RE: Melatonin has stopped working

July 18, 2004

,

We have used melatonin and are presently using it. We used it for about a

year (1.5-2mg) and quit using it because she was getting tired and falling

asleep on her own without it. Several months ago we started using it again

because she was once again having problems falling asleep. We now only give

her 1mg (she's age 9) and it works well. Have you recently changed the name

brand or has the name brand changed the contents? Are you using short

acting or extended. Extended release does not work well for Shan. Not all

melatonin brands work well. The more reliable the company the more you can

trust that you are getting what you buy. There is the possibility that the

company is no longer putting the amount of melatonin in the tablet/capsule

that they say they are putting in it and it is showing in Francesca's

sleeping pattern. I would check with the company and ask them if they have

made any changes especially at the time the melatonin was no longer helping

Francesca. Another thing you could do is check with a chemist/pharmacist

about having the melatonin checked to see if it really contains what it

says. I remember when we moved to Australia 2 years ago and began using the

melatonin from a local health store. It did not work. I assumed it did not

have what it said it had in it ( 2mg). When I talked with the clerk she

said that it was homeopathic and contained only a small amount of melatonin

in each tablet (don't know why they claimed to have 2mg) due to it was

illegal to provide the higher doses. There are plenty of dishonest

vitamin/supplement/med providers out there (Australia went through this last

year pulling many brands off the shelf) that I would suspect the company

first. Meanwhile, try another source of melatonin if it is available.

Rhonda (mom to Shan, age 9, keto/atkins over 2 years)

We started Francesca on melatonin in the middle of April and it

worked like a dream. Just a 3mg tablet and it was great. However,

it seems to have stopped working. I gather that happens and that you

have to stop for a while and restart.

How long do you usually get it to work and then how long should you

stop before restarting. We stopped a week ago and I'm wondering

whether to give it to her again yet, as she's back to her old pattern

of taking anything from an hour to nearly three hours to get to

sleep.

It's the start of the school holidays, so we can live with it for a

while, but what would you all recommend?

Thanks

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