GP will not help my son

[mummytotwoxo]

To sum it up my son is neurodivergent. ADHD. We have struggled with sleep for years. The past 6 weeks it's getting really bad, he's taking 3-4 hours to get to sleep and waking and wondering through the night. My daughters HV mentioned discussing melatonin with the GP, I've contacted every day this week, they cannot even call me back for several weeks due to high demand. I called 111 because we had to keep him off school due to not sleeping, 111 doctors booked me in for a same day phone call with my sons gp surgery on Wednesday it's now Friday and no one has contacted me. I don't know what to do☹️

Not necessarily.
A family member has seen a psychiatrist through bupa who has prescribed medication.
The gp is refusing to carry on with the prescription and the psychiatrist said in all his years he’s never known this to happen before. He’s so annoyed that he’s issuing a private prescription free every month but obviously the actual medication has to be paid for at full price as its now private and not NHS. It really is disgraceful.

A GP with four children of his own used to keep a mini pair of wellies in his surgery- he'd show them to parents of non sleeping kids and say ''Exercise!'' get wellies on and out for exercise and run around- he firmly believed that kids don't get exercised enough, which stops them sleeping well.

As with dogs - exercise calms.

Without really good walks and long cycles and horse rides my son would be sleepless. {He's an adult now, but still needs that exercise}

It’s a myth that Gps cannot prescribe melatonin. In my experience they absolutely can but many don’t know this. My autistic was prescribed it from our Gp. I had to keep a sleep diary for a week and we had tried everything first. My son was diagnosed and signed off paeds at 5, sleep got worse with age and he started melatonin at 10/11 through our Gp. We had tried everything possible first!

OP we have all suffered through these waiting lists. It's not just a now thing!

Drowsy antihistamines are your friend here. Cycle them round. Allevia one night. Piriton the next. Nytol on night 3 etc.

Solid bedtime routine. No phone. Encourage your DC to read first an hour or so whilst the meds take effect.

White/ brown noise once book put down. If that needs to be on phone turn your WiFi off.

Banana milkshake before bed (made with actual banana blended in). Porridge

Thank you for the tip - constantly looking for sleep help for DS and not tried that one -spiced milk seem to help in exam periods but another one to try.

If you are not happy to try magnesium pills - there are thing like

Feather & Down Magnesium Soothing Sleep Butter (300ml) - With Magnesium, Calming Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oils To Aid Sleep. Feather & Down Magnesium Soothing Sleep Butter (300ml) - With Magnesium, Calming Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oils To Aid Sleep.

We've tried Superblends Sleep Tea - Spiced Apple & Vanilla Herbal Tea Infusion with Camomile & Passion Flower Spiced apple Camomile & Passion Flower Spiced apple Camomile & Passion Flower Spiced apple Camomile & Passion Flower

Magnesium glycimate helped a bit but as a teen he doesn't like taking tablets- and everything helps a bit - the weight blanket helps a bit. Tried shower baths before bed and routines and most suggestions they all help a bit but he often stops them - and at 17 hard to insist.

I think you probably need to ring GP every day or if possible do e-consult ( not possible in my area ) and get an appointment with GP and hope they will refer on.

Some GPs are prepared to prescribe it but it is off-license if they do without the back up of the consultant. They leave themselves open to complaints.

Very inflammatory title, but standard MN doctor bashing I suppose.

I’m a GP, and in our area (and I think most places in the UK) we can’t prescribe melatonin except as part of a shared care agreement. This means it has to be initiated by a hospital consultant, supervised by outpatients in the early stages, and then GPs take over prescribing while the patient continues to be monitored by secondary care too. So basically until a patient is seen by a consultant, they can’t have melatonin.
You can, however, buy it online, and it is available over the counter in some countries.

Drugs that have to be part of a shared care agreement (SCA) can only be prescribed by GPs when the agreement is in place between them and the consultant. SCAs don’t currently exist with private providers.
GPs risk being struck off if they break the rules and something goes wrong. In your job, are you happy to risk doing something you may get sacked for, just to please someone else?

Our GP wasn't able to prescribe it, they need a paediatric specialist for it.

Unfortunately the waiting lists are so long, we decided it's not worth it.

The GP suggested Priotin, it put DD into such a deep sleep, she wasn't able to get up the next day, so that's not a solution unfortunately either for us.

