![]() The following are used in determining a diagnosis of narcolepsy: This testing often takes place overnight at a sleep clinic, under the watch of professional medical staff. If symptoms of narcolepsy are visible, provide evidence & ask your doctor to refer you for further testing with a specialist. Source: US National Institute of Health: NHLBI Heredity/Genes create a disposition towards developing narcolepsy, rather than causing the disorder itself. " Toxins may include heavy metals, pesticides and weed killers, and secondhand smoke." Some research suggests that environmental toxins may also trigger narcolepsy. It is thought that a combination of the following factors cause low levels of hypocretin: ![]() What causes low hypocretin levels isn't well understood. This is a chemical in the brain that helps promote wakefulness. Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin. Narcoleptics suffer from the inability to remain awake during the day and to stay asleep through the night. The name is from the ancient Greek narco- ( to put to sleep) & -lepsis ( to have a seizure). Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological sleep disorder that affects the brain's ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles.Sleep Study or Polysomnogram, What to Expect & How to Prepare Your question may have already been answered. Please read the following posts before asking questions.Great user posts/responses are going to be posted here from now until the wiki is up and running.In addition, the sleep team will need a full list of medications you take for other conditions because some of them may interfere with your sleep.New to Narcolepsy? Please read our Wiki page! Subreddit Links But these must be balanced and carefully prescribed. There are medicines designed to raise your alertness during the day and others to help you sleep at bedtime. While individuals can develop narcolepsy without a family history of the disorder, about 10 percent of individuals with narcolepsy and cataplexy say they have a close relative with the same symptoms.Ĭlinicians at NY Metro Sleep may include medicines in the treatment of narcolepsy patients, but only after a complete assessment of your condition and symptoms. (But even during these extreme attacks, the sufferer is fully conscious.) About 70 percent of the narcolepsy patients also experience cataplexy.Īmong the possible causes of narcolepsy is a low level of a neurotransmitter called hypocretin, a body chemical that regulates wakefulness. The attack may be so mild and fleeting as to be imperceptible, or so severe that the person is unable to speak, move or keep their eyes open. So is the emergence of cataplexy, episodes in which an active individual suddenly loses muscle tone and voluntary muscle control. Gaining weight is common after development of narcolepsy. However, their performance usually is impaired – a writer’s scrawl may turn illegible, for example, or an auto driver may have an accident. They often have no trouble falling asleep, but disruptions such as vivid dreams or leg movements wake them to face middle-of-the-night insomnia.įor an estimated 40 percent of people with narcolepsy, sudden sleep attacks are often of so short duration they are dubbed “microsleeps” lasting mere seconds, and the individuals appear to continue their activity or task via some sort of auto-pilot, without later recalling their actions. But since an uninterrupted night's sleep is a rarity for them, most with narcolepsy spend no more time asleep than the general population. Those with narcolepsy find that the condition interferes with their daily activities even if they had sufficient sleep the previous night. (Read how EDS strikes others because of a wide variety of medical conditions, including those who are sleep deprived or those who consume caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.) Narcolepsy symptoms generally occur between the ages of 7 and 25 and the first symptom almost always is Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). Such are the symptoms of narcolepsy, a chronic brain disorder that so impairs normal wake-sleep cycles that sufferers immediately surrender to sleep impulses no matter where they are or what they are doing. While it may be annoying, the weariness usually is one-off deal, forgotten after the next night of sleep.īut in a minority of cases, daytime tiredness turns frequent and severe, causing the person to fall asleep even while conversing, driving or attending class. Many people experience occasional tiredness during the day, perhaps after a fitful night of sleep or after a heavy meal.
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