Sleeping Aids Safe?

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SupportiveMom

SupportiveMom

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Mar 17, 2013
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Day 4 of prednisone and D has barely slept at all. Not for a lack of trying. Every time she takes prednisone she has this issue, just not as bad as this time. Might be because of the dosage. We have tried chamomile tea, relaxation music, bath before bed and she is lucky if she gets 2 hrs sleep a night. Has anyone given their kids a sleeping pill to help? She is 14 so I'm not concerned she can't have one, I'm more worried about if it will work and if it is safe with all the crohns medicine. Her nurse isnt in office today or I would ask her. 10 hrs sleep in 4 days will not get her to heal or feel better.

FYI she is taking her prednisone in the AM and still can't sleep come 10 pm.
 
I havnt had any problems with sleeping pills and other meds in the past but I would double check with a medical professional before hand just to be 100% safe.
 
I have a call into the doc, and will be discussing with the pharmacist. I am looking for more of a "been there, reacted like X". Always good to hear people that have been there for if it really helps or not.
 
Can you call GP? Does Benedryl hype her up or knock her out? Poor thing but would definitely ask a nurse/doc
 
Yes, we have tried sleeping pills for both my daughters. However, both were older when they took them. We tried Ambien for the older one (when she was 19) and Notriptyline for the younger one (at 17).

Ambien worked very well for S but she was only allowed to take it two weeks or so. But it really gave her the sleep she needed - she was lying awake from pain till 5 or 6am.

Notriptyline worked less well for M - made her sleepy but she still had trouble falling and staying asleep. She's now on Gabapentin which was really prescribed for pain. It doesn't seem to help at all for pain, but it makes her sleepy and helps her sleep through the night (some of the time - depends on how much pain she's in).

We've never tried any over the counter sleep aids like melatonin. In both my girls' cases, either their rheumatologists or GP's prescribed the meds.

Hope you can figure something out for D - not sleeping is the worst.
 
I just spoke with the pharmacist who said absolutely no on the Melatonin too, especially because D is on Imuran & Prednisone. She suggested Benadryl for a short term fix until we can see the GP Thursday or when I get a hold of the GI Wednesday.

She won the award today for the nastiest teenager ever this morning. My empathy was almost gone with her mood. Oh boy do I hate prednisone!
 
Oh man the mood swings. I mean my Grace is only six but I swore last time she was on pred I was going to outlaw talking, so she couldn't yell or cry! :redface:

Are you seeing any improvements?
 
Still double digit bathroom trips. On day 4. Nothing better than that. A reduction of 2-3 trips. Same quantity
 
Someone earlier in the thread mentioned Nortriptyline but I'm surprised that nobody mentioned its cousin, Amitriptyline. I tried Nortriptyline but it didn't help me sleep. Amitriptyline helps me sleep quite well - I take it an hour before bedtime and I usually zonk out and sleep through the night. I've been on Amitriptyline for a few years now with no issues. It's an antidepressant in higher doses, but in lower doses (usually 10-25 mg) it can help with a variety of things including preventing headaches/migraines (which is what I'm on it for), it can help in some cases with pain relief and with "calming" the gut (my GI had hoped it'd calm down my gut but no such luck), and it is an effective sleep aid. It's by prescription only, so you'll have to ask the doctor about it. It is safe for IBD patients to take and might even help her with some of her symptoms. The only side effect I've experienced was that the first few times I took it, I was pretty groggy in the mornings. That wore off within the first week though and I've been on it (I'm on 25 mg) for something like 4 years now with no complaints. Here's a thread about Amitriptyline if you'd like to read more:
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47926
 
Johnny took Tylenol PM which was okayed by his GI. I know its not a strong sleep aid but for him it did the trick. I probably would start out with it and move to something stronger if it doesn't work.

Hopefully she will get some great sleep soon!!
 
Benadryl really helps kids to sleep. Johnny's mom, Tylenol PM is basically Tylenol with Benadryl in it.
 
I wonder if she has to go in the middle of the night, will she wake up? Hate her to wake up to an accident in her bed.
 
She should still wake up with Benadryl. If you are worried though can you put some plastic under her sheet?
 
M has had accidents in bed because of Gabapentin. Not fun. Most nights she woke up but didn't get to the bathroom on time, but a couple times she didn't wake up at all. We had her wear a pad to bed, which helped a little. Putting plastic under her sheet is a good idea - wish we'd thought of that!!

Benadryl never worked for her, but we did try it.
 
