Any advice for calming my son at bedtime?

[tlkinser]

Hi all,

My son is still ticcing (vocal and motor) most of the day, all day. The loud vocal yell/grunt has calmed (thankfully), but he still squeaks, shakes his head, clears his throat (small grunt), and licks things. He goes to Kindergarten, plays with his buddy next door, and is on the go full-speed all day long. I know he is exhausted by bedtime but he is having a really hard time falling asleep, staying still, relaxing... you get the idea. We are doing epsom salt baths before bed, but the past few days he has been so restless at bedtime. We've removed the fish oil, Kids Calm, and multi-vitamin for the past two days, as well as removed dietary restrictions since we are getting ready to do some of the environmental testing next week. (The dr suggested stopping supplements so that we can get a precise result with the testing.)

 

Does anyone else notice that their child has a hard time getting to sleep at night? He can be in his bed for 2-3 hours before FINALLY falling asleep. He flops around, kicks his legs, plays with toys, rolls from side to side... just CAN'T be still or get comfortable. We start bedtime at 7:30 and the past few nights he has not been asleep before 9:30-10:00. Any ideas to help calm him? Is this indicative of something (a lack of something, too much of something??)? I guess I'll be able to see if the supplements help with this when we start them back up next week.

 

Thanks in advance,

tlk

[amy1]

it's hard to get my child to settle. this is part of it all, hard to calm them and get them to that state of relaxation for sleep. i feel i have tried so much too---right now (she is 8) i have her read to herself or i read and we talk a little in bed, then we do our little prayers. sometimes i play some calm music starting around 6pm. there's a great cd that's calming. the cd is by the artist snatum kaur...super relaxing for everyone in the house.

[Chemar]

A 20 minute soak in a warm tub of water with 2 cups of epsom salts dissolved in it works wonders in promoting restful sleep, and the magnesium in the salts also calms tics

[Pamela Kay]

I have to say that I resorted to threatening my boys as they would not calm down at bed time. I told them they could stay up later and read but they had to read and not play. If they don't then I will turn out the lights and call it bed time. So far it has worked pretty well. They think they get a later bed time but really they usually just read until about the same time it would take to fall asleep anyway.

[Guest]

Hi tlk,

 

I would suggest researching Pyroluria and possibly testing your son for Pyroluria if you haven't already. It used to take me 1-3 hours to get to sleep at night because I couldn't stop thinking enough to let me get to sleep. We found out that I had Pyroluria, and after treatment I was able to get to sleep within 5-10 minutes. You can find more info if you search the fourm for Pyroluria.

 

Carolyn

[michele]

I couldn't believe that Pyroluria test was so expensive to ship. $50. Did you get any of the test covered by your insurance?

Michele

 

 

Hi tlk,

 

I would suggest researching Pyroluria and possibly testing your son for Pyroluria if you haven't already. It used to take me 1-3 hours to get to sleep at night because I couldn't stop thinking enough to let me get to sleep. We found out that I had Pyroluria, and after treatment I was able to get to sleep within 5-10 minutes. You can find more info if you search the fourm for Pyroluria.

 

Carolyn

[tlkinser]

Thanks everyone for yout input. Carolyn, that's really interesting about the Pyroluria. I will have him tested for that if it's not already on the list of testing to be done by our environmental dr this week. It's exactly what you described- it's like he can't stop "thinking" about things enough to calm down. His motor is still full-speed ahead.

 

I am so grateful for everyone's input on this site. I often sit for hours and go back and read through as many posts as I can, just trying to pick up one more piece of the puzzle that might help my son. It is so wonderful that everyone is willing to share their journey so that others can learn from it. Thank you!

 

tlk

[trubiano]

I just wanted to metioned something not related to the sleep issues. You had said your child licks things. My son had the same issue and when I took him to a Wellness Center they said that was a sign of yeast over growth in the gut. With in two days of upping his probiotic the licking stopped and has not returned. I just thought I would metion because our licking situation went on for months and was getting dangerous.

