Sleep Problems - Childhood Support Group

Hi! My son is 8 and we're having sleeping problems. We also use Melatonin and have for quite some time now. He is a hyper child and has been diagnosed recently has "possibly" being ADHD, but he is Bipolar as am I. He has never been one to sleep good since the day he was born. Sometimes he will sleep like he is in a coma, not moving throughout the night, etc. Other nights, he is kicking, flinging his arms, one minutes his feet will be on your head, then he will be sideways (I have had bruises all over my stomach and ribs) and them he will be straight again. He has always slept with me as I was a single mother when he was born and did not marry until he was right at 5 years old. He didn't sleep with us when we first married, but my husband now works graveyard and I can no longer work and am on disability so when my husband works, my son would sleep with me and when my husband was would be off, my son would sleep with him. Well, after the last time that he slept with me (about two weeks ago), I told him that next day, NO MORE. I felt like someone had beat the living you know what out of me. He busted my lip by flinging his arm over my face while I was sound asleep, I ended up with bruises all over me and I am post-op 5 months surgery on my right shoulder and 4 months post-op surgery on my breasts (2nd surgery to finish what was started a year ago to reduce and remove fybroids) so I really didn't need a wrestling match every night. His Psychiatrist has him on medication, which we just started and are increasing slowly for the Bipolar, and we're hoping it will help with the sleeping. Some times he will crash as soon as he gets home from school and not wake up until the next morning to get ready for school. Some times we have to fight to get him in bed by his 9:30 school betime and then he might wake up at 1:00 a.m. or so and watch TV in his room or get on his computer until time to take a shower at 6:30 before eating breakfast before going to school. On the weekends, he will go to bed around 2:00, 3:00 in the morning and then get up at 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon...It is driving me crazy. I have no idea how to regulate his sleeping. Any ideas that anyone has is greatly appreciated.
Posted on 01/16/09, 10:01 pm