Nightime hell | ADHD Information

I've heard that a really heavy blanket sometimes helps. ???I used to put a blanket in the dryer and put it on my daughter at bed time. If she got up, it would get cold so she started staying in bed. When summer came, we had started the marble system (I knew the warm blanket would be a disaster in the summer).

     thanks to everyone for the replies.  We were given Clonidine for the night time but he was like a zombie in the AM so we don't give it to him.   

     Tonight was more of the same.  We told him to stay out of the candy from Halloween while we tucked in his brother and folded laundry.  When DH came downstairs, he found DS at the table stuffing his mouth with candy.  We told DS to go to bed as punishment for not listening.  This started the screaming about how mean we were, he then locked himself in the bathroom, it took a while to get him into bed.  I am so weary of this every night.  Why cant he just go to bed?

I have been there and am still there with my youngest. I get what everyone is saying about over-stimulating too late in the evening and I believe that this can be a major problem for ADHD children....But, for me, I always saw my oldest as stimulating himself. Once his meds had worn off he would get all goofy and I couldn't/can't calm him down. He just literally starts climbing the walls. He has been taking Clonidine in the evening to prevent this. It puts him to sleep so it's one less battle I have to fight him over. It is sooooo nice.

Now, my youngest sounds like your son. No matter what, I probably have to put him down to bed about 10 times a night. He just won't stay in bed and even IF he stays in his room he will turn the lights on, get out of bed and play, etc. He has never slept through the night since he was born - He's 4 now. I'm thinking there might be an ADHD trait in him somewhere, but I guess since he has never seemed as severe as my oldest son it has just always gotten overlooked.

Oh - I also wanted to add that with 'typical' children you can eventually wear them down and they sleep well. Have you ever gone to the park and the kids are playing hard and one Mom will pipe up and say, "Oh, the kids will sleep good tonight!" And you think to yourself how it must be nice to have a child that actually wears down? I know with my two boys the harder they play the longer they go. They just get so wound up.

 

Hell iv done the no speaking to them the negotiation the story,the growl oh the lot

Best routine I found was Hot bath,PJ`s heating on the radiator to warm them up,brush teeth,wee tinkle, story and lights off for a wee cuddle with DAD while i do circles in his hair usually works . Then creep out of bedroom ..

However Jude is now under medication with melatonin

Hi, we have this same problem.  The problem is the transition from playtime to bedtime.  We find that using melatonin is helpful.  One theory I had was that dd had bad dreams all the time, so she did not want to go to sleep and get scared.  DH recently came up with a point system for bed and bathtime.  They have to earn X amount of points, then they get screen time the next day, they earn X+Y points then they get to stay up 1/2 later next day, etc.  If below X points, no screen time next day.  Seems to be working so far.  They get points for doing their checklists and sharing, and points taken away for specific bad behaviors like yelling, fighting, etc.  Again, this point system is only in effect at bath and bedtime, but the next day's privileges depend on it.  Good Luck!

well, last night, my husband finally said to me "why dont we try the sleeping pills again?"  We had been given clonidine last year.  I gave him a snack at 6pm with the  1/2 of a 0.1mg pill on it.  At 7pm, we put him to bed.  10 minutes later I went up to check on him, he was out cold!!!!!

I went in this am, he woke right up and told me he felt fine and slept all night.  His bed was not torn apart by his wild sleep habits.  I told hubby that I thought we should continue this on school nights only and maybe even cut the 1/2 of a pill into a 1/2.  I was shocked at how it knocked him out!!!!!!

Hi  I am a newbie.  Sleeping is a big issue in our house.  Probably the biggest because I can usually "deal" with all of my 10 yr old eccentricities when I have gotten enough sleep.  However, when he doesn't sleep neither do I.  We have caught him cooking, waking siblings to have unscheduled slumber parties, talking to strangers on the phone, or taking midnight strolls to the grocery store because he is Hungry (he is always hungry).  The midnight stroll to the grocery store got him a trip home in a patrol car. 

He is unmedicated because I have the flexibility to homeschool (sometimes I think I am insane)!  Tried adderall xr which turned my impulsive though happy go lucky child into a moody depressed unhappy child. That was scary.  Took him off after just a month. 

