[manxcatwoman]

I don't why I do this but it's driving me crazy. I'm fine on most days when it comes to bingeing. But on some nights after I take a sleeping pill, I'll go to sleep, wake up (half way) and start bingeing even though I'm not hungry. Sometimes I'll forget exactly what I ate until I see a cereal bowl or something and then it all sinks in that I've eaten a lot.

On some level I'm aware of what I'm doing but it just doesn't register that this is bad for me. I wake up in the morning after a binge feeling defeated and think I'll never be able to eat normally.

I go to bed at night praying that I won't get up to eat.

Does anybody else do this?

[CANDC]

Dear MCW, are you able to go to sleep without a sleeping pill?
One thing I do is have a nutritious snack with protein (yogurt or milk) and that helps me through the night.
Another thing is getting off the high carbo diet. That is something that helps me feel more stable and less out of control like a starving person. The carbos can raise the blood sugar quickly and then after a couple hours, a person prone to hypoglycemia tends to crash and feel down and starving hungry.
What works for you, not sure, but I hope you find a way that is good for you.

[manxcatwoman]

Thanks, CANDC. I've been taking Ambien for quite awhile now and it's hard to get to sleep without it. Part of why I end up at the fridge after taking it is to get some milk because I've read that it can help. But I always end up getting food to go with it. Sometimes I'll just end up with cereal and milk which I guess isn't too bad. There have been a couple of times when I've actually fallen asleep eating it though. I got milk and cereal all over the place. lol

I've been trying to eat more protein but some days all I end up with is mostly carbs. I need to be more dedicated to eating food that will help me because I really could use some sleep without all the interpretations like binge eating. It feels terrible throughout the rest of the night.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Nobodyandnothing]

Manxcatwoman,
You are not alone. I have exactly the same experiences, probably because of Ambien. I even eat food at night (without realizing it and waking up with no memory of it but faced with the "evidence." I even eat food I don't like. I cannot buy ice cream or other sweets because they disappear. My kids joke about mom's eating binges. Makes me want to cry.

Also be aware that Ambien may be responsible for sleepwalking/ driving.

[manxcatwoman]

Thanks. It's good to know I'm not alone but I'm sorry you're having to go through it. I thought that Ambien might be the problem. I've heard several stories of people eating without remembering. My mother took Ambien and she ordered some expensive clothes after taking it and didn't remember. Her dr. switched her to trazdadone. I've tried it and ended up having very bad side effects. I only take the smallest dose of Ambien but haven't been able to wean myself off it yet. I need to have a way though.

Thanks again for your comment.

[CANDC]

Manxcatwoman, you might discuss with your pdoc about Lorazapam (generic Atavan) in small doses taken a half hour before bed can induce sleep. A friend had good luck on that but it is more emphasis on anti anxiety but helps sleep.
I find a warm shower before bed helps me and I also use mindfulness to follow my breath with soft instrumental music. I even meditate laying down and it is more effective to make me drowsy.
Also a full day of doing things can help too.

[NoSelfControl]

I don't take sleeping pills and I do this. I wake up to go to the bathroom, go get food and bring it to bed and eat. I am half sleeping but I know I am doing it. I eat thousands of calories from doing this.

[geez]

I take Trazadone for sleeping as needed. I have to plan staying asleep for 10 hours. Powerful stuff! And no sleep walking :-)

[CANDC]

Originally Posted by manxcatwoman

Thanks, CANDC. I've been taking Ambien for quite awhile now and it's hard to get to sleep without it. Part of why I end up at the fridge after taking it is to get some milk because I've read that it can help. But I always end up getting food to go with it. Sometimes I'll just end up with cereal and milk which I guess isn't too bad. There have been a couple of times when I've actually fallen asleep eating it though. I got milk and cereal all over the place. lol

I've been trying to eat more protein but some days all I end up with is mostly carbs. I need to be more dedicated to eating food that will help me because I really could use some sleep without all the interpretations like binge eating. It feels terrible throughout the rest of the night.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Manxcatwoman, I have a history of binging that seems to be made worse by my carbo binging. I used to eat a whole batch of pancakes. Now I have scrambled egg white and some unsweetened cereal and yogurt and fruit.
That is just one example how substituting food has helped me sleep better and binge less.
Happy dreams tonight!

[coolbeans33]

I chronically have this problem. Also I find that when I take sleeping pills, or any type of sedative it makes night time binge eating worse. It's horrible to wake up feeling sick and looking to in the fridge to see it empty! especially when I'm stressed I will wake up in a weird dream/trance and eat random stuff out of the fridge. If I don't snap right out of it I forget that it even happened till after I get up the next day.

maybe you could get a baby gate in a doorway to trip yourself on the way to the kitchen! or some type of alarm.

Anyway I hope you find some type of help!

[Standup2me]

I was reading a book called Food and Mood, and there was quite a bit of info on this.

So, you are truely not alone

[Restin]

Ambien has always been the perfect answer to my severe insomnia. I also have the thing where I get hungry just as the Ambien is starting to work, but I usually avoid that by eating a snack an hour or so before taking it. I
have major trouble with all the benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepresants, like Lorazepam, Trazodone, etc. because they make me so snowed and depressed into the next day. Ambien is perfect. But now, Big Brother, the FDA and Medicare have decided for us that Ambien makes people unsafe to drive to work the next day (not true about me).
Medicare is restricting Ambien to 90 pills for the whole year of 2015. This just infuriates me! The pill that works clean, they won't allow, and the ones that leave me a zombie are okay.?! Besides, what could be more dangerous on the hiway than someone who hasn't had any sleep for several days!?

And all those tricks people advise to help you sleep, don't work for me...I've tried them all and I'm tired of hearing about them. And what good is the sleep clinic to check your sleep apnea if you can't even get to sleep to be tested!! Maybe if we didn't have to go through hell to get our meds, we wouldn't get too wired up to go to sleep!

[waggiedog]

. Yeah folks, here's amother sucker for for food, and you know, It's just as bad as any other addiction ~ except it's not quite illegal! It's depressing and as you've all mentioned, makes you feel awful for the rest of the night AND can extend right through the next day too. Years ago my binges were outta this world, tho I haven't done any night eating over the last six months. Yes, if I'm honest I'd say that sedatives can make the problem worse, as it did in my case. I hated going through the waste bins and The fridge, to check on exactly what had gone!!! Not to mention the money side of it. AND finally, it turned out that the very issue I was trying to do something about, my WEIGHT, was ballooning away like crazy. Nobody is alone with this type of problem, but the nature of it makes us "go underground", being afraid to seek help just in case someone thinks, or WOSE still, someone SAYS - that you are a piggie??? That's not funny either. We should form a club, as there would be enough members, both men and women. Xxx

You are not alone. I've been struggling with this too.