Parenting Forums

Posted: 05 March 2006 at 12:58pm | IP Logged

I just wondered if any of you have ever had to resort to using sedatives to help your kids sleep, or know of anyone that has done this?

My best friend's little boy is 19 months old and has recently been diagnosed with cerebral palsy - he is a terrible sleeper and the consultant has said that his bad sleeping could be linked to his illness and is highly unlikely to improve - they have done allsorts to try to make him sleep thru, including completely ignoring him for nights at a time..

he wakes up all thru the night (literally) and will not settle back to sleep, they go in his room to comfort him, give him milk, get him in their bed, do anything to get him back to sleep but he is just awake for hours at a time and is often inconsolable.. they are desperate for some sleep and I am wondering if they should ask for some sedation for him as a last resort because I don't think they can take much more at the moment as they both have to work full time.

I'm not asking for opinions as to the rights and wrongs of doing this - I just wondered whether anyone has any real experience of it and whether it was successful or not..

Many Thanks!

Posted: 05 March 2006 at 1:24pm | IP Logged

I too have a friend who's son has Cerebal Palasy. He is 4 and in the last 6 months has been put on a sedative to help him sleep. His mum swears by it and says he wont sleep without it, however up until recently I used to have him most weekends and I found he slept better without it. A few weekends she would forget to bring it or what ever and he always had a full 10-12 hour sleep. I do know at home he would wake in the night but I think this is partly because he knows mum will put him into her bed.

I also have to give Joshua a very mild sedative at night. The doctor prescribed it hoping that it would send him to a deep sleep quicker and therefore reduce the chances of his night terrors. I dont like giving it to him but it does seem to help, although recently he has become just as bad at night time.

If this lil boy isnt sleeping then maybe a sedative is worth a try. I do know however, Julie was trying for months to get the doctors to give it to her lil boy and they werent so willing. She really had to fight her cause and produce a diary of when he woke etc... I hope your friend gets the help she needs.

Does the lo not have resbite care? At least your friends will get some full nights sleep, it is not easy having a child with special needs. I only had my friends ds at weekends and it was emotionally and physically draining xxxx

Posted: 05 March 2006 at 2:08pm | IP Logged

I have a friend who was prescribed Phenegan for her baby from 6 months as she had severe pnd and her baby would not sleep. She used it right through until Charlotte was 2. Its didn't make her overly drousy the next day and it really did work.

Charlotte had no ill effects at all. Its only licenced for children over the age of 2 but some doctors prescribe it for younger. My doc was going to give this to me for Ella at 4 months. You'll know how you felt with Ellie not sleeping, and I can't imagine getting to 19 months and still having a non-sleeper!! There is a medical reason here and to be honest, even if she doesn't use it all the time, a break of a few nights sleep will do her the world of good.

Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 children at his age who have used it and had no ill effects.

Ella has had a combined pain killer/mild sedative for the past 3 months now and it has made the world of difference to her and to me! Yes, I am still up at least once a night (and we won't go into last night!!) but hers is only very mild.

Ooo just thought of another. My nephew was given a sedative because of his excema keeping him awake. And that worked a treat, and he was much happier as he had a good nights sleep.

hthxxx

Posted: 05 March 2006 at 3:34pm | IP Logged

phenergen is fantastic

we used it to calm max down on the 10 hour flight to trinidad. our nurse recommended it.  he slept peacefully for 3 hours and woke with no side effects

when tom caught a particularly nasty cold the chemist here in trinidad prescribed a cough mixture with a sedative in it.  again, this was a life saver for us and tom.  he slept well when in discomfort with his congestion and cold, and i admit to using it a teeny bit when he was fractious with teething. again, he suffered absolutely no side effects and the bonus is, he can still sleep without it just fine so no dependency there either-lol

i hope your friend and lo get some sleep soon, bless them

Posted: 05 March 2006 at 7:34pm | IP Logged

thanks everyone, I think I will mention it to my friend and see what she thinks - the doctor and HV have said that sleep clinic/programmes are unlikely to do any good and god knows, they have tried many different things for long periods of time already..

m2j, my friend's LO hasn't officially been told about respite care by anyone yet, his cb has only recently been diagnosed - she does know about it tho and at this moment in time is not willing to let him go to strangers overnight..

I think when I get back from hols, I might offer to go and stay for the night and let them come and stay here just to give them a break for a night..

thanks again