Anyways could go into a whole long very long story but if someone has a dosage or how to try some melatonin I would really appreciate some direction. We have tried Benedryl and works like a charm first 2-3 nights, but after that it isn't effective. Pediatrian prefers him not to have anything (not even cough meds when he is sick) Is it something I can get over the counter? 

Thank you for your help and believe you me I have lots more questions and reading of the posts to do.  But if I could just start with getting some sleep....

Yes you can get it at the GNC or I get mine at Dollar General, 75 3mg tablets for .  The dosage is 1mg, however, so if you go to a health food store you may find it in that dosage..some people just cut the pill, but I gave my 10 year old 1 3mg pill about 45 minutes to 1 hour before I wanted him to go to bed.  He said that it helps him to feel drowsy enough to fall asleep.  Others also give more if the child wakes up.  If I was doing that I would cut the pill and give part at bedtime and more if he wakes...

good luck

chasesmom7939038.2294097222That Mon Vie is FRUIT JUICE. This is not the place to try to sell your product.  You have been reported. This site is for people whose children need REAL help.  I also noticed this same reply on another message, word for word. Get off the site if you do not have an ADHD child!!!!my ped. suggested a half a dose of benidryl...cody has allergies aswell so we tryed that tonight..and no fighting...jsut good nights, goodnight story...and off to dream world

I'm no expert, but here is what works well with my 7yo dd.  Her normal bedtime is 8:00, at 7:00 it's bath then calm down time (sitting & reading a story or watching a show on tv but no running around), at 8:00 she has to go in her room & get in bed.  I put a cd player in her room & she listens either to music or stories on cd (oh yeah, lights out).  She usually stays in there listening to the story very quiet & falls asleep pretty quick.

If you do not want to use Rx meds or benadryl, I also suggest Melatonin. It is a supplement (mineral) you can find at GNC or Health food Store. It has been extremely effective with my son in falling asleep around 9pm rather than 10 or 11pm. We have the same problem with our ds.  He is on adderall xr 10mg during the day and 5mg adderall for evening.  We have to skip one of the 5mgs because he won't go to sleep until about 1 or 2 am.  But when he is "coming down" off the meds from the day it's terrible.  He is cranky about everything no matter how small the situation.  I give him one 5mg tablet right after school and it helps ease the "crash" from the am med.  Also, our therapist suggested trying to do the bath in the a.m. because sometimes a bath will make you wake up instead of relax.  I am going to try that the rest of the week and see how it goes.  I hope things get better for you!

Hi all

     Sometimes, I do not understand my child.  He had a GREAT day today.  We started with Football where he actually scored a touchdown!!! Then we went to lunch. We then came home and my DS went to a friends to play for about 4 hours!!!!!  Dinner came, then a dip in the hottub with daddy, then playing on the Playstation.  Then nighttime..... OH MY GOD.

     Every night, there is an issue, a problem, a tantrum, some difficulty.  We use the token system and it works well in the AM and at school he is an ANGEL ( teacher loves him). Night time....something else.  Tonight, he got upest because my husband was tucking him in instead of me.  We take turns with the 2 kids and it was his turn tonight. Then he started to scream at husband, then me and 1/2 the time, I had NO idea what the heck he was talking about.

     If I get in the Jacuzzi with hubby after kids are in bed, he gets out of bed and wanders around upstairs.  We go potty, brush teeth, water drink, everything you can think of to stop the excuses to get up but......  I lost it tonight and yelled at him, something I try not to do. Can anyone give advice on this?  I am going INSANE!!!!!

Leslie

I completely understand Nightime can be  a nightmare.  for us it is an on and off thing like they get so over stimulated and cannot come down.  What we are trying is when she is giving us a hard time I tell her I will set the timer for 15 minutes and if she is not calm or asleep she will go to bed 10 minutes earlier the next night, this does work.  The more you set the timer she loses 10 minutes.  Someone in our parenting group gave us this idea.

     Last night, Saturday, we did not medicate.  We put ds to bed at 830pm. At 930pm, he was still jumpig. When I asked him to lie down, he stated that he was trying but that it was difficult for him.

     I again caught him jumping at about 945pm. I again asked him to lie down.  He again stated that hewas trying but that he could not, it was too hard.  He asked if he could sleep in my bed and I said ok.  I went up and laid down next to him.  He fell asleep at 1030pm.  I felt so bad for him. He was yawning and obviously tired but it was like he had ants in his pants and could not be still enough to fall asleep.

     We will be using the clonidine from now on when it is a school night.  Not only does he sleep better, but the stress level in the house has gone WAY down. By the way, Wal-Mart has added this medicine to the list of ones they will fill for only four (4) dollars if anyone else is on this.  There are over 300 meds.

Looks like guanfacine is on it too...that is another one commonly prescribed for ADHD symptoms..

My DS was on a half of benedryl when my husband away because he wouldn't go to sleep when my husband was away and I told my sons doctor because we deal with a neorologists but now that dad is home he goes right to bed.....I know I've put on here that my husband has ADHD also.....

Nighttime is very challenging here as well - I am interested in the melatonin - I'll have to check that out.

In addition to having some rebound issues in the evenings from his Focalin we also have major issues settling down to sleep.

My 6 year old adhd child and my 4 year old suspected adhd child both will come out of their rooms at least 10 times per night.  We have tried everything to get them to settle down and stay in their rooms.  We end up spending almost an hour and a half to get 4 children to bed each night and then we are so exhausted we end up going to bed ourselves or falling asleep in their rooms trying to get them to settle.  It's getting very frustrating.

Is there anything you all have tried behavior mod wise that worked?  We have tried the marble system at bedtime and is completely ineffective, it's like by that time they are so past any logical, reasonable thought.  They go to bed by 7:30 but often are not asleep until 8:00 and are up between 6:30 and 7:00 so I think they are getting enough sleep each night, it's just a major battle to get them to actually fall asleep!  If it weren't for my 4 year old having the same issues going to bed I would be blaming this on the meds but I don't think that is it entirely!

Any suggestions?

Aimee
Hubby wanted to try it one more time so he gave him a pill again last night while I was at work.  It was given at 7pm, we put him to bed at 8pm and he was asleep in 5 minutes.  Is this was "regular" children are like? I think it is easier for my son as well as he is not getting into trouble at night anymore for getting out of bed, etc.....

Clonidine and Tenex are blood pressure meds that are also used in Adhd kids to aid sleep and control hyperactivity. I didn't know you could use them at night only as needed. I was under the impression that once taking one of these meds you needed to keep taking it consistently or taper down very slowly as to not have a spike in blood pressure. Am I wrong about that? My dd was on adderall Xr for 3 years with NO sleep issues. It stopped working so well so she was switched to Daytrana. It works great except for she has a terrible time falling asleep.

 

Thanks! jo

Hi all,

     Our ADHD dr, we were just notified, is retiring and we are to see a new dr.  When I go in to see him, I will ask him about the benadryl, melatonin, etc...  I am concerned about giving my son what amounts to uppers during the day and downers at night. I know it is silly to think this but I don't want him addicted.  He is only 6 years old after all.

     While I am concerned though, I am going to continue to Clonidine until he says not to, it just works too well.

 

Well, Clonidine is also used to treat alcohol withdrawl, to aid in detox for Methadone, to help stop smoking, treatment in Diabetic Diarrhea, Tourettes syndrome, menopausal hot flashes and ulcerative colitis to name a few.  The dr did not say anything to us about using this every day but I am ABSOLUTELY going to ask him about it.I am going by GNC today to see if I can get some.  I wont try it until tomorrow though.  We are headed to my parents home for Thanksgiving. They are both elderly and cannot take the noise and confusion.

 

We too....had bedtime battles...and like one of the people said I can handle the other difficulites ADHD brings when I am well rested.  If he's up..I'm up...

I found that at our GNC the melatoin comes in 1 mg chewable tablets or 3mg capsules.  I asked about the difference.  The man working told me that the 3mg capsules have a time release...  The first part works quickly to get you to sleep...the next part takes a while to dissolve and when it does finally dissolve that helps you to stay asleep.  My 5 yr old can't swallow the capsule so we opted for the chewable.  My now no longer battle at night time.  I give him 2 chewable tablets and that is enough to settle him down to listen to a book and get ready for bed.

