Melatonin

[misskira]

I wasn't saying not to use it. I haven't used it, and dropping nap worked when my 3yo was fighting sleep so bad at night. So I haven't had to consider it for us. So I don't have anything invested or any personal info. I just found the dr. Oz segment interesting and was sharing as a possible source for personal experiences. The op didn't say she was only looking for positive experiences so I thought it was safe to share. no judgment or offense intended.

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by misskira I wasn't saying not to use it. I haven't used it, and dropping nap worked when my 3yo was fighting sleep so bad at night. So I haven't had to consider it for us. So I don't have anything invested or any personal info. I just found the dr. Oz segment interesting and was sharing as a possible source for personal experiences. The op didn't say she was only looking for positive experiences so I thought it was safe to share. no judgment or offense intended.

None taken :-)
I didn't mean to sound defensive, if I did.

[ktmelody]

Originally Posted by BeccaSueCongdon I have also seen a 180* shift in daytime behavior with my DS. The sleep deprivation was really effecting his daytime behavior and our family in general. Unless you've had a child with sleep GENUINE sleep disturbances - and those caused by Nuerodevelopmental issues - you really cannot appreciate the significance/importance of having something low risk like melatonin. Yes, there ARE risks associated with the abuse of melatonin (like any other supplement). But the testing has been done on its use with children with Nuerodevelopmental challenges and the benefits have been demonstrated to outweigh the risks for those children.

Yup, I would rather use melatonin than clonidine. Much safer.

My kids have used it. Usually 1 mg does the trick.

[sandhillcranes]

I have been reading a ton about melatonin. I have used it myself with some success. My son is 3 and he has always had sleep troubles. He has occasional night terrors. We are giving him vitamin d to help with that and he hasnt had one in weeks. I did not know that was even what they were until our ped said to youtube it. I did and was astonished. Even still he is a very ...for lack of a better word, interrupted sleeper. He wakes a few times a night. Often he cannot tell us what is wrong. It has a huge effect on him. On his behavior. He cant enjoy stuff somedays bc he is just too tired. Our ped has recommended melatonin and at this point, i think its worth a try. We have tried so many other things. He goes down pretty easy most nights but the waking is the biggest issue. Has anyone here used melatonin for their kids so young? For similar circumstances (waking at night)?

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by sandhillcranes I have been reading a ton about melatonin. I have used it myself with some success. My son is 3 and he has always had sleep troubles. He has occasional night terrors. We are giving him vitamin d to help with that and he hasnt had one in weeks. I did not know that was even what they were until our ped said to youtube it. I did and was astonished. Even still he is a very ...for lack of a better word, interrupted sleeper. He wakes a few times a night. Often he cannot tell us what is wrong. It has a huge effect on him. On his behavior. He cant enjoy stuff somedays bc he is just too tired. Our ped has recommended melatonin and at this point, i think its worth a try. We have tried so many other things. He goes down pretty easy most nights but the waking is the biggest issue. Has anyone here used melatonin for their kids so young? For similar circumstances (waking at night)?

Melatonin is usually beneficial for getting the child to sleep, but I don't know if it helps them stay asleep. The frequent night waking could be caused by his sleep deprivation state, and once he gets caught up they'll subside.

If the melatonin at the beginning of the night doesn't keep him asleep, I wouldn't give him any more to put him back to bed.

I might also push for sleep study of you find jay he melatonin isn't helping his night wakings.

[Christylkeller]

We use melatonin as needed as well. When we 1st moved to our home (5 yrs ago) my boys had terrible time going to sleep. We allowed for an adjustment period but after a month and dealing with everything that came along with the lack of sleep we started giving them melatonin. It worked like a charm and helped reset their natural sleep clocks. We used it for 2 or 3 weeks.

My oldest still has some trouble falling asleep. We have found that a 20 min epsoms salt bath works wonders for him. So, from time to time we have him do some epsom soaks and other times we give him the melatonin when time doesn't allow for the baths.

