Anyone else sleep eat?

xealia
xealia Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
I've always been a night owl and have had midnight snacks. Since my kids started getting up for preschool and activities and now school and such I've had to adjust my schedule as well.

Unfortunately that meant that from time to time when I was stressed I would sleep walk and sleep eat. I'm allergic to many/most of the meds out there for anxiety and depression. My body is so sensitive to sleeping pills and meds. Sudafed puts me to sleep for 18 hours! LOL so I really cannot get any medical assistance.

I haven't sleep walked or slept ate for over a year since the divorce stuff from my abusive ex was finished. Now that I've started the diet to get in shape I have started sleep eating again. Found myself covered in potato chip crumbs this morning! :(

Anyone else have this issue? I feel so alone when I talk to friends and family about it!

Replies

  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    I think you need to see someone about that, go see your GP. I doubt anyone here is qualified to give you advice, sleep walking/eating can lead to dangerous things like falling and worse. Go see someone.
  • dantrick
    dantrick Posts: 369 Member
    I think you need to see someone about that, go see your GP. I doubt anyone here is qualified to give you advice, sleep walking/eating can lead to dangerous things like falling and worse. Go see someone.

    ^^^ This - You really need professional advice on this one. Broscience will not help you.
  • xealia
    xealia Posts: 11
    I've been to the doctors LOTS of them. I've been doing this since I was 4 years old. I'm now 30! LOL I'm not seeking MEDICAL advice. I'm seeing comfort, support, understanding, exchanging stories etc...

    I'm not seeking to be judged. I thought since this was a weight loss help place that you all wouldn't be so judgement.... Sheesh
  • dubster
    dubster Posts: 35 Member
    I can totally relate... It only happens when I take Ambien. I wake to wrappers and crumbs in my bed too. But it appears I still try and eat healthy. Ate a whole box of protein bar one night. Found a jar of salsa in my bed so I guess i must have drank it cuz i didn't have any chip to eat it with. Bags of almonds and popcorn, tomatoes, apple cores are just some of the things I must have consumed in my sleep. I even tried to shave a Kokapele in my hair with a electric razor once. My wife heard me using the razor in the middle of the night and stopped me. Needless to say I have stopped taking Ambein.
  • Freidon
    Freidon Posts: 169 Member
    I've been to the doctors LOTS of them. I've been doing this since I was 4 years old. I'm now 30! LOL I'm not seeking MEDICAL advice. I'm seeing comfort, support, understanding, exchanging stories etc...

    I'm not seeking to be judged. I thought since this was a weight loss help place that you all wouldn't be so judgement.... Sheesh

    Nobody's judging you. We're trying to help you. It's just that your situation is potentially dangerous. I don't think others advising you to seek a professional (that actually knows what he/she is doing) is uncalled for.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
    My 13 year old sleep eats and even the sleep clinic cant help him. We are more worried that he might start cooking something in the middle of the night (he also has high functioning autism).

    He finds it quite funny although did not believe us until he woke up with a bed full of biscuit wrappers and kept blaming us for eating his treats (although we cant as we have food intolerances). Luckily hubby is a light sleeper and hears him when he gets up.
  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
    I agree that seeing a doctor sounds like the best solution, even if you've seen one before for this issue. In the meantime, could you lock up the food at night somehow? I think the fridge would be hardest, but for the cabinets, you could use those baby-proof magnet locks and try to hide the magnetic key someplace your sleep walking brain can't easily get into.
  • jessmart83
    jessmart83 Posts: 283 Member
    I dont personally have a problem with this, but my mother does. She has been a sleep walker all her life, it is scary sometimes. She wokr up at the gas station one night...drove there in her sleep, thank god she put on her robe she always says lol. She sleep eats regularly. Yesterday she baked a cake, had a piece my pops had a piece and wwhen she woke up this morning realized she ate 3/4 of it in her sleep. Thankfully she has never tried to cook anything. And people saying go to the doctor, dont understand. My mom has been to every sleep clinic, UCLA, Loma Linda, every good hospital here in Socal and no one can treat her. She has pretty much given up on weight loss, she is also disabled which doesnt help. If you ever stumble across a cure for it, let me know I will pass on the information :)
  • xealia
    xealia Posts: 11
    Thanks all for the chit chat. It makes me feel better knowing that I am not alone! The docs around here are pretty judgmental when you have issues that have a stigma to them.

    It is pretty weird what sleeping meds and your natural body does to you. I have a friend that nearly sliced his toe off in his sleep and sent all his co workers inappropriate pics of himself while on ambien. That stuff is pretty crazy.

    I would say my issue is annoying more than dangerous. I don't try to smoke or light candles or leave my home when I am sleep walking. I'll find myself on the floor or the couch or the dining room table and my choice of foods isn't the greatest but what can I do. Been to all the experts heard and done the whole song and dance. Guess its just something I need to learn to live with!
  • EvaD12
    EvaD12 Posts: 49
    Ok this may be totally crazy but is it possible to get some sort of alarm that goes off when you get up? Maybe a sensor on the door so if you open it an alarm rings and wakes you up?

    It's not a very comforting option but it might work or be worth a try if you've tried everything else ( or it's just a crazy thought either way)

    If you need supportive friends feel free to add me :).
  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
    Ok this may be totally crazy but is it possible to get some sort of alarm that goes off when you get up? Maybe a sensor on the door so if you open it an alarm rings and wakes you up?
    Oh yeah. They make those. You can buy them at the home improvement store as an alternative to a home security system. The ones for doors look like those wedge door stops.
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    I've been to the doctors LOTS of them. I've been doing this since I was 4 years old. I'm now 30! LOL I'm not seeking MEDICAL advice. I'm seeing comfort, support, understanding, exchanging stories etc...