[Guest]

Michele,

 

The $50 for the Pyroluria test kit should include not only the shipping, but the testing also. I didn't try to get the test covered by my insurance.

 

Carolyn

 

 

I couldn't believe that Pyroluria test was so expensive to ship. $50. Did you get any of the test covered by your insurance?

Michele

[melwade]

Hi all,

My son is still ticcing (vocal and motor) most of the day, all day. The loud vocal yell/grunt has calmed (thankfully), but he still squeaks, shakes his head, clears his throat (small grunt), and licks things. He goes to Kindergarten, plays with his buddy next door, and is on the go full-speed all day long. I know he is exhausted by bedtime but he is having a really hard time falling asleep, staying still, relaxing... you get the idea. We are doing epsom salt baths before bed, but the past few days he has been so restless at bedtime. We've removed the fish oil, Kids Calm, and multi-vitamin for the past two days, as well as removed dietary restrictions since we are getting ready to do some of the environmental testing next week. (The dr suggested stopping supplements so that we can get a precise result with the testing.)

 

Does anyone else notice that their child has a hard time getting to sleep at night? He can be in his bed for 2-3 hours before FINALLY falling asleep. He flops around, kicks his legs, plays with toys, rolls from side to side... just CAN'T be still or get comfortable. We start bedtime at 7:30 and the past few nights he has not been asleep before 9:30-10:00. Any ideas to help calm him? Is this indicative of something (a lack of something, too much of something??)? I guess I'll be able to see if the supplements help with this when we start them back up next week.

 

Thanks in advance,

tlk

Hi, A friend of mine told me about Meletonin. And it has been a miracle! My daugher has anxiety and our son has tourettes and ocd. We gave it to both of them 2 tablets at 3mg each about 30 min. before bed. Sometimes when his tics are super strong I give him 3. It is all natural and I can not tell you how wonderful it has worked for us. I wish you the same success. Also you don't have to spend alot of money on it we buy the cheapest brand at a dollar general store for 3.00 but I"ve seen it as high as 8.99 a jar. They all worked the same for us. GOD bless and good luck. melwade

[Calicat]

Hi,

My daughter was exactly like you describe your son at bedtime. She would often still be awake an hour or even two after I put her to bed (even if she was exhausted!) She would flop her body around on the bed and wiggle and sing, etc., and just could not seem to lie still even if I begged or threatened her. In fact, from the time she was born, she was not one to fall asleep easily. I remember my friends talking about their children falling asleep 5 or 10 minutes after they hit the pillow... for mine, I had to bounce, bounce, bounce her until she finally passed out. She has NEVER fallen asleep at the table or on the couch or anything like most kids do at one time or another. I used to think she just fought sleep, but now I think it was more physiological than that.

 

I am sooooo happy because now she sleeps much more normally. If I put her to bed, she doesn't flop her body around anymore, and she can be asleep in 10 to 30 minutes... a HUGE improvement. This change occured when I gave her supplements for her tics, back in June of this year. I believe the most important for this issue was the magnesium, which I give as the supplement "Kids Calm" (includes zinc and vitamin C), and I cannot recommend highly enough. I always make up a little cup of it for her (it's a powder, to be made into "tea" as we call it, and I serve it in a little red espresso cup to make it fun) just before bedtime. I make a cup for myself, too, because it has made a huge difference in how I sleep. I'd say the amount we both take is 150mg or so. I know it sounds small, but it really works even at this level.

 

The other things I started her on around the same time were kids digestive enzymes (one with each meal), kids high-quality additive-free multivitamin, and more recently fish oil and calcium too. So, as Chemar says, some of these supplements may be working together for the benefits, where just one would not have the same effect as it might. But I do believe the Kids Calm is absolutely essential for us.

