Anyone been prescribed a sedative for a toddler with sleep problems?

[suiledonn]

DD1 is almost 3. She has had eczema since she was 2 months old and has never slept through the night. We saw the paediatrician on Wednesday for a check up regarding her asthma/eczema/allergies/constipation and I asked him about the sleep problems. He said that maybe due to the eczema she never learned to sleep through as a baby and a sedative for a few nights might help her establish a routine of sleeping through. He gave us a prescription and told us to think it over and if we want to go ahead then try it for a few nights. She goes to bed easily enough but wakes at least twice in the night and often takes ages to get back to sleep. As a result she never seems refreshed in the morning and is often tired and mopes around the house asking for her soother. Has anyone tried a sedative in this situation? How did it go?

we gave our son phenergen when he was 2.5 and going through a very difficult time of not wanting to go to bed and not staying asleep. We found it immensely helpful and actually I've used it on and off since at times when I know we may have problems eg when away from home. It caused him no side effects or problems at all. We did a bit of controlled crying aswell which the phenergen made easier as it didn't go on for so long (the crying that is) but he still got the right message about going to bed and staying in bed.

The only thing is that its effects only last about 4 hours so if your dc wakes in the middle of the night its effects may have worn off by then.

Two of mine were 4 before they ever really slept through. Is it really such a big problem? For her, I mean? Does she nap in the day?

I'm in exactly the same situation as you Suiledonn. DS is 2.6 and has had eczema/allergies since he was 6 weeks old. We've also had sleep problems which have got worse than I could have possibly thought in the last 9 months. He now regularly wakes up and scratches for three hours at a time. Often the only way to try snap him out of it is to take him downstairs to watch TV which I really don't like doing. I have now watched The Snowman at 3 in the morning more times than I care to admit (or remember!).

We were prescribed Phenergan but unfortunately on some kids it has the opposite effect ie. they go hyper. Wouldn't you know it ds went into overdrive and I didn't get him to sleep until after 10.

I think the lack of sleep in eczema kids is very debilitating. We too have tears and excessive tiredness usually resulting in a lot of falling over for some reason. Napping in the day doesn't seem to compensate for lack of sleep at night for us anyway.

What did the consultant prescribe for you - Phenergan? I think it's worth trying, I think lack of sleep is more harmful to general health than the possible side effects of using a sedative.

Let me know how you get on - good luck!

Thanks for the replies.

Rosylee DD goes to sleep easily enough it is getting her to stay asleep that is the biggest problem. The first few hours are usually ok so maybe could give it to her when she wakes the first time in the night.

Saintmaybe It is a problem for her as she is sleepy a lot during the day but doesn't want a daytime nap any longer. I am worried about how she will handle pre-school if she is tired all the time.

Bilbomum The paed actually prescribed something they use in the Children's ward at the hospital but I have since talked to the pharmacist and decided not to go ahead with that one as it seems to be a fairly serious drug. He suggested using Phenergan or Vallergan but I need to check if they are ok as DD is on a preventer inhaler for asthma and I think Phergan might not be suitable in her case. He also mentioned Melatonin, I think it is called and said it is often used for children in her situation so I will ask the doctor about that too.

I know to some people it might seem wrong to give her something to help her sleep but it is affecting her and the rest of the family. We have a 4 month old dd2 and dd1 often disturbs her in the night and I am worried it will affect her ability to sleep too and so far she has none of dd's problems. I am also completely exhausted all the time because as well as being awake for night feeds for dd2 I am regularly awake for long periods with dd1.

I'll look into the Melatonin as well, we've tried both Vallergan and Phenergan with no joy.

I totally understand why you want to use something. We have a 10 month old who I'm still breastfeeding, up to her being about six months I really thought I was losing the plot through lack of sleep with both ds and the baby. I was surviving on about 4 hours sleep most nights and it had a terrible effect on my mental health. They don't use it as a torture technique for no reason!

However now things have calmed down a bit with the baby I can look at things a bit more clearly and see that ds does need some help with sleep, a sedative would be for his benefit rather than mine. I think lack of sleep for toddlers is really detrimental to their overall health and development. You can't cure the eczema unfortunately but maybe you can make it a little more bearable for her if she can get some sleep.

Try not to go too mad with it all, you will hopefully get a breather as the baby's sleep patterns get better as well.