Anybody else with a child with a sleep disorder or ADHD?
We’ve been treating my son for ADHD for several years and have had problems with the side effects of meds. He’s now on Strattera but it didn’t seem to be helping this school year. So we’ve increased the dose twice (he did have a growing spurt last summer – he’s 14). This still isn’t helping. Well, in going over my symptoms related to possible sleep apnea with the doctor, I had an "ah-ha" moment that my son has the same symptoms. Low and behold he does have a disorder. However it hasn’t yet been diagnosed with a sleep study (coming up next week).
So I just want to put a bug in parents’ ears that if your child is being treated for ADHD and the meds are not working, perhaps you want to speak to your doctor about the possibility of a sleeping disorder.
But for my question…. Has anybody else experienced a child at school who absolutely will not do his work and found out a sleeping disorder was the cause? Please tell me about your story and if treating the disorder helped your child do better in school.
Yes, seeing an ENT and removal of tonsils and/or adenoids is the expected treatment. Thanks for responses!
I’m agreeing that sleeping disorders should be looked into before giving drugs for ADHD. I wish someone would have asked if my son snored years ago!
Thanks for all responses…hard to choose!
Tagged with: adhd • amp • drugs • ears • meds • parents • removal of tonsils • school year • sleep • sleep apnea • sleep study • sleeping disorder • sleeping disorders • spurt • strattera
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
not my child, but one of my kids’ classmates. he was so attention-challenged he ended up having to repeat a year. they discovered the sleep apnea, removed his tonsils, and presto, the problem was fixed.
seems like something doctors should be screening for before diagnosing ADHD in the first place…..
I have a 4-year-old daughter who isn’t in school yet (just preschool) so I can’t respond to the questions about schoolwork, but here is our story: she didn’t sleep through the night as an infant or toddler; she would startle herself awake several times per night. This led to constant fatigue, behavioral problems (she acted like she had ADHD), and poor growth. She was diagnosed with "failure to thrive" b/c she was so tiny that she wasn’t on the growth charts! We found out she had sleep apnea because her tonsils and adenoids were about 3 times bigger than they should have been! She had her tonsils and adenoids removed 6 months ago, and since then has grown 2 inches and gained 8 pounds (and that’s a lot to gain since she only weighed 25 pounds before the surgery!). She sleeps through the night for the first time in her life, and she’s now able to eat better too. She’s in the 5th percentile for height and weight and her attention span has improved drastically. We were hoping for more improvement in her behavior, but I think a lot of it is habit for her since she was bossy and irritable her whole life. Anyway, you may want to mention to your son’s doctor to check his tonsils and see if a referral to an ENT might be helpful. I know everyone is different and I’m not suggesting what worked for us is the cure-all for every child diagnosed with ADHD; I just wanted to share our story and hope that it helps you! Good luck! :)
My son will be 2 next month, but he has sleep apnea due to having chronic allergies and large tonsils, adeniods. Like the other poster’s daughter, he is tiny (maybe 21-22 lbs at almost 23 months) although this seems like a genetic thing. He is a chronic snorer and his ear nose and throat guy says the tonsils and adenoids should come out when he old enough to make it less risky, after age 3. Right now we don;t have a lot of behavioral problems, I think in part because he sleeps a lot (11-12 hours per night plus 1-2 hours naps) so quantity is somewhat making up for quality. Thus, I haven’t been too enthusiastic about the idea of surgery but now hearing people’s stories I will keep a more open mind. And yes, I agree with desmaran (as usual) they should test kids for sleep issues first when they experience ADHD symptoms before resorting to other means.