posted
I posted before about my son taking Biaxin and having insomnia and nightmares.
Can anyone recommend anything over the counter or natural for sleep for kids? He is 10 and about 120 lbs.
He has had troubles falling asleep for a long time now but the past few weeks he has severe insomnia.
If he does fall asleep he wakes at 1:30am with a nightmare or stomach ache. Then he's up til 3am. We have been sleeping during the day to catch up. It's becoming a real pain!
The LLMD called in Trazodone. But my mom takes that and calls it her "coma pills". She takes 1/2 and is out for a long time.
It's also an anti depressant so I don't know if I want to add that to his mix. Plus I read the side effects on line.
One problem is that he can't take capsules. They need to be small and round or ones I can cut in half or liquid.
I thought someone mentioned melatonin but wonder if anyone knows of particular brands that work good?
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Amy
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Melatonin Effective for Sleep Problems in Autistic Children
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 20 - Three milligrams of melatonin at bedtime can effectively treat sleep problems in children with autistic spectrum disorder or fragile X syndrome or both, according to a study reported in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
"Melatonin can be considered a safe and effective pharmacologic treatment in addition to behavior therapies and sleep hygiene practices for the management of sleep problems in children with autistic spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome," the study team concludes.
Sleep problems are reported in up to 89% of children with autism and 77% of children with fragile X syndrome, Dr. Beth L. Goodlin-Jones, of the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute at the University of California Davis Health System in Sacramento, and colleagues note in their report.
In a 4-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 18 children, ranging in age from 2 to 15 years, with autistic spectrum disorder and/or fragile X syndrome took either melatonin (3 mg) or placebo nightly for 2 weeks and then crossed over to the alternate treatment for 2 weeks.
Data on 12 children who completed the study showed that treatment with melatonin was associated with significant improvements in total night sleep durations, sleep latency times, and sleep-onset times.
Specifically, Dr. Goodlin-Jones and colleagues report, "Mean night sleep duration was longer on melatonin than placebo by 21 minutes (p = 0.02), sleep-onset latency was shorter by 28 minutes (p = 0.0001), and sleep-onset time was earlier by 42 minutes (p = 0.02)."
"Sleep onset problems at the beginning of the night are very troublesome for children and their families," Dr. Goodlin-Jones noted in a prepared statement accompanying the study.
"Sometimes children may take one to two hours to fall asleep and often they disrupt the household during this time."
"The results of this study," she and her colleagues conclude, "suggest that melatonin is an effective treatment for sleep problems in children with autistic spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome, a finding that is consistent with previous studies of children with autistic spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities."
posted
Awh, I'm sorry to hear he's having a hard time with sleeping!
I'm 15 and i have unimaginable insomnia to the point where i can be up for 3 days straight.
So i've tried alot of sleeping pills. haha!
I agree with one of the other girls, honestly Benydryll works better then anything prescription for me. I take two and get really sleepy within an hour
I've tried trazadone and it worked really well for me for like 2 weeks... then i stoped getting tired in the least from it
so they upped my dosage.. then two weeks later it stopped working again... and that cycle repeats!
So i'd say leave the trazadone and try some benydryll!
I've also tried lunesta, and ambien CR, and another one that starts with an "s" [show how good my lyme memory is] haha
Anyways i wish you luck!
**I'm not a doctor, i'm only 15 and speaking from personal experence**
-------------------- A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses. --Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC)
Lyme Disease diagnosed June 28th 2009. Posts: 6 | From Texas | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I think i worked all the way up to 200mg and then they decided to take me off. Good luck with your daughter, everythings different for different people!! :]
-------------------- A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses. --Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC)
Lyme Disease diagnosed June 28th 2009. Posts: 6 | From Texas | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I might try the melatonin or something natural 1st. Then the Trazodone if not.
He takes allegra 2 times a day so don't know about the Benadryl. I could not give him the night time allerga and the benadryl instead? I do that when he's really sick anyways.
He's always had troubles falling asleep anyways. He has Aspergers (a form of autism) so I think that's common.
But this Biaxin or Lyme herxing is making it much worse!!
Thanks everyone! Hoping for some sleep soon!
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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If you start with melatonin, start VERY low and if you increase it, do it very slowly. The 3 mg suggested in the study above can be a huge amount for a child.
If any depression shows, stop it. Some people do very well with it but a small percentage finds it can be very depressing.
linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
My son has insomnia, probably from bartonella. He has a tough time getting to sleep. Some nights he will lay there for three hours before sleeping.
He is also a very light sleeper. We give him melatonin, the pediatrician said no more than 8 mgs, we only give him 3 mgs, sometimes 6 mgs on a bad night.
The ones we buy come in 3 mg tabs. We also give him benadryl, which quite honestly I think works the best.
He just did a sleep study, so when we get the results, I'll try to post what they found out. Hope you get some sleep soon!! Oh, I almost forgot, he is 14 and weighs about 100 lbs.
Linky
Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Melatonin has worked great for my son, but he develops a resistance to it.
We have found Super Snooze from Puritan's Pride to be incredibly effective. He is out like a light within a half hour.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I ended up giving him the Trazodone. Gave him 25 mg at 10:15pm. He was still awake at 11:30pm so I gave him 25mg more (the dr said to start at 50mg but was afraid to).
So it's now 12:20am and he is still awake! He is now saying he doesn't feel good. Seems groggy and maybe stomach ache.
Just wish he would stay in bed! He's gotten up 3 times and I am worried he will fall down the steps.
So now I can't go to bed yet. I have to get up early for an MRI. Haven't slept in weeks! Going out of my mind!!!
Just needed to vent!
Oh and has anyone taken this stuff and it doesn't work? Or how long should it take?
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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posted
My daughter has this problem too, sometimes worse than others. She has tried Tylenol PM, and a product we got through our naturopath called Sleep Remedy by Bach.
Just be sure he is not drinking anything caffeinated during the day that will work against whatever you decide. Good luck!
Posts: 51 | From Connecticut | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
My daughter was still wide awake when she took 50 mg. 75 mg seems to be working. (3 nights, so far.)
My daughter used to keep getting out of bed. We now check on her every 10 minutes so she will stay in bed.
We give her the Trazadone after dinner, several hours before we want her to go to bed. She is asleep in half an hour after getting in bed.
Posts: 984 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
My 7 year old takes melatonin and it usually works well for him. When his lyme was bad he took 3mg each night. Now he's better, but still has trouble falling asleep. Some nights he goes without, some nights we give him 1 or 2mg.
I've battled insomnia for years! When I was first diagnosed my doc gave me benedryl. I laughed at him because I've had allergies all my life and benedryl never made me tired. It didn't work (big suprise), so he switched me to Ambien (before the CR stuff was around). That worked for a while, but he didn't want me addicted to it, so he made me stop.
That was over 15 years ago. Since then I've also tried melatonic (didn't work), unisom (which is actually the same ingredient as benedryl) and some other OTC sleeping stuff... none of it worked.
I now take trazodone. I started on it when my lyme was really bad and had to take at least 100mg. Now, I usually only take 50mg. Most nights it works for me. I usually take it 30-45 minutes before going to bed, and fall asleep within 20 minutes.
I find it is also important for me to avoid caffeine, get exercise (early in the day, not close to bed time), and manage stress. If your son is having all sorts of medical problems, his stress levels are probably rather high. The anti-depressant effects of the trazadone may help. But, like others have said... we're all different. No one's body chemistry is the same.
Good luck, hope you both get some sleep soon!
