melatonin

May 7, 2006

uh oh! I already took it...I'll report tomorrow... I took 1.5 mg....things tend to have opposite effects on me. Maybe it wasn't such a hot idea! Im still awake at 12 midnight, but I am sleepy. I'll let ya know.

steph

May 7, 2006

I have no definitive info on melatonin. But my own experience with it was not good. It did not help me sleep when I wanted to, but rather made me sleepy the next day. sle816@... wrote: I am on hydrocortisone 7.5 mg. because my adrenals are low all day and get higher at night. I have decided to try melatonin at 930 or 1000 to see if I can get to bed earlier. ARE there any contraindication swith melatonin and armour? Any info about melatonin I need to know? thanks steph

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May 7, 2006

Opposite effects are common for hypos. When we take a new drug, we never know if it is going to knock us on our @$$ or send us to the moon. I think my delayed reaction to the melatonin was a very characteristic hypo response.sle816@... wrote: uh oh! I already took it...I'll report tomorrow... I took 1.5 mg....things tend to have opposite effects on me. Maybe it wasn't such a hot idea! Im still awake at 12 midnight, but I am sleepy. I'll let ya know. steph

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May 7, 2006

My Husband has been taking Melatonin for his sleep apnea for the past 12 yrs. it has worked a miracle for him, as he had a few episodes where he quit breathing, and we could not get air back into his lungs.

he visited a clinic, they recommended the melatonin, he takes 3 mg per night.

and it helps him with his breathing somehow. and he doesnt have these episodes as long as he doesnt forget to take a pill.

he has no affects the next day, and is fine for waking and going to work.

Lin

Re: melatonin

I have no definitive info on melatonin. But my own experience with it was not good. It did not help me sleep when I wanted to, but rather made me sleepy the next day. sle816@... wrote:

I am on hydrocortisone 7.5 mg. because my adrenals are low all day and get higher at night. I have decided to try melatonin at 930 or 1000 to see if I can get to bed earlier. ARE there any contraindication swith melatonin and armour? Any info about melatonin I need to know?

thanks

steph

May 8, 2006

I take 3mcg of Melatonin every night. It's what gets me to sleep much

quicker. Each person needs a different dose. Start with 1mcg for several

nights.

Kate

At 11:49 PM 5/6/2006, you wrote:

>I am on hydrocortisone 7.5 mg. because my adrenals are low all day and get

>higher at night. I have decided to try melatonin at 930 or 1000 to see if

>I can get to bed earlier. ARE there any contraindication swith melatonin

>and armour? Any info about melatonin I need to know?

>thanks

>steph

May 8, 2006

I also had the delayed response thing to melatonin,

except that, at first, it helped my sleep become more

untroubled when I did finally sleep. (Meaning that,

when I finally fell asleep at 4 a.m., I slept well.

But, I took the melatonin at midnight.)

After taking it for a month, I found myself feeling

groggy all day-- not an unusual situation for me, but

I asked the doctor's office if melatonin can build up

in your system. Apparently, it can. I stopped taking

it on a regular basis.

Now, I take CalMag before bed. You have to watch the

amounts, of course, because it can cause diarrhea.

CalMag does help with sleep disturbances somewhat.

Regardless of what I take, my sleep schedule is still

reversed. I've been going to bed around 4 a.m. for

almost two years now.

--- Jan wrote:

> Opposite effects are common for hypos. When we take

> a new drug, we never know if it is going to knock us

> on our @$$ or send us to the moon. I think my

> delayed reaction to the melatonin was a very

> characteristic hypo response.

