I hope you will only deal with a doc (for primary care, dx and treatment) who passes these tests:
1. Do they "believe" in narcolepsy? (sounds dumb, but trust me; ask this question)
2. Do they treat anyone right now with sleep disorders?
3. Do they have a working relationship with any sleep labs, and has their experience been good?
4. Do they listen to you?
5. Do they believe what you say? (do not always overrule you, especially with attitude like 'where did YOU go to med school?')
6. Ask up front if your medical insurance will "compensate them adequately" (to see you more than twice a year, give you more than 7 1/2 minutes in exams, sit down and answer questions) ... if they are a specialist in something, their time might have a much higher "$$ value" than your insurance pays for.
This sounds like C to me, because it is so individual and one person can have several different KINDS of C.
I wonder how many of my C attacks in the dim past, might have been spontaneous sleep attacks. You can sometimes distinguish between them based on your own lifetime of observation and experience.
when laughter is involved, you might associate the stimulus with a C-like effect; and facial numbness is one of the most often reported.
Good luck, please keep us posted
This message has been edited by patlittlejohn on Jul 8, 2009 11:38 AM