Take melatonin with clonidine

[Kissofgem]

My son is 11yrs old been taking melatonin an then dr today prescribed him with .01mg clonidine but he still cant sleep. Can i give him a melatonin with it. So he can sleep??

[Onthemove1971]

It seems like this is a great question for the doctor who prescribed it for him.

If the rx was written for sleep only, then I do not think you should give him melatonin also.

But if it is for other things like anxiety than I think you should wait and ask the doctor.

What time are you giving it to him?

[lucybow]

My son is 11 years old and has been taking 0.1 mg of Clonidine and 3 mg of melatonin for 5 years and he sleeps very well. How long has your son been taking the Clonidine because it doesn't take effect right away. Some kids get really tired on it so they can't take it in the morning, but my son takes 0.1 mg of Clonidine in the a.m. as well. Does your son take magnesium? Magnesium is a mineral that people with ADHD are often deficient and it also helps with sleep. You could try having your son take magnesium before bed as well and since it doesn't interact with melatonin or Clonidine. Good luck!!!

[Reeeba1]

I would ask the doctor. With my son, he is eight and takes .15 clonidine at night or we give him .1 clonidine and 5mg melatonin a little bit after. This is with doctor concurrence. The .15 takes about an hour and a half but eventually makes him very tired. The point one combined with a melatonin seems to get them a more natural sleepiness about 20-30 mins after the melatonin. The key is that the clonidine takes longer for us to work so we have to stage them accordingly. Again I would check with your doctor. Good luck!

[ThatCat]

This is all prescribed by my son’s ADHD psych. He takes 0.1 mg clonidine, 10ml Benadryl, and 10 mg extended release melatonin at night. The clonidine is for anxiety & sleep, the Benadryl for allergies & sleep. The melatonin sounds like a pretty high dose but it releases over 5 or so hours, 2mg at a time. So he takes a combo of things that work in different ways, both quick and long-term actors. Works pretty well. He usually isn’t sleepy or groggy. Sometimes he still has insomnia, but overall, it’s good.

One thing with melatonin: it’s best to give a single tablet in the correct dosage, instead of 2 tabs to make the dose (say, a single 10mg vs 2 5mg tabs). Extended release, should be obvious. But there is another concern. Melatonin tabs are often contain vitamin B-6. No matter the melatonin dosage, the amt of vitamin per tab is the same. The brand we use (Natrol), a 10 mg tab contains 10mg of B-6. A 5mg melatonin tab also contains 10mg B-6. 10mg B-6 is 590% of rec daily intake. Which is ok. But if you give 2 5mg tabs, that would be 20mgs of B-6–almost 1200% of daily intake. B-6 isn’t harmful in itself, but massive amounts should be approved by a doc in case of underlying conditions. My son has some mild kidney issues, and the meds doc consulted with the urologist to approve B-6 intake. Does this make sense?

[pwb78]

Just a thought but have you looked for hidden sources for his inability to sleep? My son goes to bed at 8:00 (he is 8 yrs) but if he has screen time right before, it takes him a while to wind down. I have also noticed he has this issue if he has chocolate desserts right before bed, but he seems more sensitive to caffeine.

[floydwhite]

yes my son is 12 he takes .3 mg of Clonidine and a 10 mg melatonin. I give him the melatonin first and the clonidine about 20-30 minutes later. My son is a very fast metabolizer and I had a hard time with him in the beginning. this works really well for him!