>

May 9, 2006

My sleep schedule is finally becoming more normal now that I take all of my sex hormones at bedtime. (I used to take half of them with lunch.) For the first time in my life, I am no longer crashing in the afternoon. Courtenay wrote: I also had the delayed response thing to melatonin,except that, at first, it helped my sleep become moreuntroubled when I did finally sleep. (Meaning that,when I finally fell asleep at 4 a.m., I slept well. But, I took the melatonin at midnight.)After taking it for a month, I found myself feelinggroggy all day-- not an unusual situation for me, butI asked the doctor's office if melatonin can build upin your system. Apparently, it can. I stopped

takingit on a regular basis.Now, I take CalMag before bed. You have to watch theamounts, of course, because it can cause diarrhea. CalMag does help with sleep disturbances somewhat.Regardless of what I take, my sleep schedule is stillreversed. I've been going to bed around 4 a.m. foralmost two years now.--- Jan wrote:> Opposite effects are common for hypos. When we take> a new drug, we never know if it is going to knock us> on our @$$ or send us to the moon. I think my> delayed reaction to the melatonin was a very> characteristic hypo response.

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May 9, 2006

So glad for you, Jan! What was your sleep schedule like up to this

point? I wonder if this timing method might help me get longer and

more solid sleep. I'm taking my Tri-estrogen twice a day and

progesterone at bedtime. I haven't really ever had the afternoon

crashes, however. Mostly the opposite for years - anxiety all day

long. That's been absent for quite awhile now. I think the diet change

helped me in feeling more even all day.

>

> My sleep schedule is finally becoming more normal now that I take

all of my sex hormones at bedtime. (I used to take half of them with

lunch.) For the first time in my life, I am no longer crashing in the

afternoon.

>

May 9, 2006

You are on the schedule that our doc prefers. I made the change myself. Have not told him about it yet. Will see him in June. I am driving (by myself) for the first time. rgrprop wrote: So glad for you, Jan! What was your sleep schedule like up to this point? I wonder if this timing method might help me get longer and more solid sleep. I'm taking my Tri-estrogen twice a day and progesterone at bedtime. I haven't really ever had the afternoon crashes, however. Mostly the opposite for years - anxiety all day long. That's been absent for quite awhile now. I think the diet change helped me in feeling more even all

day.>> My sleep schedule is finally becoming more normal now that I take all of my sex hormones at bedtime. (I used to take half of them with lunch.) For the first time in my life, I am no longer crashing in the afternoon. >

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May 9, 2006

It's great that you feel able to do that.

>

> You are on the schedule that our doc prefers. I made the change

myself. Have not told him about it yet. Will see him in June.

>

> I am driving (by myself) for the first time.

>

May 9, 2006

That is great Jan. I get really tired most afternoons. I know exactly what you mean. Glad you are doing better.

P

Re: melatonin

My sleep schedule is finally becoming more normal now that I take all of my sex hormones at bedtime. (I used to take half of them with lunch.) For the first time in my life, I am no longer crashing in the afternoon. Courtenay wrote: I also had the delayed response thing to melatonin,except that, at first, it helped my sleep become moreuntroubled when I did finally sleep. (Meaning that,when I finally fell asleep at 4 a.m., I slept well. But, I took the melatonin at midnight.)After taking it for a month, I found myself feelinggroggy all day-- not an unusual situation for me, butI asked the doctor's office if melatonin can build upin your system. Apparently, it can. I stopped takingit on a regular basis.Now, I take CalMag before bed. You have to watch theamounts, of course, because it can cause diarrhea. CalMag does help with sleep disturbances somewhat.Regardless of what I take, my sleep schedule is stillreversed. I've been going to bed around 4 a.m. foralmost two years now.--- Jan wrote:> Opposite effects are common for hypos. When we take> a new drug, we never know if it is going to knock us> on our @$$ or send us to the moon. I think my> delayed reaction to the melatonin was a very> characteristic hypo response.

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May 9, 2006

I have to tell you that my worst days on Armour are better than my best days on $ynthroid. I wake up feeling pretty good even if I did not get enough sleep. I am now sleeping six to six and a half hours every night. . . . .minus a couple of visits to St. . . . . .l & jpickle wrote: That is great Jan. I get really tired most afternoons. I know exactly what you mean. Glad you are doing better. P Re: melatonin My sleep schedule is finally becoming more normal now that I take all of my sex hormones at bedtime. (I used to take half of them with lunch.) For the first

time in my life, I am no longer crashing in the afternoon. Courtenay wrote: I also had the delayed response thing to melatonin,except that, at first, it helped my sleep become moreuntroubled when I did finally sleep. (Meaning that,when I finally fell asleep at 4 a.m., I slept well. But, I took the melatonin at midnight.)After taking it for a month, I found myself feelinggroggy all day-- not an unusual situation for me, butI asked the doctor's office if melatonin can build upin your system. Apparently, it can. I stopped takingit on a regular basis.Now, I take CalMag before bed. You have to watch theamounts, of course, because it can cause diarrhea.

