our kids and RLS
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:21 am
Our 3 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with RLS. She's been having trouble sleeping since she was 6 months old.
She has been taking an iron supplement since November. Her ferritin level was 17 in December, and up to 28 in February. The sleep clinic we have been working with said that they like to see ferritin levels above 50, 70, or even 90.
She seems so tired all of the time, yet she barely takes any naps anymore. During her nap time, she constantly talks and moves, even though she's tired. The only reason she falls asleep quickly at bedtime is because we give her Melatonin before she goes to bed. Without it, she did the same behavior at bedtime for an hour or more every night. She also wakes up overnight a few times a week, and when she does, she's usually up talking and moving for an hour or more.
She has recently started telling us sometimes that her feet hurt or that they're making noise. Despite being very verbal, she's never described any discomfort or pain that might be associated with RLS other than that.
We have a strong family history of RLS (always as adults), and we are concerned that our 1 year old daughter could also have it, because her ferritin level was 15 in February. She doesn't have as much trouble as her sister does falling asleep, but we don't know what's normal for her age. She is more trouble falling asleep lately, but we don't know if it's because of RLS, teething, transitioning to 1 nap, or something else.
We don't know anyone who has a child with RLS, especially one this young. It seems like there aren't many specialists who know much about it either, including our pediatrician and some sleep experts that we've seen. We are trying to find more information, support, resources, and/or additional treatments. So far, we are not seeing any improvement after 4 months on the iron supplement, so we're afraid it may not be helping her. We don't want to just keep waiting for the iron to help her, because she's suffering now every day, and it's negatively impacting her life at home and at preschool.
Thanks.
She has been taking an iron supplement since November. Her ferritin level was 17 in December, and up to 28 in February. The sleep clinic we have been working with said that they like to see ferritin levels above 50, 70, or even 90.
She seems so tired all of the time, yet she barely takes any naps anymore. During her nap time, she constantly talks and moves, even though she's tired. The only reason she falls asleep quickly at bedtime is because we give her Melatonin before she goes to bed. Without it, she did the same behavior at bedtime for an hour or more every night. She also wakes up overnight a few times a week, and when she does, she's usually up talking and moving for an hour or more.
She has recently started telling us sometimes that her feet hurt or that they're making noise. Despite being very verbal, she's never described any discomfort or pain that might be associated with RLS other than that.
We have a strong family history of RLS (always as adults), and we are concerned that our 1 year old daughter could also have it, because her ferritin level was 15 in February. She doesn't have as much trouble as her sister does falling asleep, but we don't know what's normal for her age. She is more trouble falling asleep lately, but we don't know if it's because of RLS, teething, transitioning to 1 nap, or something else.
We don't know anyone who has a child with RLS, especially one this young. It seems like there aren't many specialists who know much about it either, including our pediatrician and some sleep experts that we've seen. We are trying to find more information, support, resources, and/or additional treatments. So far, we are not seeing any improvement after 4 months on the iron supplement, so we're afraid it may not be helping her. We don't want to just keep waiting for the iron to help her, because she's suffering now every day, and it's negatively impacting her life at home and at preschool.
Thanks.