insomnia and ADHD
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| Wed, 11-18-2009 - 1:24pm |
My husband and DSS both have sleep problems. They both have a terrible time getting to sleep. Both will wake up in the middle of the night. But, both can sleep well later in the morning. I believe both are ADHD. DH says he can't turn his mind off even when tired. Both will just lie in bed staring at the ceiling half the night. Neither are medicated.
I always thought this caused their disjointed efforts during the day since how can someone function with chronic exhaustion? After reading a lot of posts it sounds like this actually could be caused by the ADHD and isn't a separate issue at all.
Do you think melatonin would help? Maybe valerian? DH tried valerian before and said it made him sleep too hard. I think it was just because he was so exhausted it finally allowed him to sleep well and he was catching up. That with longer use his sleep would have been more normal.
Can some of you tell me about your experience with either of these? TIA
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Our son has been taking melatonin for a few years now on his doctor's advice. Works great! We did go through a stretch where it stopped working, so we gave it a break for a few weeks. When we tried again, it worked, so not sure what that was all about. But otherwise, it's terrific and makes all the difference in the world in helping our son fall asleep. He just always had too much energy to calm down, so this helps him along. I've tried it myself and it's a very gentle process ... just makes you feel naturally sleepy and you don't wake up with side effects (at least I get them with other products).
We started off with a tiny dosage -- about 1/4 of a 3 mg. tablet, but now have to give the full tablet for it to work. Start small so you can work up over time if resistance happens.
Good luck!
Michelle
The falling asleep issue was certainly there before my kid went on meds, meds just make it worse. Insufficent sleep certainly can mimic ADHD symptoms--for instance, sleep apnea can give the same inattentive/focus issues you get with ADHD.
My kid recently started taking melatonin at bedtime. It's helping. My understanding is it helps at the beginning of the night, not the middle (unless you use time-release). I'd think you could just give it a try--we started with the smallest we could manage, 1/2 a 1 mg pill. For my kid, it's a bit of a life-saver, since there's about a 2-3 hr gap between "effective for homework" and "can go to sleep" as the ADHD meds wear off and in 7th grade, there simply aren't 2-3 hrs to spare! Do, of course, read the warnings before you try any med!