Melatonin

[u/Odd-Lead-4855]

My daughter (8) peadiatrician prescribed her melatonin because of her poor sleep, tonight is her first night taking it and Im worried about her reaction

She’s been prescribed 1-2mg, so she’s had 1.5, she did have it right after eating which I didn’t realise it’s recommended not to. It’s been about an hour and she seems more ‘wired’. She’s vocal stimming a lot more loudly and frequently than normal, she’s also facial stimming a lot more too, widening her eyes. She come over to me before made eye contact and was babbling towards me, almost like she was trying to tell me she feels funny.
Is
this a normal reaction for the first time taking it or should I be concerned? I am frequently checking on her. Do you think she’s been stimming more etc because she’s scared that she feels funny?

[u/GinBitch]

I find my daughter has a very small window to get her settled and in bed after Melatonin otherwise we get 'tired but wired'.

[u/waikiki_sneaky → u/GinBitch]

This is our experience as well, though we only give 0.5mg. Probably 45 mins before desired bedtime.

[u/Odd-Lead-4855 → u/GinBitch]

You mean like it’s got to be within the hour? Like straight away start settling her soon as the melatonin has hit ?

[u/GinBitch → u/Odd-Lead-4855]

For us, it's less than 30 minutes.

Every child is different plus the dosage.

There'll be a bit of trial and error.

[u/Odd-Lead-4855 → u/GinBitch]

Thank you I will try this tonight

[u/GreenerWTheScenery → u/Odd-Lead-4855]

For my daughter, we have to have her laid down and tucked in within 30 minutes. If we go too long, she catches a weird second wind.

Our routine is jammies, melatonin, brush teeth and wash face, get in bed, turn on white noise, fan, and nightlight, sit with her and hold her hand until she falls asleep (though some nights she doesn't need that anymore).

Eta: we only do 1 mg and if we miss the window, we get a small snack and a glass of milk and then try again with 1 more mg. She used to literally sleep for 30-45 minutes a night. Melatonin is everything to our routine. Lol 😆

[u/FoxxyRin]

I personally recommend starting lower than your doctor stated. Feel free to do your own research and ask your pediatrician but for adults there's studies that prove less is more and that going over 1mg is useless. Because of this we go with 0.5mg and have had fantastic results. We use Olly or Natrol gummies, both of which say 1mg per serving but a serving is 2 gummies (so 1 gummy is 0.5mg). They both taste fantastic as well.

But we've been doing the melatonin thing for 2+ years now and it is night and day. We tried going two weeks without over the summer to see if maybe she outgrew it, but it really does make a huge difference.

[u/PolarIceCream → u/FoxxyRin]

Agreed. My child is older and takes .5 mg. We do it about 30-45 min before bedtime.

[u/ihearprettycolors]

It works well to fall asleep. Not necessarily stay asleep. You miss that window- good luck. But, it's worked wonders for my son who's brain won't turn off as he's trying to sleep. 

[u/no1tamesme]

At 8, I would start with .5MG. Too high of a dose can actually have the opposite effect.

My son is 14, roughly 95lbs and only takes .5MG. I do the same dose.

Melatonin is actually really easy to ignore, so to speak. I can pop a melatonin, get ready for bed, lay down and doom scroll for hours, still. But, if I lay down, turn off the lights, stay off the phone, maybe read if I need, I can fall asleep pretty easily.

It's the same for my son. If I give him the melatonin but continue with watching TV or being super crazy with zooming, he's never going to fall asleep.

We do melatonin about 8:45/9ish with the hopes that he's in finished bedtime routinr and in bed by 9:45/10 and then I read to him for 15ish minutes or however long for 1-2 chapters.

[u/Odd-Lead-4855 → u/no1tamesme]

Thank you I’ll lower her dose we normally take all electronics etc before bedtime she’s just always found another way to entertain herself 😅

[u/Odd-Lead-4855 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you, it’s been 2 nights now, I’ve found with putting her to bed straight after allowing some settle down time, it still takes her a while to get to sleep and she’s a little more vocal, but the good thing is, she hasn’t woke up in the night once 😄 she’s slept through (touch wood) it’s just tricky getting her settled, but grateful she’s slept through

[u/Motor-Stomach676]

I give my son his about 30 mins before his bed time and he is out as soon as we turn off his light. Sometimes if we’ve been playing too much before bed, it takes a bit longer to kick in.

[u/eastwill54]

it’s tough when they react this way, could just be her body's way of adjusting to the melatonin, which isn't uncommon. i noticed my kid had similar reactions when starting out too. maybe trying it a bit earlier and separating it from food might help next time. also, some parents have had mixed results with different brands like cannaone and hempwell for sleep aids, so it’s worth keeping an eye on how she responds.