For a while now, Elly has been having issues falling asleep at night. At first I thought it was a behavior issue, like she just didn't want to stay in bed and be still. Then I thought maybe her allergies were making her itchy because she jumps and kicks like her legs itch. Some nights, Dan lays with her and rubs her legs til she falls asleep. Then 90% of the time she ends up coming into our room at night wide awake and not able to fall back to sleep. She sleeps fitfully and rolls all over the place. Last night, Dan came to be and woke me out of a deep slumber (thanks hon) to show me the article he'd found on Children with Restless Leg Syndrome. Dan's dad has this, and Dan shows symptoms of it too (kicking legs, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying still, and then jerking legs even while you're asleep). Apparently there is a genetic component. The article said that 5% of kids may have this, and that it is commonly misdiagnosed as "growing pains." I used to complain of pains in my legs at bedtime when I was about 9-12 years old (and we all know it was NOT due to growing! I never grew!).
Anyway, the article (by Mayo Clinic) said that the children often exhibit ADHD symptoms during the day due to lack of sleep. Uh, ding ding ding!! Elly had been so hyper and quite ornery. I have been just using behavior modification with her but maybe it's time to look a bit deeper. Today she had an hour long tantrum and was obviously exhausted but not able to lay down. It's that tired-wired cycle. I remember it well- Eden had sleep apnea for the first 4 years of her life. Once her tonsils were removed- voila! no more sleep problems and no more hyperactivity.
I have been reading a little bit though and it seems RLS can be treated with diet changes (more iron and more vitamin D) and exercise and if that doesn't work, they try meds. I hope we don't have to use medications. I don't want her on something this young. For now, I think I might videotape her sleeping and take it to the doctor next time we go!
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So about the lion costume- I just made it up. I looked online a little at a few other peoples ideas and then just tried my own. Email me if you want to know more about how I did it. I am more than happy to try to explain it!! It was pretty simple- just alot of felt and a hot glue gun!
Very interesting Shadley. I had heard of the correlation between too little sleep and ADHD as well; though some argue that true chronic ADHD is what causes the sleep issues and not the other way around. But I bet the RLS would cause lack of sleep and therefore the hyperactivity in the day. Makes sense!!! I know when Ellie doesn't get a nap, she gets that way.
i definitely would agree that true ADHD would case the sleep disturbance. i do think that many kids who are diagnosed with ADHD don't actually have it. Eden was very hyperactive before her sleep issue was corrected (she had sleep apnea due to enlarged tonsils--we had no idea they caused so much problem). Her symptoms were completely resolved (sleep and ADHD) after surgery. It was wild.
I was just wondering if David had this 3 nights a go. He legs have been hurting him and I have been rubbing them too. He has a very hard falling asleep, but it really could be growing pains for him. It is so hard to know. We will have to watch it closely. Thanks for sharing the information!
That tired/wired cycle is so hard to break when they are not napping in the afternoons, too, and then with not sleeping well at night!!! Let us know if you find anything out about the RLS with her....
Both my mom and grandmother have restless leg syndrome (does not bode well for me!!) but anyways...they were told to try drinking tonic water before bed and it helps to calm the RLS. Sure enough, it works for both of them. Though it does not help every night, most of the time it does. Praying for your little one!!
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