In the end we muddled through. Lots of fresh air, restrictions about screen useage, no caffeine on school days. She loves her weighted blanket and it does help calming her.

We tried via BUPA but while they were happy paying for her therapy and assessment, they don't prescribe medication either.

It will be because the prescription was issued by a Private provider. GPs often do not like continuing prescriptions issued by private providers.

My kid was seen by an NHS consultant in the paediatric sleep clinic and was prescribed melatonin. However there was an alternative route for us as well, which was the psychiatrist through CAMHS, it just happened that the paediatric sleep clinic appointment came through first.

I’d attempt to change GP or ask for another doctor at the surgery; and I’d also get some antihistamines and try those at home.
Your GP surgery sounds crappy… I mean your op is about your son but it sounds like even if you were ill eg flu or infection they would have a ridiculous delay if even seeing you at all. What’s the point of having a gp if they don’t offer you any treatments or even contact. You could ring and explain you have had no call on Wednesday. And ask them what delay there is for a call back or appointment? And then if nothing ring 111 again and ask them to book you an appointment and continue that until you get one. But you’d still be better with a different GP I suspect.

I get quite a few requests from private psychiatrists to initiate medication. Some are sensible and I'm happy to prescribe. Some are so off the wall dangerous that it makes we wonder where the psychiatrist learnt their medicine. Your GP may be protecting your relative.

Do you know anyone who lives abroad or who is going on holiday soon? You can buy melatonin over the counter in most countries. Get them to bring some back for you.

Can you just pay to see a private GP? It really isn’t a lot of money and there are many online services. You’ll get a same day prescription.

No, it can be bought in places like Holland and Barrett or online. this is the one we use. You might need a lower strength if your son is younger though. You can get it as gummies if he doesn't like taking tablets - these are quite big capsules.

Sleep hygiene has been really important for us as well. It's a battle, but I try to get my DS off all screens at least an hour before bedtime.

Tbf it’s very easy to get (good quality!) melatonin on the internet. And it’s cheap.

I bought these from Amazon and they have hugely helped my ADHD daughter. Apparently, if you have ADHD you are more likely to be magnesium deficient and this affects sleep. I would try these while you are waiting for your referral. They do work.

Good luck with getting any help with regards to sleeping!
my DD hasn’t slept since birth, we were lucky if she slept 1 hour!
even now 20+ years later she doesn’t sleep!

Cherry Active is a good form of melatonin and comes from a reputable supplier. Some health shops stock it but you can get it online safely. And you can buy good quality magnesium over the counter.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kids-Magnesium-Gummies-Supplements-Magnesium/dp/B09ZZM9YWF/ref=mpssa111sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pGpCDfJIgCSPz-ma8Rp6FBsJ6Y-rAvcuC99qTMHhzaqglXvs3cSk2bzhuXsJZjmCdfI3uzkrZiyBRwJ1BP-NyyJt9j41ESKNhwGULwhRZ1OdfPncS3ObHL6p0FsNCvCvCQ9fu3o6xWWH2upeeLstpUzvRNx0BApr2BIcmIRJycQug8Dd4ht7byZL8-ZCz9r7z8ddrQMNIyBbPTZ07PNg.hQ3z1AvtsHGsbHNTyOyQ8iIDra3Bfo7PwyVRM6D4wRo&dibtag=se&keywords=magnesium+glycinate+for+children&qid=1728643899&sr=8-1-spons&sppcsd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

Are these any good or do they have to be magnesium glycinate?

@mummytotwoxo our son really struggles to wind down and his sleeping has always been very erratic. We did eventually get a trial prescription of meletonin - he will not take it, spits it out and always always knows if I've put it in a drink. Can't have it with or hours before or after food. A friend who got it privately and wasn't told about the food thing found it gave her DD a bad stomach.

What works for us is -

No screens at all after 6pm
Fresh air after tea
Supper and stories before bed
Magnesium foot cream
Long stories so we're not swapping between books.
The routine of school has helped some too.

Good luck!

GPs don't prescribe Melatonin, that's the paediatrician.

There are lots of drugs that can be bought OTC in other countries but not here and vice versa.

The GP here won't do shared care for ADHD medication.

It's a fucking joke for anyone who can't pay for private.

The whole system is set up to gaslight parents.

Magnesium bisglycinate is better because both the Mg and glycine are helpful for sleep.