Zyprexa and Sleep Eating

I love the drug, don't get me wrong. But I am waking up in the middle of the night (semi sleeping) eating cookies, chips, chocolate whatever I can find. Then I find the food in my bed and all over my clothes in the morning.

I generally do not eat sweets except for holidays. Any suggestions besides handcuffing myself to the bed??

PAD LOCKS on the cupboards and frig!!

Kidding of Course!!

Maybe a small snack before you turn in for the night??

Is it a side-affect that will wear off in time?

I have found the same problem with

some anti-anxieties and eating.

One other thing is maybe not keep sweets in the house?? But I

know you have children so that may be a problem?

Yes, there are sweets for the babies. Maybe I can have someone put them in a secret chest where I can't find them!!

Did you have a problem with eating prior to taking Zyprexa?

Sleep Eating disorder is usually part of an underlying disorder. It is considered both a sleep and eating disorder, affecting about 10-15% of persons with eating disorders.

Eating a snack as someone suggested might help. Make sure the snack is high in protein and complex carbohydrates. You don't want to stuff yourself with sugar that is going to cause your blood sugar to rise fast, and then fall while sleeping ("fasting"). That can cause nausea, headaches etc., when you wake up.

If you smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs other than what is prescribed to you that may also be an underlying factor of this.

Are you currently on a diet or restrict your food intake during the day for some reason?

Actually there are a few reports in the medical literature about sleep-eating being induced by anti-psychotics. The two that have been mentioned are Zyprexa and Risperidone.

I would mention this to your p-doc. In the cases reviewed in the literature, the patients either stopped the medication completely or lowered the dose.

No I haven't had an eating disorder. I am currently on a diet plan trying to limit my intake of calories to 1200. But I tried something different last night...I skipped the Zyprexa before bed and took it this morning. I'll see if that helps. I've been as high as 20 mg on Zyprexa and didn't have a problem before. I really don't want to give it up because it really helps my "problems".

Thanks all for your valuable input, as always!

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Nightly eating is reported in approximately 70 percent of SRED patients, usually in the absence of hunger or thirst. More than 65 percent of these patients ingest unpalatable substances, such as frozen foods and buttered cigarettes.

. . .Many drugs have been implicated in the initiation of SRED, including triazolam, amitriptyline, olanzapine, and risperidone.8,10,11 Two series have described associations with zolpidem.[9,12] In Winkelman�s series of 37 patients, 70 percent of the patients were taking psychotropic drugs at the time of the study. In Schenck�s series, psychotropic drug use was also reported, but it is unclear at what frequency they were used.[11] The presence of psychotropic medications may bear relevance to the varying levels of alertness described in association with eating episodes.[14]

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From: http://www.psychiatrymmc.com/display...eID=article249

When I was taking Zyprexa it did the same thing to me, my Pdoc said it was a side effect. Made me gain like 50 lbs within a couple of months.

Great info Perna. Unfortunately my disorder steers me towards sweets, cookies chips and the such.

But, it is really stabilizing me, so I will exercise more during the day to ward off the gazillion calories I put on overnight!

Zyprexa is known for causing weight gain and the sleep eating problem is exactly why. I experienced the same thing with Zyprexa and by the time I realized what was going on I gained around 40 pounds. There are other medications such as Seroquel that may or may not cause the same problem for you. I'd suggest talking with your doctor. Let him/her know what is going on and see if there is another med that would be more appropriate for you.

Thanks Cheetah, I've gained 15 pounds in 15 days. I have never had a sweet tooth before. I don't know if its the Depakote or the Zyprexa, but its gotta stop!!!!!!!

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mybestkids2 said:
Great info Perna. Unfortunately my disorder steers me towards sweets, cookies chips and the such.

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Hey, I just wanted you to know it could be worse? Buttered cigarettes????

Well I get up in the middle of the night all the time and since I have to pass through the kitchen to get to the bathroom, i do take a glance in the fridgerator. Snackie time! I really need to quit doing that. I am well aware of it though, lol but its been a thing ive done even before all the anti anxiety meds.

my hubby has had a problem with sleep eating for years, when we moved into a 2 story i was worried about him falling down the stairs so started keeping a snack on his bedside table. maybe if there is a healthy snack in easy reach you won't go looking for sweets. it works for him, unless i forget to keep something there, then no telling what he might eat lol

lost

I don't sleep eat, but I've been binging like crazy while awake. I can't control it. I was a binge eater anyway beforehand, but it has been worse since I've been on the Zyprexa (3 weeks).

Not sure what to tell you. In my case I only need this med for a short time, I think. I hope I can get off it soon because I really want to lose weight.

Thank goodness the doctor changed the Depakote and Zyprexa. There is NO more sleep eating at all!