Question about sleep patterns

[momofevan]

could this be caused from the epilepsy??? i am going to be bringing this up to the neurologist when we see her next week but just wanted to know if anyone has had experience with this... My son is 2 and is very cranky still if he does not get a nap in during the day...but lately we have been having a really hard time getting him to go to sleep at night...now when he does have a seizure he does sleep anywhere between 20-45 minutes after an event...whether he has had a nap in or not....so could the epilepsy be causing him to have some sort on insomnia????

[epileric]

I can understand the crankiness if he's had a seizure.

I know that until I was about 25 years old I've always been tired as a side-effect of being on 3 anti-epileptic drug's at the same time. However I used to wake up around 9:00 PM & usually didn't fall asleep until midnight or 1:00 AM.

It used to drive my parents nuts as they tried to have me in bed by 9 or 10 every night. Even to this day, no matter how tired I am I usually get my 2nd wind about 9ish in the eve.

[momofevan]

i meant he is cranky when he doesn't get a nap in..but lately with his naps he isn't going to sleep at night....was never really like that before..i was just curious as to if i should limit naps from now on. or if anyone thought it was related to his epilepsy....and that is the thing..lately we haven't been getting him to fall asleep until almost 1 am..no matter what we have tried...so you think it is related then???

[epileric]

Have you tried letting him have smaller naps? Hopefully that'd make him happy that he's getting one but not enough that he stays up too late.

[momofevan]

yeah..he only naps for about an hour anyway..he has never been a long napper but just sleeping for a little bit takes away his crakiness...he is an early riser...gets up at about anywhere between 7-8:30 am everyday..even when he doesn't go to sleep until very late...and his naps are earlier in the afternoon as well...he usually sleeps from noon-one....

[Nakamova]

In adults, there are some kinds of epilepsy that are tied to insomnia. Epilepsy and insomnia are interrelated and can be connected to sleep apnea as well. For an infant it's harder to tell, since their sleep patterns are still evolving. You might want to try limiting the naps a bit, and/or checking with his pediatrician/neurologist.

[hootie]

My son (10) just started depakote about one month ago. I have noticed that he is having more trouble falling asleep since starting this med. I try to give him his evening dose before 7 pm. This seems to help.

[momofevan]

oh i will have to ask my doctor about giving his medicine early..he is on zonegran and trileptal (we just started the trileptal) i wonder if it is his medicine???