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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 21:02:04
Does anyone here suffer from night eating syndrome? I hear that Topomax helps with binge eating but what about night eating? This is something I've been doing for several years. This is not eating late in the evening, this is after I've gone to sleep. I wake up several times during the night and go to the kitchen and grab a bite of food, most always something sweet, never anything healthy. I tell myself every night before I go to sleep that I will not eat when I wake up (the waking up is going to happen regardless) and then I will wake up and head right for the kitchen. I'm fully awake, I'm thinking I shouldn't be doing this, I just two hours ago told myself I wouldn't, yet, I don't care at that moment and do it anyway. I don't eat a lot, just a bite or two, washing it down with Pepsi One, go back to sleep, wake up in another hour or two and do it again. Does anyone else have this problem? And does Topomax help? Amazingly enough, I'm not overweight. I desperately want to stop this behavior. I've read that it's caused by stress (this would be very true in my case) but haven't read what to do to stop it. Maybe Topomax is the answer. Does anyone have an answer for me? Thanks.
Posted by Darby on March 22, 2003, at 21:46:11
In reply to Night Eating, posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 21:02:04
Bonnie --
I've been experiencing this exact same scenario for the past several years. I've noticed that as my sleep has been getting worse, this eating pattern has been geting worse. I suspect that it is primarily a SLEEP problem. I've been on several different antidepressants over the years, which may contribute to this nocturnal eating problem.
I suspect that if I could try a longer acting sleep aid (like one of the benzos), one which would KEEP me asleep for at least 5 to 7 hours, that might solve the problem.
Are you currently taking any medications?
Thanks,
Darby
Posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 23:06:21
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by Darby on March 22, 2003, at 21:46:11
Darby:
The only medications I take are Allegra D (major allergies since moving to GA...in the form of puffy eyes and mind blowing headaches) and Valium for a TMJ disorder. I take one 10mg valium one night and one 5mg tablet the next. I've been wanting to get off the Valium, knowing it's addictive nature, but without it, the jaw pain is unbearable. When I first started taking the Valium it knocked me right out to sleep (I was then only taking one 5mg each night). Obviously, I've developed a tolerance for it as I've increased my dosage to what I mentioned above. My prescription calls for me to take two 10mg twice a day as needed for jaw pain, but I absolutely don't want to do that as I can imagine what road that would take me down. As far as the sleep issue, since I've developed a tolerance to the Valium, on the nights that I only take one 5mg Valium I will also take an over the counter sleeping pill like Unisom. I know this is bad, but otherwise, I wouldn't sleep at all. I've never taken an antidepressant, although I have suffered from major depression from time to time. My depression has mostly been situational not generalized but with each episode, it does seem to get worse. On those nights that I take the Unisom coupled with the Valium, I still wake up, in a fog, always feeling the need to urinate, then make my way to the kitchen, no matter how sleepy I am. It's so bizarre and irritating. How do I stop this? I just don't understand how I can be awake, knowing what I'm about to do is something I'm going to be angry with myself about in the morning, yet no matter, I eat. Sometimes as many as four or five times, the average being three. What started you in this cycle? How many times do you wake up and eat, and how much do you eat and what do you eat? Have you heard of anything that will stop this short of being locked in a room? I always wake up because I need to go to the bathroom, yet, it's never enough that I think it should have awakened me. Thanks for your imput. I don't think there are many of us out there.
Bonnie
Posted by Krissy P on March 23, 2003, at 0:39:52
In reply to Night Eating, posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 21:02:04
Hi, I'm not sure I have an answer for you, BUT, Seroquel does the exact same thing to me that you talk about here. I would take it and and less than an hour later, binge like crazy. I recently added Lamictal and went back on Effexor-XR, and decreased my Seroquel dosage to only 100mg-it is working with the night eating. I had a friend who went on Topamax and lost almost 100LBS-no kidding. So I know that Topamax, on some, has an effect on appetite and may help you with your night eating.
Do you take Seroquel? If so, how many mg?I stress eat too, and it is hard to stop it, but once I get to sleep, I don't seem to wake up like you do and eat. I toiled with starting Lamictal or Topamax for mood stabilization Topamax solely for the weight loss side effect it has had on a lot of people, but I knew that Lamictal worked for my moods, I'm BP.
Keep me posted, hope this helped?
Kristen
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Does anyone here suffer from night eating syndrome? I hear that Topomax helps with binge eating but what about night eating? This is something I've been doing for several years. This is not eating late in the evening, this is after I've gone to sleep. I wake up several times during the night and go to the kitchen and grab a bite of food, most always something sweet, never anything healthy. I tell myself every night before I go to sleep that I will not eat when I wake up (the waking up is going to happen regardless) and then I will wake up and head right for the kitchen. I'm fully awake, I'm thinking I shouldn't be doing this, I just two hours ago told myself I wouldn't, yet, I don't care at that moment and do it anyway. I don't eat a lot, just a bite or two, washing it down with Pepsi One, go back to sleep, wake up in another hour or two and do it again. Does anyone else have this problem? And does Topomax help? Amazingly enough, I'm not overweight. I desperately want to stop this behavior. I've read that it's caused by stress (this would be very true in my case) but haven't read what to do to stop it. Maybe Topomax is the answer. Does anyone have an answer for me? Thanks.
