Homeopathic sleep remedies

Caroline5 · 2003-04-10T21:03:02+00:00

Has anyone tried any alternative sleep remedies? Dd1 is a bit of a live wire (age 4) and sometimes finds it hard to calm down to go to sleep. She also sometimes wakes in the night and seems to have insomnia, unable to go back to sleep for 2-3 hours. I think she has more problems than the average 4 yr old with sleep, but don't want to get into prescribed sedatives. I've been to Holland & Barrett today who managed to sell me some Bach Flower remedy to calm her down at bedtime! Is this as useless as it sounds??!

tomps · 10/04/2003 23:08

I would suggest you try chamomilla - you can get it at 30 strength from Boots and larger Tescos - try to avoid food / drink 20 mins before / after giving it to her. Give it at bedtime. And chamomile tea. You might also want to try cranial osteopathy - depending on where you are, you may be able to get very cheap treatments from trainees (still very good and always supervised) - I believe this has helped with dd's sleeping & eating. Also if you saw a homepath you would receive treatments specific to your daughter's constitution rather than general - there may be an underlying factor disrupting her sleep. Sorry this is very long, am obviously in full on hippy mode just now

tomps · 10/04/2003 23:08

I would suggest you try chamomilla - you can get it at 30 strength from Boots and larger Tescos - try to avoid food / drink 20 mins before / after giving it to her. Give it at bedtime. And chamomile tea. You might also want to try cranial osteopathy - depending on where you are, you may be able to get very cheap treatments from trainees (still very good and always supervised) - I believe this has helped with dd's sleeping & eating. Also if you saw a homepath you would receive treatments specific to your daughter's constitution rather than general - there may be an underlying factor disrupting her sleep. Sorry this is very long, am obviously in full on hippy mode just now

Original poster

Caroline5 · 11/04/2003 21:50

Thanks tomps, will look out for the chamomilla and maybe think about seeing a homeopath. Am going to try the Bach Flower stuff this w/e.

OP posts:

smartie · 13/04/2003 15:03

I think Bach Flower remedies can be very successful, let us know how you get on.

Seeing a homeopath is an ideal suggestion, expensive but as tomps says the trainees are much cheaper and well supervised and I think far more thorough as they're using you as one of their case studies.

Jimjams · 13/04/2003 15:07

I think in waitrose you can buy sleepy milk- it is meant to have a higher level of melatonin. melatonin is good at getting children to sleep (but doesn't keep them alseep iyswim). You can get melatonin as well to give as a kind of supplement but you may need to order from the states. It is supposedly side-effect free. I haven't used it.

Seeing a homeopath is a good idea- it's very hard to get the correct remedy for this sort of thing unless you see someone who is trained. Try o get a recommendation from someone, if you do go to see one (and make sure they're registered as well).

edgarcat · 13/04/2003 16:19

Message withdrawn

tomps · 13/04/2003 16:48

edgarcat, I'm a homeopathy user mostly because I prefer not to use drugs and chemicals for me or dd (unless essential), but remain sceptical. I've had success with lots of remedies for both myself and dd, but still find that nothing beats calpol for really bad teething and temperature. It's a great complementary medicine, but it can't mend a broken leg (though it can help the healing process ) So does it actually matter if it can't be scientifically proven, if people who use it are quite happy to do so ?

smartie · 13/04/2003 18:08

I agree with tomps, I too see a homeopath and use homeopathy for similar reasons while still remaining sceptical (sometimes) but the results i have had for myself, children and husband are remarkable at times.

Can I be a believer in it's ability to assist healing yet also remain sceptical??

Edgarcat, mind over matter theory falls flat on it's face when results are achieved in treatment of infants, as i've seen with my dds. Ds takes a remedy to assist with his moods/behaviour, he recently explained away a nasty bout of violence by declaring that he needed another remedy, I gave him a placebo, a few days later he was distraught at the lack of effect, when I gave him the usual remedy, under the pretence of it being arnica for a bump, his mood and behaviour did it's usual jekyle and hyde flip for the better!

windmill · 13/04/2003 18:32

Hello Caroline5, I am a complementary therapist and I often recommend chamomilla tablets although I have only used them myself for headaches, teething and other pain in children and adults. When I have difficulty sleeping I put a couple of drops of lavender essential oil or chamomile essential oil on my pillow and it works wonders. I believe everybody should keep stocked up on lavender oil anyway as it is so versatile.

Jimjams · 13/04/2003 20:16

or cows smartie. Good results with cows and mastitis. edgarcat the guy ernst who does all the complementary medicine research has said (before starting) that he doesn't believe in homeopathy so don't really trust his results. Some studies have shown an effect. The french guy (benoist- sp??) who did the memory of water stuff had some compelling evidence but the establishment didn't like it.

I used to be very sceptical about homeopathy but have seen it work very well with my two boys (ds1 really can't have lots of conventional medicine including calpol so I had to try alternatives). Twice I have seen near miracles (the first was the first time I used it- very sceptically- it converted me)

jasper · 14/04/2003 00:49

I am completely skeptical.
It is well known that a placebo effect can be "passed on " by the person administering the "remedy" even if the recipient does not know what they are being given, that is why trials have to be randomised and double blind.(ie neither giver nor receiver must know what is being given)
However, I am always up for being educated and having my opinions changed so this week am going on a course relating to homoeopathy in my work and other things which come under the term holism. It is being run by one of the top doctors from the Homoeopathy Hospital in Glasgow.

edgarcat · 14/04/2003 08:16

Message withdrawn

Jimjams · 14/04/2003 09:02

sounds interesting Jasper. TBH when I gave ds1 the first remedy- I gave it as a "well at the moment I will try anything I am so desperate"- chose it myself- didn't see a homeopath. It woked like a miracle. Didn't give it the next day- problem returned immediately. Thought "strange" - gave it that day- worked a treat again. Gave it one more day- and problem had disappeared. And believe me this paticular problem had been going on for weeks. DS1 is autistic so didn't have a clue that he was being given a remedy. He doesn't have any idea about medicines or anything like that.

Converted. Knowing what I know now (I am training to be a practitioner now) - I was very lucky in that I happened to have chosen a very good remedy for ds1- more by luck than anything else. Since then have used homeopathy a lot with both boys. It often works very well - and in ds1's case works better than calpol which - in common with many autistics really doesn't work on him (screwed up sulphation system).

I used to be a "grain of salt in the ocean" person. But now I've researched a bit more about how it could work I'm happier. FWIW I think to homeopathy will be "explained" one day- but not in molecular terms- probably need to use quantum physics. I think this will also "explain" acupuncture.

For now I'm happy to use homeopathy and accept the result.

Jimjams · 14/04/2003 09:13

edgarcat- snap - saw it with a friend's baby- couldn't believe it. In fact wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.

I took ds2 for a cranial session when he was about a year old. he had had a bunged up nose pretty much since birth. She felt his chest and said "does he have a lot of chesty coughs - he's very glued up in his chest- there's loads of mucus" I said "no he's never had a chest problem, never had a cough blah blah blah" - (secretly thinking mad woman). Anyway that night he woke up at 3am and started coughing up the thickest most revolting mucus I have ever seen. Carried on coughing it up for 5 days then was clear. And his nose was clear.

Recently he's had a chesty cough again - haven't given him cough medicine- took him to the osteopath.

Didn't find it so useful with ds1- but took him for more general autismy things so not quite sure what I was expecting. Certianly would recommend it for screaming babies/babies who don't sleep and chesty coughs.