So frustrated and fed up

[rebl]

We got ds a weighted blanket 10 days ago for bedtimes. Overall its improved things no end but I just don't understand why some nights are great and some nights are bad. I also don't understand why some days are bad and some are good.

So yesterday was fab and he was asleep within 30 mins of going to bed. He didn't have any odd issues with lights during the day (he does this weird eye thing with lights). He didn't head bang, spin, or anything sensory seeking at all.

Then you get today. He's lashed out vicously at 2 different random children that he doesn't know in 2 different settings. He's been going mad with the lights. He's spent ages upsidedown. He's now in his room not beginning to go to sleep trying to climb the wall, doing headstands, poking his eyes, hitting his head.

I just don't get it, what is the difference? Yesterday he spent 30 mins on the trampoline and 30 mins swimming (doing forward rolls not swimming) so only 1hr exercise. Today he spent 2hrs at a softplay centre, 2 hours at the park. That is 4hrs exercise.

What we have noticed is if we can get him on a trampoline for even 10 mins he's better. But was is it with the trampoline that makes the whole day and night so much better? It clearly isn't the amount of time spent doing vigorous exercise. I really don't get it. I'm beginning to think I should make trampoline time compulsory even if I dont' understand it!

And CAMHS are being so slow in giving us any advice or help. They just seem to want to observe. We've had 3 different observations and they've now decided they want another observation in an unfamiliar setting and with some dr person there. I have no idea what they are doing tbh and where its all going.

Rebl, does his diet affect his behaviour at all? It doesn't affect my DS but I have friends who avoid all sorts of additives and there's GF / CF diets that people swear by.

you get very good sensory feedback form bouncing on a trampoline, and it is very good for core stability too - so overall a much more vigorous workout than eg running in the park.

could the difference also be due to dietary changes? did he have anything substantially different on the two days?

dd1 is an absolute demon if she has any food that causes a rection - it has been explosive in our house this weekend - just lots of hyper chatting/pestering/prodding/pushing boundaries.

she too, has difficulty settling - if she goes straight down then it's fine (by straight down I mean 20 mins or so). if not, it oculd be up to 3 hours of singing/shouting/running about/banging doors/pestering me (I have to stay upstairs unti she is quiet for the reasons stated) etc.

He's already on a gluten free, dairy free diet. He's got multiple food intolerances because of a gastric problem. I'm sure he's not had anything wrong on the bad days in terms of his diet.

Is the trampoline doing something good to his vestibular system?

Def agree that soft play are sensory overload, all those other kids & your post has probably hit the nail on the head... 2 randon kids that he didn't know in two different settings..
That amount of change in one day i know would hav eds2 pacing up & down and flicking his cheeks.

Sometimes its the fun things we try to do with our kids that ahve the biggest effect.
Fingers crossed that the blanket helps calm him.

try thinking about exactly hwat he did eat - it may be a new intolerance coming through, or it might be due to a change of ingedients (I have just had to change dd1's bread - old one sold out in all shops in town - new one is same company, just a different style. but she has gon loopy. you live and learn )

could he have snaffled the odd crumb at softplay? that would be my first thought, with so many different intolerances.

silverfrog ds is the same as your dd with the settling. Thing is we now know because he's not settled to sleep he'll have a bad night which means a bad night for us and then because he'll be tired in the morning it'll be a bad day at school. This is so frustrating.

have you tried melatonin, rebl?

omega oils can be an issue too - if they are out of kilter then night wakefulness can be a problem, I seem to recall.

I just don't think its food unless its something new because yes, today was soft play but thats unusual for us to visit. We can days and nights like this on school days and thats not different day to day. I just don't get it. I think I might start keeping a behaviour, food and sleep diary together and see if something becomes obvious. Its starting to drive me potty. I wish I knew what was going on with him. We have no dx, I don't even know if we are heading towards one or not with CAMHS. We do know that there is something going on though. Just wish we knew what it was and could start to address it.

silverfrog I asked the paed and he wouldn't prescribe it until CAMHS had assessed. I'm pissed off about that because its not him who is not getting any sleep is it.

I'm going to the GP on Tuesday to beg for something and also to get the bread and pasta on prescription because I can't afford it all.

Sorry rebl, teaching grandmother to suck eggs again! I think a diary of diet, activities, meltdowns and sleep patterns is a good idea to try to see if there's any difference between a good day and a bad one. Unfortunately you may never find out. We've never been able to work it out with DS. He's best with lots of pre warning about things that annoy him but some days he's fine and others.. well!

Just random thoughts here about mental tiredness. Perhaps the trampolining lets your DS clear his head ready for sleep. The play centre could have knackered him, but the over stimulation may have made him mentally wired.
Weirdly, i'm NT, but my mum was told when i was younger, not to let me go to sleep with my brain still active. She was told to let me do puzzles/read etc before bed to use the energy in there up! Still do this now - the sudoku queen! I also do things like that when i'm stressed - it calms/organises my mind ready for sleep.
Told you it was random

auntevil that sort of makes sense. I read before bed and can't sleep if I don't.

leoniedelt what is vallergan?