Guest guest Posted February 16, 2001 Report Share Posted February 16, 2001 > Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 15:23:31 -0500 > > Subject: Re: Night Wakings - Diet Change - feedback Please > > My son has been on the diet for over a week and I still can't get > him to sleep at night. He just got up about a half hour ago and it > is after 3. I probaly need to wake him up earlier but it is hard to > do when I can't get up early because I stay up till he is asleep. > Yesterday he got up before I did and had a bowl of soup wth crackers > in it. He is homeschooled and it was like trying to teach someone > that was on drugs. He sat there throwing his pencil from one hand to > the other pretending to be swimming and talking nonsense all day. > a Our son has Always had a problem going to sleep. I probably never should have started this but I recorded favorite stories as I read them to him and would let him listen to them on tape to help put him to sleep when he was small since he refused to go to sleep like a normal child. He's now 9 and needs a tape every night. So I don't recommend that. After a couple years on the diet we found 5-HTP helped his serotonin levels but it seems by itself it didn't work 100% so we used Evening Primrose Oil with it and that helped add about 3-4 hours sleep a night. However, we have just found something which may work better. It's GABA from Kirkmans. We made the mistake of giving it with other supplements at first and saw no difference but when I reread the info sheet they send with it I noticed it said it was to be given on an empty stomach and now in the late afternoon I give him 2 of them and he's been asleep about an hour earlier than ever in just several days of giving it on an empty stomach! (He has never wanted to sleep before midnight!) Here's some info I jotted down from the info sheet as I like to keep a condensed paragraph of what each supplement is for, with his supplements so that if I were unable to give them to him, someone else would know what the supplement is for and when to give it. GABA is short for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, an amino acid classified as a neurotransmitter, which is deposited at the end of nerve cells which are picked up by other nerve cells in order to send nerve impulses throughout the brain and nervous system. GABA has a tranquilizing effect, calms the body in much the same way as Valium, stimulates the secretion of Human Growth Hormone; improves restful sleep. GABA fills brain receptor sites so that anxiety and stress related messages cannot be transmitted. GABA is essential for brain metabolism and has been used for epilepsy and hypertension. Effective in treating ADD. GABA should be given on an empty stomach. 5-HTP increases the availability of serotonin at specific sites in the brain. 5-HTP is a metabolite of tryptophan which means that nerve cells use tryptophan to make 5-HTP. 5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin. It helps my son face stress and excitement without getting too excited and out of control so even though I am phasing it out of my son's supplements now that we're finding GABA works better for sleep, I will still give it to him when he's facing an exciting day at a science museum, for example, so he won't be too excited to enjoy the activities. One disadvantage to homeschooling is we get the full brunt of our kids' infringements as we have them 24 hours 7 days a week. The first couple days after an infringement are hopeless academically but rather than let them realize that, I try to do an activity he likes or an action one (like having a full day of PE), or go on a treasure hunt to find hidden letters or numbers, so it's less stressful on me, but he doesn't realize it's getting out of academic realm. In trying to get our son to bed earlier we have been eating supper as early as my husband can tolerate so the evening seems long even though we are trying to move bedtime up. I try to move bedtime reading, toothbrushing and everything up as early as possible to help get him ready for bed. But their inner clock can't be fooled too much. We tried all going to bed at 8 pm for a bit but that caused more problems as he would toss and bounce on the bed so much that it was beginning to become a habit even when he went to bed later. We've found 15 minute increments to be the most successful but every child is different. Wishing you a restful night's sleep! Carol in Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2001 Report Share Posted February 16, 2001 Carol, Its so nice to know people actually know what its like when you say " I'm tired " LOL....My 3 year old has NEVER slept through the night and wakens 6-8 times a night, we know longer give him naps, even though he is physically tired, if we do get him to sleep for a half hour, he'll be up well past 4 am. Doctors have tried medicating him, no luck, we tried Melatonin, no luck and it seemd to have adverse reactions with his behavior. I too am very interested in GABA. Do you know if it is in anyway harmful....like what if that isn't the " supplement " his body needs, could it harm him?? Do you know of any particular sites I can read up on it at? Thanks in advance for any information. From one tired mommy to another......P.S. I would be VERY interested in any information you could give me about homeschooling also, please feel free to privately email me. Thanks, Debbie > > Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 15:23:31 -0500 > > From: " a " > > Subject: Re: Night Wakings - Diet Change - feedback Please > > > > My son has been on the diet for over a week and I still can't get > > him to sleep at night. He just got up about a half hour ago and it > > is after 3. I probaly need to wake him up earlier but it is hard to > > do when I can't get up early because I stay up till he is asleep. > > Yesterday he got up before I did and had a bowl of soup wth crackers > > in it. He is homeschooled and it was like