Strange Sleeping Position

[looneymom]

Do any of you ever find yourself in a position that you were sitting up in bed and then fell asleep slumped over with head down or lying flat down (trunk over your legs). I know this sounds strange but I have found my son in this position several times in the past. Now that he is sleeping through the night again, I have started to check up on him. I have found him in this position twice this week. Is his body needing to be upright for some reason? Because it basically looks like he sat up and then fell asleep. As he fell asleep, he just kept leaning forward until his head was laying on his legs. He is laying there sound asleep. However, when I see him like this, I gently wake him up to get him to lay on his back. In the morning he is sound asleep, still laying on his back. I would think that laying like this would be painful and cause him more pain. Is this a form of EDS? I do not think that this is a side effect of the clonidine because my husband and I have seen this happen in the past when he was not on this medication. Any ideals or suggestions?

Rachel

[Guest Hanice]

I think most children are stretchy, BUT that sounds like too much. It definitely sounds like it could be eds (to me). At least that's what I would think if I saw my child like that. But I know nothing about eds. Have you tried a baby monitor? Like a camara one. They aren't very expensive. Like that you will keep an eye on him while he sleeps without disturbing him.

Has he had a brain mri for Chiari?

[corina]

It sounds very stretchy to me too, I have never found my kids asleep in such a position.

[Katybug]

I don't know if it an eds concern as he's still young and simply being hyper mobile is not the only qualifying factor. If he has other symptoms then eds might be something to look into. But has he ever had sleep studies? Maybe he is having a form of "sleep walking" minus the walking during his dream cycles? Maybe you could set up a video camera in his room to turn on at night and catch the behavior on tape and have the docs take a look? There are a lot of us with eds that have sleep disturbances but that also is true for dysautonomia.

[bellgirl]

I agree with Katy....I would ask the doctor about a sleep study with or without a video, even though I think a video is a good idea. He could be having trouble breathing, and he sits up to get a breath.

[kayjay]

If it's not normal for him I would mention it to a doctor. Maybe keep an eye out and see how it continues.

My son sometimes sleeps in really odd positions. (He doesn't have dysautonomia) he will sleep basically on his knees and face down.

I think he sleeps in more odd positions when he is overtired.

I'm sorry that it's one more thing for you to worry about. I only have two children but my son is the only one I've found in odd positions or hanging off of the bed.

[Hope]

I've never seen my kids do this. I myself often push myself up into a sitting position at night as another way to get comfortable, but I only slouch to one side or another. I would think it would be hard to breath if one was fully bent over.

[looneymom]

I didn't think about a baby monitor with a camera. I will check into that. Tyler has had a sleep study last March and they had a camera on him the whole night long. He does not have sleep apnea but he did wake up about once an hour during the study. He was not getting any of the deep sleep but I'm hoping that will change with the extended release clonidine. He has tried sleeping with a wedge pillow but that really made his back hurt more. I will see if I can raise the head of his bed more. I like the ideal of a camera and I could show that to a doctor. The idea that he might be more tired since school has started back did cross my mind later this afternoon. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[Racer]

I have been known to fall asleep sitting up and slump over, but once I hit a certain point I end up falling to my side and using my knee as a pillow. I used to crave the pressure while trying to sleep. I would sleep with my arms and legs in all sorts of weird positions, usually hyperextended. Eventually as a adult joint pain started to set in, and now I try my best to avoid sleeping like that.

I have a few techniques, first I try to never sit in bed. I have a chair beside the bed that I use for sitting, and the bed for lying only. Ofcourse I do prop myself up in bed, but never to the point of sitting. Another thing that helps is using a bunch of pillows! I use one for hugging, another for between or under legs, etc. This gives me some of that pressure, but without the damage. I also have a fleece blanket that I use to tightly wrap myself in. When I feel I need to go that extra mile I wrap myself up like a cocoon and sleep on my stomach.

If I only knew the damage I was doing as a kid... I hope he can find ways to stop.