“Narcolepsy, a chronic neurologic disorder resulting from dysregulation of the sleep-wake cycle” (Thorpy, 2016) Thorpy’s quote says it all. Narcolepsy is a sleep problem, where the body cannot maintain sleep or awake for more than a few hours at a time. The reason is lack of brain chemical called orexin/hypocretin, whose purpose is, among other things, to promote wakefulness, but has also been linked to appetite. Having low levels of this particular chemical does not only make one sleepy but creates many other sleep-related problems. (Mieda & Sakurai, 2016). The problem is, this description does not really give any idea of how the symptoms can manifest and how it feels.…
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First experiences – The Diagnosis
My symptoms started to develop around the age of 14 and gradually became stronger and fully manifested. Self diagnosed through an online sleep quiz A year or two after the symptoms started I began to search the internet for sleep disorders because somehow I knew something was not right. At the same time, I did not know how to talk about or explain what I was experiencing and feeling. I stumbled upon a sleep quiz that had few and simple questions, but it addressed sleep and cataplexy. The results said “Narcolepsy – very rare”, and I felt it was right. But the “very rare” part made me think there was…
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First experiences of Sleep paralysis and Hallucinations
Dreams have been a big part of my life, even before I started having Narcolepsy symptoms. Hallucinations and sleep paralysis were not new to me, but at around the age of 15, I began to have particularly interesting experiences. In retrospect, these were episodes of sleep paralysis and hallucinations, but I never thought of them as such. Sleep paralysis When laying in bed and going to sleep, I started to feel something I could only describe as an invisible body laying on top of my body. It did not happen every night, but it happened often. I felt my body was being pushed down into the mattress and it was…
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First experiences of Cataplexy
Around the age of 14, my sleepiness was developing, but I also started to notice muscle weakness when laughing. In the beginning, like with the sleep, I did not pay much attention to it and not knowing any different I started thinking that it was just normal to feel weak when you laugh. These symptoms soon progressed and started to be more severe. I disliked these sudden onsets of paralysis and not being able to do anything about them. Laughing is my weakness My first memory of a cataplexy attack happened in our family kitchen. My father likes to joke around, and as kids, we were always laughing but for…
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First experiences of Excessive Daytime Sleepines (EDS)
I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy in 2007 at the age of 21, but when I look back my first memories of the symptoms start around the age of 14. I can recall these memories easily because the transition from no narcolepsy to narcolepsy happened in a house we lived in for about five years. Only during the last year in that house, the symptoms started to show. An irresistible urge to sleep I remember a time when I could study all day or read a book in my room without falling asleep. I also remember the first time I fell asleep in the middle of an exam and how strange…
