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Children's health

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Original poster

DS sleeping from 1-2pm in afternoon until 7am next day...

184 replies

getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 17:59

Been going on for about 2 weeks now where he just sleeps and sleeps and sometimes complains of a headache.
I've booked him in for doctors on wednesday but what else can I do? Should I be worried about this excessive tiredness?

OP posts:
Babyburd · 25/04/2016 21:19

Where is going to sleep at 2pm in the afternoon, OP? In bed in a darkened room? On the sofa? Is it a continual sleep until 7am? No disturbances for a drink / toilet?

WhirlwindHugs · 25/04/2016 21:19

My DS is 4. He has just (quite suddenly) stopped sleeping from 3pm-5pm then 6pm-7am, sometimes longer. So a fair bit less than your DS but still a lot.
We spent ages seeing audiology because we thought he had hearing problems then had a pediatrician referral but they felt he was fine, then it stopped by itself.

So, yes I would definitely check it out (preferably tomorrow otherwise you will worry) but it might be nothing.

Goingtobeawesome · 25/04/2016 21:26

Bright lights that give everyone headaches are ridiculous. Are you going to change them?

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:28

He goes to bed in his room (which is currently the only one without white light). It's not always dark but sometimes he shuts his curtains and puts a DVD on. Recently he's been watching the same DVD a lot on a small screen TV.
He does wake up but he'll go to the toilet, ask for a drink etc and then just go back to bed. I have to wake him up myself for dinner which he complains about being tired until he can go back to bed...
Tonight is the first night he woke up... which he did at about 5 or 6pm after going to sleep at 2:30 and is still awake now. I didn't want to put him back to bed at 8pm because I was grateful he was awake for once. Considering it improved for this evening, would I still be okay to ring 111? or should I take him to the doctors tomorrow morning and wait?

OP posts:
HeffalumpHistory · 25/04/2016 21:29

The lights wouldn't affect how long he sleeps. 18hours is a very long time for a 4yo.
I'd be looking to get him seen asap tomorrow rather than wed. Different doc too.
Hope it's nothing op but I'd be insisting on getting him checked, wouldn't care if I seem like an anxious mother (experience of safe than sorry paying off more than once when something has been picked up by doc that I'd possibly have dismissed)

Flossieflower01 · 25/04/2016 21:31

Take him to get his blood glucose checked- tiredness is a sign of type 1 diabetes which can kill if not treated. My son slept a LOT in the few weeks before he was diagnosed.

Artandco · 25/04/2016 21:31

Watching dvd on small screen in dark room isn't probably helping headaches

Have you just been leaving him to sleep 2pm-7am next day? Don't you wake him? With mine even if ill I would wake in the day after 2 hrs sleep to make sure they were getting enough liquids, and try and keep them awake an hour or so before back to sleep if Unwell

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:34

goingtobeawesome If I have my way yes. Stupid LED things that make everything look like we live in a dentists. He bought them without saying a word to me and hid them like contraband until I walked in and realised the kitchen looked like a souped up tanning bed.
I have been getting headaches for longer than DS and thought it tied in with something else that is going on with me but thinking about it, I think it's the lights. My sleeping hasn't changed though, but I can sleep for England on a good or bad day.

OP posts:
MissBeaHaving · 25/04/2016 21:36

This doesn't sound right at all for a child,of course they are all different but but the fact that it is such a drastic change in routine is worrying.

I would make a list so that you don't forget anything at the appointment but personally I would want my child seen tomorrow morning & thoroughly checked over.

Alb1 · 25/04/2016 21:37

I'd phone 111 anyway, they can be very reassuring. I phoned them once thinking I was being over the top and they sent us straight to a&e with DS because we'd hit some sort of point on their list that I thought insignificant but they didn't. It's better to phone up and be told to just keep your appointment on Wednesday than to risk not phoning because who knows what points a medical professional could pick up on in your sons symptoms. You have nothing to loose

MissBeaHaving · 25/04/2016 21:37

Just wondering after reading back if you've had your boiler checked recently Op?

Babyburd · 25/04/2016 21:37

Ok, so he's not completely conked out for a solid 17 hours, based on what you've described there- he's watching tv / going to the loo / eating & drinking but then he's so shattered he just wants to go back to bed.

