Adam is not sleeping

[mervie]

Hey you guys! Anybody got any suggestions or anybody feel my pain....My 7 yr old is not sleeping good. I t is getting worse. We've seen the ent, had adenoids and tonsils removed. Have impulsive behavior during the day at times that my pediatrician is almost certain it is Adam's way of stimulating himself to stay awake. Like throwing the shoes in the fire place just to get a rise out of mommy. We are on strattera 25mg daily and he taes melatonin, singulair, and zyrtec at bedtime. I am a my wits end, my doc has ordered clonidine0.1mg at bedtime to see if this will help.
He sleeps in his bed but eventually find s his way to my room and he is all over the bed. Got up at 2am the other night with a bad headache and guess who met me going back to bed....Adam.
Mervie

[meghans_mom]

Mervie - I'd try switching around the times of his medications, if possible.
Strattera can cause insomnia, early morning awakenings and sleep disturbances...I think the literature says not to give it any later than 1 PM during the day?
Also look at the Zyrtec,,,you might try switching that to mornings, or mid-afternoon. Since it lasts 24 hours it doesn't really matter when it's given and this drug too can cause insomnia, sleep disturbances, anxiety and nervousness (although these side effects are rare, they're possible).

I'd try switching one or the other, give it a week or 2 and see if it makes a difference. If switching one doesn't work, try the other one -- I wouldn't do them at the same time because you won't know which one (if any) is causing the problem.

Singulair usually doesn't cause any type of sleep disturbances except vivid dreams or nightmares...which I guess could be a problem too? I'm not sure if that's listed as a side effect in the literature "officially" but I've heard it from several people who've taken it.

and then look at his diet too...make sure he's not drinking colas or chocolate milk, or highly sweetened foods too close to bedtime that might have an effect on him.

anyways -- hope you find out whats causing his sleeplessness, and good luck! laurie

[Evans Dad]

Mervie

Evan isn't as old as your young man, but he had problems sleeping when we first brought him home from the hospital.

We bought him a CD player, and to this date we still play mozart, and relaxing outdoor sounds. We lay him in his crib awake and start the music, he settles down and usually goes to sleep pretty quick. I can program his CD player to repeat the CD and we had to do this for a while, now after the first few songs he is fast asleep. Just a suggestion..

Clint

[mervie]

Thanks to laurie and Clint. I never thought about switching meds around, I'll give it a try. And Clint your suggestion for the CD player...he goes to sleep with it...but never thought about letting it play all night ....
Thanks again. Mervie

[meghans_mom]

Mervie - good luck...I'm a pharmacist so of course my first thought always goes to medications and what could be going on there...
I hope something works for ya...let us know! laurie

[MaggiesMom]

I agree about the Strettera! My nephew and my sister both have taken it and say it's awful for insomnia. The doc even gave my nephew a "sleeping pill" of sorts to help him sleep.

I'd check the meds and see what your options are. Good luck!

Robin M

[MB]

My son has always had sleep problems. When he wakes up he does not know what to do with himself. Sometimes he would not go back to sleep because of fears. We got a dog from the pound. She is a wonderfully gentle english pointer. She sleeps in his room every night. We told him that the dog would bark if anyone came in his room so if he wakes up and the dog is fine, then everything is fine. If the dog starts barking, we will come running as fast as we can. It worked. If he does wake up, he at least stays in his room.

We also bought an alarm clock with the giant l.e.d. read out. We taped 6:00 next to it and told him not to wake up until the clock said 6:00. We put the clock up high so that he could not play with it. This also helped.

Hope it is just the meds. Sounds like an easier fix.

Best of luck.

MB