Using melatonin

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We've used melatonin successfully with my son, after I read a research study about it. I discussed it first with my pediatrician and he says it was fine.

Another suggestion for you: Massage (skin to skin contact) at bedtime has also proven very helpful.

Here is a blog post discussing it, if you'd like more details. http://asdhelp.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/catching-zzzs/

Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies! This week using it has been so awesome. I just am so happy he can finally just lay down and go to sleep!

I like the massage idea. I have a little massage... more like pressure that I put on his body to help him settle down. It works sometimes.

we use it for our 6 year old on very rare occassions and it works wounders. We usualy only give it to him when he is clearly having a hard time shutting his brain off or when he is anxiety levels are so high he just can't sleep. We have not seen any side effects so far that are negative. He actually wakes up in a really great mood and very well rested.
I only give him .25 of a 3ml dose, the does is very tiny, but it works.

We've been giving the kids melatonin every night for years now, and it's been a BIG help. The little one gets .125 MGs (1/4 of a Trader Joe's chewable pill), the older one gets .25 MGs (half of the same pill), and it;s made a hell of a difference. Youngest can do without, especially if he doesn't nap on a given day, but Eldest has a much harder time falling asleep if he misses a dose. "I can't stop THINKING," he says.

We are using the Trader Joe's chewable too. So, I give him 1/2 pill as well. When I talked to the Neuro about this on Friday, he was really surprised how effective such a small dose was on him. He said it was "barely a dose" since the average dose is more like 2 or 3mg! Anyway, he said if it's working, keep doing it.

A PP suggested that going on and off of it to follow the cycle of difficult sleep pattern might not be a good idea, but our neuro actually said he thought it was fine if that's what we want to do. Honestly, he just seemed really laid back about using it in general.

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I'm really hoping this helps us long term. My son is now asking for it at night and he tells me that he likes being able to fall asleep on his own. The other night, he actually let me walk out of the room while he was still awake. That has NEVER happened before. I am just so excited about this development.

MissTippy -

Our neuro seems to think that whenever I give DS sub-therapeutic doses of anything, it's just placebo. I on the other hand think he's more sensitive. If the occasional dose works and he gets into a good pattern, GREAT! If he doesn't get into a good pattern, you may want to consider regular dosing in the tiny amounts.

That's a funny thing about melatonin, small doses can work surprisingly very well - better even than a larger dose on some people. I used to take 1mg, then I ran out (can't buy them locally so I only have what was bought abroad for me) and all that was left was the 3mg ones. Those didn't work nearly as well for me and had a side effect (my legs would itch like crazy, a minor thing but oh so irritating when trying to fall asleep). So I started cutting up the 3mg tablets into even smaller doses and found that even just 0.5mg was enough to get me the same effects as the 1mg without any of the side effects a higher dose brought.

I think in the case of melatonin for many people (though not all) it's certainly not a case of more = better. It's certainly not a placebo effect for me on the dose or the melatonin working. I've gone through just about every home remedy and prescription sleeping aid out there and nothing's stuck for long, melatonin so far holds the record at working for over a year without side effects. I fully expected higher doses to work better and was taken by surprise to find for me the opposite was true. I'm glad you found something that works, that really is the most important part.

Well, if kids on the spectrum generally have low levels of melatonin, then supplementation would just need to be given in a dose that brings them back to even keel. In a small child, that dose might be very low. The only time my daughter can fall asleep naturally is after a day of heavy physical activity. I suspect that she has very low natural levels of melatonin just like her father. She can sometimes need up to 3mg with no side effects. (She is a big girl too - over the 110% percentile in height and weight - always has been)

I doubt the placebo effect especially since melatonin is so well regarded in the autism community.

Melatonin has been a godsend. I've had sleep problems for as long as I can remember, despite being NT. My two sons who are HFA have have had sleep problems since they were toddlers. It took an hour and a half of focused effort to get them to sleep at night. Now it takes about a half hour.

We use Sundown Naturals tablets. They are 300mcg (.3mg), a pretty low dosage and it is effective for me, an adult woman, as well as for my sons. The tablets are not labeled chewable, but we chew them up. They have a bland, sweet flavor, a chalky texture, and dissolve quickly.

Once their routine became well-established, they did not need it regularly and only take it now when they have gotten off routine or when they are having a particularly hard time getting to sleep. I developed a tolerance for it, so stopped taking it for awhile and now it is effective again.

I have two NT daughters as well. One of them has always fallen asleep easily. The other has sleep problems, but says that melatonin gives her nightmares, so she does not take it unless she HAS to sleep and it's just not happening. My husband (probably an undiagnosed Aspie) does not do well with it either, though I can't remember his specific complaints.

So, IMO, it's not for everyone, but if you are really having problems it is worth a try.

Our grandson uses melatonin without any negative side effects. I, too, thought in the beginning that it was like a sleeping pill. But, after researching it, found that
our body actually makes melatonin. I would believe that it is definately safer than giving our kids pop or candy or anything that has red 40 in it. If it doesn't work, think about what your child has eaten a few hours before taken the melatonin. Maybe they are conteracting each other. Just a thought.

Has anyone tried magnesium. I heard that it is common for autistics to be deficient in magnesium and vitamin B6. I take Peter Gillham's Natural Calm magnesium citrate and it seems to be calming. It may seem expensive but it lasts for months. You may have to balance it with calcium to prevent muscle cramps. (not required if you consume dairy.
Magnesium is shown to increase deep sleep and improve recovery from stress.

I feel better about increasing magnesium naturally through diet. Luckily my daughter likes nuts. I do supplement my daughters diet with a general chewable vitamin thanks to her picky eating habits.

It's been working so well that we've continued using it. He asks for it every night too. We had considered using it in cycles, but given that he's NEVER been able to fall asleep like this, we're just continuing. He tells me that he really likes being able to lay down and just go to sleep. No fighting with his body or his brain. It's kind of amazing, really. He went from a kid that on a good night had to toss and turn for at least 30 minutes (and hours of this on bad nights) after all of our settle down activities like bath and books..... to being the kid who is literally asking you to leave the room before the last book is read. Before, he wanted us in his room until he was asleep and now he wants us to leave the room all together. It's a godsend. I'm hoping that this little microdose keeps working!

I take melitonin too and it is the only thing that seems to work. The sleep doctor put me on stronger drugs before but they just made me psychotic...and woozy but not sleepy. I dont like how powerful sleep drugs are, they sometimes frighten me and then I really cant sleep.
However melitonoin for me, just makes me sleepy, not zonked and I am sleeping in a few minutes.
I never had any side effects from it, and I find that the chewable fast disolve melitonin seems to work the best.

I really believe that in the case of most supplements - they only work properly if you need them. They say folks on the spectrum frequently have trouble inthe melatonin production, so this makes sense to me.

Prior to melatonin, DS was having night sweats and hadterrile sleep quality. The drs wanted to get sleep straightened out before they would look at dx or any meds, because sleep problems can be so impactful. Anyway, he sleeps like a champ now (I'm finding he is needing over 11 hours?). He still needs the skin to skin contact falling asleep, but once out, he's out!

I'm glad to hear something so simple is so helpful to many!

Melatonin works for me for two nights, and then doesn't work for the third.

It gives a lot of people nightmares, so if that starts happening, discontinue it and see if it's involved.

Magnesium is better absorbed through the skin than the stomach lining, weirdly enough, so a bath in epsom salts before bed can be very helpful.