Melatonin Side Effects

I've taken it a few times... more than a few, but anyhow I don't like the crazy dreams, it scares me and I'm a grown adult, they are very vivid and seem so real. as an adult I've read that you should work up to 3mg I can't imaging for a 3yo what dose would be appropriate.

best of luck

My son has taken melatonin for years and we've had no negative side effects. It is best if always given at the same time each night and should never exceed more than 3mg nightly. I cannot say whether it is a side effect for you but seeing as your pediatrician prescribed it bring up your concerns with him/her.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body. It is what puts our bodies to sleep. The house managers in the group homes in my area are on 7 days then off 7 days. They sleep during the nighttime but it ends up being a very light sleep since they are basically listening for the group home members and if there is any noise.

They say they take it the first night they get off but still don't sleep well. They take it again the second night and sleep hard. Then they don't use it again until they are off work again the next time.

I would talk to a pharmacist. They are the experts when it comes to medications. Doc's don't know squat about meds, they only know what the drug reps tell them when they leave the samples.

I never trust anyone but a pharmacist and usually not even the ones at Walmart or Walgreens. I trust the ones where they actually make meds, a compounding pharmacy. Most mom and pop type of pharmacies will have more knowledge since they do more than just read a paper and count pills. A true pharmacist is one who can take a little of this and a little of that, combine it and turn out a good ointment or a cough syrup that is especially made to order for your needs.

I've never given it to my son but I know a lot of adults including myself that get horrible headaches (like the worst hangover ever) the next morning after taking it. I would check the bottle to see if there are any indications or contraindications of the medication.

My then 8 year old daughter who is very petite would lay awake for 2 hours before falling asleep, no matter what time we put her to bed. The pediatrician said to try Melatonin. It helped with the actual falling asleep for about 3 nights and then gave her very vivid and scary dreams. We were cutting up the tablet into very tiny pie-shaped wedges after cutting the tablet in half thickness-wise - all with a razor blade. So she was getting maybe 0.3 grams and it still worked. I think you may simply be giving her way too large a dose.
Have you tried all the other options first: routine, warm bath, warm milk, story,etc? I read somewhere that the routine should include "snack, snuggle & snooze" which is a mantra we would use. However, my daughter (and my brother and my niece) have a body chemistry that just makes it very hard for them to drop off to sleep. Once asleep, they sleep well. My daughter is now on prescription Clonidine, which is actually a very poor blood pressure medication, but works well as a sleep aid. It will not keep you asleep, but will help you fall asleep.
Good luck, not sleeping makes everyone cranky. She may just be over tired, or scared of something and fighting going to sleep.

I would really suggest doing more research on Melatonin. My husband has used it occasionally during high stress or international travel when he has had trouble sleeping. But everything I have read about it says it should not be used long term, because your body may become dependent to sleep normally. And that it is not recommend for children, partly due to unknown hormone interactions (which my be related to the symptoms you are seeing).

http://www.livestrong.com/article/379907-are-there-any-si...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melatonin-side-effects/A...

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-...

My son and I have often taken it - he is 16 now, so he has been taking it on and off for over 10 years. No side effects.

I have noticed that if we lolly gag around the house after we take that it has no effect for us. Usually, we will take it, brush teeth, and go straight to bed - if we are settled down within 20 minutes it works great.

Melatonin we've never had side effects.
I've had some wild dreams occasionally with Valerian.
Could be the fits are just a terrible 3's thing, being over tired.

My kids take it every night with no problems whatsoever. It stopped our bedtime fits!
My husband said the 1st couple of times he took it he had wierd dreams, but I attribute that to him actually getting into a deep enough sleep to dream. He normally doesn't. After he realized you're actually supposed to dream, he got over that initial trepidation and loves it now.

The melatonin I use occasionally says "Not intended for use by persons under the age of 18". And in big bold letters says, "Keep out of reach of children."

I use one tablet. I wouldn't give any to a 3 year old. I have used three tablet in the last two years.

I bet the fits has to do with the side effects of taking too much for her weight and age. I wouldn't even give any of my 3 year old grandchildren more than 1/8th of a tablet knowing my weight and the effect it has on me.

Turkey meat is a natural source of saritonin (which is what the melitonin is trying to reproduce). That's why everyone is groggy after a big Thanksgiving meal. If I were you, I'd get some sliced turkey and give her some of that to eat about two hours before bed time.

Good luck to you and yours.

Our son has taken it for five years with no side effects. I've also tried it myself and have never had any issues.

You could be giving her too high of a dose, so I would halve it. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that some people simply don't produce enough of, and they think it's a major reason why people are insomniacs. It's very common for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder not to produce enough melatonin. I have to give a small dose to my 9 year old, and we've been giving it to her under the direction of our pediatric neurologist for several years. It's been a lifesaver for us. The key is to make sure that she doesn't take too much, so she gets a dosage that's appropriate for her height and weight. Therefore, you start with very, very small doses until they begin to work. It's easy to do that when melatonin comes in liquid form, although my daughter takes the tablets and we have a pill cutter.

So start off with .25 mg. If that doesn't work the two or three nights, then you can move up to .50 mg. Again, try it for a few nights. If that doesn't work, move up to .75 mg. Same deal. Then 1 mg. I wouldn't go past that for 3 years old. Children under 16 shouldn't be taking more than 3 mg. But your pediatrician or whichever doctor is walking you through this should have told you all of this. Be sure you get the advice of a doctor. And make sure that your daughter isn't taking too much. The only time people have problems is when they take too high of a dose.

We have never given it to our children. My husband took some a few weeks back one night and was just plain mean the next day, all day long. My dh is NEVER like that. He will not take it again because he said it made him feel weird the entire next day.

I've always had wacky dreams and something of a hangover along with a headache.