stratera and melantonin

[cram315]

Any input on whether this is safe to take together?

My daughter doesn't have insurance, the medications her son is on cost over $400 a month. My grandson's doctor does help her at times with free samples but not always. He has to take stratera in the morning to get through his day but she wants to take him off risperdal (was prescribed for sleep at night) and put him on one-half of 1 mg of melatonin.

She is going to call the doctor but I was wondering what everyones input is on this?

Seems the more natural way to go about it.

Thanks

[GLSheridan]

Originally Posted by cram315

Any input on whether this is safe to take together?

My daughter doesn't have insurance, the medications her son is on cost over $400 a month. My grandson's doctor does help her at times with free samples but not always. He has to take stratera in the morning to get through his day but she wants to take him off risperdal (was prescribed for sleep at night) and put him on one-half of 1 mg of melatonin.

She is going to call the doctor but I was wondering what everyones input is on this?

Seems the more natural way to go about it.

Thanks

While there is no documented interaction, your daughter should still procede with caution. Very little studies are done on supplements like melatonin, so their effects on other drugs isn't fully known.

I don't really see the melatonin is a suitable replacement for Risperdal. Risperdal is a pretty complex drug, and it's effects aren't really immitated by melatonin. If the Risperdal is stopped, it may need to be tapered off gradually. Your daughter definately needs to discuss this switch with her son's doctor.

[Jennita]

Originally Posted by cram315

Any input on whether this is safe to take together?

My daughter doesn't have insurance, the medications her son is on cost over $400 a month. My grandson's doctor does help her at times with free samples but not always. He has to take stratera in the morning to get through his day but she wants to take him off risperdal (was prescribed for sleep at night) and put him on one-half of 1 mg of melatonin.

She is going to call the doctor but I was wondering what everyones input is on this?

Seems the more natural way to go about it.

Thanks

Melantonin won't substituite for such a powerful drug like Risperdal which must be tapered off of. Chances are, the Strattera is causing the sleep problems to start with so weaning off that might bring back natural sleep without need of melatonin or Risperdal eventually.

[cram315]

Weening him off risperdal isn't an option since she ran out of the medication and cannot afford to replace both medications. If he didn't have the strattera in the am, he wouldn't be able to function at school.

I see what she is going through to afford his medication, I feel sorry for the elderly who are on multiple medications and on a fixed income.

She is supposed to call the doctor and let me know what he says. I wait patiently. My grandson lives with me and I support him but I cannot take on over $400 a month in prescriptions in my financial obligations.

I am not sure what risperdal does (and for that matter strattera), can you explain it to me.

Thank you!

[Supershell]

My son also has sleep problems which I'm sure are due to the medication he is on. I have considered melatonin too, but reading the bottle scares me as it says it's not recommended for children. I'm just always afraid of doing more harm than good with all these medications.

I wish I had answers for you, I know how tough it is sometimes. I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be without insurance. I wish you and your daughter the best.

Take care,
Supershell