Anxiety, possibly ADHD, evening behaviors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serve dinner earlier or give a big snack and then don't expect her to eat a full dinner? Always have a certain preferred food available? Separate kids as much as possible. Earlier bedtime. Make bedroom more inviting/relaxing... better lighting, sound machine, book on tape or sleep-inducing podcast? Also read Ross Greene...can you talk with your kid at a calm moment and ask for her suggestions?

Yes to trying melatonin and evaluating meds... could Prozac be given later in the day or split into two doses so it doesn't wear off as soon?

This is what we did except the kids had to share a room. The good thing about these routines is that they don't just benefit the kids with ADHD/anxiety, they benefit all the kids. We also make sure there's absolutely no screen time 2 hours before bed. Kids can read on a Kindle Paperwhite but nothing with a blue light. Oh, we also make sure they're well exercised before dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try magnesium first before you go to melatonin or drug route. We have found the CALM brand of powder dissolved in a little bit of juice at bedtime really helps him to relax. He has ADHD and OCD, and bedtime creates a lot of triggers. Once he’s asleep, he sleeps hard and solid. Thank God. Getting him to fall asleep is a two-hour grueling process.

CALM works wonders.

[Anonymous]

NP. Which CALM do you all buy?

[Anonymous]

We tried Calm, melatonin, other natural things. The lowest dose of Seroquel works amazingly. But in my DC, this behavior was due to anxiety so it might make sense to medicate for anxiety first. And ADHD was a driver of anxiety too, so we got that under control (ish). You need a good psychiatrist because you need to address various issues and there may not be one single fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We tried Calm, melatonin, other natural things. The lowest dose of Seroquel works amazingly. But in my DC, this behavior was due to anxiety so it might make sense to medicate for anxiety first. And ADHD was a driver of anxiety too, so we got that under control (ish). You need a good psychiatrist because you need to address various issues and there may not be one single fix.

Sorry - I just re-read your OP. Maybe the Prozac needs to be increased? Is there only anxiety at bedtime?

[Anonymous]

My kid was very similar at that age. Here’s what we do:
- meds- Prozac in am, guanfacine and hydroxyzine in evening. Melatonin has helped on and off, too.
- create a calmer environment in the house starting around 7:00- lower lights, limit screen-time ( not always possible), quieter activities like drawing and puzzles. When the weather is good, we go for evening walks.

My child’s diagnosis are anxiety, adhd and ASD (PDA profile).

Good luck OP- it’s a tough age for sleep, but I’ve found it does get better!

[Anonymous]

Try magnesium glycinate. It comes in powdered form that can be mixed in water or lemonade. It like the one from Jigsaw Health. It's called MagSoothe. Jarrow also has a blend that has some calming herbs and a small amount of melatonin.

[Anonymous]

Melatonin also helped our son with adhd with similar nighttime craziness. Adhd meds like a nonstimulant COULD be helpful, but a stimulant which is the most common adhd med will make it worse actually, it made it harder to go to sleep for my son (but made daytime WAY better) so that’s as when we started melatonin and it has made a huge difference.

We bought the tires teddies which are only .3 mg and we give two and that does the trick. But you can do more like 1mg if needed from what I’ve read.