Guest guest Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 My son used to have sleep issues, though not as severe as yours. He never slept more than two straight hours until he was 4 1/2, but at least his sleep was at night and he would go back to sleep after a while each night. I noticed you're giving B6 right before bed. That would still make my son wildly hyper at any time, day or night. Reducing highly phenolic foods, treating yeast, and feeding for hypoglycemia were the three things that got my son to sleep. You mentioned your son was on the Feingold diet but ate lots of foods high in phenols. Is there any way you can eliminate the highly phenolic foods? These would and still do keep my son awake at night. Have you read up on feeding for hypoglycemia? In a nutshell, feed more protein, and if you feed foods high in the glycemic index, feed them right after a few bites of protein. I have no idea if any of these ideas will help you, but they did help my son tremendously. Good luck, Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Oh honey, I feel so bad for you. This has to be so stressful. I'm not sure I have any ideas, but I did want to mention not giving him the B6 or any vitamin to close to bedtime. It often will cause problems with sleep. I'm sure this is not the reason you are having problems, but it can add to it. Also, how long has he been on melatonin? I for one can not take it. It puts me to sleep, but wakes me up a few hours later, and at that point it becomes impossible for me to go back to sleep. Hang in there! a -- " The Byk Family " <thebyks@...> wrote: We are to the point that I would take him to the ER, but again, they're just going to give us drugs that won't work and send us home. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. -Sara. ======================================================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Hi Sara, Have you ever tried GABA(gabaaminobuteryicacid)sp? ,DMG or changing his probiotics?,adding enzymes.Many of these help to calm the child especially 5htp(tryptophan). R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 Sara, I would never wake my daughter up if she were sleeping. I would recommend that you let you child sleep during the day FOR NOW and then very gradually work to get him on a nighttime sleep schedule. If your son is in crisis, don't keep him from sleeping. This is easier said than done if someone has to stay up all night with a five year old, but adequate sleep is critical for your son. Can you get someone to help you take shifts to stay awake with him? The brain doesn't work without sleep. If normal volunteers are kept awake, after 4 to 8 days, they will all develop psychosis. The first sentence in your 4th paragraph, said " With this he will sleep up to 12 hours if I let him. " Please clarify what " this " is. Also, the timing of meals as well as the content can affect sleep for some people. If possible, keep very detailed records of his food intake and the times that he eats. My adult daughter is diagnosed with schizophrenia, but the cause is mercury toxicity. Her psychotic episodes are always preceeded by not sleeping. However, the cause is usually GUT bugs. Mercury has messed up her immune system so she can't fight gut bugs. When she eats foods or takes vitamins that feed gut bugs, she starts having problems - such as not sleeping. Without enough sleep, she will get psychotic & once in a while, aggresive. She has other problems such as anemia and hormones that also affect her moods. I discovered that Vitamin C keeps my daughter awake. I read somewhere that Vitamin C can have a caffeine like affect. It helped when we cut out the Vitamin C (which is often included in other supplements). Try eliminating the vitaminc C and see if that helps. Also, B vitamins feed yeast. We have just started giving our daughter intramuscular injections of B-complex, B5 & B6. [important to check on the preservative in the vitamins.] We are still trying to figure out dosages & frequency but her symptoms are better w/o taking oral B vitamins. B6 and zinc are critical supplements for our daughter's sanity due to high urine pyrroles. I didn't see that you son was taking any zinc. Zinc is a critical mineral for most autistic children. Has your son ever been tested for urine pyrroles (contact The Bio-Center Lab at 800-494-7785 or Great Plains Lab at http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/autism-testing.html). The Bio Center Lab will send you a free kit & the cost is only $40 vs. $80 at Great Plains, for both you need a doctors signature. Would recommend that you immediately try small doses of ZINC CITRATE, twice a day with meals (zinc can cause nausea on an empty stomach). Does you son have toxic levels of metals? High copper? According to the book, WHY AM I ALWAYS SO TIRED? by Ann Louise Gittleman, MS, CNS; copper often hides, just like mercury. Copper is a stimulant, hyperacting mineral & if high, requires zinc. I would also get your son's FERRITIN level tests. This is the only accurate test for anemia. I wonder if you couldn't try a higher dose of MELATONIN, such as 1 mg? If an adult that weighs 100 lbs can take 3 mg of melatonin, perhaps your son could try a higher dose. Also, don't be concerned with the correct psychiatric diagnosis, such as bipolar or depression because the treatment is generally neuroleptic psych meds. As you found, these don't help for very long and often cause more problems. Has your husband ever tried SAMe or other neutraceuticals that help depression? All the best to you and your son, Janet McAuley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2004 Report Share Posted August 2, 2004 , I am going to try the Efalex. Do you remember how much you gave him? Did he just all of a sudden start talking in three days? My son says a few words randomly but is basically nonverbal. He is four. Kristy On Aug 2, 2004, at 7:58 AM, & Jack Rawlings wrote: > Sara, I forgot to mrntion essential fatty acids or cod liver oil. > Efalex > worked for my son and he started to talk in three days. R > > > > ======================================================= > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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