Melatonin dosage?

[MomA]

At the Dr.'s suggestion, I'm ready to try melatonin to help my son with his sleep. But he's really unclear about how much to give him. I've done web searches, and they've just confused me more.

I had trouble finding it in any stores, but finally came up with a bottle of 3 mg. tablets which I'm sure is too much. I'm assuming I can cut them.

Anyone here have experience with it?

My son's 7 and about 46 lbs.

[rosyred45]

Have you gone to
melatonin.com

I saw there it said about a safe start would be 1.2mg. I don't have experience with it, but I'll see if I can find anything else

Have a good day

[camismom]

3mgs is fine to give him. My dd started taking Melatonin many years ago at the suggestion of her doctor as well. She first took it in either first or second grade and started with 3 mgs. I'm not sure if they make it any larger than that though, and I don't know if you can cut it. I usually buy my dd's at places like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. I've seen it in 1 mgs and 3, don't recall ever seeing anything higher. They have it in sublingual form too. Cami likes that kind cause it works faster. I really don't think there is a dosing chart for this, you just take what works for you. Cami has taken 3 mgs for years. If you have a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe near buy, they can probably tell you more.

[rosyred45]

Thanks Christy

[camismom]

rosyred45 said:

Thanks Christy

Glad to help when I can!

[MomA]

Really? 3 mgs. sounds like so much for a little guy. But if you've used it safely that's a good sign.

I'll go check out that melatonin site too.

Thanks, both.

[rosyred45]

Your welcome....since I'm new to this moderator thing, I guess I better get myself reading some things.

MomA, Anything else you need help with, just let us know, I'm know someone will be able to put in their 2 cents if I can't.

Have a good day

[camismom]

Call a GNC salesperson if you have one in your area. They are supposed to be completely knowledgable in everything they sale (in my experiences with them they sure have always been). They can probably tell you if 3 is too much for your little guy. If not, then get the 1 mg tablets, start there and work your way up if necessary.

Good luck!

If you don't have a GNC nearby, let me know and I'll call ours. I'm a frequent customer! ;D

[catatonic]

MomA --
3mg may be a lot for a little guy. Or it may be fine. Suggested dose for an adult is 3 - 5 mg an hour before bedtime. Most of the tests of melatonin in pediatric populations indicate that 1mg - 10mg daily is a safe and effective dose. It's best to start low, and after 3 days increase the dose as necessary, up to the 10mg maximum. (Some sources recommend 7.5mg as the safe maximum for a child under the age of 14.)

Check out the Maryland Medical Center website, which gives very good information on a variety of supplements and how they should be taken. They have a page devoted to melatonin. ( www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Melatonincs.html ) Lots of good general info on melatonin and how it works. Near the bottom is dosage information. Here's an exerpt:

"Although studies including small numbers of children suggest that doses of 1-10 mg melatonin have little to no side effects, there is not enough information at this point to clearly say that doses greater than 0.3 mg per day are safe in children under age 15. In fact, doses between 1 to 5 mg may cause seizures in this age group. Until more information is available, it is safest to keep the dose close to the amount that our bodies normally produce (< 0.3 mg per day). "

As far as I know, the only study in which seizures were a problem focused on children with underlying seizure disorders. IF your child has a seizure disorder, do NOT attempt to give him melatonin without medical supervision. For children not affected with seizure disorders, the information below is probably more appropriate.

The University of Virginia Children's Medical Center newsletter discussed pediatric melatonin dosage recently. The following article summarizes a number of studies using doses ranging from 2.5mg to 10mg in children up to age 14, with no adverse effects reported. Most effective dose overall seemed to be 5mg.
www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/pediatrics/pharma-news/Nov2003.pdf

[MomA]

Thanks Cat. That was excellent information and good references.

Not knowing what exactly was right, I cut the pill in half, crushed it and sprinkled it on ice cream. My husband wants to tell him what it is and why, and I sort of agree, but I have hesitation about introducting another pill to "solve" something and also wanted to see its effect without influence.

My kid scared the bejeebers out of me by announcing about 30 minutes after eating it that he was having a heart attack. I remained calm only because he was giggling when he said it.

In bed reading stories 15 minutes later (at 10:00...already too late), he was yawning more than usual. He said again at one point that he was having a heart attack and had "never felt this before." I tried still to remain calm because he wasn't acting like a child in any trauma...just one that was surprised.

He was asleep just before 11:00, which isn't bad for a Friday. I'm going to watch this closely, though, because the words he used scared me.

[catatonic]

Here's a brief description of melatonin's function. As you can see, it aids in regulating heart rate:

"Melatonin is a naturally-occurring hormone and neurotransmitter that influences the suprachiasmic nucleus (SCN) in the brain. The SCN is thought to regulate several of the body's daily biological rhythms, including heart rate and autonomic tone. "
(from heartdisease.about.com/cs/hypertension/a/melatonin.htm )

Perhaps the "heart attack" your son was having was a racing heart? Pounding heart? Melatonin can also cause low blood pressure, so perhaps this had something to do with his "heart attack" feeling. It definitely sounds like this was a side effect.

