OMG! Sleeping pills cause weight gain, wtf?!

Randall

Randall

New member
I think part of my weight gain has been from sleeping pills! Makes me mad to think about that! The past couple of years I sort of got hooked on non-prescription cheapo antihistamine type sleeping pills, the over the counter type you buy wherever. So yesterday I caught a warning about weight gain on a TV commercial for Ambien (prescription sleeping pill); I started thinking, what about antihistamine (over the counter) sleeping pills, the kind I take maybe 2-3x a week, and I just googled and discovered (removed) I know I also need to eat less, exercise more, but to think a stinking pill that I thought only made me drowsy at night has been part of my weight gain makes me mad! (I had a link here but it was removed by the moderators, so just google for 'do antihistamines cause weight gain' -- because over the counter sleeping pills are essentially antihistamines). Dang, they cause increased appetite and weight gain, that really stinks!

No more sleeping pills. I need to check into chamomille tea, I know that is a natural sleeping aid, but I better see if THAT causes weight gain too!

Anyhow, be warned all, those sleeping pills, whether Rx or over the counter, cause weight gain!
randall
 
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hey, i removed the link in your post. links aren't allowed as a rule, AND it was just a list of googled websites, not a specific article.
 
Sorry, i was unaware or the no link policy. I was certainly not trying to promote any website (as you pointed out the link was to a google search related to the post, not a specific website)
 
So here I am, up at 2:30am, insomnia, off the sleeping pills! Trip to the local whole foods coop later today is in order-- buy up some chamomile tea to sip a couple of cups of before i go to bed! Wow, craptastic infomercials on every channel of television at 2am, sucks!
 
well if you have innsomnia, the worst thing you can do is watch tv! its too stimulating. You need to develope a schedule that you do everyday. After a while, when you start your bedtime routine your mind will say "oh, ok, now its time for bed". I suggest you do soemthing like take a long bath, read a book, drink your tea before heading to bed everynight. You could also try listening to classical or relaxing music before hand too, maybe while you were in the bath? I like that Kenny Loggins CD "return to pooh corner" sooo relaxing! And remember...no tv before bed!
 
yeah i think i am going to turn off the tv at 9pm then take a hot bath and listen to some classical music, after first downing chamomile from 8pm to 9pm. BTW, day 4 now, i am down 4 lbs (I suspect more like 2 given fluctuations, but the scale says down 4 lbs from four days ago which just can not be, too much lost.) Off to the whole foods coop now to snag a bag of chamomile herbage!
 
Korrie said:
hey, i removed the link in your post. links aren't allowed as a rule, AND it was just a list of googled websites, not a specific article.
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Korrie, are you 100% sure there are absolutely no links allowed? I'm pretty sure we have always been allowed to post links to reference. Just not spammy links or self promotional websites.
 
I have to say it does sort of bother me, as an educator (I am a college instructor), that links to relevant informative information are not allowed. It would seem to me it would help members if we all share any info that would help us educate ourselves on fitness and weight loss. I understand not allowing spam/promotional links, but other than that, hmm. I gave a link to google hits for the relevant search, so viewers could choose one of the relevant sites to research, rather than promote just one site.

Daymon74 said:
Korrie, are you 100% sure there are absolutely no links allowed? I'm pretty sure we have always been allowed to post links to reference. Just not spammy links or self promotional websites.
Click to expand...
 
Not sure if this will help but this is what worked for me.... I would often stay up late, watching tv ( almost until 1pm or 2pm )and at times when I tried to go to bed around 10PM, I would not be able to sleep at all......

So, I decided to wake up at 5:30 AM ( regardless of whether I slept early or not the night before ). I had to push myself to wake up at 5:30 the first day , but once I was up ( and got over my initial STRONG desire to crawl back in bed ), I quickly jumped in the shower and made myself some hot tea after.

Now, add to that exercising after a full day of work...I was exhausted by 8PM already. I couldnt wait to go to bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the bed at around 10 PM.

