Phenergan for 14 month old

[Littlerose85]

Can someone please help!!

My DS is 14 months old and has never slept through! He goes down for 7-7.30pm every night but after about an hour he starts becoming restless and so begins our night of torture! He throws himself around cries and whimpers. We can sometimes soothe him and get him back to sleep but it won’t be long until he wakes again. We don’t get any time to ourselves in the evening or through the night.

When he got to 12 months and we had tried everything we could do at home and nothing had worked I decided enough was enough, I went to our GP in the hope we could maybe get some help or be referred to a sleep clinic. She straight away said Phenergan would be a solution but because he was under 2 years old she wasn’t legally allowed to prescribe it, so would refer us to a paediatrician to see if we can get some from them to break his terrible sleep pattern. So we waited three months to get to the appointment but the Dr was very reluctant to give phenergan and instead prescribed a sedative called choral hydrate and left us with that. It hasn’t made any difference what’s so ever and now we can’t see the dr again for another few months.

We have now resorted to taking turns sleeping in his room and having no sleep every other night, with one of the nights being spent in our own bed with our 4 year old DD (we only have a two bedroomed house). It’s making us miserable and is taking its toll on our marriage, work life and health as were always run down.

I am actually considering buying Phenergan over the counter and just giving him a small dose I am that desperate! I’ve been told by grandparents and other people that it was used all the time back in the day, so I am thinking is it just the MHRA being over cautious and trying to stop people off giving it to children willy nilly. But I also do know it’s risky.

Is there anything else available over the counter I can try or has anyone given their child under 2 phenergan and if so what dose was it??

Any help or advice is much appreciated!!

it’s not something I’ve thought about lightly and calling it drugging my child makes me sound like I am a bad parent. At the end of the day he is a very bad sleeper and if paediatrician has offered medication then I will try it, as I would if I were a bad sleeper as an adult.

I would question the paediatrician tbh. Not your parenting. But you asked about giving Phenergan so I to responded to that. Please don't take it personally. I was simply answering your post. No judgement, I know how hard it is. But I wouldn't drug my child. No.

14months is very young still for sleeping through. My 22m old has only just started doing longer stretches.
I appreciate the sleep deprivation as I’m there but medicating you’re child is extreme. Yes they did used to dish it out back in the day but lots of things were deemed as okay and normal until they did further research

@minipie thanks that would make sense if he hadn’t been having magnesium. We definitely think something isn’t quite right the way he throws himself about. W

We have also given him calpol in case he was in pain but that doesn’t really seem to make much difference either.

My 19 month has NEVER slept through the night
My nearly 7 year old slept through from 4 months old.
No advice just want to chime in that I’m right with you. Would love to drug my child to sleep but think I wouldn’t sleep anyway , it’s been that long

@habipprtyh sorry I am just feeling particularly tired and sensitive and I am writing this with tears in my eyes I feel that drained 😪

I don’t think you’re a bad parent for considering this because sleep deprivation is real! If you’re happy to take ‘extreme measures’ as such would you try sleep training? CC Cracked our DC in around a week- went form terrible sleeper to sleeping through/one wake up bottle and back to sleep. I’d try that before anything else.

@GiveMeAllTheGin8 🤣

@SarahTancredi the only other thing is eczema on his face but it looks awful and is all around his eyes. When we saw the paediatrician he had a cold and he said it’s just related to that. He still has a bit of a snotty nose but not much else. His nappies are fine too

My 2.4 year old still doesn't sleep through. I haven't had a full nights sleep for 4 and a half years because DD didn't sleep until 18 months either.

I 100% understand the desperation. I have also considered drugging them to get them to sleep but never have. I even saw melatonin in a Spanish pharmacy and was so tempted to try it. Can you imagine if the kids had a bad reaction to it or something happens and you have to take them to hospital? In my eyes (and probably doctors and social services) it's only a step away from giving them harder drugs to knock them out!

My daughter had Phenergan when under 2 and it was prescribed by my Dr (she is 30 now) . I found it amazing and got her into a sleep routine as you do 3 days on 1 day off etc until routine of sleeping without it. Takes about a month but it works. My sister also used it and again no issues. Good luck x

Is the eczema being treated? What did they give him for it?

Its hard to know for sure what to suggest really, eczema, pain/discomfort could be a sign that hes still intolerant to something.

Dairy and soya are the usual most likely culprits but I wouldnt advise excluding 2 lots of food groups without being under the care of a dietitian or dr.

