UPDATED Why won't she sleeeeeeep

amother

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 10:24 pm

My almost 6 year old daughter has recently been coming out of bed multiple times a night, usually culminating in having to use the bathroom. Generally once she goes, she is able to go back to sleep. At least for a few hours.
She goes to the bathroom right before bed and hasn't changed how much she drinks before bed. She isn't constipated. She is on strong antibiotics right now, and has been taking a probiotic, and isn't having gastro issues.

As I was typing this, she came out yet again, even though she went through the above process and peed about 15 minutes ago. This time it was for a tissue, which she knows she has right next to her bed.

It's getting very frustrating to deal with multiple nighttime wakings and ending up with her in our beds every. single. night.

What is going on with her??

amother

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 10:27 pm

I forgot to note that she is on the antibiotics for suspected PANDAS per my doctor's recommendation.
She has behavioral concerns and we found high strep antibodies, so although we are not convinced that it is PANDAS, we thought it was worth a shot to do the 14 day regimen. Honestly, I am not seeing any improvement in her behaviors, so I'm not sure what to think.

amother

Daffodil

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 10:32 pm

My pandas child didn't sleep for a year. I had a newborn but it was the 4 year old waking us up every night. Literally a year we were zombies.

This sounds like ocd or anxiety like a ritual?
Anyways yeah all bets are off with a pandas kid.

amother

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 10:40 pm

amother Daffodil wrote:

I relate!! My baby sleeps better than she does!
How would this be considered a ritual? It's more like a habit she got into, if anything.
Again, we're not sure it's PANDAS, could be more of an ADHD/emotional regulation issue. We're just trying the course to see if it makes any improvement before exploring other possibilities since she did have the marker of high antibodies.

amother

Catmint

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 11:09 pm

Before I even read your second post I was thinking pandas. It will definitely cause sleep regression, nighttime anxiety etc. Took us years to get our pandas kids to sleep normally again.

amother

Caramel

Thu, Oct 26 2023, 11:53 pm

Have a you tried a reward system. Something she really wants. Or consequences no screen time when you come out of your bed. Bh hv bli ayin hara its working for us. I also hav the traffic light alarm clock that she can only come out when its green. Also I tell her if its too hard to fall asleep she can either read a book or color but no waking up mommy only for emergency. Iyh you should have every night a good night sleep!

amother

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 10:15 pm

I'm really at my wit's end.
She comes out seeming kind of sad, then turns belligerent and angry about going back to sleep. It's a fight every single night.
We can't go on like this!!
Does melatonin help kids stay asleep? I know it's addressing a symptom, but something has to change yesterday.

giftedmom

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 10:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

If it’s adhd then melatonin can help reset the circadian rythm. I use it on my kids sparingly. Almost always they sleep through the rest of the night.

613mitzvahgirl

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 10:52 pm

I’m not going to jump and give a diagnosis. What I am going to say is maybe it’s anxiety. With all the talk of what’s going on in the world, maybe she’s scared and anxious. Unfortunately it’s so common. Maybe try talking to her in the morning and ask her how she’s really feeling. And then take it from there. Sending you and everyone else who might be hugs right now. We are all in this together.

amother

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 11:06 pm

giftedmom wrote:

If it’s adhd then melatonin can help reset the circadian rythm. I use it on my kids sparingly. Almost always they sleep through the rest of the night.

Interesting, it will reset the circadian rythm for a while, or only for that night?

amother

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 11:08 pm

613mitzvahgirl wrote:

It's not really applicable as she has no idea what's going on in the world, she is 5 years old...
But when I do ask her about if something is bothering her or scaring her, she doesn't want to say anything, she just grunts or whines.

amother

Apricot

Sun, Oct 29 2023, 11:16 pm

Does she have a good bed time routine? Give her a half hour before bed to go to the bathroom.. get water... have a healthy snack... whatever she might want and keep reminding her in 10 min intervals that it's almost bed time. And then continue your nightly routine read her book and sing with her say Shema cuddle. Might help her fall asleep better. Good luck!

amother

Mon, Oct 30 2023, 12:10 am

amother Apricot wrote:

We have a very clear bedtime routine we've been following for years, including using the bathroom. Most nights she falls asleep just fine, the issue is that she wakes up less than 2 hours later...

amother

Thu, Nov 16 2023, 10:34 pm

I have a semi far-fetched thought.
We visited an ENT recently due to recurrent ear infections/frequent fluid in ears/nasal voice.
He asked if she snores, mouth breathes etc.
He checked her adenoids and they are very swollen, and he is recommending tubes and the removal of her adenoids, since once the tubes fall out the fluid will likely build up again because the adenoids will probably prevent the fluid drainage once again.
Anyway, I went down a rabbit hole on this site looking at old posts of others' experiences with these procedures, and it seems like enlarged adenoids cause sleep apnea.
In researching obstructive sleep apnea online, I see that she fits much of the diagnostic criteria, and that this could be causing her poor sleep and her daytime behavior issues as well.
Could it actually be this that is causing her night wakings and overall crankiness??

amother

Thu, Nov 16 2023, 11:21 pm

amother Lilac wrote:

1000%
I have a family member that treats sleep apnea and he says that the symptoms are very often mistaken for ADHD

Wow, this has been enlightening. I would love for it to be the case here!
How do we officially diagnose/is it necessary? Is the solution for sleep apnea to remove the adenoids anyway, so there may be no point?