We used to use .33mgs of Melatonin. It IS entirely possible that you are using too much. Too much will cause waking and nightmares. I would back it down to 1mg or less and go up from there.
Right now we are not using anything, DD is taking 18mg Concerta, and sleeping fine.
Diane you could be right as my hubby is gone and his anxiety level is at an all time high right now. I know he even eats better when on his meds. Wierd Huh? but he does. I hope you are right and this gets better. And I have tried lowering the dose considerably and it didn't work. so I raised it back up a bit 3mg and it seems to be a little better.Cookielady,
Are you aware that as children age, their sleep patterns change. THey still need lots of sleep (9-10 hours as a teen) but their bodies shift to a later bedtime and a later waking time (if left to their own devices--but the real world won't accomodate that). 8pm seems like an early bedtime for a kid that age. Does he wake on his own in the morning or is it via an alarm? Try moving his bedtime a bit later to 9 (which would still give him a healthy 9 hours), reduce stimulating media like tv and computers an hour before bedtime and if that doesn't work try some melatonin an hour before bed
Well, we were putting him to bed at 8, because it seems to take him a couple of hours to settle down, and so when he goes to bed at 9, its 11 before he goes to sleep....which since I have to get up at 4 just doesn't work. I'm wondering about maybe some kind of warm drink? Do you think that would help?People can adjust their body clocks tho it takes some doing. Is he tired during the day and when he wakes up? It could be that he doesn't need that much sleep. I know a 12 year old (not mine unfortunately) who does sports till 7pm and homework till 10 and wakes on her own at 6 to read. And she never seems particularly tired.
My kids tend to be night-owls and even as infants would sleep late and be alert in the evenings. Because school starts so early (wish I could change it) they need some help getting the right number of hours. I can't tell you how many times they've walked into my room at 11:30 complaining that they can't sleep. In the last several weeks I've started giving them melatonin and it's the only time I've ever seen them yawn and get sleepy before the lights went out. I started with 3mg but they seemed to be having more bad dreams. I took it down to 1mg and it seems to still work. Melatonin is a hormone that the body produces naturally the help the sleep cycles. I'm not aware of any health risks and I would be more apt to use it than benadryl
I would suggest asking your doctor about Melatonin. It works fairly well and puts them out in 20-30 minutes. It is over the counter.Hello, I'm new here, so am just seeing all this.
My son (11) has so much trouble falling asleep. He goes to bed at 8, but does not usually conk out til after 10. Once he's down, he doesn't wake up til morning, usually between 6 and 6:30. I guess my question is, should I assume he's getting enough sleep, or should I be trying something to help him fall asleep quicker?
My doctor giving me Doxepin 75mg for sleep
Gigi
Hey there, i know what your going threw my son was also the same he couldnt get to sleep at night and would be awake till the am's our doc gave us clonidine its given an hour before bed and they go to sleep no hassles and wake up alot fresher in the morning.....
I suggest you see the doc and ask about it, its the best thing that has happened to him..
Well I took him down to 2.5 mg last night and he has so far slept from 8- 5:30am and no signs of stirring(I don't want to check and wake him up) Maybe lowering the Melatonin helped, I don't know only one night. He also had an active playdate yesterday and was tired from getting up at 4:30 for 2 days. We also started the Zoloft, but in the morning and at a low dose 12.5 mg, 1/2 pill.Well he made it to 5:50 not too bad with the time change and everything. His school day wake up is 6 am and he NEVER sleeps in(nor do I for that matter.)This I can live with.My son's dr. put him on Seroquel and he is falling and staying asleep for the first time ever!
Good luck!
My son takes melatonin on ocassion 1.5 mg. He is usually a pretty regulated sleeper unless he doesnt get his ritalin that day, then we wind up giving the melatonin. I think the problem some doctors have with melatonin is that it is NOT regulated. You can trust the brand name, but they are only the distributors, not the manufactures. Which is why some brands work better than others. I myself take benadryl every night to sleep, but it make Seth very hyper!
My daughter is on 2 mg of melatonin. Usually sleeps through the night. Just found that as long as I am very consistent with what time she goes to bed and gets the melatonin works very well.I give mine benadryl, or usualy a generic version of it anyhow. He has allergies and HATES HATES HATES waking up all stuffy in the am, and thats what started me giving it to him, then I realized how well he sleeps with it, so thats an added bonus. I giev it to him about an hour ebfore bedtime. Doesnt knock him out, just makes him sleepy enouhg to calm down and fall asleep. His ped also recommended it ...she was very against melatonin. Dont remember why tho.Macsmom, I find that quite odd that the ped is against the melatonin. It's extremely beneficial for most people, and it's not a medication. It's something naturally produced by the body. It's a supplement, a vitamin, if you will. But by all means, if the benaryl works, no need to change.You see my son refuses to stay on his ADHD meds and his rebound was at about 5 pm he did sleep better then. But now with the refusal to take his meds his sleep is all messed up and the Melatonin isn't doing the job as well.
