5knights3maidens Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 this child not going to sleep or staying asleep. Melatonin isn't working. She's driving all of us insane! She has a doctor's appt. on Wednesday and I think I will be begging for something to make her fall asleep. Well, now that I got that out, time to go upstairs and get her back in bed for the hundredth time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyinMD Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Try adding something with Magnesium before bedtime and see if that helps. You can get magnesium from baths with Epsom Salts which are very calming or just do a chewable supplement. My 3 yo son is a horrible sleeper. We give Melatonin along with Epsom Salt Baths and I put some GABA Magnesium cream on him right before bed. If I forget any of those things it is a horrible night. It's awful being tired. I can deal with so much more when I can get a decent night's sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 They have a book out there for you. ;):tongue_smilie::D :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 She was off her supplements for awhile. (Money reasons) I put her back on some for almost 2 weeks now. My next shopping day I will go get her the magnesium. She is back on calcium, zinc, b12, b-complex 50. The non-sleeping has been going on for a long time...it has nothing to do with the supplements being introduced again. She is on a low dose of the generic brand of focalin. Without it, we would all be crazy. She has also been on a strict diet for a few years now. It seems like the more exercise she gets, the more energy she has. She is the most athletic/non-sleeping 7 yr. old I've ever known. ;) :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I have one of that too... good luck...:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 My boy can live on 2 hours of sleep a night, and that started when he was 14 months old. My only advice is to ensure the room is completely safe (dressers removed, closet locked, window locked, everything removed, light bulbs unscrewed, nothing plugged in and outlets covered) and lock the door and only return in the morning or if it sounds like an emergency. Sounds mean, but hey, drastic times call for drastic measures. The important thing is that my son is safe and we get our sleep. People can go clinically insane if they don't get sleep, and at that point, the pros far outweigh the cons. I'm not sure about the age or developmental age of your child, but it sounds like a pattern of behaviour that you need to nip in the bud, especially if you are constantly returning her to bed... who wants to sleep when mama will come in every time I get out of bed? What a game! :lol: Seriously, I share your grief over the matter. :grouphug: I hope you can shanaggle some way to get your rest while ensuring her safety. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I hear you.... :grouphug: My DS is like this, and we have yet to find anything that works, so I'm looking forward to reading the replies to this thread. You may already know this, but I thought I'd throw it out there... Since you mentioned that your DD takes B-vitamins, avoid giving those in the afternoon as they can interfere with sleep (fish oils and EFAs can too). Hope you get some rest tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I hear you.... :grouphug: My DS is like this, and we have yet to find anything that works, so I'm looking forward to reading the replies to this thread. You may already know this, but I thought I'd throw it out there... Since you mentioned that your DD takes B-vitamins, avoid giving those in the afternoon as they can interfere with sleep (fish oils and EFAs can too). Hope you get some rest tonight! I agree on the B-vitamins. They can leave me feeling pretty wide awake. I'm not aware that I have the same issue with fish oil. I can take Bs JUST before dropping off to sleep & that will be ok because they don't seem to wake me up. But if I take them late in the afternoon up until an hour or so before bedtime, I don't feel sleepy until much later than I should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 They have a book out there for you. ;):tongue_smilie::D :grouphug: :iagree: What dose melatonin? Have you seen/tried the extended release? Has she had a sleep study? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 She ended up laying next to me in bed (dh at work) and did work in her math book!:lol: I just had to laugh. :lol: We live in a very old house where you have to walk through the bathroom to get to 2 bedrooms and the laundry room. Well, the 2 youngest have those 2 bedrooms and the door is off the back bddrm. I keep telling dh that she needs a door that I can lock but he doesn't like that idea. :glare: It would save everyone a lot of grief. I give her the vitamins/supplements when she wakes up ... in the morning that is. ;) I will discuss the sleep study with dh, again. Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 They have a book out there for you. ;):tongue_smilie::D :grouphug: :svengo: :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Has anyone here tried a cd called Cool Bananas? An occupational therapist in Australia developed it and a few others. I saw it in a catalog and was thinking about getting it. Then I saw all the others and was thinking about getting them too. Then I decided not to spend $60 on music :lol: (The review on Amazon looked good, but it was more expensive at Amazon.) http://www.therapro.com/Cool-Bananas-For-Calming-Cool-Downs-and-Bedtime-Routines-P197948.