Treaments Narcolepsy

Treatments

Narcolepsy treatment

Although no cure yet exists for narcolepsy, a combination of treatments can help to control your narcolepsy symptoms and enable you to enjoy many normal activities. The treatment that works best for you will vary according to your specific narcolepsy symptoms, but will likely include a combination of counseling, medication, and lifestyle changes.

Lifestyle changes to ease the symptoms of narcolepsy

Making healthy lifestyle changes can be effective at helping you manage narcolepsy symptoms, in conjunction with counseling and support, and any medications your doctor recommends. Daytime habits such as exercise, diet, and how you manage stress play a large role in helping you maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle. It’s important to follow a regular sleep schedule, a relaxing bedtime routine, and take practical steps to counter the effects of narcolepsy during the day.
Combining the various self-help treatments can help to not only improve your daytime alertness but also help reduce the symptoms of narcolepsy.

Self-Help for Narcolepsy
Schedule your sleep periods	Take a few brief, scheduled naps during the daytime (10-15 minutes each). Try to get a good night’s sleep during the same hours each night. Planned naps can prevent unplanned lapses into sleep.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine	These substances interfere with sleep when you need it.
Avoid over-the-counter drugs that cause drowsiness	Some allergy and cold medications can cause drowsiness, so should be avoided.
Involve your employers, coworkers, and friends	Alert others so that they can help when needed.
Carry a tape recorder	Record important conversations and meetings, in case you fall asleep.
Break up larger tasks into small pieces	Focus on one small thing at a time.
Exercise on a regular basis	Exercise can make you feel more awake during the day and stimulate sleep at night. For example, take several short walks during the day.
Avoid activities that would be dangerous if you had a sudden sleep attack	If possible, don’t drive, climb ladders, or use dangerous machinery. Taking a nap before driving may help you to manage any possible sleepiness.
Wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace	A bracelet or necklace will alert others if you suddenly fall asleep or become unable to move or speak.
Eat a healthy diet	Aim for a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low fat dairy, and lean sources of protein. Eat light or vegetarian meals during the day and avoid heavy meals before important activities.
Relax and manage emotions	Narcolepsy symptoms can be triggered by intense emotions, so you may benefit from practicing relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, yoga, or massage.

Medications for the treatment of narcolepsy

Medication can be helpful in treating the major symptoms of narcolepsy: sleepiness and cataplexy. Commonly prescribed drugs for narcolepsy are stimulants, antidepressants, and sodium oxybate. All medications have side effects so talk with your doctor. Even if your narcolepsy symptoms require the use of prescription medication, experts recommended combining a drug regimen with lifestyle changes and counseling or therapy.
Common medications used to treat narcolepsy symptoms include:

• Stimulants. Stimulants are the mainstay of drug treatment for narcolepsy. These include modafinil (Provigil), a stimulant used during the day to promote wakefulness and alertness. Side effects of modafinil may include headache, nausea, dry mouth, and diarrhea. Psychiatric side effects, such as anxiety, mania, hallucinations, and suicidal thinking have also been reported, so the drug should be avoided if you have a history of depression, mania, or psychosis.
• Sodium oxybate (Xyrem). This strong drug may be prescribed if you have severe cataplexy. Sodium oxybate is also known as GHB, or the "date rape drug," but is considered safe for treating narcolepsy when used responsibly to promote sound sleep, diminish daytime sleepiness, and reduce incidences of cataplexy. However, the side effects can be serious and may include nausea, bed-wetting, and worsening of sleepwalking. Too high a dose can even lead to difficulty breathing, coma, and death.

•  Antidepressants. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used to treat depression may also be used to help suppress REM sleep, and alleviate symptoms of cataplexy, hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. These include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and newer antidepressants such as venlafaxine (Effexor). While the most common side effects of antidepressants include decreased sexual desire, digestive problems, restlessness, headache, and insomnia, there can also be dangerous side effects.

Tests

Tests

Like this woman that you see on the picture, i have also been like that in the hospital.

A narcolepsy diagnosis requires several tests. A doctor will perform a physical exam and an in-depth medical history to rule out other causes of  symptoms. Keep in mind that having some of the major symptoms of narcolepsy doesn't necessarily mean you have narcolepsy.
In addition, several specialized tests, which can be performed in a sleep disorders clinic, usually are required before a diagnosis can be established. Two tests that are considered essential in confirming a diagnosis of narcolepsy are the polysomnogram (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). In addition, questionnaires, such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, are often used to measure excessive daytime sleepiness.

Epworth Sleepiness Scale

During the Epworth Sleepiness Scale test, you will be asked to answer eight questions using a scale from zero (not at all likely to fall asleep) to three (very likely to fall asleep). The resulting total score is between 0 and 24. Scores of 0 to 10 are normal. Total scores above 10 generally warrant further investigation.

