Narcolepsy:
A chronic neurological wake/sleep disorder caused by the brain’s inability to regulate (control) “normal” sleep-wake cycles.
Considered to be a disorder of the normal boundaries between the states of sleeping and waking, narcolepsy is technically defined by excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep attacks, in conjunction with one or more auxiliary symptoms, which can include cataplexy, hallucination, and sleep paralysis.
The line between being asleep and awake can be blurred. Signs and symptoms may vary in severity but never truly go away.
The quality of life impact of narcolepsy is profound, struggling to complete activities of daily living: in one study, the impact was rated greater than living with Parkinson's disease.
Cataplexy:
An unexpected loss of power in controlling your body, specifically the loss of muscle control, almost exclusive to narcolepsy. Sudden weakness caused by anger, excitement or amusement. Temporary paralysis of the muscles controlling posture and body movement.
Cataplexy involves regional muscle groups and may result in symptoms such as a drooping head, sagging jaw, slurred speech, buckling of the knees, or weakness in the arms.
EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness):
Fleeting urges to sleep, involuntary sleep episodes, overwhelming urge to sleep, and decreased alertness throughout the day.EDS reduces motivation and vigilance, interferes with concentration and memory, and increases irritability.
Hypnogogic Hallucination:
Intense vivid images, sounds and tactical sensations that make things seem real even though they aren't. Vivid dreams while falling asleep or waking up. Dream-like sensory and visual hallucinations experienced as reality.
Auditory Hallucination:
Very real-seeming sounds, registered by the brain as "heard" and not "thought", often mundane speech and environmental sounds without other confirmation such as seeing. Disorienting and disturbing being unable to trust your senses.
SP (sleep paralysis):
Sleep paralysis is an inability to move or speak while falling asleep or when waking up. Generalized weakness upon waking or going to sleep, being conscious but unable speak, move, or breath deeply. May occur during micro sleep, and sleep intrusions during waking activity.
Automatic Behavior:
Trance-like behavior doing things on "auto-pilot" for some time. Undertaking routine tasks without being conscious of doing them and most often not remembering.
During conversation to jump from one topic to another or just trail off and stop talking all together. Movements may be slow or clumsy, speech may be slurred, may be unresponsive or wake up suddenly. May be unpredictable or illogical.
Falling:
Weakness, numbness, stumbling, dizziness, non-peripheral vision, "syncope", cataplectic muscle collapse, sudden onset sleep attack. Contributes to daily danger of injury and accidental spills, fires, breakage.
Migraine:
Extreme headache usually centered on one side of the head and accompanied by severe sensitivity to light and/or sound. Intense pain often causes vomiting. Migraines may be preceded and/or accompanied by "auras" which vary from victim to victim from dancing lights or "rainbow" visual disturbance, to full color "light shows".
Visual disturbances with or without headache pain (optical migraines) accompany migraine processes thought to be related to changes in blood flow in the brain. Episodes may progress from visual "auras" to temporary blindness.
Migraines are truly debilitating, rendering the sufferer incapable of moving without increasing the pain and making it difficult or impossible to think clearly. Because they are so pain intensive, migraine sufferers may take a few hours to a day to regain their energy and equilibrium.
Some triggers include red wine, alcohol, red meat, MSG, sodium, certain preservatives, medications, allergies, smells, lights, sounds and stressors.
Oversleeping:
Difficulty or inability to be roused from sleep, even through hours of repetitious alarms, calls, and visits. There may be no memory of the wake-up attempts, automatic behavior may be reported, may have dreams and hallucinations about wake-up attempts.
INS (interrupted nighttime sleep):
Intrusion of wakefulness during nighttime sleep, waking suddenly without warning or cause, feeling alert and briefly refreshed. Intermittent waking and sleeping at night.
Insomnia:
Difficulty or inability to fall asleep; may be physically and mentally exhausted, sleepy and prepared for sleep, then lie awake for hours. May be unstressed, comfortable and on-schedule, every habit of night time sleep the same as usual, and remain awake.
Micro Sleep:
Sudden onset sleep, involuntary and without warning, during activity or inactivity, at rest or in motion. Not associated with emotion or surprise as in cataplexy, also not conscious and able to see and hear as in cataplexy. complete transition from awake to deep dreamless sleep instantly, usually for only seconds.
Microsleeps can be so brief we are unaware of them, usually a fraction of a second. We may think something was forgotten, which was never actually heard, because the information was given during a split-second microsleep.
Similarly at risk for accidents (especially driving), injury and breaking things, and may awaken with shock and anxiety, disorientation, nausea and diffuse head and body ache.
Microsleep may be imperceptible to other people. Or one's head may drop and hang unnaturally, with the body upright. May slump forward (into a book, into a meal), jerk upright or repeatedly bite the tongue during microsleeps.
Micro sleep may repeat at intervals all day during periods of stress or illness, from unknown factors and aggravating conditions, possibly from chronic sleep deprivation, or chemical imbalance due to medication, diet, stress.
Depression Secondary to Narcolepsy/Cataplexy: usually misdiagnosed, and ineffectively treated.
Night Terror/Nightmare:
Deeply disturbing fearful dreams, often with sleep paralysis and inability to wake from the dream. Lasting fear and anxiety after waking.
Sleep Testing:
Overnight sleep testing monitors brain waves, eye movement, breathing, leg movement and other signs of sleep and dreams, while sleeping overnight in a sleep lab.
MSLT (multiple sleep latency testing) is a daytime sleep test, consisting of naps and waking periods. Sleep onset time, and the time it takes for REM sleep, and duration and kinds of dream periods are measured. Considered conclusive for diagnosis of narcolepsy.
REM (rapid eye movement) is the deepest sleep, when dreaming and rapid eye movement take place. Thought to be needed for refreshing sleep, and necessary for mental and physical function.
Muscle Weakness:
Strength of muscles may weaken, even with good tone. May be from lack of restorative sleep, from changes in oxygenation of the blood, from metabolism changes in blood sugars/proteins. Exertion may feel like there is strength but not endurance...like having a race car but no gas.Lost Time: