Sleeping problems... | ADHD Information
I'm a newbie.. But I am at my wits end with getting my DS to bed at night. It takes him forever to fall asleep. I feel as though I have tryed eveything to get him to relax to go to bed. Does anyone have any ideas for going to bed at night? If so please help me..
Thanks
try fennel tea or melatonen (sp? i'm sure i butchered the spelling on that one.) check out the alt meds board. and you might want to call the doc and let them know. they might suggest a different time schedule for the meds, if he is one meds.
welcome to the board.
I gues we need more info...
Is he on meds?
How old is he?
Is he getting up after being put to bed or just laying there trying to fall asleep and can't?
I don't have any remedies, just a sympathetic shoulder! Up until last year when my daughter just turned 6 (she'll be 7 in 2 weeks), she would go to bed at 8 and would still sometimes be awake at 11!!! She woudn't necessarily get out of bed (though that was a handy trick some nights), but she would talk to herself, her stuffed animals in bed, she'd sing, she'd do acrobatic movements on her bed (which explains the loose headboard), etc.....she was't necessarily noisy (MOST nights that is), but she just wouldn't SLEEP! And then all of a sudden (and this is all pre-medication because we only started that today!), last year, she just started falling asleep within minutes after getting into bed. For 6 years, she would wake up every single freakin' night...and then BOOM. It stopped. I do not know why nor do I care. I just know that I GET TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT NOW!!!
How old is your son? Would he go for a warm bath before bed? I know I personally like a hot cup of milk with a teaspoon of sugar in it. Something in hot milk (but add the sugar or a bit of sweetner or it's nasty) has a relaxing chemical in it - at least, that's what I've read. And it does seem to work for me. What about having him listen to soothing music or sounds?
Good luck!
Kelly H39087.3103587963I am with the others on this....depending on his age and med situation there are many things to try.Chase was always a night owl, similar to kellyh's post, he would go to bed, and I would think he was sleeping, he was quiet...but I would go upstairs and discover him still awake hours later...and this was pre-med. Then the meds made it worse.
A good bedtime routine is important...quiet time for a good stretch before bed...no rough housing, limited TV, that kind of thing. Then a nice bath, some stories and cuddling, then with my boys, I used a lullaby CD. They listened to it for years, and I still hear Chase putting it on to this day when he is having difficulty getting to sleep.
But after meds, the only thing that worked for Chase was melatonin. I would give him a tablet about 1 hour before bedtime, and he said it made him "cozy and drowsy" and helped him to fall asleep.
Recently the doctor added guanfacine (Tenex) to my son's meds and it has really helped him in the sleep department. He takes his night time dose at 8:30, goes to bed at 9:00 and is asleep by 9:30 tops.
Thankyou all for your replys... My son is 7 1/2.. He is on concerta 54mg.. He will be on meds for a year in May. Pre-meds I would lay down with him at night and read to him.. And two short books he was out. He sleeps throught the night.. Its just the getting him to bed..
He will be settled down playing or reading a book before we get ready for bed and once we start the routine to get ready for bed its like he kicks into high gear.. Then once his is in bed I read to him or he will read to me and then I read to him.
I have tried to lay with him for 10 - 20 mins.. (This sometimes works) But he just cant seem to lay still he will either keep moving around or talking..
It can take him anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to fall asleep. And when I think that he is asleep I go in his room to find him with a light on reading or he keeps coming out of his room for evey reason under the sun..
We have an appt today with his Doc and this will be the one topic I will be asking about. I did also read about the melatonin last night.. I was going to check that out today..
Its just so upseting to me.. I feel like such a bad mom that I can't figure out what to do for him to get to bed at night..
Thanks again too all..
KIKI_C7239087.3984606481It is obviously not your parenting skills if he went to sleep pre-med w/o an issue. These meds just have that as a side effect and it is not you or your son's fault. So do not feel like a bad parent! A bad mother would not care when her 7 year old went to sleep...Melatonin really did the trick for my son, and the only reason I stopped it is because the new med, guanfacine, has the side effect of sedation to help with the sleep, so I figured it would no longer be needed, and it isn't.
Hopefully your doc will ok the use of melatonin or some other drug to aid your son in getting a full nights' sleep, it is so important to a child!
Good luck! Suggestions?
Hmmm...I remember we used these. Sometimes they worked and sometimes not.
cozy calming down routines
no electronic stimulation (tv computer etc) an hour before bed
flannel sheets and a heavy comforter in the winter
clonidine
melatonin
Gaba Calm
nature sounds recording
using yarn to wind into a ball after lights out keeping hands/mind busy on repetitive task until he falls asleep (he came up with that one @ ~age 16)
warm herbal teas
getting into parents bed as a last resort often did the trick
He had trouble sleeping until about age 17
Benadryl has not worked on any of our children. We tried it to get them to
rest when they are sick, and it doesn't work. Our three year old has sleep
issues too. We use a 10 minute quiet time before he goes to bed. No
music, books or anything. We just sit together for 10 minutes silently.
This has worked wonders for him. However, he gets up in the middle of
the night and wants to sleep with us. We have put a sleeping bag by our
bed, and now he goes straight to the bag. It has solved the problem of
him sleeping with us, but he still gets up in the night. We are meeting a
school psych today to discuss these issues.
KIKI- Glad to hear you found something that works. [QUOTE=Kelly H]
This is from a Today show article off of www.msnbc.com.
Have Trouble Getting Your Child To Bed?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16558087/
[/QUOTE]
Excellent article!
My son who is 5 has troubles at night when i put him to bed. He will get up many times in an hour or two for any reason other then going to bed. He sometimes will be awake at midnight just talking to himself. Every morning he wakes up with red around his eyes. I know he's tired but he always says he's not. He goes to pm kindergarten and gets home at 3pm so i have him do what i call quiet time, where i have him go lay on his bed for an hour unless he falls asleep. We put him to bed at 7pm most nights. I had Add when i was a child and I believe i still do. I find it very hard to deal with my son some days. Has Bendryl helped anyone's kids, or has it seemed to make their sleep worse? I've tried giving my 6 yo daughter benadryl because it's so hard for her to sleep (and she has allergies anyway) but sometimes it seems she doesn't sleep as deeply. She's recently diagnosed, and started Adderall XR, so I still have lots to learn.
I think for children on meds with sleep issues, I've heard mainly about using clonidine. I guess you could try some chewable melatonin 30 min before sleep, but it may not be strong enough to help.
Thank you everyone for all your responses.. 
This weekend I raced out and got the Melatonin.. We started it on Sunday night.. Oh my it was the best night in a long long time.. He was asleep before 8:30... I just didn't know what to do with my self.. I can not believe how relaxed he was when I was reading books to him..
I also have sound going in his room. His doctor sugusted ocean sounds with no music...
But hey now my toddler is cutting teeth and she is the one not sleeping.. Ahhh you can never win can you...
Once again thankyou all for your replys.. I am so happy to have found this forum to get some great info from all of you..
Have a great day...
Kristin
I also give my son, 8, melatonin and it works. Something else you might try is using a fan for the noise in the room. I have always done this for my kids even as babies, that way they don't hear every little sound to startle them. Since it's winter, I point the fan away from him so he doesn't feel the air but still has the noise.During the winter months, I throw a light weight blanket in the dryer to warm up. I put it on my daughter and then put her blanket over this. I remind her that if she stays in bed, it will stay comfey and warm.my dd is also taking melatonin 1 mg as of the last week and it's worked miracles for her - she's sleeping at a normal time now again, like pre-meds. she says she feels better too!
shelley
No I have not tried it for my son.. But I believe that his grandparents tried it for his dad (he is ADD) when he was younger and it made him hyper..
I just started the Melatonin 1mg from GNC its cherry flavored and so far it has worked like a charm.. I give it to him an hour before bed time it dissolves under the tounge and he seems to be getting great sleep as in sound or deep sleep.. he even wakes up on his own the past few days.
I hope this helps..
Kristin
I use benadryl for my older daughter (not the one that is diagnosed and on meds); she has allergies anyway and it helps on days that she just cant settle down. I only give 1/2 dose for these times.
I occasionally use tylenol PM (tylenol + benadryl), but only 1 pill (1/2 dose) and only before 11PM (or I get up the next morning too groggie).
This is from a Today show article off of www.msnbc.com.
Have Trouble Getting Your Child To Bed?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16558087/
My DS is on clonidine 0.1mg at night and we give it to him about 1 hour before bed. We put him in and he asleep in about 5 minutes. A big difference from the 2-3 hour fight every night when my son would jump on the bed, run around the room and come out of bed so many times I could not count.