Polysomnogram (PSG)

A sleep study, or polysomnogram (PSG), is a test performed in a sleep lab. It electronically transmits and records specific physical actions of the body while you sleep, such as muscle movement, breathing patterns, and brain activity. The recordings are analyzed by a qualified sleep specialist to determine whether or not you have a particular sleep disorder.
What to Expect During a PSG
If you're scheduled for a PSG, you will arrive at the sleep lab about two hours prior to bedtime without making any changes in your daily habits. You will be assigned to a private bedroom in a sleep center or hospital. Near the bedroom will be a central monitoring area, where the technicians will monitor you while you sleep. You will be hooked up to equipment that may look uncomfortable. However, most people fall asleep with little difficulty. Your whole night's sleep will be monitored and recorded.

Multiple Sleep Latency Test

Performed the morning after the overnight polysomnogram, also in a sleep lab, this test measures how long it takes a person to fall asleep (sleep latency) during the day. During this test, you will be asked to take four or five scheduled naps every two hours. The first nap starts two hours after awakening that morning. People with normal sleep and alertness take about 10-20 minutes to fall asleep. People with narcolepsy (and other causes of abnormal sleepiness) take a much shorter time (less than five minutes) to fall asleep.
Two weeks prior to these tests, you will be asked to keep a sleep diary that records bedtime, wakeup times, and nap times. Your doctor will work with you to create a plan to gradually eliminate mediacations that could affect the sleep test results.



source : http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/diagnosing-narcolepsy

 

Symptoms of narcolepsy

Signs and Symptoms of Narcolepsy

The most people get there first experience of symptoms between 10 and 25 years of age, the symptoms can be diffrent on persons.

The biggest symptom is excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal REM sleep.

other, unusual symptoms of narcolepsy may be related to your abnormal REM sleep, including hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle control).

• Cataplexy (loss of muscle control). Often, narcolepsy may cause you to have a sudden loss of muscle control while awake, usually triggered by strong emotions, such as laughing or crying.

• Hallucinations. Some people with narcolepsy experience vivid, sometimes frightening, visual or auditory sensations while falling asleep or upon awakening.

• Sleep paralysis. You may be unable to move or talk at the beginning or end of sleep. 

• Microsleep is a very brief sleep episode during which you continue to function (talk, put things away, etc.), and then awaken with no memory of the activities. 

• Nighttime wakefulness. If you suffer with narcolepsy, you may have periods of wakefulness at night, with hot flashes, elevated heart rate, and sometimes intense alertness.

• Rapid entry into REM sleep. Narcoleptics have unique sleep cycles. You may enter the REM or dream phase of sleep right after falling asleep, whereas most people take about 90 minutes to enter REM. Therefore, you’ll experience the characteristics of REM sleep (vivid dreams and muscle paralysis) at the beginning of sleep, even if that sleep is during the day. 

Cataplexy atack from laughter, ( i had this also when i was to happy ore had the giggles at school ore outside it could happen anytime and everywere)

Narcolepsy

 Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, such as while at work. People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia. Narcoleptics, when falling asleep, generally experience the REM stage of sleep within 5 minutes; whereas most people do not experience REM sleep until an hour or so later.
Another one of the many problems that some narcoleptics experience is cataplexy, a sudden muscular weakness brought on by strong emotions (though many people experience cataplexy without having an emotional trigger). It often manifests as muscular weaknesses ranging from a barely perceptible slackening of the facial muscles to the dropping of the jaw or head, weakness at the knees (often referred to as "knee buckling"), or a total collapse. Usually speech is slurred and vision is impaired (double vision, inability to focus), but hearing and awareness remain normal. In some rare cases, an individual's body becomes paralyzed and muscles become stiff. Some narcolepsy affected persons also experience heightened senses of taste and smell.
Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. It is not caused by mental illness or psychological problems. It is most likely affected by a number of genetic mutations and abnormalities that affect specific biologic factors in the brain, combined with an environmental trigger during the brain's development, such as a virus.
The term narcolepsy derives from the French word narcolepsie created by the French physician      Jean-Baptiste-Edouard Gelineau by combining the Greek νάρκη (narkē, "numbness" or "stupor"), and λῆψις (lepsis), "attack" or "seizure"

source: Wikipecia.

Welcome to my blog...

Welcome to my info blogger Sleepingdisorder Narcolepsy.
I created this blog to showcase how life is with a sleepingdisorder Narcolepsy, and how to life with it.

My name is Jimmy Thiels, i am from the Netherlands and i am 25 years of age.
I have a sleepingdisorder called Narcolepsy, and i have this now around 12 years.

I created this blog for people with Narcolepsy and for people how wanna know how its like to have Narcolepsy, and show people how my life is been with this disorder.

DON`T be afraid i will not fall a sleep when i am on my blog....