Why Does My 5Yo Daughter Keep Waking up with Random Pain in the Middle Otn?

Updated on December 03, 2016
B.C. asks from Houston, TX
11 answers

For a couple of months, my 5 year old daughter has been waking up in the middle of the night with random pain. Some nights it's a head ache, some nights her cheek hurts from a canker sore, tonight her foot hurts. It's not every night, but probably 2 or 3 times a week. The weird thing is that she never complains about any of this during the day. Any ideas on why this is happening and what we can do? We don't want to over medicate her, but sometimes she WILL NOT sleep unless we give her some Tylenol. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

Don't keep giving her Tylenol. Talk to the pediatrician about what you can do for a placebo effect and to prevent psychological dependence on anything (medicinal or otherwise). This is a really bad habit to get into. She's waking up and unable to self-soothe, which is common in babies and less common in older kids. She also can't relax at night to get to sleep - this could be the start of some anxiety disorder. Nip it in the bud - this has gone on for a few months, and she's changing the type of ache or pain she has, but not the underlying issue. You may want to work with a children's therapist to develop some consistent techniques for behavior modification and confidence-building for her.

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S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

well, it's nice that you don't want to over-medicate her. it would be nicer yet if you asked your actual pediatrician for medical advice.
khairete
S.

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T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

What does her pediatrician say?

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I would stop using Tylenol. It is filtered thru the liver and can cause liver damage when given too much. Ask her pediatrician or the pharmacist for a safer pain medication.

I agree to give her placebo or give her nothing. I suggest her pain is away to get time with you. However, she may do this for other reasons. Because the pain is in various places, it's not the usual sort of pain that indicates a medical issue. Still, I would take her to the doctor.

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D..

answers from Miami on

You'd know if it is just psychological if you give her a placebo instead of real Tylenol. It might be helpful to do this so you can tell the doctor if indeed she responds to a placebo.

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T.D.

answers from Springfield on

placebo tylenol.. agreed that it will let you see if its all in her head..
watch how you interact with her in the day. if you are not spending quiality time with her she may be doing it just for positive attention. (my dd also loves the taste of medicines and will ask for them for every little thing.. we rarely comply unless we know the medsd will benefit her. so its not uncommon to have a child act in such a manner)
if placebo tylenol fails then off to the dr you go

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M.G.

answers from Portland on

The only time my kids woke in the night and complained of not feeling well was for barf or they had a fever. They never woke with what you describe.

Is she waking with bad dreams? I'm not a psychologist, but maybe she feels she get more attention if she complains of an ailment.

Also not a doctor. If this is a regular occurrence, it makes sense to take her in rather than keep giving her Tylenol.

We had a dad on here the other day asking us if it was normal for his daughter to have headaches, and what to do. My advice is the same - take her in.

1 mom found this helpful

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

She keeps waking up with it because you keep responding to her.
Period.
I'm not saying ignore it if you think she's genuinely sick. But seeing as this ONLY happens in the middle of the night, call her on her BS and send her back to bed. It'll stop when you stop feeding into it.

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Seeing your pediatrician is a good idea.
Tylenol a few times a week isn't a lot.
She's at an age where growing pains can happen too - usually pains in the arms and legs.
Our son would wake up crying with those - we had to give him a warm bath in the middle of the night to help with that.

R.A.

answers from Boston on

Attention? I do not know.. ask her pediatrician..

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Thank’s for your question B..

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