Thread: Does anyone else here have narcolepsy?

My brother's history had narcolepsy, he fell asleep during class while he was showing movie's to the class and he couldn't drive to school obviously.

I don't THINK anyone has (unless they didn't tell anyone yet).

But I have some questions...

1. Is it COMPLETELY spontaneous? Can you will yourself to fall asleep at any time or no?

2. At night time, can you sometimes not fall asleep because you slept to much during the day?

3. Can people not wake you up easily?

Originally posted by wasup
I don't THINK anyone has (unless they didn't tell anyone yet).

But I have some questions...

1. Is it COMPLETELY spontaneous? Can you will yourself to fall asleep at any time or no?

2. At night time, can you sometimes not fall asleep because you slept to much during the day?

3. Can people not wake you up easily?

Id be interested in the answers aswell

I should warn you, I go to sleep....You won't know when I'll go to sleep....I get UPSET or HAPPY, I GO TO SLEEP. I know it seems that I don't care, but something in me does, I swear! I don't remember all last year...er.... ....sorry 'bout that. I was listening to Ben Folds and I remembered that song when I saw this topic. Couldn't help myself....Anyway, I would be interested in knowing the answers to some of those questions. Also, when you fall asleep, do you go directly to lvl 4 or 5 sleep (REM)? Or is it lighter sleep than that?

1.a Is it COMPLETELY spontaneous?

It is, or at least it was. I was first diagnosed when I was about 12. Back then it could takeover at anytime. I might be sitting in class and I would suddenly I would dose off. Good thing the nuns at my school knew I was a good kid, or else they might have jumped to the conclusion that I was slacking off. My body would be asleep, but my senses were still awake. I could hear a lot of what was going on around me. I was consciously aware that I had dosed off, but I couldn't will myself to wake.

Even worse, I might be standing up and then suddenly I would collapse on the floor. If I was lucky someone might be around to help me back up, but otherwise I had to wait until the episode passed. I no longer have the paralysis though.

1.b Can you will yourself to fall asleep at any time or no?

I can't will myself asleep, but it is easier to fall asleep.

2. At night time, can you sometimes not fall asleep because you slept to much during the day?

Yes. The narcolepsy completely screwed up my sleeping cycle. Actually, I used spend the entire night awake. I told my doctor, and he told me not to force myself to sleep. If I couldn't sleep, I should get up and do something and just wait until I felt tired.

I have taken methamphetamine and Ritalin to help keep me awake. Truthfully I don't think either worked. It is possible that the medication kept me awake at night.

Truthfully though, I'm not sure, it is possible that I did fall asleep and I just wasn't aware of it. One time, I stayed overnight at the Yale/New Haven Sleep Center to have an eeg. My doctor wanted to confirm his diagnosis, just in case. They hooked up wires to my head and monitored my brain waves the entire night and for some of the day. There was a camera in the room. While I was there I had thought I hadn't slept for the entire night. I apologized to the doctor that I could not fall asleep, but he told me that I had slept for most of the night. So it is possible that I do sleep at night, but I am not aware of it.

3. Can people not wake you up easily?

No, I can wake up pretty easily, but it is difficult for me to stay awake.

4. Also, when you fall asleep, do you go directly to lvl 4 or 5 sleep (REM)?

Yes, or at least I'm supposed to. What I do know is that I have dreams as soon as I fall asleep. I was lucky though, because my lucidity is a natural side effect of the narcolepsy.

wow..

Btw, thanks for answering us.