Night Eating Syndrome

Nitephall

I was just wondering if anyone else has had an experience similar to mine. Many years ago I developed chronic insomnia. I literally lost the ability to sleep. I've been on sleeping pills for years now, and while they help me get to sleep, they don't keep me asleep. Not long after my insomnia started, I began to wake several times during the night with the uncontrollable urge to eat. The urge is so powerful that I literally have no control over it. I have to get up and eat something, usually something high in sugars or carbs. On average this happens about three or four times a night. What's even more weird is that my satiety cues don't work at night. No matter how much I've eaten, I want to eat more. I never feel full. I will actually feel bad about going back to bed without having eating that one other thing that I thought would be wonderful to devour. In this state, I actually feel ashamed about self control. During the day, I have no problem with eating healthy with the right portions and amounts. In fact, I probably don't eat enough during the day. But night falls and I become a different person. I just want to eat. I don't understand this. I'm concerned not only for my weight and the fact that I'm pre-diabetic, but also it just scares the hell out of me that I have no control whatsoever regarding this aspect of my mind/psyche/body. Why can't I just sleep? Anybody else up against this monster?

nutmegoreo

Have you looked at the side effects of the sleeping pills? I was doing something similar, but to a lesser degree when I was taking some. I rarely take them anymore getting to sleep is still a challenge, but I prefer that over the feeling of uncontrolled eating.

TavistockToad

You say you probably don't eat enough through the day... don't you think this may be linked?

Have you seen a doctor/therapist?

Vegplotter

I sympathise with your dilemma. It must be awful. I don't think taking sleeping pills for 'years' is saying much for your medical support. Insomnia is curable. Pills are just a panacea. I'd advise eating a maintaining and nutritious diet while you consult a sleep therapist. Once you have cured the insomnia and weaned yourself off the pills you can start on a sensible reducing diet.
Your metabolism just isn't strong enough to deal with a diet if your sleep is chemically induced. You can't lose weight if you aren't sleeping properly. It's during sleep that your metabolic clock is reset and its during sleep (when you aren't eating) that you lose a lot of weight.
The night time binges should stop once the insomnia is cured.
Incidentally, it's much easier to get a good nights sleep if you've been out in the fresh air during the day. Try walking more?
Good luck.

frankiesgirlie

Yes. I just went through this from about January this year until about April. I now have it under control. I had sleep tests and the whole shabang with a sleep specialist before we figured it out.
Three questions the sleep specialist asked before proceeding:

1) What are your daytime calories? If like me, your settings are at a reasonable calorie allowance( I have my settings at 1/2 lb a week loss, since I never had more than 20 lbs to lose) and if like me you are eating most of your exercise calories back, then that rules out under eating during the day. Ask yourself, are you eating enough?

2)are you taking ambien? This has been a side effect with some people taking ambien. That wasn't the case for me either.

3)Have you had sleep problems before. I was an insomniac since childhood, and actually had "night terrors". My sleep problems continued into adulthood, but had gotten so much worse this year.

I can't stress enough how you need to see a sleep specialist about this.

I went for 3 months getting 3 hours or less sleep a night and ingesting 100s of extra calories each night and gained back all 8 lbs I had lost last year plus about another 7 lbs. Now that we have it under control I'm back to losing again,and I go to sleep when my head hits the pillow and only wake up once for the bathroom and go right back to sleep. Now I get 6-7 hours per night, which is fantastic for me.

I'd like to tell you what worked for me, and yes don't necessarily be afraid of medications. I hate taking meds and take NO other medications other than the one the sleep specialist prescribed since I'm otherwise healthy. What I'm taking is a combination of over the counter and RX. I was hesitant about taking them. But they've been a Godsend for me.

If you want to personal message me, I'll be glad to tell you what worked for me, but what works for you may be different.

If you have the same problem I had, it is a recently recognized disorder and is classified as a sleep disorder, not an eating disorder as you might think.

I wish you much luck with this. I know how hard it is and how powerless you can feel.

There is help out there. Please contact me or friend me if I can help.

frankiesgirlie

Forgot to add. They will want you to take an overnight sleep test to see if it's sleep apnea. My results were mild sleep apnea, with other underlying causes for the night eating syndrome.

mommamia30189

Yes! I have this problem with my sleeping meds. When i took Ambien it was the worst, i wouldnt remember even eating, just see all the remnants the next morning. My current sleeping med is making me get up several times a night and eat something, and i know what im doing, i just have no self control at night. It has to be your meds, from my experience you have to find the right one that works for you.

sophier933

You can recover from night eating syndrome! I had night eating syndrome from 2012 to 2015 at its worst I could only sleep for 2 hours at a time before getting up and eating. I used to look through forums and group chats for some kind of cure but often finding no hope. I do not suffer with it any more.

It began gradually I was severely dieting to pursue a career as a jockey in 2012 living in Australia with no air conditioning in the house and some days up tp 40 degrees. Sleeping in the heat was difficult and being hungry made it harder, aiming to keep my weight below 8 stone. Little did I know it would develop into such a huge problem and last for years.
I moved back to Scotland in May 2012 the problem was worsening all the time. 2013 I had a few races which I loved but by the end of the year NES was taking over. 2014 was the worst year, my weight was out of control which was jeopardising my career, the night eating felt completely compulsory, stress levels were high on top of being very sleep deprived.
I put on 2 stone in 2 months and felt very ill from it.
I changed jobs, stopped caring about my weight, moved house and became pretty care/stress free. From there it was a slow and gradual process of sleeping for longer stints and getting up to eat through the night less often.

This is a brief summary of my story, if anyone suffering with NES is looking for advice or support I know there isn't a lot out there, I would be happy to answer any questions