-------------------- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.+++ Diagnosed with Lyme in 2005. Suffered for years before that. Still treating/fighting it. Son diagnosed with Lyme and Babesia in 2007. Son diagnosed with Asperger's in 2011. Posts: 40 | From Maryland | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
Thanks everyone! After a few weeks of no sleep I felt like I was going crazy! LOL
He did fall asleep soon after I gave him the 2nd pill. Not as soon as I thought he would.
So we will just have to go with the 50mg and maybe try a 1/2 hr before bed. I guess it will be trial and error.
He actually woke today at 8am this morning! The 1st time in months. So hopefully this works.
Thanks again!
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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Yoohooo it is me and I replied to you at the other site we are on too :-)
Let me know if you need any more info. I think the Passion Flower comes in liquid too = in Bach Flower Remedies.
My oldest takes Melatonin= Source Natural Brand (no affiliation) comes in Liquid or sublingul spray. He takes 3 mg a night and it is still working almost 2 years now since his insomnia started.
The little one takes Passion Flower and he loves it. Melatonin does not work well for him.
They are all different. IMO I would give the natural stuff a try first.
Stacy
Posts: 476 | From Columbus, Ohio | Registered: Aug 2007
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nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
Have you tried some herbal teas yet? They help me far better than Trazadone and Ativan (both of which can ironically make me feel worse/go into weird seizures that make it impossible to sleep/rest).
I like the Yogi Teas -you can buy them at most groceries, but especially places that carry health food items.
I use "Calming Tea" mostly, which helps me get sleepy at night, and also relieves my Lyme-caused anxiety when it comes on, or heart palps and tachycardia, or air hunger episodes. It's a great all-around helper for me.
There is another Yogi Tea made especially for bedtime, called "Bedtime". It works well too.
I didn't want to hijack your post with questions directly here. Maybe something someone suggests to me might help your son too.
Posts: 526 | From NJ | Registered: May 2007
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posted
I can not say enough about on of the oldest sleep supplements / herbs known to man. Valerian root is my best friend. It's been around since the roman empire. You can find it in it pure form at Gnc and most better health stores. I never need an RX to sleep, I just use the valerian root. It also does wonder for Anxiety problems. It's very safe I wake in the morning with no lingering effects except for the Lyme.
Posts: 123 | From Swainton, NJ USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Thanks! I tried the Trazadone for 2 nights. It takes hours for him to fall asleep.
In the mean time he does get groggy and dizzy but he also gets side effects that keep him awake. Stomach problems and hunger being a few.
So I think I am going to try the natural stuff tonight. Just haven't made it out to the vitamin store yet.
I really think it's his Biaxin and his LLMD won't give him something else. Think I am looking for a new LLMD! (for other reasons too)
-------------------- My lyme disease blog: http://lymetimes3.blogspot.com/ One BIG Lyme family! I tested CDC + 10/08 My mom Igenex + 11/08 & My brother Igenex + 4/09, My 2 boys some + & IND bands, clinical diagnosis 3/09 (youngest has Aspergers too) Posts: 470 | From Painesville, Ohio | Registered: Mar 2009
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
I have suffered from insomnia all my life since the age of 11 and tried everything under the sun for it. L triptophan works very well and you can mix it in his milk- it has no taste. But the best thing to use is Zhang's Herbsom which you can order from hebapro.com. The primary herbs in it are corydallis and jujube seeds which you can order online cheaper if you prefer. Research these online and you will see they are safe and very effective. I was told to take benedryl by a doctor and developed a sensitivity to it so it makes me very nervous now - can't even take it for a cold. Ambien and other chemical drugs can have dangerous side effects and you become resistant to them taking more and more - then when you quit it is hell. Not so with corydallis. Good luck. I feel for you and your son.l
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Magnesium and Calcium are great helpers to calm down the nervous system. Vitamin B-6, too.
Also, turning off the TV at least one hour before bedtime and listening to soothing music helps some. The less light into the eyes, the easier sleep is supposed to come.
Would a foot rub and a warm wash cloth on his forehead settle him down?
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