Melatonin

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Glad to hear it is working for you ... does your statement constitute Zeno's Proof?

My theory is that a melt-down is from an overactive, unregulated HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis). And if people don't naturally make enough melatonin and serotonin and GABA, this unhappy HPA dance is easy to trigger. The melatonin helps stabilize the triangle and prevents the flood of adrenaline and cortisol that shut-down 'normal' function.

Melatonin is a relatively new discovery and not a whole lot is known about how it actually triggers sleep. So even a speculative stab at how things work at the physiological level might be taking it too far. What is important to me and to anyone else who faces the problem of sleep disruption is that melatonin has worked for me and it might work for them. As I have said through out this thread, the benefits extend beyond a good night's rest. How it happens I do not know but I would be interested to find out if there are any other new users of melatonin who report the same improvement in sleep and brain mechanics that I have experienced. If enough of us experience positive effects with melatonin, that might make it interesting enough to start some kind of study to see if melatonin ought to be included as part of mainstream therapy for autistic persons.

i used to. until i found out *passion flower did wonders for my insomina, i snore like a baby now. a gangster baby that is
*when i have it

It is okay but I prefer a blend of Kava Kava and Valerian Root. Beware the KK can provide some pretty graphic dreams at times. Also a small amount of alcohol mixed with juice helps me to relax.

G'luck.

I would be interested to learn more about Passion Flower. What is it? Can I buy it from a nutriceutical shop?

Wikipedia says that Kava Kava is a rock band. Perhaps you could tell me a little more about it? I am definitely interested in learning more as melatonin is very mild. Despite taking 1-2 mg, sleep disruption still occurred in the last two nights although the effects were ameliorated. Meaning that instead of waking up at 2 am I woke up at 5 am and although I woke up 11:30 pm after sleeping for just 1 hour, another 1 mg of melatonin sent me back to sleep till morning. Compared to when I was not taking melatonin the outcomes are far more bearable. I am functional and productive as opposed to becoming mentally paralysed when the neural storms that follow sleep disruption rages the next moring.

Actually, while I am at it, I would like to start to collect a list of sleep therapies that have worked for others as I believe that getting good sleep is one of the keys to managing autism.

Kava kava is on my shopping list for my next order from BB.com. Im so keen to find out what it does, im really into my fun herbs. I too am a vitamin freak like Icarus falling. I had some great results with 5-htp although chronic use is ill advised as it can cause heart complications if too much 5-ht is broken down inside the liver into serotonin. I find its best used about once every two weeks, the effects are really pronounced when its used like this, I find a tolerance builds to it after a few weeks of use and the effects dont seem so great. But once a week you really get a lovely spaced out calm feeling. The thing I currently use for sleep is valerian root and passion flower, it definitely does the trick. Once a week I use phenibut for the most awesome sleep Ive ever had.

Another good supplement for sleep is taurine. Oh and theanine which is also on my next shopping list. I havent tried melatonin but I know that the sleep you have on 5-htp is based on excess serotonin being broken down into melatonin so I can vouch that the effects are good. Id say if you're suffering from insomnia get a load of valerian root, 5-htp, passion flower, phenibut, kava kava. taurine. Whatever it takes, not sleeping creates a nightmare of a world for me. And the irony of it is the longer Ive gone without it the harder it is to get to sleep at all. In these situations I need to knock myself out.

Be mindful though to do research into what substances you can use chronically. Do not use 5-htp, phenibut or kava kava regularly. 5-htp could potentially be quite harmful, phenibut is addictive and tolerance develops and Ive read somewhere that kava could be hazardous. From what I know passion flower and valerian are pretty safe, as well as taurine and theanine which incidentally is found in large quantities in green tea.

I'm taking 25-30 mg of melatonin now, and it doesn't seem to be working at all. Three mg used to work really well. I know you're supposed to take breaks every month or so if you're taking it regularly, because your body will adapt to it, and I have. Maybe it's time for another break.

And I can't take any other OTC sleep aid with my medications--at least not the ones I know of.

Hain Celestial makes SleepyTime with Valerian. I've had it and found it to be a little more calming than the regular, but nothing to really help going to sleep.

An MIT study reported that large amounts of melatonin might actually be less effective or not be effective at all than small amounts. So far I have stuck to 1-2 mg a night and it has worked well for me. Meltdowns still occur, but with some decent sleep, the worst effects are muted. Take today for instance. I went to bed at around 10:45 pm but "woke up" at around 5:00 am instead of my usual 6:30-6:45 am. I use the parathesis because I did not actually get up, nor was I actually fully awake. It was an in between state where I was conscious of time and yet still actually asleep. This is a huge improvement from other meltdown episodes where the prelude would usually be a completely sleepless night or else waking up very suddenly at odd hours like 2-3 am and not be able to sleep after that.

Effects like sensory disorientation, running mind and so on still happen but of an amplitude that is 10 times smaller. I can feel that my brain is not working harmoniously, but the effects are not enough to prevent me from concentrating on the task at hand.

Since I started taking melatonin daily, I have also noticed that the recovery period from meltdown episodes have shortened. That is getting enough sleep does seem to play a very important role in getting the brain to right itself. And the meltdowns stop when the brain puts itself back in gear.

Since melatonin works for me, I will probably not experiment with other substances. But I would love to hear of the experiences of others who have done something else.