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Author: miranda 230/155/145
Date: 07-23-03 13:22
I posted about this once before, but it was buried in another thread, and it wasn't a problem at the time. Now it is. Yes, I actually eat--and cook--while I'm sleepwalking, and it is currently ruining my dieting attempts, because I can easily scarf down 1000 calories during one of these episodes. Which I did last night. Tuna fish, anchovies, cracker and mayonnaise binge. I know--eecchh, but I keep most of that on hand for the cats, not me. Plus, it is getting dangerous--while cooking some soup in my sleep last week, I set an oven mitt on fire while it was on my hand, but fortunately the smoke and flames woke me up in time to get it off my hand and put it out before it did any real damage. For the more skeptical among you--and I don't blame you a bit--here is a link to a website describing the condition, called nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder (NS-RED). NS-RED Page In case that direct link doesn't work, the website is http://www.anred.com/nsred.html.
In my case this problem is triggered by a combination of Ambien (a sleeping pill), and another med. It only happens when I take these meds, and according to my doctor, there is research showing that this combination can cause people to do some pretty strange things without being aware of it or in control. Maybe I am lucky that all I do is binge instead of attacking the neighbors or robbing liquor stores. I hadn't been taking these drugs for a while, but a couple weeks ago my doctor wanted me to start up again, so the problem has reasserted itself. Today, my doctor agreed to prescribe another combination of medication to see if we can get rid of this side effect (I think he is just as emotionally invested in my weight-loss success as I am), but right now I am so frustrated that I could scream. This is SO unfair. Last night wiped out three days' worth of self control.
How do I know I do this if I'm asleep while it's happening? Well, sometimes I have flashbacks, or I'm vaguely aware of what I'm doing but have no control over it, but mostly I find out I've done this when I wake up and go into the kitchen in the morning--I don't clean up after myself, so I can get a pretty good picture of what happened.
Apart from trying to keep "easy target" foods out of the house, there's not much I can do about this except change meds, so this post is just basically venting. Hopefully, the problem will go away now that I'm taking different meds. If anybody has any creative ideas, though, I'd love to hear them, because there's no ironclad guarantee that the new combo of meds won't create the same problem. And the poor cats miss their tuna.
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Author: Donna 180~149~130
Date: 07-23-03 13:28
I'm so sorry to hear about this miranda, I has to be awful!
I remember when I was younger my parents put locks on the fridge and a few cabinets to keep my and my sister from sneaking the good foods. Maybe lock up the bad foods and have someone in the house hide the key? But then I have to wonder, out of frustration of not eating the bad stuff will you then start beating the neighbors or other things?
I hope the change of meds works for you. Please keep us posted.
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Author: miranda 230/155/145
Date: 07-23-03 13:43
I wouldn't beat up the neighbors--I'd steal their food. LOL. Actually, the lock idea is a good one, except that I live alone, and I know from past experience that I will find anything I've tried to hide from myself. I even thought about an alarm system, but that wasn't practical. But thanks for the suggestion.
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Author: Mandy 199/179/145
Date: 07-23-03 18:10
What about locking the bedroom door and putting some kind of "alarm" in front of it? Perhaps some kind of bells on a string or something? Would that be enough to wake you up or is there really nothing short of burning down the house that would wake you (I think my bf could sleep through even that!!).
I'm really sorry to hear about this side effect to the drugs! When my brother was younger he was a sleepwalker and he would wander around the house during the night. My parents started having him lock the door & he kind of grew out of it.
Good luck with the new meds, I hope they don't have the same effect on you!
Mandy
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Author: Tonya 155/143.5/135
Date: 07-23-03 19:02
Miranda,
My mom suffers from the same condition, only hers ranges from cooking to destroying furniture, and driving across state for taco bell. Her dr. thinks she's nuts and poo poo's what she says she's done. If you have more information, I'd like it so I can pass it on to her. She does take several meds so it's possible that it's a drug reaction. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
By the way, you could try padlocking your cabinets so that it isn't as easy to get into them. :-) I realize that was a ridiculous suggestion, but I frankly don't have a clue. If you don't keep food in the house you might feel the urge to drive somewhere for it :-(
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Author: miranda 230/155/145
Date: 07-24-03 05:48
Here is a link to an abstract of an article that appeared in the New York Times Sunday magazine earlier this year on weird sleep disorders.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Deer
You can either order it from the NY Times for a couple dollars, or get it from a library, and have your mom show it to your doctor. My doctor was skeptical too, at first, but as he got to know me better, he started to believe me. He actually gave me this article. I think I went outside and wandered around the front steps once, but fortunately, I think that was the only time I've left the house. Their are medications you can take for a lot of these conditions--once you get someone to believe you, or, as in my case, sometimes it's just a med side effect. Good luck to your Mom.
Driving across the state for Taco Bell is almost as bad as eating the cat's tuna.
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