is it insomnia?

[anmari75]

just a quick question...my 12 year old has always had problems sleeping. and i mean like he does not sleep much at all. last night he was up to almost three thirty in the morning and that was him laying in a dark room with no tv or nothing. sometimes he will leave the tv on for the noise or the radio but ends up turning them off.
he has taken melatonin for about two years now...and all the doctor has said is to give him benadryl at night cause he doesnt want to give him sleep medicines i guess.
any ideas or things that have worked for anybody? he doesnt seem tired during the day but i know that little of sleep cant be good for him.

 

[witzend]

I have never slept well, even as a child. Without Lunesta, I would never fall asleep, and the one sleep study I did do I woke up as soon as I started to go into REM. To my mind, I have never learned to fall asleep.

Would your doctor consider giving your son a sleep study? It's horrible to not sleep.

 

[anmari75]

I will definately ask him about that! i feel bad for him cause i know i would be tired and i wander if even though he doesnt seem like it maybe that can affect all his other issues.

thank you.

do you know if they prescribe Lunesta for kids? He will be 13 in April. Something other than Benadryl...Lol

 

[smallworld]

Your profile says he's being evaluated for Bipolar Disorder. Some kids with mood disorders can't sleep because mania interfers with sleep. Furthermore, medications like Metadate and Wellbutrin can fuel the mania. This is something you need to have a psychiatrist familiar with mood disorders take a good, hard look at.

 

[BusynMember]

My oldest son (see below) has always had insomnia. He still does so now he takes medications. Sometimes he still can't sleep, but it's a little better. His diagnosis is "iffy." He has some sort of mood problem, and high anxiety with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). His Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) was so bad he had to drop out of college. He would have to count every word that the teachers said he couldn't control it.

 

[susiestar]

Sleep problems can create problems in every aspect of health. I have had several sleep studies, and as far as they can see I don't get much REM sleep, if I get any. It is a major factor in the fibro and other health issues. I can remember not being able to sleep from as far back as I have memories.

A sleep study is an excellent idea. And they DO prescribe medications for kids his age for sleep. At least they did for my difficult child.

I would mention a caution about Ambien as a sleep medication. I took it for a long time and had good results, so it is NOT a bad medication. However, my psychiatrist told me it can cause retrograde amnesia. Basically, from what she described, the person taking it can get up, wander around, do things, converse, etc... and then go back to bed - NEVER remembering ANY of it. People have done very strange things.

It would not be my first choice for a child.

My son took remeron, trazadone (still does), restoril, and right now we are thinking about Ambien CR or lunesta.

I take lunesta now. It makes a HUGE difference in how I feel and what I am able to do.

Taking Ambien or lunesta has helped me be a better parent as I am not ALWAYS exhausted and ready to snap.

If benadryl and melatonin are not working, a sleep study is very much in order. He might need a CPAP machine. While my mom snores, she does not have the sleep apnea my husband does. Her sleep pattern just never goes to REM. They did several studies to make sure this was really happening. The machine really makes a difference in how she feels too. (My husband is AMAZING with his - he has so much more energy and is so much more the man I fell in love with - creative, funny, punny, patient with the kids (and me), just a whole new man!).

It is well worth looking into this, lack of sleep can cause serious health problems.

Hugs,

Susie

 

[Wiped Out]

Definitely something to have the psychiatrist look at. My son use to be up to all hours of the night. For him medications were needed to help him sleep.

 

[anmari75]

Thank you all for your advice. I made him an appointment so hopefully we will get him on the right track.

thanks again.