Guest guest Posted November 9, 2000 Report Share Posted November 9, 2000 Well, we have finally had to resort to medication trials for too and I just wanted to report in what we have found in case it might be of help to any of you. I don't think too many folks on this list are using melatonin which is extremely popular on the autism lists. I was a bit scared of it because Dr. Leichtman had long maintained it might bring on early puberty. However desperation and lack of sleep (you all know the drill) took over and I started using it with . Works great! BUT she started bleeding a week later~ stopped the melatonin she stopped bleeding, repeated the trial with same results and she eventually just started bleeding anyway...every 18 days thank you very much. She was supposed to be about a year or so away from puberty. I don't know if the melatonin kicked it in or not but I would advise anyone using it (even on boys) to be cautious and stick close to your endocrinologist, measuring hormone levels, bone age etc. A mom I met with a 14 yr old autistic daughter told me about having used ambien with her daughter. We are giving it a try and so far so good. We use 5 mg (half of a tiny white pill). goes to sleep initially pretty easily...it's those 2, 3 and 4 AM parties that are killing us. Now when she wakes I give her the ambien. I let her watch tv for 20 min- half hour, then get her back in bed and read to her. Within an hour of dosing she is snoring and out like a light. She wakes up about 4 hours later with no hangover or side effects. Of course the first time I gave it I had to stay up and watch her to make sure she was ok LOL so it wasn't much help to me. If any of you have had a bad experience with this med please let me know. It is supposed to be a very quick acting and ending med without the sides of actual sleeping pills. We have a psych appt. on Monday and a neuro appt on the 28th to discuss some kind of med to get her under control before her period when she does all those things that I always wanted to do before mine, like bite, kick and punch my husband hehe. Sherry mom to 11 DS/Aut fast becoming the best little gymnast (and the loudest) in Special Olympics. The " normal " DS boys keep grabbing her butt though, trying to push her up steps and out of the " plop " position. Very funny to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.