Problems sleeping | ADHD Information

I understand exactly how you feel.  I do have a couple of questions for you though.  How is your childs behavior during the day from him not sleeping?  Do he have adhd?  He is on any meds for the adhd?

My son has never been a sleep either.  I have tried the melatoin 3mg a night that is as high as you can go for a child that age.  I did nothing for my son what so ever.  As of right now my child is sleeping peacefully at night and that is due to the fact that he is on medicine to help him sleep.  He is taking remeron for the insomnia issues. 

J
What is your child doing prior to bedtime?Give him melatonin 30 min before bed, around 3 mg. If that does not work try magnesium, up to 6x the body weight. Both available at your friendly neighborhood drug store.

 

My son has been dx'd with ADHD and is on 2.5mg of Ritalin in the morning, school repeats at noon, and I repeat when I pick him up from school.

As for what he does for bedtime.  We have a pretty set routine.  After he comes in from playing or swim lessons, etc.  He has a snack (but since he started meds he is starving at snack time) watches a little tv. If it's not bath night he puts on get cream for his exezema, put on his p.j's, gets his teeth brushed, all the water he needs and goes to the bathroom.  Then I lay in his bed and read books usually 3 but sometimes he gets one taken away for behavior during the day and sometimes he earns a 4th for good behavior.  When I am done reading I turn on his music and leave the room.  He usually falls asleep very quickly. Problem is 2 hours later he is up again and wants to talk!!!  The last thing I want to do at 10:00 is talk!!!!  I need sometime to unwind also.  After getting him back to sleep I can pretty much set me clock and he will be standing by my bed at midnight saying Momma I need you.  I cave and let him crawl in with me.  Then normally around 2:00 he wakes up and touches me for a while, then falls back to sleep only if some part of his body is touching me.  Then about 5:30 a.m. he starts to ask when daddy is coming home.  The rule is he has to stay in bed until dad comes home which is about 6:15.

Why don't you try valerian root drops, they are natural and safe. You can find then in health stores. My son had trouble getting to sleep. He would go to bed at 8pm and he got asleep at 9 or 9:30, there was also frequent nightwaking. Valerian root works for him since he's getting asleep faster and through the night. You should also watch out for the foods he is eating after 6pm. Avoid sweets or sugary foods. Caffeinated soda or tea is also important to avoid late in the afternoon. After 6pm you should also try him to be not so active. Storytelling or a little tv on the couch is not a bad idea. What I mean is that you shoul try the environment to be as quiet as you can.

I wish you succes!!!

 

He is not a sweet eater by any means.  His favorites are carrots and water, summer sausage and cheese.  I wish I could get as excited as he does about carrots  He is not a soda drinker either.  He drinks mainly water.  As for limiting the activity level he is so hyper that if I brought him in from outside at 6:00 we would be up until 2:00 a.m.  I have tried it.  He needs to get the excess energy out before we even think of winding down for the night.

My ds is almost nine and he sleeps through the night 95% of the time.  His problem is that he doesn't go to sleep.  His bedtime is 8pm and he is usually awake at 10pm.  It drives us nuts everynight.  Even if we let him go to sleep in our bed he still has a hard time falling asleep.I would talk to the doctor before giving your son anything to be safe.

"when is my daddy coming home?" 

I happen to have a very similar situation since my husband doesn't work in the area. He just comes home for the weekend and leaves every monday. Monday is my son's most hated day. He cries a lot mainly at nights. Since he started medication his crying episodes seem to be worse than before, and since then he started having sleep problems. Psychologist told me this is not probably coming as a direct effect from the medication, she thinks that probably as the med is doing its job, my kid is probably having more time to organize his thoughts and he's starting to realize better all the events taking place around him.  Definitely my son's sleeping problems could be related to the anxiety he feels in not being able to see his father every day as he used to do before.

 

Mariaven38981.3264699074HYPERTHYROID CAN CAUSE SLEEP PROBLEMS ALSO. IT IS CAUSE THE HEART IS RAISING TO FAST. PEOPLE WITH THIS HAVE LOTS OF ENERGY.  We have been struggling with the same sleep issues!  My son has always had a hard time falling asleep.  Since starting on Concerta 36mg. He was often up until after midnight.  He also told me that sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to rest on the couch until he feels sleepy.  We tried Melatonin and Benadryl with no success.  He was falling asleep in school and he had achievement testing coming up so I asked the Dr. for meds for him.  The Dr. prescribed Trazadone.  He said to try 1/2 tablet firts (25 mg.) but it didn't help much.  The 50 mg. works great and I have my bright eyed and bushy tailed little boy back!!  However, I am scared to give it to him all the time.  We have an appt. with a new psychiatrist on Friday and I am going to see what he thinks about it.  I can't stand giving my son medicine every morning and night!!

 

My son is 5 almost 6 and had NEVER slept through the night.  When I hear parents of newborns tallking about when their babies slept through the night.  I think to myself that must be nice.  He falls asleep easily but can't stay asleep.  He is a very light sleeper and even the smallest noise (creaking floor) wakes him up.  We have tried playing music but that doesn't help.  I am considering a white noise machine that we could leave run all night long.  Anyone have any sucess with those? 

Also he has this need to always be touching everyone and everything.  My husband works third shift so I get to sleep by myself.  That is until he wakes up and comes in by me.  For the sake of getting any sleep.  I allow him to sleep with me after he awakes for the first or second time.  He still only sleeps about 2 hours at a time.  But when he awakes he touches me and then goes back to sleep.

In some of the other posts I have heard that some dr's give meds to help them sleep.  Do any of them work?  From a mom who would love to sleep through the night.

Thanks for all your help.

Same here I used to hate co-workers who talked about how well there babies sleep irks me with jealousy.  I think my daughter slept through the night when she was 3 and would wake on occassion still.  My girl has a hard time falling asleep we put her to bed by 8:30 pm and she will be up in her room doing the right thing but awake until almost 11pm most  nights and I drag her awake in the mornings.  I am trying to stay away from the medicating sleep route for help with school and behavor I am for but not sleep.  I just do not want her dependent on meds to sleep.  on the alternative board some people use meltonin a natural supplement however check with your doctor first.

Wow it sounds like you have it rough only sleeping for two hour intervals that is something to mention to the doctor for sure.

i would buy a portable fan for white noise to run at night...my husband and i sleep to one...we aren't ADD/ADHD, but it works for us!

good luck!

shelley 

Do you have to give him another dose of meds when he gets home? If you can avoid that, it may all be out of his system by bedtime. My son takes his time release meds once in the morning. Lately, he's been getting up at 3 or 4am and sneaking sweets. He finally told us that he's hungry, and that's why he's getting up. We're going to start giving him a hearty snack right before bed and see if that helps.