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View Full Version : Sleep problems following vaccinations?



cfred
08-27-2013, 01:00 PM
I wrote in yesterday about my difficult 17 mo daycare boy. He's not sleeping....almost at all. He did fall asleep, finally, 90 mins into nap, but that's the first time in a few weeks. When he first started here 3 mos ago, he slept quite well. He would sometimes have a brief morning nap (around 30 mins at 7:30am) then 2.5 hrs at noon. Now, it's a constant battle. It has been suggested that it could just be overtiredness. Ok....I can buy that, but it's just so sudden. His Mum and I have been trying to figure this out together and have deduced that the sleep problems began with his most recent vaccination, about 3 weeks ago. I can't help but wonder if this may have caused the problem. It's just so sudden and lines up with the vaccination.....the whole smoking gun thing. I've found a few similar experiences online.

They've been having problems putting him down at home too, both for naps and at night. He's been waking unusually early and more frequently through the night. Mom says they don't just pull him out of bed and try to let him sort himself out, which is what I do as well.

I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this? I don't think this is just a case of being over tired. I've dealt with the over tired thing before. This seems 'different'. My son had a surgery when he was 9 and suffered from severe insomnia for 2 months following. He's ADHD and I was warned by a friend with an ADHD son that there are reports of adverse sleep reactions to the anesthetic. I can't help but wonder if this is a medical issue.

playfelt
08-27-2013, 01:08 PM
Have never heard of this in a direct connection before really but then not up on all the stuff they give kids now as mine got 3 dpt and 1 mmr and that was it.

What vaccinations did he get?

cfred
08-27-2013, 01:14 PM
Not sure what they get at 15 mos....Is it MMR? It just seems like a pretty big coincidence to go from being a pretty good sleeper to a non-sleeper at the same time. I've not encountered this either, but can't put my finger on any other problems that would have brought this on.

Daisy123
08-27-2013, 01:42 PM
I've never heard of this type of reaction either but .... It could just be coincidence.... Nothing else has changed in his routine? Is he eating any new foods? I have a little guy here who was having a similar problem with sleeping. He just couldn't stay asleep- it was terrible and he was constantly sick because he as so tired. Finally mom put him on an elimination diet. Not great for a 2 year old but after cutting out gluten, dairy and a few other specific foods the change was amazing! His problems also started when he was about the age of your little guy and I can honestly say that the change has been like night and day. They're slowly reintroducing foods now so as to figure out what was causing the issues. Just putting it out there! :)

mamaof4
08-27-2013, 01:48 PM
A few of my friends have had this problem with their kids not sleeping after shots, they can be really painful and ache for a while.

Judy Trickett
08-27-2013, 02:33 PM
I have heard of that before. In fact, there are a whole host of vaccine-related things that happen to kids after being inoculated that most people don't consider.

I am a BIG anti-vaccine advocate. There is NO WAY on this earth I would inject my child with a vaccine. No amount of money, fear or motivation would make me do that. There is so much research out there that show the many, many, adverse reactions that vaccines have on small bodies.

There is plenty of research out there that shows some children's brains are permanently altered as a result of vaccine-related injury. I would not be surprised, at all, if this were the case with this child.

Now, that being said.....I would LOVE to blame it on vaccines because I feel strongly about how horrible they are. BUT.....make sure you are not allowing his mother (or yourself) to make and excuse for bad behaviour at bed time. Because, even if it IS vaccine-related he has to (re) learn how to go to sleep and stay asleep. He simply can not get away with bad bedtime behaviour - regardless of the reason.

playfelt
08-27-2013, 04:14 PM
When did the child start walking? A lot of kids have issues just before mastering skills such as this or when there is going to be a growth spurt, brain/body goes into overdrive so to speak.

cfred
08-27-2013, 04:29 PM
He's about 18 mos and has been walking for a long time. It's the weirdest thing! He was settled in quite well. Eating has always been an issue, here and at home, but we continue to work on it as a team. He was sleeping a good 2.5 hrs (2 minimum). All of a sudden, he's just stopped sleeping. He's not being bad. He lays there for a while, then eventually sits up and talks to himself. I guess that in itself isn't great, but I can't tie the child down to the bed, ya know? I've been going down every 20 mins or longer to lay him back down and be firm with him. I'm thinking tomorrow I'm just going to leave him. Of COURSE that'll be the one day he has a massive dirty diaper during nap ;) I can't imagine for the life of me what he can possibly be doing to entertain himself for all that time in the dark. You'd think boredom alone would knock him out!

I dunno.... Mum feels terrible and that it's all her fault...berates herself. And really, she's lovely, a great parent and doing the best she can. He's just a challenging boy in some ways. I will say, he seems to be somewhat physically sensitive and, to me, a tad fragile. He seems to react to things more than I've seen others do. For example, after his previous vaccination, he got a terrible infection in the injection site requiring antibiotics. That's unusual, no? He just seems more susceptible to things, which makes me wonder even more about this being a reaction of some sort.