--- In Narcolepsy-Chat@yahoogroups.com, "Jennifer/Guinevere"
<Chillin0016@c...> wrote:
> Hi, my name is Jennifer. I'm almost 20 and I think I might have
> narcolepsy. I was wondering if I could get some personal accounts
to
> see if the "symptoms" I am having are in fact symptoms of
narcolepsy,
> or are just coincidence or things that normal people experience.
>
> First, I do suffer from eds; I have been for about a year-and-a-
half.
> I doze and fall asleep doing all sorts of things, mostly while
> studying and while driving. I've also fallen asleep while talking
to
> my therapist or on the phone, while eating, while taking notes in
> class, and (of course) while laying down in the afternoon. I tend,
> though, to not even be able to sleep when it gets late at night, no
> matter how hard I try, and even if I've managed to stay awake most
of
> the day. This confuses me.
>
> Second, I've read some about cataplexy, and the only way I can
relate
> it to myself is that it's a "brief loss of muscle tone stimulated
by
> intense emotions." This happens to me in my legs quite frequently,
> usually when I get stressed and anxious, though I don't think I've
> ever collapsed from it. On the other hand, I'm usually sitting down
> when it happens. Also, when I laugh really hard (say, a six or
higher
> on a scale from one to ten), my knees can and often do buckle from
> laughing and I can't get up until I calm down. Does everyone do
that
> or is that cataplexy?
>
> Thirdly, I go into REM sleep almost as soon as I fall asleep. I can
> take a ten-minute nap or fall asleep in class and have the most
> bizarre dream or dreams. Also, they're usually related to what's
> going on in the room; at least, they'll start out that way, and
then
> become something else entirely.
>
> Fourth and finally, I *have* had hypnogogic hallucinations in the
> past year-and-a-half. At least, I think I have. I'll wake up about
> half-way in the middle of the night, or have an incredibly vivid
> dream, and then the next day I honestly *cannot* distinguish
whether
> it was real or a dream.
>
> The only one of these "symptoms"--and I put it in quotations
because
> I have not yet been diagnosed--that bother me is the daytime
> sleepiness and falling asleep. It's quite a hazard, and I'm worried
> it will disrupt my education (I'm a full-time college student) or
> that I'll get into a serious accident while driving.
>
> Thanks for any help or advice anyone can offer me,
> Jennifer e.h.

Hi Jennifer,
My name is Amanda and i am also 20 years old. I was diagnosed with
narcolepsy at the age of 14. All of the symptoms that you are
describing sounds exactly like narcolepsy. The best thing that you
can do for yourself to seek out a neurologist near you. Now
narcolepsy symptoms are quite similar to depression and that will
probably be the first thing that they suggest. But tell them that you
want a sleep test because of your symptoms. And as far as I know,
cataplexy does not occur without narcolepsy. Usually, on a normal
case,narcolepsy is found in people at adolescence.BUT i have heard of
people being diagnosed later than that. I was the youngest person in
my state to be diagnosed with it. I bet if you think back in your
past,you might realize that you have always had it, maybe not. My mom
tells me that even as a toddler, i was very calm and wasnt as active
as most little kids.If you ever need to talk,here is my email address
and good luck to you!!
sleepymommyof2@yahoogroups.com