Narcolepsy

[eeyore]

What are the symptoms -and has anyone else had trouble with this?

[kareng]

I do know someone with this. She takes some pretty dicey meds with side effects for it but does well. She was diagnosed when she fell asleep doing something like walking. Just being sleepy and falling asleep when you sit down is not necessarily narcolepsy.

This is from web MD:

What Are the Symptoms of Narcolepsy?

Symptoms of narcolepsy include:

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS): In general, EDS interferes with normal activities on a daily basis, whether or not a person with narcolepsy has sufficient sleep at night. People with EDS report mental cloudiness, a lack of energy and concentration, memory lapses, a depressed mood, and/or extreme exhaustion.

Cataplexy: This symptom consists of a sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to feelings of weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control. It can cause symptoms ranging from slurred speech to total body collapse depending on the muscles involved and is often triggered by intense emotion, for example surprise, laughter, or anger.

Hallucinations: Usually, these delusional experiences are vivid and frequently they are frightening. The content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. These are called hypnagogic hallucinations when accompanying sleep onset and hypnopompic hallucinations when occurring during awakening.

Sleep paralysis: This symptom involves the temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. These episodes are generally brief lasting a few seconds to several minutes. After episodes end, people rapidly recover their full capacity to move and speak.

How Is Narcolepsy Diagnosed?

A physical exam and exhaustive medical history are essential for proper diagnosis of narcolepsy. However, none of the major symptoms is exclusive to narcolepsy. Several specialized tests, which can be performed in a sleep disorders clinic or sleep lab, usually are required before a diagnosis can be established. Two tests that are considered essential in confirming a diagnosis of narcolepsy are the polysomnogram (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT).

[mommida]

There was a recent article (possibly a year ago) that narcolepsy is auto-immune.