Is Metatonin Safe and Effective?

[mrsbuttinski]

As per TCF TOU, I am including a link rather than cutting and pasting an entire article. 


To many parents struggling with wakeful kids, melatonin seems like a godsend. But some experts warn that it may not be as safe or effective as it seems.





www.philly.com/philly/health/kidshealth/20161204_Is_melatonin_safe_and_effective_for_kids_.html

[akafred]

I've used melatonin in a couple of situations with Charlotte. The first time was when her anxiety was through the roof last spring because of her ADHD meds and she was staying up late or getting up on her first waking and sneaking the iPad and then staying up crazy late. I caught her twice but there is no telling how often she was doing it. She was in a terrible place and her sleep cycle was all out of whack. I pulled out all the stops so to speak; baths with epsom salt and lavender and chamomile oils, massage, a lavender sachet in her pillow, no screen time at all, etc etc. After a few days of negligible improvement, I added 1mg melatonin an hour before bedtime at the start of the long routine. I gave it to her for 2 nights (with great results), and then took a night off from the melatonin, and then 2 more nights. At this point she was back to normal and I discontinued the melatonin entirely and slowly trimmed the bedtime routine back to normal.

The other times I have used it have been related to vacations, because she gets anxiety and has trouble sleeping. Again I have never used it more than 2 nights in a row. I just don't trust it. It's like prednisone for me; it can be amazing but long term it can cause serious trouble and be hard to wean off of.

[chickypoo2468]

O's developmental ped keeps telling us we can use it, but one of the disorders he had a mutation for said melatonin isn't recommended bc it affects absorption of cholesterol. I thought it was interesting and realized even more how hard it is to accurately treat without a diagnosis.

ETA clearly the disorder didn't say it. I found the info on the interweb

[Deleted]

I know many parents use this and especially for special needs kids. I am hesitant because even as an adult I tried using it, and I did not care for how my body responded to it. I agree that long term use is worse than short term.

[bubbalicious]

Absolutely agree about varying amounts.

Before docs get all cautionary, they need to do some research. The FDA does need to tighten up the consistency of melatonin within manufacturers and ingredients.

We have used it for years and added Intuniv around a year ago. wish we had been referred for this years ago.

Also we have been strong with the behavioral mods. The Melatonin was necessary.

[k3am]

We've used melatonin in connection with DD's drug wean. The first few step downs combined with summer hours led to a kid who was staying up until midnight or later, waking several times, and up for the day at 3-4am.

Her doc recommended melatonin in connection with strict sleep hygiene. His recommendations were stricter than what's mentioned in the article - no TV or much physical activity for 2.5 hours before bed, and a consistent bedtime/routine.

It was a god send. After a couple weeks, we forgot to give it to her, and the night went okay. So we "forgot" the next night too, and for the most part, we haven't relied on it at all.

[numbbears]

I gave DS melatonin for a short time, but it was always hit or miss if it worked so I didn't keep up with it. Now, I occasionally give it to him when he's having a really hard time settling down (like when family visits or traveling) and it works for the night, but I don't go past that.

[numbbears]

On topic, I saw this on pinterest: