trouble falling asleep

June 22, 2001

I am amazed at the different effects that meds have on different

people. states that Paxil was MUCH TOO ENERGIZING for her son

and it turned into a dishrag!

, 's doc described Prozac as being energizing. Could

that be a contributing factor in your son's inability to get to

sleep?

Melinda S.

Dallas

> I have put this subject out once in the past but I

> was wondering if anyone had anything new to share.

> Ever since my son - age 8 - started taking Concerta

> and Buspar he has had trouble falling asleep. He has

> no trouble staying asleep and I have to guide him

> downstairs in the morning as his alarm clock does not

> wake him at all...yesterday it beeped for 45 minutes

> and he didn't even hear it. Valerian root seems to

> help some, but other than that even antihistamines

> don't help. We are trying to limit TV and computer

> use cutting it off 1 1/2 hours before bedtime, no

> caffeine or other stimulants other than his Concerta

> at 7:30-8:00 AM. Concerta lasts 12 hours and I

> suspect that he is experiencing some rebound symptoms

> which are contributing to this problem. I really

> don't want to use other meds as he also take Prozac

> for his OCD. We have tried both Paxil and

> Celexa...Paxil was MUCH TOO ENERGIZING and Celexa did

> nothing at all! Maybe we will just have to live with

> this, but an 8 yr. old up at midnight is too much,

> even in the summer. Best. in Southeasern PA

>

> __________________________________________________

>

June 22, 2001

Hi ,

I can certainly relate to to the offbeat sleep cycle. Had the same for

the first two years of my son's OC onset. Because we know that getting

the right amount of sleep is key for being able to deal with the

obsessions, we just HAVE to find a way to get them to sleep at a

reasonable time for their age. For us it meant finding the right fit

with the paxil (the best SSRI for him). The magic formula was to

combine a small amount of risperdal with a small amount of clonazepam

(benzodiazipine). For whatever reason our son's psychiatrist does not

care for buspar. If indeed your problems seemed to worsen with

concerta and buspar, perhaps your Dr. would see fit to substitute for

these agents while sticking with the prozac. Our son still can't get

up but goes to sleep well now after two years of midnight plus. We are

all doing better despite the fact we would love to get him off these

drugs! Wishing you the best! in Canada

In @y..., Joye <cjoye16@y...> wrote:

> I have put this subject out once in the past but I

> was wondering if anyone had anything new to share.

> Ever since my son - age 8 - started taking Concerta

> and Buspar he has had trouble falling asleep. He has

> no trouble staying asleep and I have to guide him

> downstairs in the morning as his alarm clock does not

> wake him at all...yesterday it beeped for 45 minutes

> and he didn't even hear it. Valerian root seems to

> help some, but other than that even antihistamines

> don't help. We are trying to limit TV and computer

> use cutting it off 1 1/2 hours before bedtime, no

> caffeine or other stimulants other than his Concerta

> at 7:30-8:00 AM. Concerta lasts 12 hours and I

> suspect that he is experiencing some rebound symptoms

> which are contributing to this problem. I really

> don't want to use other meds as he also take Prozac

> for his OCD. We have tried both Paxil and

> Celexa...Paxil was MUCH TOO ENERGIZING and Celexa did

> nothing at all! Maybe we will just have to live with

> this, but an 8 yr. old up at midnight is too much,

> even in the summer. Best. in Southeasern PA

>

> __________________________________________________

>

June 23, 2001

My son is also taking concerta 54 mg. What dose is your child on? Have they

tried stepping down a mg?

My son needs 54 mg and the next lower dose does not help him. There have

been times that he has had trouble sleeping and the doctor had said that if

it continued that we would have no choice but to go back to the 3 times a

day ritalin so we could give him that last dose earlier in the evening.

Also, he said we could also try waking Tom up around 5:00 am and giving him

his concerta then. The goal when you do that is to have the medicine last

throughout the day sufficiently enough to help with behavior and then

getting the medicine out of the childs system earlier so s/he could fall

asleep earlier.

Hope this helps!

Amy in Ohio

_________________________________________________________________

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June 23, 2001

Hi Melinda, Prozac has, in the past caused some

transient insomnia in my son. I am not willing to use

anymore medications with him than what he is already

taking and switching to another SSRI right now is

territory I would rather not go down. He is moving up

to the next school for 3rd grade and this means all

new teachers, paraprofessional, etc. and his

Psychologist will be out on maternity leave during all

of July and August. This child becomes unreasonable,

immoveable, completely UGLY when he is off Prozac.

Last time we did a switch (to Celexa ) I had to drive

with my hand on the electric door locks in my car in

order to keep him in the car, before during and after

a blood test he was hysterically hitting, spitting,

punching, kicking ,biting while we were in the lab,

lab parking lot and in the car. Normally I wouldn't

drive under those circumstances, but I know of people

who have had the police called due to a situation like

that and here in the US you must go to whatever

lenghts possible to protect your children from harm or

else risk being jailed for chld abuse or neglect.

Letting him get it out of his system in a public

place, or letting him run away would not have been an

option. Prozac and the other meds have enabled him to

have a life. Before I go changing things around again

I will need to be sure that I have competent support

at all times just in case things fall apart again -

unfortunately my husband has some issues that render

him unable to help with my son when he is like that

and Tommy is getting too big for me to handle myself

when he is off Prozac. For the first time since he was

2 his behavior is manageable and his OCD is also

almost not there. We had an exacerbation in OCD

symptoms in April which couldn't be completely

controlled by CBT (although he diligently tried!)and

an increase in the dosage of Prozac was necessary, but

the trouble falling asleep started many months before

that. I tend to think that it is the rebound from the

Concerta that is causing it. His activity level picks

up greatly at the 13 hr. post Concerta mark. He needs

to be on a stimulant in order to function and we have

been fortunate in finally having one available finally

that is smoother than the shorter acting ones. I have

been thinking that it might be worthwhile to try some

sort of reward system to see if this is something he

is able to control to some extent. If it is OCD

related he may be willing to boss his thoughts back as

he has become very adept at naming OCD and realizing

when it is causing him trouble. in Southeastern

PA

--- JSh1000@... wrote:

> I am amazed at the different effects that meds have

> on different

> people. states that Paxil was MUCH TOO

> ENERGIZING for her son

> and it turned into a dishrag!

> , 's doc described Prozac as being

> energizing. Could

> that be a contributing factor in your son's

> inability to get to

> sleep?

> Melinda S.

> Dallas

>

> > I have put this subject out once in the past but

> I

> > was wondering if anyone had anything new to share.

>

> > Ever since my son - age 8 - started taking

> Concerta

> > and Buspar he has had trouble falling asleep. He

> has

> > no trouble staying asleep and I have to guide him

> > downstairs in the morning as his alarm clock does

> not

> > wake him at all...yesterday it beeped for 45

> minutes

> > and he didn't even hear it. Valerian root seems

> to

> > help some, but other than that even antihistamines

> > don't help. We are trying to limit TV and

> computer

> > use cutting it off 1 1/2 hours before bedtime, no

> > caffeine or other stimulants other than his

> Concerta

> > at 7:30-8:00 AM. Concerta lasts 12 hours and I

> > suspect that he is experiencing some rebound

> symptoms

> > which are contributing to this problem. I really

> > don't want to use other meds as he also take

> Prozac

> > for his OCD. We have tried both Paxil and

> > Celexa...Paxil was MUCH TOO ENERGIZING and Celexa

> did

> > nothing at all! Maybe we will just have to live

> with

> > this, but an 8 yr. old up at midnight is too much,

> > even in the summer. Best. in Southeasern PA

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >

June 23, 2001

Hi Amy, You have a Tom too? My Tommy is taking 72mg.

We started with 18 and worked up to the current dose.

I will think about giving it a little earlier, but

that makes bath time a real chore and I would have to

supplement with 4 hour ritalin if we need to go out

somewhere past 6:00 . At this point I would be afraid

to try the old Ritalin as his problems with rebound

from the shorter acting stimulants have been a major

problem. We may have to just accept the situation as

he is doing better that he has ever done since he was

2! Thanks for the ideas. Best wishes, in

Southeastern PA

--- Amy Gusbar <agusbar@...> wrote:

> My son is also taking concerta 54 mg. What dose is

> your child on? Have they

> tried stepping down a mg?

>

> My son needs 54 mg and the next lower dose does not

> help him. There have

> been times that he has had trouble sleeping and the

> doctor had said that if

> it continued that we would have no choice but to go

> back to the 3 times a

> day ritalin so we could give him that last dose

> earlier in the evening.

> Also, he said we could also try waking Tom up around

> 5:00 am and giving him

> his concerta then. The goal when you do that is to

> have the medicine last

> throughout the day sufficiently enough to help with

> behavior and then

> getting the medicine out of the childs system

> earlier so s/he could fall

> asleep earlier.

>

> Hope this helps!

>

> Amy in Ohio

>

_________________________________________________________________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at

> http://explorer.msn.com

>

__________________________________________________

June 23, 2001

,

I am so glad that you have found a SSRI that helps your son so much.

If I were getting those results, I would not alter anything either.

Your son seems to be handling his OCD quite well!

Melinda S.

Dallas

> > > I have put this subject out once in the past but

> > I

> > > was wondering if anyone had anything new to share.

> >

> > > Ever since my son - age 8 - started taking

> > Concerta

> > > and Buspar he has had trouble falling asleep. He

> > has

> > > no trouble staying asleep and I have to guide him

> > > downstairs in the morning as his alarm clock does

> > not

> > > wake him at all...yesterday it beeped for 45

> > minutes

> > > and he didn't even hear it. Valerian root seems

> > to

> > > help some, but other than that even antihistamines

> > > don't help. We are trying to limit TV and

> > computer

> > > use cutting it off 1 1/2 hours before bedtime, no

> > > caffeine or other stimulants other than his

> > Concerta

> > > at 7:30-8:00 AM. Concerta lasts 12 hours and I

> > > suspect that he is experiencing some rebound

> > symptoms

> > > which are contributing to this problem. I really

> > > don't want to use other meds as he also take

> > Prozac

> > > for his OCD. We have tried both Paxil and

> > > Celexa...Paxil was MUCH TOO ENERGIZING and Celexa

> > did

> > > nothing at all! Maybe we will just have to live

> > with

> > > this, but an 8 yr. old up at midnight is too much,

> > > even in the summer. Best. in Southeasern PA

> > >

> > > __________________________________________________

> > >

July 3, 2001

Hi ,

I've been out of the country for two weeks so this is probably a really late reply, but YES we have huge problems getting Annie to sleep. She is on Luvox now which seems to be making it worse. Paxil made her sleepier and bed times went easier than they have in years, but it quit working for us. She has had sleep problems ever since she "got" OCD, including two years of every night sleepwalking, lots of nightmares, sleep terrors, etc. Now we just have hours of not falling asleep (midnight is not unusual and she is also eight). She also can't wake up in the morning, which is extremely frustrating - who wants to START the day with a fight?? Her sleep problems came before she was ever on a med, and Paxil helped, which leads me to believe that OCD itself is at fault. One thing which helped us was a daily long walk after dinner (2 - 3 miles, both kids, every evening). Annie complained a lot at first, but eventually came to enjoy it. The only problem was it nearly killed her younger brother! He would fall asleep in his clothes! Since sleep is once again a huge issue, I guess it is time to revive the ol' death marches.

Good luck!

in NV (formerly from S.E. PA - Media)

July 20, 2003

My 11 yo AS ds has been having trouble falling asleep for about a

week. He has been on AFP pep and NF since Dec. This past week or so

I have increase NF some to 1/4 cap and added zinc(25 mg He weighs

about 100 lbs) and cuturelle. Last night he asked for a sleeping

pill. That was the 1st I heard of it. He said it has been taking

him 3 to 4 hours to fall asleep. I checked on him around 3 am and he

woke when I touched the door knob. He has always been a very heavy

sleeper. Any suggestions before I cut everything back.