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudmamma Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Try this: http://www.painstresscenter.com/SleepHealth.html This is a great company. They base most of their work off of amino acids. There are articles on their site that may help you and you can call them directly with questions :) Best of luck, Lora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudmamma Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I just wanted to bump this up because I was afraid you might not have seen my post right before this one, Margarte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oceana Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 As someone suggested a CD I thought I would add my 2 cents My eldest son never slept. Then I discovered the Jim Weiss bedtime CDs. He has 2 and they essentially are dream journeys. My eldest needed someone to get into his imagination and then tell him to go to sleep. It took about a month of regular play. Now he is my best sleeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 As someone suggested a CD I thought I would add my 2 cents My eldest son never slept. Then I discovered the Jim Weiss bedtime CDs. He has 2 and they essentially are dream journeys. My eldest needed someone to get into his imagination and then tell him to go to sleep. It took about a month of regular play. Now he is my best sleeper. That's great to know! I ordered that "Cool Bananas" cd. There's was an audio sample of the music and played it for my son to hear. My toddler was fussing, but when the music came on she immediately quieted down to listen to it. That settled the decision for me, and I placed my order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 My son takes Clonidine at night, just .1 mg. Without it, he cannot fall asleep. No amount of listening to soft music, reading, listening to audiobooks, etc. helps him wind down. The ONLY time he has been able to sleep without it is when he is very very sick or after he had open heart surgery and was doing intense healing. As soon as he started to feel better, he couldn't sleep again (literally was awake until like 5 am when he finally slept for a couple of hours). Clonidine has saved our sanity and ensures he gets a good night's sleep. He takes it at 7, goes to bed around 8:30, and wakes between 6-7 am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 My son takes Clonidine at night, just .1 mg. Without it, he cannot fall asleep. No amount of listening to soft music, reading, listening to audiobooks, etc. helps him wind down. The ONLY time he has been able to sleep without it is when he is very very sick or after he had open heart surgery and was doing intense healing. As soon as he started to feel better, he couldn't sleep again (literally was awake until like 5 am when he finally slept for a couple of hours). Clonidine has saved our sanity and ensures he gets a good night's sleep. He takes it at 7, goes to bed around 8:30, and wakes between 6-7 am. The doctor gave us a prescription for this yesterday. Same with dd, music, reading, etc. doesn't work at all. Same here again, if she is sick, that is when she sleeps. :tongue_smilie: We will be trying this medication tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Unfortunately, Clonidine didn't work for us. It would help him fall asleep, but it wouldn't keep him asleep. We tried several different things. The only thing that worked was Zanaflex, which we used for a couple of years. Currently, he takes Trazodone for nighttime anxiety. He also takes 3mg melatonin (sublingual). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Well ladies, we gave her the clonidine over 2 hrs. ago and she's still awake!!! UGH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I hope your experience is as good as ours. My son has been on Clonidine for about 5 years, and he has no side effects. He puts himself to bed when he is tired and wakes up alert and happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetsouthern Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 oh! i have this child! lol! :) she actually spent one entire week last year where she slept a total of one hour a night for the whole week! and no im not exagerating!!! she has tried: melatonin ... has to be the sublingual though. she has taken it up to 9mg at night clonidine .1mg at bed and trazadone 50 mg at bed and yes we have at one point or another done all 3 of these together! since she started taking intuniv this past year though for her adhd, impulsivity really.... we have been able to stop alot of it. now she has a script for trazadone 25mg (if its needed... maybe 4 times a month) and melatonin 3-6mg she takes every night... hope that helps some... i KNOW the dread of the sleeplessness nights! dh and i were taking sleep shifts after night 2 when i dozed off, she climbed the kitchen cabinets, fell and bruised and skinned up her entire side of her rib cage... ugh! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Well ladies, we gave her the clonidine over 2 hrs. ago and she's still awake!!! UGH!! It always takes over 2 hours to work here. My son takes it at 7 but probably doesn't fall asleep until 9:30 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Have you tried sensory related tricks to get her to fall asleep? I'm going back to this routine with my daughter. After my son goes to bed, my daughter takes a shower as toasty as possible (she likes cold, but that doesn't help with sleep). We do her hair and she puts on some undies and a tank top (pjs). I use the Wilbarger brushing protocol when she's in pjs. Then she gets right into bed and I read to her. Finished off with low volume music, and her heavy, fuzzy blanket. She needs the weight of the blanket to fall asleep or she's too fidgety. I'm going to add some weight to her blanket to make it better. Another idea would be to use a pressure vest (not weighted) in the evening leading up to bedtime. This is all obviously time consuming, but better than not sleeping! How has the clonidine been working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 We just ordered her a weighted blanket from Dream Catchers. Hope this works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnella Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 If anyone suggested iron supplements, I missed it. After my DS's sleep study turned up no problems, the doctor had his iron levels tested and they were very low. So we have him on iron supplements now in addition to melatonin. My DS also has a small set of Christmas lights to help with his fear of the dark (which would spark his anxiety). And sometimes his various music and meditation CDs help. We've had lots of success from severely limiting his sugar. Sugar doesn't make him hyper, but it aggravates all his medical problems: insomnia, migraines, moodiness, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 If anyone suggested iron supplements, I missed it. After my DS's sleep study turned up no problems, the doctor had his iron levels tested and they were very low. So we have him on iron supplements now in addition to melatonin. My DS also has a small set of Christmas lights to help with his fear of the dark (which would spark his anxiety). And sometimes his various music and meditation CDs help. We've had lots of success from severely limiting his sugar. Sugar doesn't make him hyper, but it aggravates all his medical problems: insomnia, migraines, moodiness, etc. Dd has had alot of bloodwork done in the past but I will suggest to the doctor that we do an iron check. Thanks for mentioning this. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenncslp Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I don't know what special needs you are dealing with...but I thought I would mention this. I have on dd with Down Syndrome. For a while, we had a little girl come stay with us (from a disrupted adoption) that has Smith Magenis syndrome. I was not familiar with it, but found out that many kiddos with it are misdiagnosed on the autism spectrum. But one of the biggest characteristics is an inverted sleep cycle. Their bodies release melatonin at the wrong time. It requires a very specific genetic test for diagnosis. I just thought I would mention in case anyone might be dealing with it. Jenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) this child not going to sleep or staying asleep. Melatonin isn't working. She's driving all of us insane! She has a doctor's appt. on Wednesday and I think I will be begging for something to make her fall asleep. Well, now that I got that out, time to go upstairs and get her back in bed for the hundredth time! My sister has a child like this. She was just telling me today about a weighted blanket they ordered that apparently is working wonders. It was pricey though. ETA: Oops I see you ordered one. I hope it works well for you. Some of the names of those medicines sound familiar. I know they tried many things with my nephew including melatonin and things for anxiety. They've also messed around with diet. He also has a weird CD he listens to at night. It's not music. It's some kind of rhythmic tones to try to regulate his body rhythms. They got it from his OT. But I guess that didn't work so well since they've recently gotten a weighted blanket. Edited July 4, 2011 by silliness7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewell Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 valerian root? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Not sure if I mentioned this. Just as a heads up; Clonidine can cause a reduction in the amount of REM sleep someone gets. This is the only reason we have not tried it with my son. REM sleep is what makes memories concrete in the brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewell Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 only use Valerian Root if you check it out w/ their other meds. But a health food store would have it. We haven't had good luck w/ GNC products, FYI Wieghted blankets can be good...we've made our own vest and I bought a used homemade blanket. PFOT usually has great prices for sensory and therapy things http://www.pfot.com We have also used those soft, weighted ball that they use for exercise to give them a rubdown on their back, arms and legs. My guys usually want the heaviest one! Even my scrawny 4 year old.. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 We've tried Valerian Root, it keeps her awake all night long. :glare: Her blanket should be here in another day or two. She is so excited and so am I. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.