Waking every one to two hours every night and restless between is tough on everyone.
My twins didn’t sleep through until they were 4 but even with only being up once or twice each night I was exhausted.
Would you talk to a doctor about melatonin. Some people don’t make enough melatonin. It completely changed my nephews quality of life.

It used to be the done thing using sedating antihistamines as a sleep aid for children but it was found that many children were presenting to hospital following overdose (be it deliberate or accidental). For that reason they changed the guidelines of their sale.

I think a referral back to the consultant would be better. I understand the desperation though.

My brother is 43 now and when he was a baby he slept through the day and was awake at night. The doctor back then gave her phenergans elixir as it was and it totally did the trick! But this was a lot of years ago!

I’m a pharmacist too and I never sell phenergan, I don’t know many pharmacies that sell it these days, we don’t keep the tables either.

Huge sympathies from me as I have two non-sleepers and I well recognise the toll it can take on every aspect of life. Sending hugs for that alone as I can just imagine how exhausted you must be. Echoing previous posters I do not think that Phenergan or indeed any sedating drugs (chloral hydrate!??) are the way forward and I am frankly aghast that the Paediatrician suggested it. Are you in the UK? I only ask because it seems like such a departure from normal practice, and even amongst children with special needs who demonstrate abnormal sleep patterns there is often a huge fight to get pharmaceutical interventions such as melatonin. The frequency of waking you describe is by no means unusual, and I do believe it is helpful to remember that. Many many children are waking overnight until well into the preschool years. My own two being just one example -
neither of which sleep through the night yet at 20 months and 4 years of age. With that said, the level of distress, whimpering and general writhing about you describe may point to a physical / medical cause and again I am aghast that a Paediatrician would consider sedatives rather than fully investigating the underlying cause. Have they considered reflux? Ditto the eczema should be regarded as a ‘clue’ and not merely dismissed by the doctor as being related to a recent cold, especially in a child with previous issues with dairy.

Anyway I hope this comes across in the way that it is meant - huge sympathies and total understanding as to how sleep deprivation can colour everything, but a real caution against going down the route of sedating medication. I really would consider reflux as a possible cause of the nighttime distress.....which wouldnt be relieved by calpol alone...

You’ll struggle to get a pharmacist to actually sell it anyway. I don’t sell it because it’s only ever used for sedating children, there are better alternatives for allergies.

Not true. Boots sell it.

OP you say he wakes every one to two hours but how long is he sleeping for before he wakes up for the day?

My one year old wakes every hour or so and is ebf. Never slept through. I'm not worried. It's normal at this age.

Not true. Boots sell it.

Only at the discretion of the pharmacist, you can’t just pick it off the shelf.

When my daughter was about 2 and a half she was prescribed it for severe travel sickness. We used it just the once as it made her jittery and a bit shaky and we weren't comfortable with that.... Plus it didn't stop the travel sickness. I think I heard it can send some kids into a kind of hyper overdrive too.

I have read the thread but my eyes aren't as fresh as they used to be. I had the same experience as you when my son was a similar age. I shelled out for a sleep consultant. She did an interview with me then gave me a very specific routine (no cry it out) and after a few weeks he was sleeping through. He's now five and got really good sleep habits. It was expensive but worth it.

I know how desperate you must feel but I don't think medication is the way to go or a good habit to get it unless there is a cast iron medical diagnosis.

Sending you so much empathy. You're in a dark place and I feel for you. But it will come to pass I promise

I took phenergan last night! it helps with my middle of the night waking, i still wake up but fall back to sleep easily. My local branch of Llyods sells tablets and liquid for children.
I can see how you may want to use drugs to break a habit but the danger would be slipping into regular use.

I’m a pharmacist too and I never sell phenergan, I don’t know many pharmacies that sell it these days, we don’t keep the tablets either.

I keep them in for prescriptions but they are hidden in the dispensary and I don’t sell them OTC. I don’t even keep the liquid in stock. I’m always happy to recommend an alternative for their ‘allergies’ but somehow the answer is always no!!

DS didn't ever sleep through til 21 mo and even now at 2.4 it's not guaranteed.

I'm sorry but sedating him is really not the answer

It's exhausting but it's not that unusial for a 14 month old not to sleep through. How often does he wake up? I don't think you should give him something that the doctors have said is unsafe.

Wtf?! My daughter is almost 3 and has slept through once. Various people I know have toddlers of varying ages who aren’t yet sleeping through. Why do people think this is so weird? It’s really common!