Have any of you mommas with sleep issue children tried the epsom salt bath soaks? I would highly recommend it! The magnesium that makes up the epsom salts is often lacking in our diets and is easily absorbed through the bath. I am usually pretty ready for sleep when I take one... much more so than with other bath additives.

[sandhillcranes]

Originally Posted by BeccaSueCongdon Melatonin is usually beneficial for getting the child to sleep, but I don't know if it helps them stay asleep. The frequent night waking could be caused by his sleep deprivation state, and once he gets caught up they'll subside. If the melatonin at the beginning of the night doesn't keep him asleep, I wouldn't give him any more to put him back to bed. I might also push for sleep study of you find jay he melatonin isn't helping his night wakings.

That is my concern. It seems like the melatonin is worth a shot but i dont have high hopes. Weve tried a lot and i sort of feel like its a genetics thing and not something we are doing wrong. We have tried diet changes (more food at night, less food at night, cutting dairy, cutting back water, different types of pull ups, earlier bedtime, later bedtime, naps, no naps). Ugh. Dont get me wrong. He isnt an unhappy child. But the nights where he wakes up 3 times at night he is very disagreeable, very frustrated. One time a night doesnt seem to "hurt". Last night for example we got him up to pee at around 11pm, he did and he went back down. He did wake up once in the early hrs (4am?) and was upset but went back to sleep and slept good. He had a great day. He is actually a fairly easy kid. I mean, hes 3. So easy may not be the right word lol. But YKWIM. Anyway, how does a sleep study work?

Is there anything else I can try to help? He has a very routine bedtime. No tv after 5pm, we do pajamas, stories, teeth, prayers, songs, bed. He has a noise machine. We tried no noise machine but still had issues.

[sandhillcranes]

I should add, the issue is not with simply waking. Sometimes he wakes to potty or needs water. That is ok by us. Certainly not what i would consider an issue. But when he wakes up upset, crying, or worse, screaming, that is upsetting.

What other causes could there be besides true sleep issues? Ped said maybe growing pains(?). I thought perhaps reflux. Is that possible? He had it as a baby and was treated with zantac.i also wondered if his legs might be hurting from toe walking? Ped said no.

[l_Kimmie_l]

I have 2 with severe sleep disturbances. They are on clonodine and used to be on meletonin too (5 mg) with it. They still should be, but we are hoping thing will get better. Not. Meletonin helps them fall asleep but will not keep them that way. Our kids still at 3 and 4 yrs wake 20 times per night. They at least go to sleep now. They used to not sleep at all. I am not sure if people can understand a child that from 4 mos old only sleeps 2 hours per 24-36 hours at a time.

I recommend meletonin 100% and was told by sleep specialists that children can need higher than adult doses for it to work. So, do not get upset if 1 mg does nothing.

[Rhianna'sMommy]

My experience is melatonin will not keep him asleep but it does get them to sleep. For ds bedtime was a 2 hour battle most nights. We tried for a year to adjust our nighttime routine but nothing helped (the changes didn't hurt and were beneficial for our girls). We tried melatonin and he was asleep in 20 minutes - it was a miracle! It has made a huge difference getting those 2 hours back.

Ds has nights where he is very restless - not upset initially but can't get back to sleep. Our pedi says it sounds like he has restless leg syndrome. He recommended upping the iron in his diet - preferrably naturally with meat and leafy green veggies but a multivitamin is ok too - and that has helped him stay asleep and be less restless in his sleep. We can usually tell when we've not been getting much iron rich food for a several days in his sleep patterns. So while your son doesn't sound like he has the same restlessness as my ds, it is worth looking at your diet and seeing if he might be deficient in any nutrients. It can't hurt to look at that aspect anyhow. The iron didn't help any with getting ds to sleep but it has made a difference with him staying asleep more (he still often gets up in the night to crawl into our bed but it is usually only the once now).