help with my 5 year old sleeping issue

[Queenkey]

hello i have a 5 year old who was diagnosed with adhd in april of this year and is now taking medication focalin 5mg to be exact and has been on it for only a week and 3 days he started taking one every morning then his psychologist suggested taking two after 7 days so i started doing that he has been taking two for about 3 days and just last night he was having anxiety with going to bed he was crying and saying something was on him he was shaking and would not calm down until i cuddled with him in my bed his therapist said it may have been a night terror and i told her no because he had one at the age of 2 and it was scary so if anyone has any suggestions as it relates to helping him sleep please message me or email me @[e-mail] i would greatly appreciate it

[EJsMom]

Does it seem like the extra focalin is the issue? Did the therapist want him to keep taking 2 pills a day? Poor little man. Seems like a side effect. Just my opinion, you could also ask his medical doctor. Or the pharmacist.

[Queenkey in reply to EJsMom]

Thank you yes I think it’s the extra dosage as well will be talking with his psychiatrist about changing meds thanks for your response

[Cjkchamp]

My 6 year old is also on 5 mg Focalin. He also gets 3 mg Guanfacine. Both in the morning. He uses a weighted blanket at night to sleep with and he gets 200 mg of magnesium glycinate. The calm magnesium drink also works well.

[Queenkey in reply to Cjkchamp]

Ok I was told of the weighted blankets as well thanks for your response

[Ldydy24]

Hi so just to clarify is he taking 2 - 5ml pills everyday or a total of 5 ml? This could b a side effect of the Focalin by increasing it. Also if he is taking it later in the day that could effect his sleep. My son at times did have night terrors and couldn’t sleep. He was prescribed Clonidine to help with the sleep (a very small dose .01) and within an hour he was sound asleep through the night. Unfortunately there are many side effects of ADHD meds and finding the right combination doesn’t happen quickly. If your son continues to have these bad dreams I would reduce the Focalin bs k to 5 ml to see if they stop then discuss other med options with the dr. Focalin may not be the right fit for your son. Not to scare you but it took us 6 different meds to find the right fit for our son. Good luck.

[Queenkey in reply to Ldydy24]

Yes he was taking 2 5mg of focalin I’m thinking it’s because he was taking 2 pills with one it’s no problem with sleep but still a little hyper so I will be talking with his psychiatrist about possibly changing his meds thanks for the response

[Hidden]

My son takes a 5mg xr of Focalin every morning and a 5mg regular at 12:30pm. I give him 5mg of melatonin an 30 mins to and hour before bedtime. At bed time I play soothing sleepy time music on YouTube. It has gotten so much easier.

[KMLMPLS]

I think there may be medication dosage issues but even with my 7-year old son on the right dosage he still has trouble going to sleep. He doesn't have trouble staying asleep.

I use essential oils and that has really helped our 7-year old son. I use the DoTerra brand. I give our son 1 Serenity capsule and rub diluted lavender oil on the bottoms of his feet every night and I put lavender in a diffuser in his room. When we have a babysitter or he really needs to fall asleep fast we give him 1 mg of Zarbees over-the-counter melatonin. I don't want to give him melatonin long term but it helps when it's important he's goes to sleep fast.

Be careful with just any essential oils though...there are a lot out there filled with junk. In the case of oils, you get what you pay for. Someone mentioned oils are expensive and that's true but they last a long time. Another well know and trusted brand is Young Living (I think that's the name).

Good luck!