medications for sleep?

[flutterbee]

I'm going to make an appointment for difficult child for something to help her sleep. She's had trouble sleeping for years. Melatonin doesn't work, nor does benadryl.

What do your kids take at night to help with sleep?

 

[klmno]

difficult child isn't taking this right now, but he tried 3 different AP's (at different times) last spring- zyprexa, risperdal (sp), and low dose of seroquel. I've heard several say they've had good luck with AP's- of course this is pertaining to kids with mood disorders, but difficult child never had good luck with them. We might have to try one again at some point, though.

I will say that the zyprexa knocked my son out- even on the lowest dose I could give him- he dlept about 10-12 hours and couldn't wake up enough to sit up or speak coherently- it was like he was talking in his sleep.

Does she already take an anti-anxiety medication? psychiatrist told me that some (or at least one) kinds of anti-anxiety medication can help with sleep. I guess it just depends on why she is having sleep problems.

 

[smallworld]

Here are some medications my kids take or have taken:

Seroquel (low dose for sleep alone, higher for anxiety/depression)
Clonidine (can wake up irritable)
Amitriptyline/Nortriptyline (will also help with anxiety)
Ambien (only tried a few times)

We haven't tried it, but Trazadone is also rxed for sleep.

 

[flutterbee]

Smallworld, how big is the Seroquel pill? If I can get her to take it for sleep, I would like to try it for the anxiety/depression part. She has so much pill anxiety, though. If it's too big, she can't take them. She throws them up before they get half way down.

She said the lexapro made her feel worse, so we've stopped it. She's against trying any other AD because of that. And with her unpredictability, I'm leary of trying another AD if one made her feel worse.

 

[klmno]

Not to speak for SW, but the AP's that I've seen are super-small. The size of AD's or smaller.

 

[flutterbee]

Can you crush them? If we could crush them in put them in pudding, it would be ideal.

 

[klmno]

I don't know that answer. SW might know- also, seems like one of these medications might come in liquid form but I can't remember for sure if it's seroquel or not. difficult child used pill form. I don't remember the seroquel so much but the zyprexa was much smaller than the size of a thumbtack- it was closer to the size of a pin head although not quite that small and I think the seroquel was about the same.

Ok- I'm looking at a ball point pen. The pills were about equal in diameter to the part of the pen that you push to open and close it. I wouldn't be able to see it if I crushed it LOL!

 

[JLady]

wyntersgrace... My son cannot swallow any pills it seems. A spoon full of applesauce with the pill pushed down in the middle gets them down every time! Perhaps that can help you.

 

[TerryJ2]

My son takes Vistaril. It's an antihistamine. I'm wondering if it's too close to Benadryl to be of any use. You can call up your pharmacist and ask.
Good luck! She must be groggy all the time with-that lack of sleep. Sleep makes all the difference in the world!
I hope she learns to swallow pills soon. Our difficult child didn't get a good diagnosis at the psychiatric hospital, but they taught him to swallow pills!

 

[smallworld]

Seroquel starts at 25 mg. If you google it, I think you can get pictures of how big the tablets are. I believe you can crush regular Seroquel (not XR), but a pharmacist will know for sure. A pharmacist may also be willing to show you the actual pills (ours has shown me different size pills so I can decide which size/dosage to ask our psychiatrists for -- J used to have an awful time swallowing pills).

FWIW, I didn't like the way I felt on Lexapro either. I do well on Nortriptyline, which helps my stress level, migraines and sleep.

 

[flutterbee]

Thanks, SW. Can you remind me again at what dosage the Seroquel works on anxiety?

 

[smallworld]

It depends. Seroquel is really dosed by clinical response. But I've read on www.crazymeds.us that straight anxiety is dosed at 25 to 100 mg (usually 25 mg is enough just for sleep), bipolar mania at 300 to 600 mg (and sometimes up to 800 mg) and hallucinations at 300 to 500 mg.

Good luck.

 

[janebrain]

My dtr was on Seroquel to help her sleep and then something else--maybe Zyprexa? Anyway, she also had trouble for years and her therapist kept insisting it was her bad habits and environment. But, she still had trouble at her Residential Treatment Center (RTC) where she had a strict bedtime routine. They prescribed Seroquel I think.

She seems to be over the insomnia now. I asked her one time lately what would have helped back then and she said she thinks the only thing that could help was the medication.

My younger dtr also has insomnia problems and melatonin seems to help yet she hardly ever will take it.

Good luck--I sure have no trouble sleeping, I can sleep anywhere and anytime!

Jane

 

[LittleDudesMom]

My difficult child took 25 mg (we actually split the 25 in half for two weeks when he first started and that took effect in like 15 minutes the first couple of nights) of seroquel and it worked wonders not only on falling asleep but also getting a good solid sleep.

Sharon

 

[Wiped Out]

For awhile my difficult child took Trazadone for sleep. Now he takes Clonidine-it's a very tiny pill. He also takes Hydroxene (SP?) to help-it's similar to Benydrl (spelling I know is wrong).

 

[GoingNorth]

I'm bipolar as well as being on the AS spectrum. I take Zyprexa as part of the cocktail for the BiPolar (BP) and 200 mg of Seroquel at night for sleep.

I find it works better than Ambien or Lunesta and I don't wake up in a fog. There is a carryover benefit of increased anxiety control over the Zyprexa alone during the day as well.

My dosages of medications are not typical. I metabolize medications strangely and require very high doses to reach either proper blood levels or therapeutic impact.

Per my psychiatrist, the usual dosing for bipolar insomnia is 25-100 mg with the Seroquel.