However, I am reading a book on hormones (for myself) there is a section on melatoin becaus it is a hormone.  This book has listed side effects even though it is all natural.  One side effect that is listed is bad dreams.  I have taken melatonin for myself and I have noticed that I have bad dreams.  I asked ds if he has bad dreams and he said he doesn't.

I love melatonin and I make sure that we never run out!!!  It has been a life saver.  I am also sure the neighbors appreciate it also as sometimes our night time battles could get loud.  As ds would scream and stomp and slam doors, etc.

I should mention that when my ds was younger, we used benadryl to help with his sleep pattern.  It worked for the one week he was on it.  As soon as he was off, it started up again.  I now realize that he was showing his ADHD symptoms.  This was when he was about 8 months old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J058,

The tapering down of clonidine and guanfacine (Tenex) are really for when you are on upper doses rather than just the smaller dose for bed.

My daughter is on 4mg guanfacine (2mg AM and 2mg PM). She is on it to augment the concerta effects, not for sleep. The doctor said to not vary the daily dose by more than 1/2mg in her case.

HTH

well, Turkey Day is over.  We were at sisters house and she has 2 teenagers who know about my son and were able to keep him busy so I was able to sit and eat like a real person.  I still have not been in to see the dr about my son yet.My 7 year old adhd had same problem with not wanting to go to bed.  What we did that worked for us.  We would get him ready for bed at 7pm. At 7:30 we would give him a 30minute warning that bedtime is at 8:00pm and I give him two Melatonin to help him come down so he can sleep.  This seems to help him get a good night sleep.  We noticed he was having alot of nightmares and constantly tossing and turning and talking in his sleep.  Since he started taking the melatonin he sleeps so much better.  This also helps him begin to wind down and watch some tv with us.  He likes to sit on his dads lap and watch his favorite program. We found that he does not like change so we stick to his schedule. He is also fussy who tugs him in.  He insists that his dad tug him in.  He is very close to his dad. He injoys this 1 on 1 time with his dad.  Changing routine can cause all problems with tantums ect. you know the routine.  My husband tugs him in and reads him a story.  This is what worked for us.  He now stays in this bed. 

Just wanted to share my 2 cents.  My dd has always had problems at bedtime.  When she was an infant, I had to strap her down so she couldn't move to get her to sleep.  Her sitter would wrap her like burrito and put washcloth over her eyes.  At 2 I was reading parenting books about strong-willed children.  3 years ago, I took her to her ped, who suggested melatonin (which is made from pigment in your skin, and helps regulate sleep patterns.)  The melatonin helped some. She also referred us to phsyc for adhd screener. 

They didn't do anything at the time to help her for any of the problems we were having.  The only thing they did was refer us to councelor.  We have spent the last 2 1/2 years in counceling.  Last year I asked the councelor to do a screener for adhd again, and out of 9, I answered yes to 8, and the other was a sometimes answer.  She sent us to the phsyc she works with and he started her on Adderall Xr 5mg.

To make a long story shorter, she was still having trouble sleeping, but nowhere near what it used to be.  They since have dx'ed her with a mood disorder as well, and are medicating her for that with abilify as well.

Don't give up hope.  Keep asking for the help you need until someone gives you that help.

Also, melatonin can be found at most drug stores.  I have found it at Wal-mart and Walgreens both.

Hi all,

Tried Melatonin last night.  Wow!  My ds went right to sleep!  I goofed and bought capsules but I was desperate so broke open 3mg capsule and put aprox 1/3 of powder in his milk when he was finishing dinner about 8.  He was asleep by 10:30.  This is very exciting because he has been staying awake until 1 or 2 am.

I am going to try without tonight and see.  He is tired since he got up at a normal time around 7:30 this morning.  Maybe this will be something we can use to kick in his normal sleep patterns.  We tend to do ok for a little while once we get a routine but something Always sends it haywire.  I will keep you all posted.

Suzy