More medicine helps them sleep? | ADHD Information
Thank you for the feed-back. I was also wondering if anyone who has tried this approach has noticed thier child or themselves waking up very early in the morning and being overly hyper then also, till the med's kick-in.
When our Dr. said the same thing...I thought it sounded crazy.
So we raised her dose of Focalin XR. It worked! On rare occasion we use melatonin. It helps her to relax and fall asleep faster. I usally give it to her an hour before bed. I tried them and they are very good and no drowiness in the am. You can also purchase in liquid.
Some children do seem "hyper" when their meds wear off. This can be rebounding. Switching to the patch as erased all rebounding so far.
Best of luck.
My son is 7 and on Focalin XR 20 mg. We give it to him in the morning, then when he gets home from school I give him 10 mg's of generic brand Ritalin (not time released). When that where's off before bed he gets a boost of energy and very hyper. His psychologist told me to give him more Ritalin because it will help him get to sleep. Has anyone else been told this or does this work for anyone else?Have never heard this, but what do I know? My son is 8 and takes 10mg of Focalin XR in the morning, which wears off so gradually that I don't really notice anything. I've heard of melatonin or even benedryl for sleep, but never more ritalin.Jennew
My doctor specializes in ADD and said the same. I am finally at the point where I could fall asleep while on a smaller dose of Adderall but I couldn't do so earlier in my treatment (I've been on meds since last December).
So evidently it can work, however, I suspect that it doesn't work for all. Let us know the results.
Take care.
MaxDad
Yes! It worked. I've been having insomnia problems since I started Adderall, once was even up all night. Or if I finally did doze off, I would wake up a few minutes later and start thinking about all kinds of things instead of going back to sleep.
So yesterday I took 5 mg morning, afternoon and again at 8pm. The result - the best sleep I've had for a while incl. deep sleep that I was really missing. When I woke up, I felt weak and rubbery... from my body allowing itself to relax and start recuperating. Still pretty phased out all of today. I can't wait to get another good nights sleep! So I'll be dividing my (short term Adderall) into 3 parts from now on. 7 1/2 mg was just a tad too much for me anyway but in case I'm going to the gym or have a big gardening project, 7 1/2 mg would be okay. I know my dosage is lower than a lot of peoples but I think I finally found my sweet spot.
Jennifer,
I'd say the Melatonin kicks in pretty good in approx. an hour.
I give my son both the XR and regular just because I ran out of the 5XR. We're lucky if we get 5 hours out of the combo. That's why he gets it 2x day. I haven't really noticed much of a difference in whether or not the 5 regular kicks in faster. Maybe slightly. Possibly if the dosage was higher I'd see a difference.
[QUOTE=Jennew]Also, I don't know anything about melatonin. How long can a child continue taking it every night?[/QUOTE]
Jenn
It's a supplement you can buy at a drug store. I think they recommend not to take it for more than 4 weeks or so without taking a week off.
MaxDad
To Southernbelle, do you mean you give him a dose in the morning and around 8:00 and that works? Or an afternoon and 8:00?
Jennifer
Dear Jennifer,
I give my son a 20xr and 5 regular of Focalin as soon as he gets up (I greet him with a smile, cup of milk in one hand and 2 pills in the other!) and then the same amount at approx. 2 pm. We homeschool so we're flexible on times. If I give it to him after 3:30 he will have trouble sleeping. He goes to bed approx. 8:30 and will sleep til at least 7:30 (when his anxiety doesn't interfere). He has always needed alot of sleep. I try to make sure he's getting at least 10 hrs/night for him AND me.
You also asked about the melatonin. Melatonin is our hormone that is responsible for our feeling tired at bedtime. It is produced synthetically (not available in natural form since it'd have to come from bovine) and is very inexpensive to get in most drug stores, grocery stores, etc. I get mine from GNC for about .50 for 1mg tablets. From what I have researched and experienced, there is no known negative side effects. I started my son on the lowest dose of .5mg and he usually always does just fine... sometimes he'll take 1mg but with Melatonin it is rare he has trouble getting to sleep. I haen't heard that you shouldn't take it more than 4 weeks. We've been taking it a long time with good results. We do notice a difference though if our bedtime is hurried and has alot of conflict. We try to start 45 minutes before bedtime to read stories together and do quiet things so he feels settled and not overstimulated. It makes a big difference.
Hope this is helpful.
PS--- Our son also gets very hyper as well at bedtime when the meds wear off. The Melatonin seems to make him sleepy enough to calm him down and be ready for quiet time.
Re Melatonin:
Here are links regarding a study with melatonin and ADHD kids.
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/75/89832.htm?z=1728_000 00_1000_ln_01 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/463256Ds used melatonin for awhile to help wean him off clonidine. When melatonin didn't seem to be doing much and I didn't want to up the dose, he switched to Gabba Calm with beneficial effects. Now he doesn't need any thing. No one on the board ever seems to respond about the Gaba which we found effective. hmm
Ds' ADD doctor and nurse both have mentioned how a late dose of ritalin sometimes helps kids go to sleep. I think it may help them calm down a bit to focus on going to sleep. There is a certain amount of focus necessary to go to sleep. lay still, close eyes, turn the mind off.
when ds was a toddler, before he was diagnosed, I often wondered why he never got sleepy like other kids. I was perplesed that when he was tired, his activity level seemed to accelerate instead of slow down. From infancy he needed a totally dark room to sleep in. Typical techniques of rocking babies to sleep never worked with him.
jfla238983.8542708333
Dear Joshsammom,
Thank you for telling me about your sons dosage and melatonin. I think what I'll do is ask the pediatrician about it just to see what he says. We have the same bedtime routine most every night, except when he has cub scouts, and we read and make sure he doesn't watch anything exciting in the way of movies, but still some nights he doesn't have a problem, and some he does. Does the melatonin work quickly?
Also, I was wondering why you give your son the 20 mg XR AND 5 mg regular? Does the 5 mg kick-in faster than the XR?
Thanks,
Jennifer
The wind up described by Jennew is a lot like what I experience my self. I do a lot better if I go to bed before the medication wears off, once it wears off I begin to wind up so I can't sleep. I have tried to let my self naturally wind down . . . .I was still up when the sun came up the next day. . . . .natural wind down didn't work worth a poop.