Sounds like the light could be an issue - but would be surprised unless he's sitting in them all the time he's awake? Is he getting natural light through windows / going outdoors when he is awake? Presume lights only need to go on about 7/8 pm when it gets dark?

It doesn't seem to make much sense from the little bit you've shared, but loads of kids do love their sleep, which is no cause for alarm, and if you say he's full of beans (except headache) it's a bit difficult to understand. He could have had a low laying virus that has taken him a long time to get back up from.

At the Drs, I'd be asking about iron level checks and ask for blood tests; just to rule anything out.

Babyburd · 25/04/2016 21:37

Ok, so he's not completely conked out for a solid 17 hours, based on what you've described there- he's watching tv / going to the loo / eating & drinking but then he's so shattered he just wants to go back to bed.

Sounds like the light could be an issue - but would be surprised unless he's sitting in them all the time he's awake? Is he getting natural light through windows / going outdoors when he is awake? Presume lights only need to go on about 7/8 pm when it gets dark?

It doesn't seem to make much sense from the little bit you've shared, but loads of kids do love their sleep, which is no cause for alarm, and if you say he's full of beans (except headache) it's a bit difficult to understand. He could have had a low laying virus that has taken him a long time to get back up from.

At the Drs, I'd be asking about iron level checks and ask for blood tests; just to rule anything out.

NapQueen · 25/04/2016 21:40

I would take him to A&E asap for some tests. There is something wrong. Ive no idea what but two weeks of this and this is the first time you are wondering?

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:42

diabetes does run in the family big time. So much so that i'm checked regularly for it.

I have been waking him for food, drink and toilet breaks. I've tried too keep him awake when he does it. I take him out before he can fall asleep which does work but at a certain point he starts complaining of tiredness.
Otherwise he's very hard to keep awake and will do his best to get into bed. He's also started dribbling a LOT in his sleep... I don't know if that's actually an issue or if it is related but he never dribbled until now... and now suddenly he wakes up with his hair and face soaked in dribble.

OP posts:
SomedayMyPrinceWillCome · 25/04/2016 21:43

GP yes
A&E no

t1mum · 25/04/2016 21:46

Agree with FlossieFlower - please ask for a blood glucose test when you take him to the doctor. You say that he is eating more - has he filled out or is he a similar weight?

Please do check your boiler as well.

This kind of lethargy is not normal in a child of his age.

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:46

MissBea we have in january had our boiler checked but it's in his room and we just had a new CO detector given to us by landlord because the old one started beeping intermittently. When we looked it up it said it was at the end of it's lifespan and needed to be replaced. The new one hasn't detected anything. I've also got one in his cupboard that is my own personal smoke and CO detector... that didn't go off once. It's in the same cupboard as the boiler.

OP posts:
FranKubelik · 25/04/2016 21:47

Please do check that your carbon monoxide detector is working propery.

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:48

He's not filled out at all but taller. We have a height thing which we mark off his height every two weeks or so and he's grown a couple inches in a couple of weeks.

OP posts:
Babyburd · 25/04/2016 21:48

Mention the dribbling at the gps. Insist on a diabetes test.
Try and see the gp tomorrow.

t1mum · 25/04/2016 21:49

If people in your family have diabetes, I would be tempted to ask them to come over and do a BG test on him now. If it is in normal range, it doesn't rule out Type 1 diabetes, but will inform you as to whether you need to take him to hospital immediately. Sorry to sound so dramatic, but I really think this is something you need to exclude.

Artistic · 25/04/2016 21:51

Can't you change the light back for a few days just as a trial? I am severely affected by light - natural & artificial and I suffer from migraine if I have too much onslaught of bright light. Not that I think it should make your DS sleep like he does, but perhaps it's contributing or triggered an underlying problem - both of which are needing shut eye?

3luckystars · 25/04/2016 21:52

It's not the lights.

Bring him back to the doctor, your gut feeling is that it's not right and it's not.

Original poster
getyourfingeroutyournose · 25/04/2016 21:53

It is Fran, We have two different detectors and they are not going off. We had one faulty one but the alarm it was making was due to it's lifespan ending. We now have a digital one which will tell us what the alarm that is going off means. I've tested them both every week.

OP posts: