Sorry another whinge

[rocketgob]

Hey all

 

Sorry haven't been about for a few days - really struggling to hold things together right now - all I have had since 4.00am is Charlie screaming everytime anyone touches anything belonging to him (or so he thinks). His sleep patterns are killing me - 8pm - 2am then 2ish til 3.30 /4 EVERY damn night - I can't cope anymore - I have a 11month old too who is suffering because of him as when he is up he screams the house down. Then he bullies and intimidates her when they are up together. My other son who is 7 has started sleep walking and bed wetting again too. I do have a husband btw LOL - he is a diabetic who has clinical depression anyway and he also has insomnia and he has started a new job too. (He does have Charlie once he is up sometimes but by that time I have got my daughter to sort out as she is usually screaming hysterically as she gets woken up by him screaming and banging doors or going in shaking her cot)

 

Sorry for moaning again - I know there are no answers, sometimes it just feels better to write things down, but then again it makes me realise how bad he is getting

 

Sarah XXX

[brooke]

so sorry sarah <'> <'> lack of sleep is alful. My son is off today as he has been up since 2am and its becomming a regular thing Have you tried melatonin this helps my son a lot to sleep better. Hope you feel better soon <'>

Brooke

[Kinda]

We had this problem when my son was younger living in Cape Town and I used to have to take him out in the car where he fell asleep. I sure got to know my way around and one day we both fell asleep on the waterfront and I didn't wake up until late morning with someone knocking on the car window to see if we were OK.

 

Try and get some "me" time, I realise its difficult, hang on in there if you can (you know you can its just that at times it becomes unbearable and you have to let someone know).

Edited January 31, 2008 by Kinda

[rocketgob]

so sorry sarah <'> <'> lack of sleep is alful. My son is off today as he has been up since 2am and its becomming a regular thing Have you tried melatonin this helps my son a lot to sleep better. Hope you feel better soon <'>

Brooke

 

Thanks for your replies - I have been to the GP and all he did was give us Phenergan (AGAIN) and said give it when he wakes in the night - also warned us this is a short term measure and it may effect his ability to function in the day ... well, I have tried it twice... both times he turned into an even bigger monster so we wont be doing that again LOL! He said there were 2 other options but at the end of the day autistic children dont need as much sleep and we will just have to put up with it!

[hev]

sarah lack of sleep is awful,you all must be exhausted <'> you are not whinging,its a very real problem for you,hope fully someone on here will have some advice for you <'>

[Clare63]

Sarah, you poor thing you must be exhausted, especially as the whole household is woken up.

 

Maybe you should print your post off and it to your GP, so they can see how bad it is, you can't function properly with so little sleep and no respite, not to mention the impact on the rest of the family.

 

Hope you get some help real soon.

 

Clare x x x <'> <'> <'>

[ellisisamazing]

Rocketgob <'>

 

It's so bliddy hard sometimes, we suffer PERMANENTLY with the sleep issues......and you're right it affects the whole family! As a result we constantly play musical beds in our house in the hope of landing somewhere and catching a few minutes of shut eye! Our 3 year old DS has suffered terribly because of El's nightime activities and she is now also a terrible sleeper! My DH is also suffering Long Term Depression and he works very long hours, so if he doesn't get a decent sleep, he ends up trying to start an argument with me about it.....You'd think I was a fan of no sleep the way he sees it!

 

We use Melatonin and El has been prescribed that for three years, but he can only take it for around a week then he builds up an immunity to it and then it stops working again, so we stop that and suffer again for a while! We have tried soooo much sleep meds, but they simply don't work on our boy...he basically has tooo much natural energy! Even his consultant was shocked, she put him on a pre-op sedative once on quite a high dosage and assured me he would succumb to it quickly.......That was a long night, he eventually dosed off about 4am!

 

I understand exactly how you feel....it's a brain killer! And you're right...writing it down makes you feel better!

 

Good Luck...I will think of you in the wee small hours!

 

Lisa xx

[hev]

thi is probably a really silly question but can children have sleeping tablets like adults?

[Karen A]

Rocketgob <'> <'> Anyone would feel stressed with little sleep and so much to manage.Is there a paediatrician or psychiatrist providing you with support with Charlie ? It sounds like the GP does not have the knowledge or experience to help you sort out the sleep problem.In any case I think melatonin can only be prescribed by a paediatrician or psychiatrist.It would be worth asking the GP to refer Charlie to a doctor that can provide some advice.

Lack of sleep will not help your DH to maintain stable blood sugar levels or to manage his depression.It is worth emphasising this with your GP and also being clear that the other children are being impacted by lack of sleep.

Phenergan does not always work and it can make some children appear ''drunk'' and difficult....but not asleep.However there are other options...like melatonin and the GP should not be just expecting you to live with it.Karen.

[Cariad]

I know where you are coming from, our DS is 12 and doesn't sleep and we have two other children. The lack of sleep is terrible and it's hard to function. Can you ask for help through a social worker who can refer you to a OT for some help on getting your child to sleep at night?

[rocketgob]

We are still waiting for our "support" LOL - we have been told that there is no chance until after easter at the earliest so I guess we just have to sit it out although I am going to try and get hold of the paediatrician and see if she will see us in the meantime.

 

Thanks again for all your replies

 

Sarah xx

[elun1]

<'> Hi Sarah

Just wanted to say that I know how difficult it is - lack of sleep is just horrendous - our youngest ds has never needed much sleep. Very very slowly I have accepted that he doesn't have a sleep problem. When he wakes he has genuinely had enough sleep and needs to get up. Sometimes this is after 4hrs, sometimes 6 and sometimes 40 minutes! What I have changed though is the way I expect myself to deal with it. When he was really little like Charlie I would follow him around, try and 'occupy' him or try and get him back to sleep using all the methods in the parenting books! Now I stick a dvd on or let him go on the computer and try and grab some sleep with my pillows and a blanket in the same room as him. Not great parenting but this is survival! He's been like this since birth and is nearly 7. I also have an 8 yr old and a part time primary teaching job and a husband (just!) so O is safe at night and supervised but that's about all. I used to do ironing or do his physio or work on his S and L or Hanen program but I just couldn't keep that up. Now I grab every minute of sleep I can so that I can at least pretend to cope the next day. I know I'm not giving you helpful advice but I just wanted you to know you're not alone and I really hope you're not trying to do that 'perfect mum' thing on no sleep! Grab every single minute of rest you can - sod the housework etc. you have your hands full enough.

Take care,

love Elun xxx