Posted by Krissy P on March 23, 2003, at 0:42:22
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by Darby on March 22, 2003, at 21:46:11
Hi Darby,
I take a long acting benzo-Klonopin and it keeps me asleep at least 5 or 7hours.
Good idea you had, that may help her.I hope that would solve the problem:-)
Take Care, Kristen
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I suspect that if I could try a longer acting sleep aid (like one of the benzos), one which would KEEP me asleep for at least 5 to 7 hours, that might solve the problem.> Bonnie --
>
> I've been experiencing this exact same scenario for the past several years. I've noticed that as my sleep has been getting worse, this eating pattern has been geting worse. I suspect that it is primarily a SLEEP problem. I've been on several different antidepressants over the years, which may contribute to this nocturnal eating problem.
>
> I suspect that if I could try a longer acting sleep aid (like one of the benzos), one which would KEEP me asleep for at least 5 to 7 hours, that might solve the problem.
>
> Are you currently taking any medications?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Darby
Posted by Krissy P on March 23, 2003, at 0:43:24
In reply to Re: Night Eating » Darby, posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 23:06:21
Posted by noa on March 23, 2003, at 10:36:50
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by Darby on March 22, 2003, at 21:46:11
this has hit the news lately, and I believe it is being defined as a sleep disorder, not just an eating disorder.
I have had episodes of this in recent years, too. When I do this, I am awake, but not fully awake, ie, very drowsy/sedated, under influence of the serzone and ativan I take before bed.
I am not hungry when I do this. It is more of a restless sleep thing and I feel like I won't relax unless I eat. Sometimes, I sit and watch tv and eat something (usually sweet, yes) and then I sometimes fall asleep in the chair watching tv, which is another problem.
It happens occasionally. Most nights, I either don't have the urge, or am able to resist it.
I suspect if I went back to exercising regularly it would not be a problem.
Posted by noa on March 23, 2003, at 10:38:39
In reply to Re: Night Eating » Darby, posted by Krissy P on March 23, 2003, at 0:42:22
Ok, I see that three of us have sedating drugs and the night eating thing. Is this a connection? But Krissy says she doesn't get it with Klonopin, which is longer acting. Any thoughts?
Posted by Krissy P on March 23, 2003, at 12:00:45
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by noa on March 23, 2003, at 10:38:39
just another note:
I have never gotten night eating from the Klonopin, in fact, it decreases my appetite a little. It is amazing, though, about the Seroquel...............
> Ok, I see that three of us have sedating drugs and the night eating thing. Is this a connection? But Krissy says she doesn't get it with Klonopin, which is longer acting. Any thoughts?
Posted by male34 on March 23, 2003, at 17:39:14
In reply to Night Eating, posted by Bonnie C on March 22, 2003, at 21:02:04
i understand especially when i was on paxil i would wake up and eat junk food always all day i was good then i was a sleepwalking junk food junki
Posted by Bonnie C on March 23, 2003, at 19:00:14
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by noa on March 23, 2003, at 10:36:50
> this has hit the news lately, and I believe it is being defined as a sleep disorder, not just an eating disorder.
>
> I have had episodes of this in recent years, too. When I do this, I am awake, but not fully awake, ie, very drowsy/sedated, under influence of the serzone and ativan I take before bed.
>
> I am not hungry when I do this. It is more of a restless sleep thing and I feel like I won't relax unless I eat. Sometimes, I sit and watch tv and eat something (usually sweet, yes) and then I sometimes fall asleep in the chair watching tv, which is another problem.
>
> It happens occasionally. Most nights, I either don't have the urge, or am able to resist it.
>
> I suspect if I went back to exercising regularly it would not be a problem.I, too am groggy when I wake up and head for the kitchen but am aware that what I'm doing is not what I want to do, I just do it anyway, as if my will is not my own. I do it every single night. As I said, several times during the night. I never sit to eat, or watch TV, I stand in the kitchen, take a bite of whatever is available that is sweet and if that's not on hand, chips will do just fine (usually just one bite) and then go back to sleep. I had read that a very small percentage of the population were night eaters and that it was related to stress. In my situation, it began with a very stressful time in my life. I would go to bed and my mind would race with all sorts of unpleasant thoughts about what was going on so I began to put a video in, always a movie that I'd seen a million times, so that when I closed my eyes, I would hear the movie and still be able to see the image in my head. This worked for me as far as getting to sleep much easier without the negative thoughts. The stress in my life lessened, but the movie thing became a habit and I thought perhaps that was what was making me wake up so much, so recently I began to turn the TV off the first time I woke up (I still need the initial crutch to get to sleep). Doesn't matter. I still wake up and still go to that kitchen. Like you, I am not hungry when I do this. Unlike you, I always am compelled and can never resist the urge. I just wish I knew of a way to stop it. Which reminds me of a MAD TV skit where Bob Newhart plays a psychiatrist and his patient is trying to explain what behavior she would like to curb and he interrupts her each time with a firm, "Just stop it!" Ah, if it were only this simple!
This is the end of the thread.
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