank you , but what is your age? Im sure there isnt a dosage for a 5 yr old right?

I geuss you cant overdose on melitonin can you? Not me, my child?

 

It says how much to take on the bottle - I have not used it in a month or so.  I was using about 3 of the tablets - I think they were like a mg each?? 

I was wondering the same thing about Malitonin. I sware my Dr, who is a child nuerologist, said Benedryl is harmless, and can give it to sleep. He said it doenst stay in the body.

My son is on Concerta, and I give him Benedryl to sleep and it works great.

Not everynght, just once in a while.

 

I used melatonin for a short time and learned about it on this board when I 1st started meds (concerta).  It helped to get the sleep cycle started - it does not make you stay asleep.  It helped me get through the month or so that I had some issues.  I am soooo happy now that I have my meds adjusted to the right dose.  I was actually having sleep problems with a low dose of concerta.  Now that I seem to be on the right dose (higher dose), my sleep cycle is on track for the most part!!!!! 

I bought the melatonin at the GNC store and it was cherry flavor tab that you put under your tongue to melt. 

I read an MIT report (link below)  that the dosage for sleep aid is 1/3 mg.  Large doses were found to cause the body to react in a way that negated the sleepiness effect.  

I just went out and bought 1 mg. pills that I then divided, as best I could, 3 ways with a paring knife so as to get three 1/3 mg doses per pill.  (easiest technique is to put a little down pressure on the pill's edges and score the pill with the knife edge and break it) (I do the same with aspirins as I'm a tightwad and don't want to pay the high (comparatively) price of "baby aspirin" when I can use the same score/break technique and get 4 doses out of one aspirin pill.)

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/melatonin.html

MELITONIN COMES IN A LIQUID FORM AND  WORKS GREAT FOR  ADULTS  AND  CHILDREN ITS  ALL NATRUAL AND  IT WONT HARMTHEM  IT JUST  ENDUSES THE  SLEEP PATERN BY RELEASING  MORE SERITONIN INTO THE  BODY AND BRAIN...IT WORK GREAT I RECOMEND 1 DROP PER YEAR AGE  OF THE  CHILD

IT WORKDS  FOR  MY DH  4 YEAR  OLD  WHO USED TO  BE  UP FOR  17 HRS  STRAIGHT..NOW HES ON 5 ML DEXEDRINE  EVERYDAY  THEN  HE CAN TELL ME WHN HE NEEDS THE  MELETONIN,,SO FAR FOR  2 WEEKS  NOW HE HASNT NEEDED IT   GOOD  LUCK  TO  ANYOME WHO USES IT  IT REALLY WORKS  !!