This is going to sound a bit odd, considering the nature of melatonin, but you might try a different brand. Oddly enough, different brands of melatonin can be more effective for a specific person.
That's just my two cents on the melatonin bit.
Also, I would agree with some of the previous posters who suggested getting him on a regular med schedule. Irregularity can throw the body's whole system off and make it go haywire. Also, it matters what time he takes his last dose of meds, as stimulants have what is known asd a 'rebound effect', and this often wakes a person up.
Hope that helps. Keep us posted.
I've been giving melatonin 3mg to both daughters (only one is diagnosed with ADHD and unmedicated) BOth kids are night-owls naturally since birth and I was stressing out that they would often lie awake at night till 11pm and be so tired and groggy the next morning at 7am.
I'm not sure that they feel any better rested the next day and I've been hearing more reports of bad dreams (didn't know this could be a side-effect) I have some 1mg so I think I'll try lowering the dose.
acmes39392.5439236111Good luck ((spamula)). Please keep us posted on what the doctor says.
My 6 year old in currently on Vyvanse and it is working GREAT at school and at home. The only problem we have is difficulty falling asleep. I've been playing around with the melatone but that is not working as well as it used to prior to the meds. I'm thinking of going to a prescription also but am afraid of the Clonidine. I heard there is another medicine used called trazzdone. I'll have to check that one out.
Dd does not get to sleep until 10:30 p.m. and has to be up at 6 a.m. for school. Prior to medicine, she used to go to sleep at 7:30 pm. I feel as if I'm losing my mind as she is losing sleep.
Please keep us posted on how you make out.
((hugs))
My child had insomnia problems even before our ADHD diagnosis and being prescribed a stimulant. He, too, was prescribed Periactin, which helped with his appetite, but did absolutely nothing to help him sleep (or his siblings as he kept them up until all hours.). FINALLY, the MD prescribed him Clonidine. He takes .1mg and can take another half if he needs it. This has been a godsend for us. He would stay in his room and scream and scream some more. Get up and down until about midnight when he would just drop from sheer exhaustion. Then in the mornings, when we had to go to pre-school, he would bite, pinch and guess what, scream some more. I literally had to pick him by an arm and leg to get him out of bed.
If you haven't tried the Clonidine, consider it. He needs rest. Maybe this will help. keep us posted.
I am finding the doctors out here not as willing to medicate for sleep(which is so important for ADHD and anxiety. Hopefully our new Doc monday will feel differently.We gave my son periactin for awhile to help with appetite. Since it's an antihistamine it helped with sleep -knocked him out a little in the beginning but then it worked fine. I am suprised at the lack of response to my post. It is hard to believe that melatonin works for everyone or that you let your children stay up all night. My child needs sleep and the Melatonin helps, but he is still up a few times a night. I am going to talk with doc about it but I would have liked some info in my corner. For those of you who responded thank you for your time. < =text/>_popupControl(); We give Benadryl. We spray her pillow with Sleep Pillow Mist from Bath and Body Works. She also listens to relaxation stories/music on her MP3. I just ordered Melatonin as well.We tried the melatonin and it only worked for a while then stopped. The dr tried chlonidine and that too work only for a short number of weeks. We now take Trazadone at night and have been for quiete some time. It helps to get him to fall asleep, but doesn't keep him asleep all night. So it is a step in the right direction at least we no longer battle about getting him to sleep. Now if we could just find something to keep him asleep.Our daughter is 10, and only occasionally has problems sleeping at night. Our doctor approves of both melatonin and Benadryl. We normally give her Benadryl when she needs it, as it seems to be more effective for her.Our son 9, bounces off the walls on Benadryl but is OK wirh 3 mgs melatoninWell it looks like I spoke too soon. He has been getting up every morning before 5 am which is ok for me because I am up all night every night since this thing started. I have tried a couple of anti-anxieties but It's far from being worked out. But it sucks for him because he needs more sleep. We meet with the psych next week to discuss meds, I will bring it up.I just found out that a videou game is keeping him so excited he can't sleep. He is beside himself. The game was removed fro a few days but he is right back on it now that he got it back. Wow if he could just concentrate on other stuff like that!My son is on 36mg Concerta and was having trouble getting to sleep. He would go to bed a 8 and still be awake at midnight so his doctor gave us a sample pack of Risperdal 0.25mg. It works pretty well. I give it to him around 6:30pm so that when 8 rolls around he's pretty tired and falls asleep fine. He also stays asleep.