Of course I had a few false starts and there were days that I could not/did not wake up like I was supposed to OR stayed up later than I was supposed to BUT I kept at it and with time it has become a habit.

So, make it a habit to wake up early no matter when you go to bed and falling asleep early will eventually take care of itself. Also, make sure you dont have a TV in your bedroom because your mind will associate the bed with TV and not with sleep which makes it harder for you to fall asleep.

HTH
Harsh
 
I actually only have the insomnia maybe once every 6 months, but it stinks when it happens, then ruins the next day, i think i thus took the sleeping pills more as insurance than necessity. I do get up pretty early, 5 or 6am at the latest in the summer (when the sun pops up here at 4am or so!), not in the dead of winter it is darker so I don't get up until 6am or 7am at the latest. Maybe the messed up light and dark cycles here in northern MN mess with my brain! But I usually do get tired around 10pm, drowsy, call it quits and crawl in the sack!
 
Daymon74 said:
Korrie, are you 100% sure there are absolutely no links allowed? I'm pretty sure we have always been allowed to post links to reference. Just not spammy links or self promotional websites.
Click to expand...

well, i'm a mod here and I have been a mod for several years now, SOOO I think I have a pretty good idea as to whats allowed and whats not. As I said earlier, most links are not allowed. You are correct, spammy links and promo websites are among whats not allowed. If a link is to some kind of article on the subject being disscussed, thats allowed. Also, links to well known websites like "fitday" or "spark people" are allowed also...but thats basically the only exception.
 
One thing to watch out for, something that's not often discussed.. if you have a ragweed allergy, stay away from the chamomile teas.. same general family, and they can actually kick up your allergy response. For many, this allergy response is what makes people tired (histamine response).

if you can get over the inherent girlyness of it, lavender aromatherapy works wonders and essential oils even better (for me and my friends/family at least).

Just watch out about the 'drop or two of oil on your pillow' routine. That gives me some really jacked up dreams when I do that. A drop on each forefinger and run it along the rim of the ears and across teh scent points on the wrists and after an hour, you just notice you'r emore relaxed and able to sleep.
 
I used to take Ambien.....I ate in my sleep

I was eating while I slept. Sounds crazy doesn't it. I had to take part in a sleep study to find out what was happening. I was eating in my sleep for almost 3 yrs. before I realized what I was doing. My wife new I was eating late at night, she just thought I was aware of it. I ate myself to about 240 pounds. I'm down to 210 right now that I'm off of the meds and my goal is 175.

I'm a 41 yr. old male
65 inches tall
210 pounds.

Anyone have any idea how many calories I should be eating to lose about 2 pounds per week?
 
Ambien and some other sleeping pills are cause weight gain as this medicine helps our body to relax, but can't shut off brain activity. Sleeping pills can be very helpful in getting a good night's rest. Sleep is an important part of overall health and lack of sleep has been implicated in many health problems.
 
Your body adapts to the drowsy effect of antihistamines quite quickly, so taking them as often as you did, besides being silly and off license, means that you are no longer getting a drowsy feeling from them. Its psychological.

There is a reason certain drugs are not licensed for long term use...such as the increased chance of being affected by side effects.
 
It could be that you are sleep eating. There are many many MANY stories of people waking up in the morning with an empty box that was full of donuts the night before, some people also report eating everything in their fridge while on things like ambien. This would be the major part for gaining weight.
 
I know the original guy posted this a while back but since it got bumped I also wanted to point out that like he said, sleeping pills are antihistamines...usually diphenhydramine which is Benadryl. That's what is in Tylenol PM because benadryl and tylenol "potentiate" or basically together kick your butt more together than either would alone, lol. Hence why I can't take tylenol pm :X Anyway I wanted to point out the problem with taking the antihistamine kind of sleeping pills all the time is that it IS an antihistamine and any pharmacist will tell you that using them all the time will dry out your sinus. When that happens its alot easier to get sick. But thats only if you're using them all the time.
 
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