Refered to Sleep specialest ,what to expect?

[Marne]

I am kind of excited , i'm hoping they can help dd2 with her sleep issues (getting to sleep and winding down).

Has anyone seen a sleep specialest for their child? what should i expect? will they come to the house or just give us advice?

I have never seen a sleep specialist but boy, if you can get it, ask for melatonin! I have been giving my DS the tiniest bit, and half an hour later he is in the deepest of sleeps! Up till now we have had the most awful evenings, with him completely manic until I physically lie down next to him at about 11pm and hold him down till he eventually falls to sleep. With melatonin, we have our evenings back!

That what i was hoping for (melatonin), dd2 seems to have a sudden burst of energy at night, she spends hours just running up and down, climbing the furniture and singing nursery rhymes, after that she runs through all the tv programs she has seen (word for word).

I can't wait to be able to spend the evenings with dh although we have got so used to not spending them together that is going to seem odd.

She was refered through her SN playgroup which is in another county (we are in dorset, nursery is in sommerset), the services there seem a lot better than Dorset.

Yes, your evenings sounds pretty much like mine - pre-melatonin! Only with my DS add in, obsessive trips to the loo, jumping manically, and pouring out all the shampoos, soaps etc into the bath again and again and again, however many I buy! If you get a chance, would you ask your sleep specialist if there's a limit to how many nights you can give it - we are giving a tiny bit (must be around 0.5mg ) but feel like we shouldn't give it EVERY night. Tonight though we are giving it, as I need a rest!

sickof - melatonin is a natural hormone, which is produced by us all. So it is perfectly safe to give it every night . DD has 2 mls each evening. Life saver.

lou, that is great to hear, thank you!. Lifesaver indeed. How old is your DS and is it 2 mg he has?

(my tablets are in 5 mg strength so I cut them up )

I really hope you get the melatonin Marne! I look back to before Tom was prescribed it and I shudder!!

BUT! I have a question...

Does anyone nyone know if kids can get used to melatonin? When Tom was first given it a few months ago it worked pretty well. He has 2mg and it used to take about a couple of hours to get him to sleep, but more and more lately he's still up and down and bouncing around until really late again It's still an improvement on pre-melatonin days, but just not as effective as it was when he first started on it.

sickof - she is 4.0 next week, 15kgs and has 2mls syrup, which is 2mg.

i am looking forward to the dr giving my ds melatonin,it has been recommended he cant get to sleep and is normally awake til 1am then wakes 3 or 4 times then so grumpy in morning hes 12.all u ladies have made me optimistic.

Yep - they can become tolerant. We started on 2mg and are now up to 8mg. Dr just ups the dosage.