Has anyone used melatonin to assist their child’s sleep?
One of my sons, he’s 14, has a lot of trouble falling asleep. He’s not on devices, he’s in bed, he’s eaten and gone to the loo so he’s not in any physical discomfort, but he can’t fall asleep easily. He’s often awake until after midnight trying to fall asleep.
This in turn affects his behaviour and appetite the next day. He’s tired, cranky and can’t eat when he’s like that.
If you have tried it, did it work? How long did it take to kick in after administration? Any side effects?
6 Replies
We use it for my son (who is 2). Some days it is great and he's asleep in a few minutes but other times it does absolutely nothing. The problem we have found with it is that it doesn't assist in staying asleep, only falling asleep that first time. So when he wakes up overnight (which is a regular occurrence) he can't get back to sleep on his own and we can't just keep dosing him up :(
Side effects - the following day he was always drowsy and complained of sore ears/head.
My 14yr old girl is the same. She always ends up tired and exhausted before her day even begins.
Yes.
But you’ve got to get the right one. Read the labels carefully and when you find the one that works, stick to they brand (if you buy over the counter meds). Quality melatonin is really hard to get in Australia.
We got a prescription from our GP. There are two types. Slow release and fast release. Fast release is for if you just have trouble getting to sleep. Slow is for if you wake up in the night and struggle to get back to sleep.
I take slow release one for myself :) it works so well
Works very well for my daughters before we started using it they were up till 11 now they're asleep within an hour of going to bed
My son has just stated taking it and is working great for him. it was given to him by his peaditrican. we get his script filled at the compoud pharmacy.