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To medicate autistic son

6 replies

Opal93 · 08/06/2021 22:02

This was something we always said we wouldn’t do, but we are so sleep deprived ourselves that it’s taking it’s toll on the whole family. I want to discuss the possibility of starting serotonin with my sons pead. He finds it very difficult to settle in bed, and needs us to go in, try to calm him down, put him back into bed over and over again. He gets very hyper at night, and laughs hysterically and then flips into a violent meltdown and then flips into hysterical laughter again. It is hours before he finally settles and goes to sleep. We also have to check several times he hasn’t soiled himself (he stool withholds and when he finally relaxes it often leaks) and so we have to check for this so we can clean it up right away, if we don’t get to him straight away it annoys him and he starts smearing it. During the day he can be extremely hyper and jumpy, or extremely irritable. It’s very hard to do any therapy/schoolwork/activities with him meaningfully when he is like this, so I have been looking up Risoerdone and also want to discuss this with the doctor as if it could just calm him enough even so he could focus just a little bit more. I never ever wanted to medicate him and I know medication should be a last resort and there long term effects of taking it but I’m at the stage where I just want to help him any way I can. Has anyone on here any experience of medicines for your autistic child, what made you do it and how did you find it?

OP posts:
danni0509 · 09/06/2021 08:10

The only medication my son presently takes (he has autism / adhd) is melatonin for his sleep, he’s been taking it every night for 2 years.

He will shortly be starting another medication for adhd (methylphenidate) I’m not 100% happy about him taking medication (not even sure of the reason I feel like this really?) but I see it as if he had a temperature I wouldn’t hesitate to give him paracetamol same as I wouldn’t hesitate to give him antibiotics for an infection.

If it could have a positive impact on your child’s life I would say go for it.

Just out of interest have you tried melatonin with your struggles for sleeping?

BarbarianMum · 09/06/2021 11:23

I never, ever wanted to medicate him

Really, because it sounds as though you would be doing him a kindness. What you describe doesnt sound much fun for him (or you, but I'm leaving that out of the calculation). My concern would be that medication might not work but in that case you could just discontinue it.

katplva · 09/06/2021 12:12

Please talk with your GP as it sounds very hard for you all. I use melatonin to help DD - we were told that there were very few (if any) long term effects of it, or side effects. It has really helped her bedtime and calms her down enough that she can focus and wind down rather than everything escalating.

Starlightstarbright1 · 09/06/2021 20:13

My ds has asd /adhd .. He takes melatonin. I resisted till he was 13 but it really helps both of us.

SlipperySlope99 · 09/06/2021 22:36

My DS is 14 and asd
Always been a terrible sleeper, has had melatonin since he was 6, it’s hit and miss, mainly miss
We all had covid in February and he’s suffered long term effects- his sleep was even worse and it got to the point he was banging his head off the wall as he simply couldn’t sleep and he developed anxiety when the bedtime routine was starting- becoming very agitated and aggressive
We referred ourselves to Cahms, but the wait was a while and in desperation we asked our gp for a sedative- he prescribed diazepam
It was his and our saviour- happier disposition and sleeping soundly
Cahms said they wouldn’t deal with him if he was still taking diazepam, he was on it, low dose for 5 weeks
He’s now on fluoxetine, again low dose, and has been for 4 weeks
He’s a happier boy all round, it doesn’t make him sleep, but he’s calm and the melatonin (crushed for fast release) seems to be having an impact too

SlipperySlope99 · 09/06/2021 22:39

Ds also has SLD and SPD, l hasn’t considered anxiety, but he clearly was suffering from it, his speech isn’t good enough to explain how he’s feeling, but his downturn in behaviours was his way of expressing it

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