Seeking Sleep Specialist or Sleep Clinic Recommendations

[Anonymous]

My 16 yo DD has been dealing with insomnia issues for more than 6 years now. I hadn't realized how persistent it was because she is not a complainer. She has tried almost everything over the years -- meditation audios, no devices before bedtime, valerian root tea, melatonin, magnesium, etc... Nothing truly helps. Many nights it takes her 1-2 hours to fall asleep and she wakes up throughout the night. She is chronically sleep deprived and we are really noticing it now with Junior year academics and stress. Falling asleep in class, feeling lethargic and just tired.

It's time to find a sleep specialist. I've seeing varying reviews for Children's National and INOVA Children's Sleep Center. Want to get some feedback fro this group.

Can anyone here recommend one for teens?

[Anonymous]

Maybe she has sleep apnea.

[Anonymous]

I would take her to an ENT while you are finding a sleep place. A quick apnea check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take her to an ENT while you are finding a sleep place. A quick apnea check.

This. It is an easy check. Common if one has a smaller jaw.

If positive for apnea, then treatment options are clear. If negative, then eliminates that as possible cause and easier for specialist to find the root cause.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown MedStar Hospital. Dr. Anne O’Donnell.

[Anonymous]

any recomendations for ENT for this issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe she has sleep apnea.

+1

I had terrible insomnia for a long while until I finally was put on a CPAP (nasal pillow version). Now I don’t have trouble falling asleep. It was probably a combination of daily stress from not sleeping, mental anxiety when I lie down gown the insomnia that led to persistent insomnia. Once I got decent sleep for a few nights on the CPAP, my circadian rhythm readjusted and now my body is ready for bed at about the same time every night.

[Anonymous]

My regular doctor ordered a sleep apnea test for me and I did it at home. Maybe ask for that first. It was really easy to do and nice to be in my own bed. I put it off for years because I didn’t want to go to a place and then found out they now have at home options in your own bed.

[Anonymous]

Here is the one my doctor had me do at home. Obviously check with her doctor first. https://sleepdoctor.com/pages/benefits-of-at-home-sleep-apnea-testing?g_acctid=843-248-6700&g_adgroupid=165071687031&g_adid=751116695656&g_adtype=search&g_campaign=SD_Google_HST_NB-Core&g_campaignid=21284407120&g_keyword=watchpat+one&g_keywordid=kwd-880607055984&g_network=g&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21284407120&gbraid=0AAAAADQszRxzDO3nLGnoJAt9B91lG8Hgg&gclid=CjwKCAjw14zPBhAuEiwAP3-EbxpREkzjZxufiMyqZFy08wWjNMuoRo4IAm0iEZk3i_kfigIfk5rrqBoCbtMQAvD_BwE

[Anonymous]

My teenager went to Inova. Of course the night they did his sleep study he didn’t sleepwalk so it ended up being a total bust, but not their fault.

[Anonymous]

If you haven't started with a check in with her pediatrician you should do that, just to rule out physical causes and to get referrals for specialists. Probably they will want to check iron levels and thyroid, to start with. Then go from there. Also if she isn't in therapy for this, please consider it. Anxiety can really make sleep hard.

[Anonymous]

I have a son the same age with the same issue. In addition to trying all the natural remedies, his doctor has even prescribed Clonidine and Ambien, hoping that a short-term course of one of them would help kick off a better pattern. Even the drugs didn’t help his insomnia.

The two things that have helped: controlling his allergies and neurofeedback. High histamine levels cause insomnia. He has started Xolair injections due to his extremely high IgE numbers (he has severe food and environmental allergies). He started sleeping better immediately after his first injection. He had also done neurofeedback for anxiety and ADHD. We didn’t see much of a difference with the anxiety and ADHD, but the neurofeedback improved his sleep tremendously.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Vemana at Inova Sleep Center. If she's got a wait, her PAs are great too (and will ask for MD help if they need it). Dr. Vemana has been transformational for my kid, who has trouble falling and staying asleep.

[Anonymous]

My now young adult has been seeing a doctor at comprehensive sleep care for years. Diagnosed with sleep apnea via ENT at the age of four. Has been using a CPAP for years and it is a lifesaver.

[Anonymous]

My DD goes to the sleep clinic at Children’s. They have been good but was a fairly long wait for the initial appointment.