I sleepwalk, anybody know ways to stop it?

Question:

I sleepwalk, I yell out in my sleep. I actually have unlocked the door , gone outside and then woke up standing in my lawn. Which was freaky because then I had to get back into the house without waking up my boyfriend because he wakes up thinking people are breaking into our house, so he comes out swinging! Ive been to the doctor she has me taking Elavil. 25 mg before bed. It works a little bit but there are still a few occasions of it happening, just now I dont remember it . happening. And my man has a new job that he has to be awake at 5 AM and go do manual labor. I cant keep disturbing him. any ideas?

Answers:
You should probably have your doctor schedule you for a sleep study to see what's going on. You may not be going through the stages of sleep the way you should be. This definately needs further evaluation since you're starting to wander outside...that's not safe.

Nature of the events are benign and subsequent disappearance in most cases happens.
If environmental or predisposing factors are discovered, an attempt should be made to eliminate them. Assure adequate sleep, regulation of sleep cycle, and treatment of underlying medical conditions (eg, gastroesophageal reflux, obstructive sleep apnea, periodic leg movements, seizures).
Avoid auditory, tactile, or visual stimuli early in the sleep cycle. These have been shown to induce events in some patients with parasomnias.
Lock windows and doors, remove obstacles and sharp objects from the room, and add alarms (if necessary) to decrease the likelihood of injury during an episode.

Nonpharmacological interventions have proven to be inadequate.

Clonazepam in low doses before bedtime and continued for 3-6 weeks is usually effective.

Medication often can be discontinued after 3-5 weeks without recurrence of symptoms. Occasionally, frequency of episodes increases briefly after discontinuing the medication because of rebound sleep.

Nonpharmacological measures

Relaxation techniques, mental imagery, and anticipatory awakenings are preferred for long-term management. The first 2 techniques should be undertaken only with the help of an experienced behavioral therapist or hypnotist.

I sleepwalk, anybody know ways to stop it?

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