Chronically tired 10 year old

[Teacherteachernotapreacher]

Really need some advice on this as at a total loss!
our 10 year old is exhausted and foul with it (partly because of his age but also as he’s exhausted). We get him to bed at a reasonable time and have a good routine in place, no devices before/bath/story/bed. He reads for a while then goes to sleep no problem. He listens to an audio book to get to sleep which we turn off later on. He does have a night light that he won’t have off as he’s scared of the dark. He also has a weighted blanket that seemed to make some difference but doesn’t any more. He is up multiple times in the nighttime to go to the loo and turns all the lights on to do this which he then doesn’t turn off (suspect this is part of his problem as then they’re on till we get up and turn them off) he’s then awake from 6am (not allowed out of his room till 7) regardless of what time he goes to bed.
anything else we can try? He did have medication for his bladder a few years ago as had to go all the time. It was all psychological after wetting himself in public and then he had the urge to go all the time. This is sorted in the day now - he’s not doing big wees when he gets up so I think he just partially wakes up and goes for a wee every time just in case (if that makes sense)
he’s struggling at school and I think it’s partly because he’s so tired and can’t concentrate.

Please don't assume that the visiting the toilet is the original problem. Go to the GP on Monday. I would email the surgery with his symptoms, someone will get back to you if you can't get through on the phone.

Are his bones / joints achy? DH was like this as a kid and it turned out to be a dairy intolerance

No Kavvlar he’s never mentioned any aches or pains like that.
must tricky re the getting up in the night as I can’t be sure how often it happens but know it does because of the light trail! When we were camping recently - he was up once each night. The other two chn we have don’t wake up for the loo at all so I’ve no idea what’s normal. I’m a bit dubious about going to the GP as they put him on loads of different medications last time with varying side effects which caused more issues than the frequent toilet stops

If he's going to the toilet all the time, could he have diabetes? Is he thirsty a lot of the time?

Have you checked his iron levels? My DS3 has a tendency to extreme tiredness. Floradix has made a big difference.

How dark is his room - does he have blackout curtains? If he’s waking around 6 it could be daylight filtering in.

Not sure how big a job or how expensive it is but you could also get your hall lights put on a timer or motion detector so that they go off automatically.

No not thirsty much - he was assessed for diabetes a couple of years ago and wasn’t then. I’ve not seen any other concerning signs either (my step dad is diabetic so fairly aware of them)

Could you start training him to “double void”, I.e., pee as he normally would, then keep siting on the toilet for a few seconds to pee again. My doctor recommended this to me when I was having to go to the toilet too frequently and it really helped, especially at night. (I’m down to once a night, from 2-4 times a few months ago).

Also, maybe try scattering dim night lights on the trail to the washroom, so that your DS doesn’t need to turn the lights on. Full lights at night are terrible for sleep quality.

I’d echo PPs that it’s also worth getting some bloodwork done to check iron levels.

That’s a good idea doubleElbow - I got told to do that after having kids as have had bladder issues since.
husband reluctant to do that with lights but I think we’ll have to - it’s awful the bright lights coming on!

Another option for lights is motion sensor ones that will come on as he walks past and turn themselves off after a few minutes.

My first thought is diabetes. Has he lost weight? Type 1 can start any time and been spike in cases as seems to be link to covid. My son gets very moody when his blood sugar is too high or low.

Does he snore while sleeping or breathe through his mouth during the day? Any allergies - hayfever, rhinitis, etc.?

Are you absolutely sure he is only weeing at night and not going for a no. 2? Might be too embarrassed to say if he is regularly getting diarrhoea, and if that's the case it would change your whole outlook and you'd have to start considering autoimmune disease and food intolerances like a PP suggested as they do cause fatigue.

Chronic tiredness can be a sign of anaemia, has he lost any weight or does he have dizziness etc? Definitely worth calling the GP to get some blood tests. And get an LED motion sensor light for the bathroom, they're brilliant for nighttime.

This.

please don’t be worried about taking him to the Dr because of past medications. He may have low iron, low B12 low vitamin D or something.

What are the symptoms of his tiredness? Is it ‘just’ tired or anything more eg headaches, aching, brain fog etc? I ask because I have a daughter with chronic fatigue after covid. Covid was mild but she ended up with ongoing fatigue. It’s more than tired though she is exhausted after overdoing it physically or mentally but often totally fine in days between crashes. Is this every day for him? Has he had a recent virus? There are also things like glandular fever etc so definitely worth checking his bloods and a once over at the GP.

My other daughter often wakes for a wee, and she’s fine. Not exhausted or tired. But obviously that could be part of the problem if he’s not getting back off to sleep.

My brother was was very tired at age 7ish, fell asleep after school every day. My mum realised this wasn't normal and eventually he was diagnosed with hepatitis, which sorted it once treated.

His weight is fine - he has a tendency to chunk it on rather than be underweight. He has periods in the day where he’s snappy and foul because he’s tried and has bags under his eyes. He always says he’s tired - but then does sustain normally activity levels for his age. He’s always been an early riser - he got up at 4am every day until he was 7 and we forced him to stay in bed. The toilet breaks at night have been going for years as well. He’s a very light sleeper and I think the lights really don’t help but can’t get rid of the night light as he freaks out. Can definitely try the motion sensors thanks for that idea.
my gut is that he isn’t unwell as he doesn’t have any other obvious symptoms - he’s just not getting enough full sleep because he’s sleeping so lightly and disturbed by wee breaks. He has awful nightmares too and some times sleep walks.

As per a PP - does he snore or mouth breathe? If so it would be worth checking for sleep apnoea, there are sound clips online of what it sounds like at night, basically snoring/loud breathing with noticeable pauses. If he has sleep apnoea he is probably never getting into a deep sleep and so is waking (and then needing the loo) due to that, rather than it being his bladder waking him iyswim.

Could he be dehydrated, I know this sounds odd with the frequent weeing but apparently concentrated urine irritates the bladder and wee becomes extra concentrated at night.

I think I would go with low level, warm colour night lights rather than motion sensors.

We have motion activated plug in nightlights along our upstairs hallway which work really well. You wouldn't even notice them during the day, and at night they are bright enough to see by but a lot less bright than a regular light. And they switch themselves off.