Valarian. Root and help with meds

[JoyBop]

Does anyone use valarian root for their kiddos to get to sleep? I just bought some 1mg tablets for DS 8 but am somewhat hesitant to add yet another pill to the pill box. DS is very hyperactive at night and can't settle down. He is quite lethargic during the day and falls asleep if given the chance. We are still in the acclimation period as we just increased his intunive to 3mg.

FYI DS gets the following meds at night: 3 mg intunive, omega 3, Motrin and Keflex. Morning meds: omega, Zoloft 12.5mg, Keflex, vitamin d and Motrin.

Is there anything you see that we could do differently? We tried the intunive in the morning but that really made him sleepy. Do you think the Zoloft could be activating him 12 hours later? Could it be anxiety?

Any experience with valarian root would be greatly appreciated.

[MomWithOCDSon]

We have used valerian root in the past, but mostly during the daytime to take a little of edge off his anxiety about heading out the door to school, to a social event, etc. Never found it to really be powerful enough to induce sleep in our DS.

 

Have you ever tried melatonin? About 1/2-hour to an hour before bedtime, this has been "magic" for helping DS fall asleep relatively quickly. There are also some time-release formulations if staying asleep is an issue.

 

Re. Intuniv, DS was taking this for a short period, also. He, too, found himself dragging, especially during the afternoon, presumably because it was lowering his blood pressure? We found if he had a high-protein afternoon snack, it helped him stay "with it" better, though we eventually abandoned the Intuniv because any positive impacts seemed to fade over time.

 

Good luck!

[JoyBop]

Thanks do much for all that. I stand corrected. I was told to get melatonin. Looks like I have to go back to the health food store. Not sure how i screwed that one up.

 

Do you think the bvalarian root is worth keeping to try during the day? Thanks so much for sharing all of that.

Edited September 5, 2013 by JoyBop

[tu4four]

I'd keep it til you see how melatonin works for him. I have used it with melatonin

[MomWithOCDSon]

Thanks do much for all that. I stand corrected. I was told to get melatonin. Looks like I have to go back to the health food store. Not sure how i screwed that one up.

 

Do you think the bvalarian root is worth keeping to try during the day? Thanks so much for sharing all of that.

It could have been purely psychosymatic, but yes, our DS felt as though the valerian root helped him face situations/moments that generally induced anxiety for him. And he had to have felt the results were measurable because the valerian root smells vile (like month-old sweat socks left inside a zipped gym bag!), and sensitive as he is to smells, he had to really WANT to take it in order to do so!

 

Similar to tu4four, I think we did also pair it with melatonin for a time at night when DS was having bigger issues with sleep, the idea being the valerian root relaxed him a bit and then the melatonin would kick in and actually get him to nod off. You may find a combo is ideal, or that only one or the other will do the trick. I would just start low on the melatonin so your kiddo doesn't potentially experience a "hangover" effect the next day and have trouble getting going!

 

Good luck!