For those of you using melatonin | Autism PDD

Hi everyone.. I just have a few questions about melatonin.. Are alot of you using this for your kids? Is it something that most doctors recommend? What brand is good to buy? I would normally not need to use it, except maybe in certain situations, like travelling, staying at someone else's house, etc.. How much would I give my son if I used it? He is 40 pounds. Thanks all for your help!!

Jen

My son developmental pediatrician reccomended when my child was 4. I was told to start at 1mg and to see if that worked and to raise it up to 3mg.

It took the 3mg to work. We use GNC sublingual.

I also use 1-3mg/kid. Melatonin is a natural hormone produced in the body. ASD kids often have trouble producing it; it regulates your sleep cycle and is the reason ppl get drowsy when it's gets dark. If your child doen't have a melatonin problem it won't effect them. Melatonin also is an antioxidant and helps the body produce glutathione (ASD often have low levels) which helps rid the body of toxins.

Thanks everyone.. Teresa, I hope it works and you are both able to get some sleep!his neurologist suggested Good Luck.... luckily Grant has always been a great sleeper phew!I was so happy to see this post - I just bought some melatonin - after a very long night with a major meltdown and only a few hours sleep, I am praying this works.Last night was SUCCESSFUL!! First night on melantonin - I gave her a 3mg dose (she is 6 years old and 51 pounds), and in about 20 minutes she was asleep - she woke up once at 11pm for about 2 minutes, and has slept through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When she gets up this morning, I will gauge her mood, but so far, it was amazing. teresamay39358.1629282407There is now time released melatonin. I have only seen it online. Here is the link http://asdmarket.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=1_25&p roducts_id=231&osCsid=9974cfc2e440ad7362d28bad6816e92d The problem is that as with any time released product it has to be swallowed whole so this would be better for older children or adults.

Sometimes we give Jay melatonin. We get it from a store call vitamin shoppe. We give him 1mg to help him fall asleep. If he gets up in the middle of the night he gets another dose. We haven't seen any negative reactions by giving him a secone dose when needed.

I have heard the same thing, I have some but have never used it with my son because he will go to sleep just fine, it just gets up every 3 to 4 hours. He will be 3 in January but he still has the sleep pattern of a new born, I just keep hoping that one day it will pass, hopefully before he is 18

Kim

Our developmental ped said to start with .25 mg and move up .25 more each time until you find an amt that works. We use .25, and it works really well. Our son is about 40ish pounds- he's 3 1/2. We only use it on rare occaisions- when he hasn't gotten enough physical activity, very over stimulated, etc.

It definitely doesn't help them stay asleep. Even if he's taken it, he can still wake up screaming a few times a night, and sometimes he can't go back to sleep for the rest of the night.

I tried Melatonin for both us. We got a few hours sleep, but apparently it only last about 4 hours for many folks. We both woke up and ... were up a long time.

I just asked the Dr. today about using Melatonin. She said it helps to go to sleep vs keeping you asleep.

Has anybody noticed this? My son can get to sleep ok -- but he wakes up and sometimes and stay awake for hours.

Can you suggest something for my bags under my eyes too?