CalMag does help with sleep disturbances somewhat.Regardless of what I take, my sleep schedule is stillreversed. I've been going to bed around 4 a.m. foralmost two years now.

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May 9, 2006

Just my two cents here.... I had terrible sleep problems until I

had a hysterectomy (severe endo problems - way too much estrogen),

started an estrogen patch and had my armour bumped up. If I forget

the armour or patch change, the results are immediate - only a few

hours of sleep.

Prior to my " balancing act " , I did get some relief from 5HTP. It

didn't make me drowsy or have side effects the following day, just

helped me with continuous sleep during the nite. I never took it

more than 2 or 3 nites in a row as I was worried it might not be

effective if I did.

>

> > Opposite effects are common for hypos. When we take

> > a new drug, we never know if it is going to knock us

> > on our @$$ or send us to the moon. I think my

> > delayed reaction to the melatonin was a very

> > characteristic hypo response.

>

> ---------------------------------

> Blab-away for as little as 1¢/min. Make PC-to-Phone Calls using

Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.

>

August 24, 2006

I just caught some discussions over giving melatonin to our kids to help them

sleep. Our son, Ben, has been having a terrible time going to sleep this week.

His sleeping fluctuates in cycles--he'll sleep really good for a few weeks and

then have days when he doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 am! We have been

giving him melatonin for the past few years regularly but it does appear to be

losing its effect. In fact, he's 12 years old and we give him up to 6 mg.

Should we take him off of it for a while or maybe go to a lower dose? Also, if

there is anything else out there that has helped your kids sleep well--I'd

appreciate knowing. We used to do epson salt baths but it didn't seem to help

him with this issue.

Thanks,

a

August 24, 2006

Hi a,

My son is currently taking 1 mg of Melatonin and I have been slowly taking

him off it because he doesn't seem to need it anymore. He was taking 5-HTP and

Inositol for 2 months, which seemed to assist in restful sleep cycles but he

was taking it for OCD. 5-HTP may cause drowsiness in some people. His OCD

symptoms seemed to get better so I switched to some homeopathic remedies

instead nearly 3 weeks ago and it still might be too early to tell how well

they

are working. He is taking MindSoothe Jr, PureCalm and Focus ADHD by Native

Remedies. I noticed in the product catalog there are formulations for sleep

problems. They are called Serenite and Serenite-LT. You might want to go to

their

website to look up the ingredients and then research them before you try any

of them, be careful to see if they interact with any other medication your

son might be on. The PureCalm seems to already be working for my son, last

week my son went to the doctor for a throat culture and he hates to get his

throat swabbed but he had a dose of PureCalm on the drive over and he did not

fuss at all when it was time to open wide and say ahhhhhhhh. The website is

_www.nativeremedies.com_ (http://www.nativeremedies.com) C.Reece

August 24, 2006

Hi,

We had our son take Melatonin for quite some time. It

was a miracle drug at first, he was such a terrible

sleeper. When it wouldn't work, we stopped it for a

little while and then re-started. Upping the dose

never really worke, but taking him off for a few

months did.

Finally we stopped using it altogether -- I think

there was a limit as to how much someone should take,

(altho I can't really remember exactly)so we stopped.

It was around your son's age, too.

--- Jeff & a Sell wrote:

> I just caught some discussions over giving melatonin

> to our kids to help them sleep. Our son, Ben, has

> been having a terrible time going to sleep this

> week. His sleeping fluctuates in cycles--he'll

> sleep really good for a few weeks and then have days

> when he doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 am! We

> have been giving him melatonin for the past few

> years regularly but it does appear to be losing its

> effect. In fact, he's 12 years old and we give him

> up to 6 mg. Should we take him off of it for a

> while or maybe go to a lower dose? Also, if there

> is anything else out there that has helped your kids

> sleep well--I'd appreciate knowing. We used to do

> epson salt baths but it didn't seem to help him with

> this issue.