How much did you give him? I wouldn't start with more than 1mg for the first several days. Half a mg would be better, if you can cut the tab that small.

Despite being herbal, melatonin is not side effect free. (This is true of many herbals.) It also interacts with some medications.

For example, if you are taking steroids of any type (and this includes the corticosteroids used in treating ASTHMA) a decrease in melatonin may result.

If you are taking any of the SSRI class of anti-depressants, you should not take melatonin without discussing it with your physician. SSRI's and melatonin definitely react with one another, but the precise cause/effect is not clear. For example, Prozac decreases melatonin, but Luvox raises it.

Here's a very basic list of the most common side effects:
www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/melatonin-side-effects.html

Many health professionals seem to feel that a 3mg dose is adequate, even for an adult, and do not recommend exceeding that level.
(See www.vh.org/adult/patient/psychiatry/medications/melaton.html )

Just a thought...but have you already tried the more "low key" approaches to promoting sleep? One of my boys has difficulty getting to sleep and finds that "Sleepy Time Extra" tea does the trick for him. This is just an herbal tea blend that contains a small amount of valerian, a sleep-promoting herb. Rather than lying awake for hours, my boy is asleep in about 10 minutes. This doesn't help one of my other boys, but that one will conk right out after a warm bath with Epsom salts.

If you give your son the melatonin again this evening, try and get an accurate description of his "heart attack". Chances are, if he was giggling, then he wasn't in pain. You might want to check his pulse (before and after would make the most sense, otherwise you won't know if there's a difference). If the symptom continues with melatonin use, I'd talk to the doctor before using it any more.

[MomA]

Aaack! This is scary now. My family has a long history of heart trouble, so I wouldn't do anything that might affect his heart at this age. I have to think hard now.

I might try it again with a smaller dose. But I'll definitely check his pulse before and after as you suggested and call his Dr. if he says the same thing.

I don't think I could get my son to try a tea or anything. He's a particularly picky eater, and our list of things he'll put in his mouth is small. I've tried all the standard advice about bedtime routines and atmosphere and all, but they do nothing.

Anything else I might be missing?

Thank you again for the excellent information.

[ohmama]

Another side effect for too high a dose is nightmares. More information available at

millermom.proboards23.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1086701075&start=0

[catatonic]

Well, we suffered through sleep problems for a long time here. My son would take forever to fall asleep, sneaking out of bed or trying to play video games. He'd wake up in the middle of the night and go wandering around at 2 a.m. watching cartoons or who knows what. He'd get up at the crack of dawn. When he did sleep, he'd wet the bed.

While it was easy enough to make/enforce rules that kept him in his room and in his bed, there was just no way to force him to sleep.

When we started on the Feingold program, however, his sleep disturbances vanished almost miraculously. Day 4 on the diet was the last time he wet his bed (he used to do this every night). A week into the diet, he began GOING TO SLEEP within 10 minutes of being put to bed. He STAYS asleep until morning. Although he is still an early riser, at least he's rising early after sleeping all night.

We've determined that corn syrup triggers his bed wetting. Artificial colors interfere with his sleep. As long as he follows the Feingold diet, his sleep is just like that of a "normal" child.

I highly recommend the Feingold diet...or the somewhat more restricted Failsafe diet. The Feingold program has really been miraculous for us.

You can check out Feingold (developed 30 years ago by a pediatric allergist) at:
www.feingold.org

You can read about Failsafe (developed at Australia's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital) at:
www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/

Aside from diet changes, I have a friend who swears by Hops for sleeping. (The same plant that is used to make beer.) She sleeps on a pillow stuffed with Hops leaves. (She grows the hops just for this purpose.) You can buy hops tinctures and capsules at most healthfood stores. They're sold as insomnia treatments.

The valerian tea works well. Valerian root preparations are sold in most healthfood stores in the amount of valerian in the tea is not enough. You can get capsules or liquids. If you use valerian in capsules/liquids, you'll have to be careful of side effects just as you would with melatonin. (This is not an issue with the tea.)

[MomA]

Sorry I haven't been back for a few days to say thanks again. We tried the melatonin 3 times so far.

ohmama--thanks for the link about nightmares. I'm glad that didn't seem to be a problem.

On the second try, I gave my son 1/4 of a 3 mg. pill instead of 1/2. No complaints of heart troubles this time, and he was asleep by 10:15.

When I tried the 1/4 again, it didn't seem to do anything. He was awake 'til 1 am. I didn't bother trying tonight, though I wish I had. It's 10:30 now and he's wired enough (been in and out of bed for over an hour) that I don't see him sleeping any hour soon.

catatonic--A lot to think about there with diet, and I appreciate your response. I'm usually just thankful when my son puts food in his mouth. It sounds like Feingold is amazing for your family and worth another look.