I've woken up with Amitriptyline, I've never had an accident in bed. If my guts (or even just my bladder) want me to go in the middle of the night, that wins out over Ami keeping me asleep. Ami keeps me just groggy enough that I don't have a problem falling right back to sleep once I'm done in the bathroom, too.
 
My son has had many problems with sleep. He was given Clonidine when he was about 15 years old and it has worked well for him. It doesn't zonk him out, but helps him not feel wound up. It is actually a drug used to treat high blood pressure, but apparently is also used to treat ADHD (which is not the case with my son). He is able to get up in the middle of the night and get back to sleep, and it doesn't seem to have a hangover effect. It's rough seeing them struggle with sleepless nights on top of everything else! Hope you find something that works!
 
Last night for the first time in a month she slept through the night & didn't have to go the bathroom. The morning was tough with a few trips more than normal, but at least she got one solid night of sleep. I am not going to give her Benadryl every night, but maybe 1-2 times a week might not be too bad if the doc can't suggest something else.
 
Spoke to the GI nurse and she said NO SLEEP AIDS! Most aren't safe, and it can be taken all the time. It also hides what is happening with her. I understand why the nurse said it, but gosh it was wonderful she got 1 night of sleep. I still wouldn't trade it.
 
We've found pediatric doctors to be less willing to prescribe stuff to sleep. However, with my younger daughter her pediatrician was so concerned about her not sleeping for more than a couple of hours, that he prescribed something for her. He had no issue with OTC Benadryl either. He said sleep is restorative and not sleeping will make everything work - more pain, less healing etc.

All her current doctors (ped. GI, ped. rheumatologist, pediatrician, psychologist) agree that sleeping is of utmost importance and all wanted her on something for it.

I hope D manages to get some sleep somehow!
 
The sleep effect of benadryl does tend to wear off
DS has been taking it randomly for allergy issues ( not sleep ) since age 2.
Even iv benadryl barely makes him tired any more .

You could of course give her a lecture I any topic and I am sure she would be asleep fast .
;)

Glad she got one good night
 
She asked if we are logging the last week or so of what is happening. I hope this gives them a clear pic of how crappie things are. if my kid is losing weight on prednisone and her CRP levels are still high on it they better move faster.

Maybe if I have the talk again about STDs, or the importance of not having sex until she is at least 21 she could fall asleep. 😉
 
We use Calm Multi for kids when sleep is a problem. We have found it helpful and I like all the added vitamins in it.
 
What about diffusing lavender essential oil? It might be enough to calm her to sleep, sleep a little deeper, but it's not like a med going into her system, so she should be able to wake for bathroom trips as needed.
 
My daughter has always had problems sleeping, and had used melatonin with great success for a few years prior to her Crohn's diagnosis. Her GI doctor said that she could continue with it, but we decided to stop using it in January, since we kept reading that melatonin can act as an immune enhancer.

Without the melatonin, she was taking at least 2 hours to fall asleep each night. In another thread on this forum, Maya recommended a guided meditation app called iSleep Easy, and my daughter started using it a couple of weeks ago. It works well for her. She's falling asleep in about 15 minutes, and she uses it successfully if she wakes up in the middle of the night too. I had to really press her to use it the first few nights, because she thought it was kind of hokey and didn't think it would work. But now she starts it up on her own each night. (I'm extra happy about it because I'm getting more sleep now that she's getting more sleep...)

Thanks for the suggestion, Maya!
 
I'm really glad it's helping her!
M had a lot of success with it - it really helps her relax and it sure beats any meds...
 
Late to this but will add for the info...

Matt was older, 17, but in hospital and when he was home with the drain in he was prescribed a sleeping tablet when needed, Temazepam. He used it very night in hospital and maybe 2-3 times a week at home. It worked well for him as it is short acting and therefore no hangover effect the next day. It really did help him through some tough times.

Not sure how the docs would feel prescribing this for younger ones though.

Dusty. xxx
 
Melatonin has already been mentioned, but I'll second it. I was worried about using it for my 10yr old, but once the days get longer he has trouble getting to sleep at night. He has always been this way. Melatonin worked well, but I would definitely talk to your GI first. Our GI didn't really want me to use it, but ok'd it when absolutely necessary.
 
We have found a new routine to get her to sleep as much as she can given the meds, and am looking forward to her tapering low enough that it doesn't keep her up.

She is up by 7 am, takes her pills by 9 am, takes a 30 minute nap at 4 when she comes home, and then stays up until about 11:30. If she can't come home to nap because of activities, she is now drinking iced coffee. Not the best choice, but coffee has to be better than a sleep aid.

Looking forward to 2 weeks from now when she is at 15 mg and the alertness from prednisone doesn't affect her.
 

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