Intersting update re son's insomnia

My son had another sleep study. The doctor found that he jerks his legs an average of 264x/hour and wakes an average of 17x/hour. These numbers don't include the number of times he follows the leg jerks with limb jerks. The doc was shocked and is advising that I wean him from Zoloft to see if this is the culprit. It's my belief that the Respirdal caused these jerks. Hopefully what he has is not the tardive dyskanasia that the Respirdal warns of. Anyway, the doc doesn't think that weaning him from Zoloft will fix him and so MORE meds may be in order. I feel so sorry for my son. He's tired all the time because of this.

Any thoughts?

Oh no!!

Sorry to hear that Fair Skies . That has got to be rough. I wonder if it makes any difference if he exerts himself physically during the day? Get rid of some energy. I just feel so bad for him (and you) . . . I hate it when kids can't just enjoy their childhood.

Lots of drug side affects disappear when the offending drug is discontinued. Is this one of those side affects?

Prayers, hugs and blessings!

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In His Grip,

Well, he's 14 and physical activity in the summer months is hard when they're bored and becoming lazy, but I will do my best to rouse him. HA!

I've often thought how miserable he must be with all these problems. I don't remember my childhood so full of woe. Did I mention that he sleeps with a CPAP mask on? The doc would like to find a mouthpiece that will aid with the sleep apnea so he doesn't have to be bound by a mask at such a young age, but I don't think this will be successful as the temporary mouthpiece that he tried did not work. We'll see. This has been a sad, long, expensive road.

On a more positive note, he has had a great week emotionally. This is very encouraging to me and him, and this has been with only 25 mg. of Zoloft. God is good.

Thanks for the prayers, hugs, and blessing! :)

Dang and I thought I moved alot during the night. My study showed I moved slightly over 900 times in a 6 hour testing period. Ask the doctor about using Sinemet. He might be concerned about putting him on something because of his young age. The meds tend to loose effectivness after a period of time. Good luck and keep us posted.

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Wow, Randy! You do move a lot! Then you know how miserable life can be, huh? Well, the sleep/pulmonary doc said he will resort to that if my son still has this after being off Zoloft. Have you had your iron checked? The name of the blood check starts with an F. The doc says that more and more they are thinking that iron might be playing a part, although I believe tha the Risperdal did this to my son.

I have my iron checked regularly because of medication I take for Crohn's Disease. My iron count is well in the normal range. There is some indication that iron contributes to the problem and yes I can relate to how miserable your son feels. Have you asked about something to help with the onset insomnia such as lunestra or Ambien? Just as a short term until the results are in from the Zoloft theory?

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