Sleep????

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sleep????
4
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 5:48pm

What do you guys do to get your kid to sleep?

Jacob started off at 3yo using melatonin. It worked great. When he started his bipolar meds at 5y----those helped him sleep too. The risperdal was given at night---beside of side effects of sleepiness. Now----at 6yo---he has been off of meds for about 6 weeks. He isn't sleeping. Melatonin isn't working and I increased it to 5 mg. Nothing is working. Moved to Benadryl---isn't working either and I'm using 1 adult pill----25 mg.
Last night he HAD to do his coloring---in bed at 11pm. Other nights---he's not asleep until 12am. He's not manic. He just isn't sleeping. Waking up at the same time every morning, not grouchy.

What's next?

Holly
Jacob--6y

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 6:12pm

Try less melatonin.

The adult dose for melatonin is 3mg and that is what brain should produce naturally. There was a article somewhere recently that said actually small doses may work better rather than higher doses. Like too much kind of had the opposite effect.

Same with benedryl. For some kids it may actually be activating and perhaps making things worse.

I know that stimulants typically aren't good for kids with BP unless they are comorbid ADHD but all kids are different. Has he ever gotten sleepy on stimulants? If so you may want to try a little caffiene and see what happens. Stimulants knock David out cold. He can't take them because they cause him to have seizures after a while but when he did he was quite the mellow boy particularly at first. He always took a good nap when he was too.

Another idea is chamomile and valerian root. Both are herbs that promote sleepyness and relaxing.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Mon, 03-06-2006 - 8:49pm

We used melatonin untill Kyle did theraputic listening (VitalSounds). Since doing the listening he falls asleep quickly without taking anything. Yea!!!

Samantha

Samantha
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: hollym4k
Tue, 03-07-2006 - 12:47am

Hi.

I notice you say he has bipolar and that he's off meds now. Was risperdal his only bp medication? If so, I'm surprised, because in all my reading about bp, time and again I've gotten the message that a mood stabilizer is almost always necessary. Risperdal is not a mood stabilizer. If he was on a mood stabilizer, I'm surprised the doctor took him off. (You say he's on no meds now.) But, hey, if he's having no bp symtoms, that's great. If you start seeing bp symptoms, I really think a mood stabilizer (anti-convulsant or lithium) is what you want. Disclaimer--Not intended as medical advice. Always ask your physician. Yadda yadda.

Anyway, my son (AS and bipolar-NOS) has always had trouble falling asleep. I mean ALWAYS, like from the day he was born. We've tried real hard to provide a simple, regular bedtime routine, but he's not like other kids, and what works in all the books never worked for him. ("Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, MD, is the only parenting book I've ever dumped straight into the trash because it was so utterly and insultingly useless.)

Our biggest problem is that not only did he not seem to get tired, but when he finally did seem all relaxed and sleepy, he'd suddenly jump up and get totally wired and obnoxious. I mean, he'll be all relaxed and quiet in his bed, and then all of a sudden he'll start shouting and jumping on the bed, and racing around the house. Even when he went on a mood stabilizer, that one problem stayed. It was a huge problem because he shares a room with his little brother.

Now he's on melatonin. He takes 1/2 a tablet, which works out to be 250 mcg. *That* keeps him from having those manic(?) outbursts. However, he often gets inspired to write or draw, and absolutely can NOT sleep unless we allow him to do that. I'd rather that he just go to sleep, but I've spent far too long being unable to relax in the evenings. If he's drawing or writing quietly in my room, and not bugging anyone, then that's about all I can ask. If I tell him he can't write or draw, he'll stay up until 11 crying anyway.

I found it interesting that you said Jacob was not manic, but still staying awake, and HAVING to color. I understand completely. And you can't NOT let him color, can you? It would be like telling him he can't use the toilet if he needs to. LOL!

Just know, that when Jacob is coloring at 11 pm, somewhere across the miles, there is an 8 year old boy named David, sitting at a desk in his parent's room, writing a comic book, while his exhausted parents veg out on the couch, waiting for their room to be available.

Evelyn

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2004
In reply to: hollym4k
Wed, 03-08-2006 - 8:44am

We had years of difficulty with Ian sleeping well. For a long time he slept in our bed because that's the only way we all could get any sleep. He wore a pull-up to bed well into 1st grade. Then when he was finally able to stay dry at night he did better. After that I tried Benedryl, which worked really well for a little while. Eventually routine, routine, routine, drilled into all of us (DH & I, too) finally began to work. It literally took at least a year. And he's just never needed that much sleep, even as an infant.

I think maybe he just doesn't need that much sleep, possibly. Ian did really well on about 8 hours of sleep for about 6 months. He was getting to sleep around 9:00 and getting up at about 5:00 am to watch a favorite TV show. He was alert at school and doing well (he's on Concerta for ADHD). Then after winter break his routine changed and he's sleeping until 7:00. Same bedtime. If he doesn't get 10 yours, now he's groggy in the morning and grumpy after school and I know he's not having a good day.

Maybe they go through growth cycles or, non growth cycles, where they need more or less sleep. I don't know. But our counsellor did say that not sleeping much is a classic sympton of ADHD. I suspect it affects a lot of people on the spectrum, because other people have mentioned it on ASPIRES, which is a listserve for adults with/and or who have a relationwhip with someone who has AS.

Maybe the ped will have some insight, but to me, if there's no problem with seeming sleep deprived, maybe it's not a problem (for him, at least, LOL!) at this point.

Kelly