Melatonin for Inattentive ADHD

The Melatonin worked for my 11 year old Primarily Inattentive son.  I gave it to him at 9 pm and by 10:15 pm he was sleeping like a tiny angel, book on his chest, light still on.  He had been skeptical that anything would help him so I was thrilled when I saw him sleeping.  I think all mothers relish in watching their children sleep.  There is something so peaceful and sweet about it.   I am reminded of the Sleep! Sleep! Beauty Bright! poem by William Blake.   The first verse goes like this, "Sweet Babe, in thy face, soft desires I can trace, Secret joys and secret smiles, Little pretty infant wiles."

I wonder if all mothers feel the sense of relief and accomplishment, (and anxiety regarding a potential awakening), that I feel when they watch their sleeping children.  When my children are finally asleep for the night, I breathe a sigh of contentment and something in my brain relaxes.  Another day is done and I have a few minutes left in the day that are all mine.  The anxiety about their reawakening is well captured in the third verse of Blake's poem,  "O! the cunning wiles that creep. In thy little heart asleep. When they little heart does wake, Then the dreadful lightning break."

Obviously, this feeling of accomplishment and relief was greater when they were infants but it still lingers today and I wonder when, if ever, it will go away.  Will I watch them sleeping when they are 20 and still feel this sense of accomplishment and relief?

The dose of melatonin that worked for my 76-pound son is 2mg.  The appropriate dose is .05 mg per Kg, or .025 mg per pound, taken about 1 hour prior to bedtime.  If you do the calculation for 76 pounds his dose is actually 1.72 mg but the pills come in 1mg units so I rounded up to 2 mg.  The scientific literature reports that doses between 1mg to 6mg are effective but that doses over 6mg are not any more effective or necessary.  The literature also states that the Melatonin will take effect in 40 to 90  minutes.

My son got about 9 hours of sleep last night.  He probably could use a lot more.  I still had to drag him out of bed this morning but that is common with individuals with Primarily Inattentive ADHD and the other types of ADHD as well.  He would have probably slept at least another hour had he not had to get up for school.  I will give him melatonin over the weekend and see if he does not 'catch up' on all the sleep that he has lost.

I am grateful to have a tool that will help him sleep.  I think that all of us perform better when we are well rested and I am curious to see if his Primarily Inattentive symptoms improve once his sleep issues are addressed.  I saw him at school just now and he told me that he got a 99% on his math test.   Maybe the melatonin is paying off already!!