Sleep Clinic

Thomas started going to the sleep clinic at the Marter Children's hospital last year. He has always been a mildly horrible sleeper, but last June/July started having a few moments of sleep apnea a week sometimes a few times a night. Enough that would worry me greatly and would set off his monitors.

The Ear Nose Throat Dr we saw said it was not an obstructive cause and he needed to see a sleep specialist in Brisbane. This started the long fight/battle to get him seen at this clinic. By the time we got there he was no longer in his cot and we were unable to monitor his breathing effectively enough. He also became an even worse sleeper, taking forever to get to sleep and then waking constantly through the night often being awake for up to 2 hours at a time.

Well this has been getting worse and worse in the last 10 months. We were getting less and less sleep, often sharing the wakings in one night. So sometimes we would be luck to get 3-4 hours sleep at a time. Our last visit to the clinic in May was actually the day after we found out Thomas had Aspergers. The Dr we saw was terrible. She dismissed everything and demanded that we change everything we were doing, causing much more distress than ever. (seriously who sets about to change a child with Aspergers routine so greatly all at once!) And the things she suggested had all been tried before. If it worked at any stage it might have worked for one or two nights then never again.

So yesterday was our 3 month review. The Dr we got was amazing. He listened to us. Observed Thomas going off his tree in his room becuase of the lighting, acknowledge that it was not the best place for him to be, so he did a quick physical exam and sent Thomas and John out of the room and back to the starlight room.

He then suggested Melatonin. I did not even have to ask about if it was suitable for him. I am so very glad for this. He realised pretty quick what a volatile little man he is. (I have a bad arm injury right now from Thomas jumping on my arm whilst in our bed.) So last night we tried it. To the most amazing results. John reported he had not even finished the story time and he was out to it! 11 hours he slept for and then laid in his bed quietly for about 20minuets before calling out to me.

Today he is happy. Cooperative and we have not had one issue, even with changing his nappy!

Lets hope that this continues to work.