    I'm not seeking to be judged. I thought since this was a weight loss help place that you all wouldn't be so judgement.... Sheesh

    Erm....how was I judging you.... I was merely saying that I think you need professional help. I'm sure people will share stories, but that won't fix something that is obviously a problem.

    Have you tried seeing a specialist rather than your average doctor? Less stigma then.
  • dantrick
    dantrick Posts: 369 Member
    Invest in fuzzy handcuffs and chain yourself to the bed. then you can't get out of it.
  • DiamondWoman
    DiamondWoman Posts: 18
    I used to do the sleep eat thing as well. What I found worked for me was putting baby gates at the entrances to the kitchen. At first I had to stack one on top of the other. The loud crash it made when i ran into them while I was asleep was enough to wake me up and get me back into bed. I will agree sleep eating is not fun in any sense of the issue. You are doing what you are supposed to during the day, but at night your body doesn't want to cooperate on making it better.
  • xealia
    xealia Posts: 11
    Nope can't do alarms or gates or tie myself up. I have cats and young kids that make all of those ideas impossible! My youngest regularly gets out of bed to sleep with me. My cats come in and out all night and if I close the door they scream at the door all night. Can't tie myself but because that is scary to me! What if there is a fire? I have to think about my kids safety! This apartment complex has already had 2 fires in the 2.5 years I've lived here (thankfully on the other end of the building).

    I have seen a general practitioner, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists... I can't even remember all of them. Over the last 25+ years I've had cat scans, MRI's, injections, pills of all forms, blood tests, EKGs, and so much more for my migraines and my sleepwalking stuff. They don't make anything that would currently help me. I wish I had a SO but I am currently a single parent so its pretty stressful. Its not dangerous to me or anyone else so my docs just say its something I have to live with unless I'm willing to have someone put electrodes in my head or something crazy like that. Same with my chronic migraines, there is experimental open heart surgery that has been shown to help with migraines. But I'm not comfortable trying to fix something that cannot be replaced! :)
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
    I was going to say stair gates dont help as my son can open them - we have a small toddler in the house so most door ways have a gate on them. we have thought about locking the kitchen door but worried he would then try and break it down.
  • Julie7741
    Julie7741 Posts: 93 Member
    My 7 year old sleepwalks. She has done it since we moved her to a toddler bed. We have an alarm system on our house, which works great! She has tried to go outside a few times, the alarm goes off, and it wakes the whole house up.

    Funny story-
    We were watching tv one night and she came wandering up to the living room, sound asleep. She climbed on my husband's lap and peed all over him. Only thing we can figure is that because he was wearing white she thought he was the toilet...

    Maybe try an alarm of some kind on the fridge/pantry. I know they sell small battery operated alarms that you can put on windows.
  • Julie7741
    Julie7741 Posts: 93 Member
    Those small window alarms aren't very loud... Might be worth a shot. Maybe they would wake you if you were close to them, but not wake up your kids. We have them on our basement windows.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    Can you lock away all the unhealthy foods so that all you have access to is the more healthy stuff? My thinking behind it is that It's better to eat a pint of berries than a bag of chips...
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Do you take any medication to help you sleep? My husband takes Ambien and has been known to act out his dreams and sleepwalk. Have you talked to a psychiatrist? Hubby sees one who handles his Ambien and other meds... if you haven't talked to one, maybe he/she could help you.

    Other than that, have you tried blocking off the kitchen or anything? I had to block off the doors when we lived in a 2nd floor apartment because my husband kept wanting to go outside to get a soda in the middle of the night.

    Good luck!
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Nope can't do alarms or gates or tie myself up. I have cats and young kids that make all of those ideas impossible!

    Compression gate across the top half of the door - kids/cats will go under easily, hopefully faceful of gate will wake you up. I have a friend who's a really heavy sleepwalker and he put a cat door in his bedroom door (no kids, but he also talked about putting in a dutch door and leaving the bottom open, which is kind of the Major Home Improvement version).
  • MrsSardone
    MrsSardone Posts: 194 Member
    I can totally relate... It only happens when I take Ambien. I wake to wrappers and crumbs in my bed too. But it appears I still try and eat healthy. Ate a whole box of protein bar one night. Found a jar of salsa in my bed so I guess i must have drank it cuz i didn't have any chip to eat it with. Bags of almonds and popcorn, tomatoes, apple cores are just some of the things I must have consumed in my sleep. I even tried to shave a Kokapele in my hair with a electric razor once. My wife heard me using the razor in the middle of the night and stopped me. Needless to say I have stopped taking Ambein.

    ME TOO! Only when I took Ambien! I'd wake up without any recollection of eating, but there would be candy wrappers strewn about, crumbs everywhere, weird food tastes in my mouth...it was scary! I mean I've gotten really drunk and could remember snippets of the night before, but with Ambien it was like someone was controlling my body. I think I even cooked a few meals too! Ugh...since then I don't take any sleep meds. I'm too scared of what I'll do. I might hop in the car and try to get fast food.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I personally don't but growing up, my mom did. We used to hide the junk food on her because she wasn't quite that dedicated while sleep eating so she'd just have something to drink and go back to bed. Can you have the junk food hidden or difficult to reach? Besides that, maybe just don't even buy it in the first place...that's usually my solution because though I don't sleep eat, I have pretty crappy willpower while awake.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    not good.
  • Jodi_Hiking4Fitness
    Jodi_Hiking4Fitness Posts: 16 Member
    Those small window alarms aren't very loud... Might be worth a shot. Maybe they would wake you if you were close to them, but not wake up your kids. We have them on our basement windows.

    OMG I never considered an alarm system. I'm not worried about going outside, but I wonder if it can be rigged to the fridge door? Thanks for sharing :)

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