Lynn

July 22, 2003

> My 11 yo AS ds has been having trouble falling asleep for about a

> week. He has been on AFP pep and NF since Dec. This past week or

so

> I have increase NF some to 1/4 cap and added zinc(25 mg He weighs

> about 100 lbs) and cuturelle.

Reduce the NF back to the previous dose. Give the zinc in the

morning. You might also need to move the Culturelle to earlier in the

day.

Dana

June 25, 2007

>

> I am exhausted. is taking anywhere from one to three and a

half hours to fall asleep at night. That in and of itself wouldn't be

an issue, but he is keeping the rest of us up with him. The anxiety

he feels about falling asleep has to be what keeps him awake. I have

tried breathing exercises, taking a " mini vacation " in his mind, even

benadryl- all with NO success. My husband and I are becoming very

frustrated. We see his therapist today, so we'll discuss it with her,

but I am hoping you may have some suggestions to offer. (BTW- he

takes no meds. for his OCD.)

>

> Thanks so much!~Colleen

>

>Colleen, I feel your pain. My son (9 y.o.) has the exact same

problem. Most of his OCD symptoms revolve around bedtime and this has

been quite a battle for all of us. He starts to get anxious about 3

hours BEFORE bed time about going to bed and then once in bed, he will

get up and come out 15 times before falling asleep. He also is a

" rearranger " and get up to move things in his room so he can fall

asleep. My husband and I are so exhausted because he freaks out of we

go to bed before he falls asleep so we have to stay up and wait,

sometimes it is after midnight. We have tried everything under the

sun (he is also on no meds for OCD yet). The only thing that works

sometimes is to not put him to bed too early and wait until he is

really tired. Also I tell him that if he stays in his bed and doesnt

get up, he gets 5 minutes added on to the next nights bedtime.

Please let us know if his therapist offers any suggestions. We are

still on the waiting list to see one.

>

June 25, 2007

Certainly .

To be honest, as much as we like this therapist, I don't think she's helping

Jake because Jake isn't trying to help himself, KWIM?~Colleen

@...: chrisd1098@...: Mon, 25 Jun

2007 11:57:32 +0000Subject: Re: trouble falling asleep

>> I am exhausted. is taking anywhere from one to three and ahalf

hours to fall asleep at night. That in and of itself wouldn't bean issue, but he

is keeping the rest of us up with him. The anxietyhe feels about falling asleep

has to be what keeps him awake. I havetried breathing exercises, taking a " mini

vacation " in his mind, evenbenadryl- all with NO success. My husband and I are

becoming veryfrustrated. We see his therapist today, so we'll discuss it with

her,but I am hoping you may have some suggestions to offer. (BTW- hetakes no

meds. for his OCD.)> > Thanks so much!~Colleen > > >Colleen, I feel your pain.

My son (9 y.o.) has the exact sameproblem. Most of his OCD symptoms

revolve around bedtime and this hasbeen quite a battle for all of us. He starts

to get anxious about 3hours BEFORE bed time about going to bed and then once in

bed, he willget up and come out 15 times before falling asleep. He also is

a " rearranger " and get up to move things in his room so he can fallasleep. My

husband and I are so exhausted because he freaks out of wego to bed before he

falls asleep so we have to stay up and wait,sometimes it is after midnight. We

have tried everything under thesun (he is also on no meds for OCD yet). The only

thing that workssometimes is to not put him to bed too early and wait until he

isreally tired. Also I tell him that if he stays in his bed and doesntget up, he

gets 5 minutes added on to the next nights bedtime.Please let us know if his

therapist offers any suggestions. We arestill on the waiting list to see

one.> > >>

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June 25, 2007

I know many have used melatonin with lots of success. My son, personally, uses

purecalm from Native Remedies. He doesn't have problems with falling asleep,

but it does calm him down in just minutes. I know they also have a product

through native Remedies specifically for sleep. You may check into that

(www.nativeremedies.com) or the melatonin.

Kind Regards,

in TN

chrisd1098 <chrisd1098@...> wrote: