sleeping…

[Mom2ADHD]

Would love to hear some ideas for getting kid to get some sleep. He is currently on Concerta 36 once daily. His bedtime is at 8 but will toss and turn and not pass out til after midnight if we are lucky. Somehow he wakes up around 6ish will tons of energy. We do see an endocrinologist that has him on cyproheptadine to supposedly help with sleep and help increase appetite. We do have a follow up appointment with his Endo and pediatrician in about 2 weeks but I would like hear some ideas.

[Onthemove1971]

Just curious is the Concerta a short acting ( only last about 4 hours) or an ER- extended release (can last 6-8 hours)?Also what time does he take the medication?

Have you tried lots of exercise before bed?

[Mom2ADHD in reply to Onthemove1971]

The 36 mg is ER but we have had this problem since he was started on the smallest dose which was not ER. When he is in school it is given to him at 7 ish so he is ready for school start time at 7:40.

During the summer we give it to him an hour later, the latest so if he happen to sleep in he can get some rest in.

He attends a kid strong class on Tuesdays and really does not make a difference.

When we were in vacation last week, there was a total of 6 kids under the age of 10 and we were over active from swimming in the ocean to riding bikes to hiking and he would be the only kid that would come home and tell us he was not tried and it would be midnight.

[Onthemove1971 in reply to Mom2ADHD]

These are all great observations about your son's sleep. There are many parts to sleep: falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up.. etc. There are many suggestions I have heard but from what you describe I recommend you speaking to his doctor and maybe asking for a sleep study just to be sure no sleep related conditions impead his ability to sleep.

To me it does not sound like the medication is causing the sleep issues, but I am not doctor.

Here are some suggestions I have heard of: drink warm milk before bed time, white noise machine/app, we9ghted blanket, no electronics 1 hour before bed time and keeping the room cold.

Hope all of these help. Again please consider asking his doctor about it.

[Mom2ADHD in reply to Onthemove1971]

Thanks for the suggestions. The only one we have not tried is white noise and warm milk before bed time.

I am open for ideas so may be trying these out before our appointment.

[Onthemove1971 in reply to Mom2ADHD]

It would be great to "rule out" any sleep disorders by a sleep study. They may also recommend something to help once they know why he is having these issues. Hope you find what works.

Best of luck.

[Mom-of-a-superhero in reply to Mom2ADHD]

This is my daughter! She isn't on any meds though but when other kids are falling asleep on the drive home from an active day she is ready for more. What works to initiate sleep for her is 1 mg of quick release Melatonin. She is 8 yo and petite. Your child might require a larger dose if you haven't tried it.

[Cjkchamp]

A weighted blanket worked well for my son. He needed the pressure to slow his system. You may want to ask about an L-theanine supplement before bed which provides calming focus. Our son really started sleeping well after he started broad spectrum micronutrients. Best of luck to you!

[GhostOrchid]

How old is he? The main thing that helps my 11 year old son fall asleep is Clonidine. We also let him listen to audio books at bedtime which helps him relax. We tell Alexa what book to read and for how long. It usually takes 1-2 weeks to finish a kids novel. Getting him on a treadmill or rowing machine an hour before bedtime helps too. The downside to utilizing exercise is that he has to want to do it. If he is in one of those moods where he wants to be contrary we skip it because it just hypes him up if he doesn’t give 100%. Also, exercise while on vacation is never enough for my son to fall asleep. He is just too excited about vacation! The meds don’t work as well then either.

I’m curious; for those of you that suggested a sleep study, what might they find? I never thought to do one with a kid.

[joshnyc in reply to GhostOrchid]

For our , 8 year old son, the solution is 3 mg melatonin with 0.1 mg of clonidine around 60 to 90 minutes before bed. Prior to this, he would toss and turn for at least a few hours, which made the next day terribly difficult for him. Now he gets a consistent 10- 11 hours of sleep, and wakes up without drowsiness. Prior to that, we had tried all of the simple solutions, including a dark room, consistent bedtime, different diets, etc. And we found stimulants to be a double-edged sword, helping a bit during the day, but negatively affecting his sleep. We found other solutions and just took him off of Adderall completely.

[Blue_Mouse]

Melatonin just before bed (we give it at dinner) worked wonderfully to help my 9yo fall asleep, and he had the same problem as your son. Still wakes up at 6am no matter what time bed was, but falls asleep shortly after the bedtime story is done.

[eva2022]

That sounds so hard. I’m so sorry! Issues around sleep are so tough because it affects everyone. I agree with everyone who has said melatonin. We give our six year old 1/2 mg 30 minutes before bed on nights when he needs to just go to sleep. He is usually out in 30 minutes as opposed to 1-2 hours. We have also done books on tape, as well as as music that he likes-not ‘quiet’ music, and we play the music at a normal volume. Not sure why this helps, but it does. Maybe he just needs something to focus his attention on in bed instead of just lying there? I know that you said that a weighted blanket doesn’t work, but we have also had success with a 20 pound weighted blanket at night and when watching tv.