>

> Thanks,

> a

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

Mark & Brown

ms_nk_brown@...

August 24, 2006

a, I started my 7 yr old triplets, and myself, on melatonin in January. It

was recommended by Dr. Rao and Dr. for getting the kids to get sleepy.

Dr. said to keep it at 3mg or less per night, and that it can sometimes

stop working. When it stops working, if we take them off of it for a little

while and then try it again, it should start working again. So far, I am the

only one who has had it stop working (occasionally, though becoming more

frequent).

If you haven't tried it, Valerian (I'm not sure of the spelling) seems to be

very popular and is in the same section at Whole Foods as melatonin. You might

try it during your break from melatonin. Since both of our docs recommended

melatonin, and we have seen no side effects, when the melatonin stops working

for my kids, I will probably use valerian during the break from melatonin, but

will probably go back to it after a time, just as Dr. recommended.

Melatonin is a hormone that our bodies produce when it gets dark, to make us

sleepy. Lots of sunshine exposure seems help the body produce more melatonin

when it gets dark, and TV and computer games seem to inhibit the body's

production of melatonin. Most people with insomnia are low in melatonin and

that is why the supplement helps. People that live like in Alaska where it

never gets dark in the summer months, have a hard time sleeping, because

melatonin is released when it gets dark. ASD kids seem to be particularly low

in melatonin, so sleep problems is a common problem for kids on the spectrum.

Melatonin also seems to retard the onset of puberty, in that, research shows

that, just before puberty, melatonin production levels seem to drop

dramatically. Giving melatonin to kids is safe, as long as it is kept at a

therapeutic level (3 mg or lower). If you have increased to 6 mg per day, you

should probably take a break from the melatonin for a while, then try it again

at a therapeutic dose. I take 1 mg per night, and, most nights, it is enough.

Occasionally, if I am feeling particularly wide awake, I will take 2 and it

almost always does the trick. (of course the melatonin is fighting the caffeine

laden iced tea I drink from morning till bed time).

Hope this helps,

in Austin

August 24, 2006

a,

I will tell you that all the DAN! docs say that sleeping problems are

usually related to reflux or nighttime seizures. Have you had him checked

for either of those?

Fw: melatonin

I just caught some discussions over giving melatonin to our kids to help

them sleep. Our son, Ben, has been having a terrible time going to sleep

this week. His sleeping fluctuates in cycles--he'll sleep really good for a

few weeks and then have days when he doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 am!

We have been giving him melatonin for the past few years regularly but it

does appear to be losing its effect. In fact, he's 12 years old and we give

him up to 6 mg. Should we take him off of it for a while or maybe go to a

lower dose? Also, if there is anything else out there that has helped your

kids sleep well--I'd appreciate knowing. We used to do epson salt baths but

it didn't seem to help him with this issue.

Thanks,

a

August 24, 2006

We put a fan (for the noise effect) in his room, and hat does the trick.

Fw: melatonin

>

> I just caught some discussions over giving melatonin to our kids to help

> them sleep. Our son, Ben, has been having a terrible time going to sleep

> this week. His sleeping fluctuates in cycles--he'll sleep really good for

> a few weeks and then have days when he doesn't fall asleep until 3 or 4

> am! We have been giving him melatonin for the past few years regularly

> but it does appear to be losing its effect. In fact, he's 12 years old

> and we give him up to 6 mg. Should we take him off of it for a while or

> maybe go to a lower dose? Also, if there is anything else out there that

> has helped your kids sleep well--I'd appreciate knowing. We used to do

> epson salt baths but it didn't seem to help him with this issue.

>

> Thanks,

> a

>

August 24, 2006

We have had an air purifier in his bedroom for years--not sure if it filters the

air very well but it does provide a good noise effect!