Narcolepsy?

[llama44]

I have a lot of the symptoms of narcolepsy. Like the hallucinations before falling asleep or right before waking up. I have daytime sleepiness to the extreme. I can't move sometimes when I try to wake up. It's weird like I'm awake but not 100% and I keep telling myself to move but I can't do it. I get these "attacks" where I get so tired that I NEED to sleep right then and there. I've fallen asleep while driving before (scary, I know).

I know I need I sleep study and it was suggested that I get one for these reasons. I need a referall first though from a family medicine dr. So I am going to make an appointment with one on monday and go from there. I know they will make me do a sleep study.

Oh and I was also doing better on provigil with these symptoms but it was stopped when I went inpatient at the psych ward for fear of it causing mania in me.

[Velvet Elvis]

If you fall asleep a lot in inappropriate places it could be narcolepsy but they have to rule out other stuff that could be interfering with your sleep and making you tired during the day. You're actually describing symptoms of several different sleep disorders so it's hard to say anything for sure without a sleep study.

Unfortunately, Provigil is one of the mildest drugs you can take for it so you might be SOL if even it makes you manic.

[Kodos]

Re: sometimes not being able to move when you wake up - this is sleep paralysis.

Your other daytime symptoms sound like what's been going on with me recently. I can be talking to someone and fall asleep. Afraid of falling asleep while driving - which I've done for a few seconds. I can take counter measures, though - if I'm feeling sleepy, I can stop and get a cup of strong coffee before I start my morning commute. Provigil helps.I've also worried about potentially having developed narcolepsy.

Current thinking is that narcolepsy is an auto-immnune disease. It is strongly associated with one gene for tissue type (HLA genes), DQB1*0602.

Before all of the sleep studies, get your sleep hygiene in order. Make sure you aren't staying up late and are getting enough sleep - try for 8-9 hours.

[llama44]

Interesting. Thanks for the info guys! It seems like I'm SOL a lot these days. Must have been that sweet pen I stole from a waitress coming back to bite me in the butt. Karma is a bitch sometimes!

[crazycatnapper]

You may or may not have Narcolepsy, but you have some sort of sleep problem going on. You really need to see a sleep doc and have a sleep study done. I have Narcolepsy (along with depression and anxiety) and it's a real pain in the ass. I'm almost always exhausted. Before I started Concerta I was always sleepy. Now I am awake, but just tired. I'm on a tiny dose of the Concerta and will probably need more. Provigil made me sick as a dog, so I couldn't take it. I have terrible sleep habits. I am not able to stick to a sleep schedule and never have been able to my entire life. I'm basically a night owl, so it's hard to do a regular sleep study, but as long as you sleep most of the night, they can get your brain wave patterns down. If they think you have N, you will have to stay and do the MSLT the next day. The sleep labs are a big pain, but you will get the answers you need by doing the tests. Hope you got your referral by now. Let us know how things go.