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Post by gabrielsmom on Jan 29, 2004 18:21:25 GMT -5
Help!!!
My son is on adderrall xr 10 mgs, but i notice that he is having a hard time falling asleep. It is the only side effect so far and the meds are working really well. Does anyone have any suggestions on what i can give him to help him fall asleep faster?....I don't want to give him any more meds so I'm looking for a natural alternative. He is 8 1/2 yrs old and weighs about 90 to 93 lbs.
Thank you.
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Post by AustinsMom on Jan 29, 2004 22:31:15 GMT -5
I had the same problem with meds and my ds, and when we stopped using the meds the sleep problems persisted. We used 1 mg melatonin (the Natural Source sublinguals) 30 min before bedtime (ds weighs 60lb) and it worked well. Melatonin helps reset the sleep cycle. You can use up to 5 mg safely with kids I believe. There is an earlier thread here that talks about melatonin specifically. I don't know how well it will work if the meds are revving him up however. And personally, I wouldnt want to use it long term. We used it just to get reestablished on good sleep habits. When i was at Pfeiffer for our evaluation, they said that 500 mg of inosital 30 min before bed promotes sleep also. They said if 500 doesn't work, you can do 1000. And since that is a vitamin, it doesn't have any negative side effects to my knowledge. Sleep problems are the worst...they wear everyone out. Good luck finding something that will help.
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Post by catatonic on Jan 30, 2004 8:08:29 GMT -5
Austinsmom,
If your son takes vitamins, try giving him the magnesium in the evening. It can be somewhat calming.
One of my boys has trouble falling asleep. He's not ADHD, not on any medication, he just doesn't unwind well. He drinks a cup of herbal tea containing valerian about 30 minutes before bedtime. He falls asleep very quickly and deeply. (There are several types of commercial tea that contain valerian including Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra and Yogi Bedtime.)
However, when I drink the valerian tea, although I fall asleep quickly and deeply, I get up much too early and awake every couple of hours throughout the night. My boy doesn't have this problem with it..
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Post by gabrielsmom on Jan 30, 2004 9:57:29 GMT -5
Thank you Austinsmom and Catatonic:
I remember reading something about melatonin but when I went to GNC and asked if I could give it to a child they said no. So I was confused. Do you by any chance know why they say that kids can't take the melatonin?. I guess I will try the tea first and see what happens. Thanks again for all your help.
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Madison
Member
Tomorrow is another day............
Posts: 90
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Post by Madison on Jan 30, 2004 14:55:51 GMT -5
Hi,
We use CALCIUM with the magnesium already added. It REALLY WORKS!! I use it myself and if I forget to take my calcium and magnesium before bed I'm restless ALL night long! My boy is dairy intolerent so he's got to take calcium supplements and they are usually before bed and he says too "It really helps him to go to sleep." It's good for the bones so it's all a PLUS!! He fights leg cramps pretty badly at times and the calcium is GREAT for that problem too. Take care...Madison
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Post by ohmama on Jan 30, 2004 15:34:07 GMT -5
Thank you Austinsmom and Catatonic: I remember reading something about melatonin but when I went to GNC and asked if I could give it to a child they said no. So I was confused. Do you by any chance know why they say that kids can't take the melatonin?. I guess I will try the tea first and see what happens. Thanks again for all your help. Kids can take melatonin, up to 3mg is recommended per night for most kids who have trouble falling asleep. Most doctors know this and suggest it before any prescription meds. |
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lisle
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by lisle on Jan 31, 2004 14:58:44 GMT -5
Austin's Mom: My son took the Inositol and paradoxed on it; so one just has to try it. We got it from the Pfeiffer pharmacy. He was so hyperactive! I tried it and it worked for me, but only sometimes, weird. I have to be sure I have no caffeine. Obviously, my son wasn't on any and he wasn't on any stims at the time. It will be interesting to see if a child on Adderall does well with the Inositol. Many kids from Pfeiffer are also on stims so it definitely can work that way. Not for us however  |
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Post by AustinsMom on Jan 31, 2004 22:33:14 GMT -5
lisle, we haven't had any problems with the inosital at bedtime. I have stopped the b-50 cause I thought there was a possibility something in it was bothering us. I've been trying individual B's, and there seems to be no problem with B6, or the inosital. Trial and error is such a pain isn't it?
catatonic, we do take the masnesium in the evening too. We are now back to our good bedtime routine, like we were before the whole meds fiasco. (But I feel like I should knock on wood or something so I don't jinx myself).
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Post by gabrielsmom on Feb 3, 2004 13:22:31 GMT -5
Hi guys
I tried the Sleepytime tea and it worked!!!! Thank you for your input.
Also, Cat....I am still giving gabriel his vitamins, eventhough he is on meds now i did not discontinue his supplements. Even on calcium he was still having a hard time falling asleep. Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it.
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