 

I wonder, too, about the genetics of this, because almost everyone in my family (brother, sister, dad) has sleep issues. Maybe we don't absorb magnesium as well as other people, or who knows what. I hope that's the future of medicine... that everyone will be tested to understand their body's unique mechanisms and problems so that we can work to correct it rather than just throw medications at it.

 

I also just wanted to mention something about the melatonin. It is natural, but I have done some reading on it, and experts advise caution when using with children... to keep the dose low, and not to rely exclusively on it. I recommend googling some information (I did, but I don't have the links right now... sorry) on doses, studies done, etc. Also, I'm not 100% sure, but I believe quality might be an important consideration for melatonin, too. I apologise, melwade; I'm not trying to be contradictory, just want to give a little extra information. I have melatonin in my cupboard, too.

 

Hope this helps,

Calicat

[amy1]

where do you get kids calm? healthfood store?

[Pamela Kay]

We ordered our kids calm online because our health food store did not have any. I did ask them about it though and she said they would order it which they did because now they have some too. So maybe if yours does not just ask them.

[melwade]

HI, CALICAT,

No offence taken. I always welcome any insight I might miss. I should have mentioned we also got the approval of our neurologist who has seen both my children for the past 5 years and he o.k'd it for us. I'm sorry if I jumped the gun but I know how frusturating it can be for you and your children when they don't sleep. Your daughter sounds just like my Sarah. We are also using the magnesium and asodophilus enzyme and have had great success. Take care melwade

Hi,

My daughter was exactly like you describe your son at bedtime. She would often still be awake an hour or even two after I put her to bed (even if she was exhausted!) She would flop her body around on the bed and wiggle and sing, etc., and just could not seem to lie still even if I begged or threatened her. In fact, from the time she was born, she was not one to fall asleep easily. I remember my friends talking about their children falling asleep 5 or 10 minutes after they hit the pillow... for mine, I had to bounce, bounce, bounce her until she finally passed out. She has NEVER fallen asleep at the table or on the couch or anything like most kids do at one time or another. I used to think she just fought sleep, but now I think it was more physiological than that.

 

I am sooooo happy because now she sleeps much more normally. If I put her to bed, she doesn't flop her body around anymore, and she can be asleep in 10 to 30 minutes... a HUGE improvement. This change occured when I gave her supplements for her tics, back in June of this year. I believe the most important for this issue was the magnesium, which I give as the supplement "Kids Calm" (includes zinc and vitamin C), and I cannot recommend highly enough. I always make up a little cup of it for her (it's a powder, to be made into "tea" as we call it, and I serve it in a little red espresso cup to make it fun) just before bedtime. I make a cup for myself, too, because it has made a huge difference in how I sleep. I'd say the amount we both take is 150mg or so. I know it sounds small, but it really works even at this level.

 

The other things I started her on around the same time were kids digestive enzymes (one with each meal), kids high-quality additive-free multivitamin, and more recently fish oil and calcium too. So, as Chemar says, some of these supplements may be working together for the benefits, where just one would not have the same effect as it might. But I do believe the Kids Calm is absolutely essential for us.

 

I wonder, too, about the genetics of this, because almost everyone in my family (brother, sister, dad) has sleep issues. Maybe we don't absorb magnesium as well as other people, or who knows what. I hope that's the future of medicine... that everyone will be tested to understand their body's unique mechanisms and problems so that we can work to correct it rather than just throw medications at it.

 

I also just wanted to mention something about the melatonin. It is natural, but I have done some reading on it, and experts advise caution when using with children... to keep the dose low, and not to rely exclusively on it. I recommend googling some information (I did, but I don't have the links right now... sorry) on doses, studies done, etc. Also, I'm not 100% sure, but I believe quality might be an important consideration for melatonin, too. I apologise, melwade; I'm not trying to be contradictory, just want to give a little extra information. I have melatonin in my cupboard, too.

 

Hope this helps,

Calicat