Best help we received was from Kim West, a.k.a "The Sleep Lady", after we saw her on Dr. Phil. She was the only one who could get our tot, along with many others we know of, to sleep through the night. You can find her at sleeplady.com. You could also try her book. Good luck!

As a victim of acute apnea, I am a poster child (at least I wish "child") for sleep medicine. Had I have known of my apnea 15 years prior to finally finding a cause for my daytime sleepiness, and lonely nights (when wifey retired to the guest room to get some sleep over the sound of a shredder), I would have avoided much of the drugs I take now for heart rhythm, blood pressure, and diabetes.

I am convinced that sleep apnea, among other sleep disorders, is physically devastating. I am of the opinion that sleep studies by qualified sleep disorder physicians should be as routine as a flu shot for a baseline, then every 5 - 10 years after.

There is vastly more ignorance in the medical profession about sleep disorders than knowledge.  For instance: obesity causes sleep apnea.  As this study shows, skinny kids can have sleep apnea.  It is caused by how one's throat is constructed, not whether one is obese or thin.  The consequences of untreated sleep apnea in children are:  attention deficit disorder, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, loss of some cognitive functions, mood disorder, and excess sleepiness.

All of the kids could be spared these by early diagnosis.

George A. Marquart

Sleep disorders are caused by over-stimulation. I am convinced - eye witness that I am and have been for several years. Too much loud noise and for too long, too much of everything coming at them and parents waiting until kids have reached the point of fatigue when they are out of control and difficult to settle. It's over-stimulation and it's a huge problem in this generation.

Acupuncture is very helpful in many cases of insomnia, asthma, mild obstructive sleep apnea. It's non-addictive. Children and adolescents usually respond faster to the acupuncture treatments compared to adults.

There are now almost 200 community acupuncture clinics in the U.S., which charge lower rates than most acupuncture practices. To find the community acupuncture clinic nearest to you, go to theCommunityAcupunctureNetwork site and click on Locate-a-clinic.

I have become quite cynical about what is and what is not taught in medical schools. Since research is funded by big Pharma, it seems that largely, medical students are mostly taught what drugs to prescribe. Unless there's money to be made by drug companies for eternal medicinal treatments (not acupuncture, weight loss, behavior modification, identification of unnoticed food, pet or chemical allergies, etc.), it is less and less likely to be taught in medical school.

I am mid-50s and was not diagnosed with sleep apnea until age 50. I underwent a tonsillectomy and several somnaplaties (heat treating the base of the tongue and the upper palate) and went from a 42 to a 5 on the apnea scale. What was astounding is that the daily headaches I had lived with since I was a kid, which had been treated by various doctors as sinus problems, were gone. Just gone. Not to reappear since then. I was taken to a neurologist in 6th grade because I had migraines and all he said was I was too intense and needed to relax. Yes, I am intense but clearly they were not the cause of the migraines. I was also a skinny kid. Furthermore, I have always had sleep problems even after the apnea was cleared up. I cannot get to sleep and I still don`t stay asleep. Turns out I had nighttime restless leg syndrome which I take mirapex for. Helps but with out ambian or lunesta I will not stay asleep. With both mirapex and one of the others I can sleep now 4 1/2 to 5 hrs which is huge for me. Still have trouble getting to sleep though. So apnea is clearly no the whole problem although which came first the chicken or the egg. Either way I now am obese which exercise and diet does not reduce and have high blood pressure....which occurred before the weight gain.

Reality is that medical science really doesn`t know all that much about the human body. Most assuredly not how all the moving pieces work together.

I agree that basics of getting exercise in the day, having regular bedtime routines with no electronics, and a healthy diet with no caffeine, is sufficient for most kids (with no medical issues), most of the time. But some kids they need to learn to slow down and relax, ready to sleep. Dinosnores sleep stories can teach kids learn how to slow down ready to sleep. And they are fun so the kids are happy to try them at bedtime. www.dinosnores.com