trying to teach someone > > that was on drugs. He sat there throwing his pencil from one hand to > > the other pretending to be swimming and talking nonsense all day. > > a > > Our son has Always had a problem going to sleep. I probably never should > have started this but I recorded favorite stories as I read them to him > and would let him listen to them on tape to help put him to sleep when he > was small since he refused to go to sleep like a normal child. He's now > 9 and needs a tape every night. So I don't recommend that. > > After a couple years on the diet we found 5-HTP helped his serotonin > levels but it seems by itself it didn't work 100% so we used Evening > Primrose Oil with it and that helped add about 3-4 hours sleep a night. > > However, we have just found something which may work better. It's GABA > from Kirkmans. We made the mistake of giving it with other supplements > at first and saw no difference but when I reread the info sheet they send > with it I noticed it said it was to be given on an empty stomach and now > in the late afternoon I give him 2 of them and he's been asleep about an > hour earlier than ever in just several days of giving it on an empty > stomach! (He has never wanted to sleep before midnight!) Here's some > info I jotted down from the info sheet as I like to keep a condensed > paragraph of what each supplement is for, with his supplements so that if > I were unable to give them to him, someone else would know what the > supplement is for and when to give it. > > GABA is short for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, an amino acid classified as a > neurotransmitter, which is deposited at the end of nerve cells which are > picked up by other nerve cells in order to send nerve impulses throughout > the brain and nervous system. GABA has a tranquilizing effect, calms the > body in much the same way as Valium, stimulates the secretion of Human > Growth Hormone; improves restful sleep. GABA fills brain receptor sites > so that anxiety and stress related messages cannot be transmitted. GABA > is essential for brain metabolism and has been used for epilepsy and > hypertension. Effective in treating ADD. GABA should be given on an > empty stomach. > > 5-HTP increases the availability of serotonin at specific sites in the > brain. 5-HTP is a metabolite of tryptophan which means that nerve cells > use tryptophan to make 5-HTP. 5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin. It > helps my son face stress and excitement without getting too excited and > out of control so even though I am phasing it out of my son's supplements > now that we're finding GABA works better for sleep, I will still give it > to him when he's facing an exciting day at a science museum, for example, > so he won't be too excited to enjoy the activities. > > One disadvantage to homeschooling is we get the full brunt of our kids' > infringements as we have them 24 hours 7 days a week. The first couple > days after an infringement are hopeless academically but rather than let > them realize that, I try to do an activity he likes or an action one > (like having a full day of PE), or go on a treasure hunt to find hidden > letters or numbers, so it's less stressful on me, but he doesn't realize > it's getting out of academic realm. > > In trying to get our son to bed earlier we have been eating supper as > early as my husband can tolerate so the evening seems long even though we > are trying to move bedtime up. I try to move bedtime reading, > toothbrushing and everything up as early as possible to help get him > ready for bed. But their inner clock can't be fooled too much. We tried > all going to bed at 8 pm for a bit but that caused more problems as he > would toss and bounce on the bed so much that it was beginning to become > a habit even when he went to bed later. We've found 15 minute increments > to be the most successful but every child is different. > > Wishing you a restful night's sleep! > > Carol in Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2001 Report Share Posted February 16, 2001 I started brushing with my son two Christmas's ago. He started sleeping through the night then. It was the first time in 4 years. I would say he slept 6 out of 7 nights. But, now he is back to waking up. So, the brushing was good for about a year. I did the standard protocol, every 90 minutes for 2 weeks then several times a day. Maureen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2001 Report Share Posted March 18, 2001 Have you read the book " Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems " by Ferber? (i.e. " The Ferber Method " ) I highly recommend it. There are a lot of misconceptions about how it works. I thought I knew about it from magazine articles etc., but I found out how little I knew when I read the book. I have made many postings to this list about ' sleep problems. We've tried melatonin, benedryll, magnesium, epsom salt baths and now clonidine. Right now a combination of the epsom salt baths, clonidine and the Ferber method seem to be helping. He sleeps through the night sometimes and when he does wake up, he goes back to sleep easily. The only major drawback about the Ferber method is that it relies on the assumption that all children are capable of self-soothing. Many people have strong reservations about whether or not asd kids are capable of that. Regardless, reading the book will give you tremendous insight into what exactly is happening during the night. Pat in Ohio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2001 Report Share Posted March 18, 2001 , What's up with " Taurine " ? I've never heard of it. What type of drug is it? Is it safe? Is it habit forming? Does the user build up a tolerance? The problem with the clonidine that we're using is that it's like melotonin. It will put the child to sleep, but not keep him alseep. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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