I was recently watching an ad on TV that had a very unrealistic view of narcolepsy, and it got me thinking that most people—including some physicians!—truly don’t know about this sleep disorder. And what is known in the public tends to be stigmatized and extreme, such as falling asleep while talking with someone.
I commonly see patients with narcolepsy who went through 10 to 15 years of medical tests before getting the proper diagnosis at a sleep center. Patients suffering from narcolepsy are frequently misdiagnosed with a multitude of medical issues, including psychiatric problems such as depression, bipolar disorder or even schizophrenia.
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Narcolepsy is an autoimmune sleep disorder that affects 1 in every 2,000 people—the same prevalence rate as multiple sclerosis. Imagine going without sleep for a few days in a row and how you might feel during the daytime. That’s how patients with narcolepsy feel all day long without proper treatment.
The symptoms can appear all at once or slowly develop over time. All patients with narcolepsy report excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sometimes even during dangerous situations, such as while driving or operating heavy machinery. Another common symptom is cataplexy, which affects nearly 50 percent of narcolepsy patients. Cataplexy is a sudden, temporary loss of muscle strength that is usually triggered by strong emotions such as anger, surprise or laughter. It can range from mild—brief weakness in the face or knees—to severe—resulting in a complete physical collapse. Cataplexy sometimes appears as the initial symptom of narcolepsy and may change in severity over time.
Other symptoms of narcolepsy include hypnagogic hallucinations, which involve seeing vivid images that occur when a person is falling asleep or waking up, as well as disturbed/broken nighttime sleep despite daytime sleepiness. Some people experience sleep paralysis, which is a brief loss of muscle tone that happens when falling asleep or waking up whereby you’re mentally awake but not able to move your body for a short while, as well as automatic behaviors, such as performing habitual tasks while not being fully aware of it at the time.
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Many patients with narcolepsy also report problems with attention, concentration and memory, as well as occasional double vision, headaches and trouble losing weight.
It’s no surprise that the resulting sleepiness can negatively impact the ability to fulfill school, work or social obligations. Depression and anxiety can also stem from social and occupational troubles. Some patients with narcolepsy may be labeled “lazy” or “unmotivated” because of their sleepiness, further worsening their mood. (By Shelby Freedman Harris, Psy.D.)
Narcolepsy also known as hypnolepsy, is a chronic neurological disorder caused by autoimmune destruction of hypocretin-producing neurons inhibiting the brain’s ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. People with narcolepsy experience frequent excessive daytime sleepiness, comparable to how non-narcoleptics feel after 24 to 48 hours of sleep deprivation,as well as disturbed nocturnal sleep which often is confused with insomnia. Narcoleptics generally experience the REM stage of sleep within 5 minutes of falling asleep, while non-narcoleptics do not experience REM in the first hour or so of a sleep cycle until after a period of slow-wave sleep unless they are significantly sleep deprived. Another common symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy, a sudden and transient episode of muscle weakness accompanied by full conscious awareness, typically (though not necessarily) triggered by emotions such as laughing, crying, terror, etc. affecting roughly 70% of people who have narcolepsy.(www..wikipedia.org)
Narcolepsy is an anti beauty, if you have it then how will you look good and fit?
