![]() ![]() It helps to learn best practices and access support through others who have the disorder. Getting a diagnosis of narcolepsy and managing the symptoms can be overwhelming and the disorder is not well understood by the general public. Narcolepsy is diagnosed by a physical exam, taking a medical history, as well as conducting sleep studies. If you do have narcolepsy, the most effective treatment is often a combination of medications and behavioral changes. People who are diagnosed with narcolepsy should seek counseling through educational networks and support groups. Without hypocretin, the person has trouble staying awake, and also experiences disruptions in the normal sleep-wake cycles.Ĭurrently, there is no cure for narcolepsy, but medications and behavioral treatments can improve symptoms for people so they can lead normal, productive lives. ![]() Narcolepsy can cause the following symptoms, too. In narcolepsy, the cluster of cells that produce hypocretin-located in a region called the hypothalamus-is damaged or completely destroyed. Excessive daytime sleepiness and frequently falling asleep are narcolepsy’s most common symptoms. The frequency of attacks can vary widely, from just a few episodes a year to multiple episodes a day. Hypocretin acts on the alerting systems in the brain, keeping us awake and regulating sleep-wake cycles. Cataplexy is associated with narcolepsy type 1. Narcolepsy with cataplexy is caused by the loss of a chemical in the brain called hypocretin. It’s not dangerous, but the sudden attacks of sleepiness and weakness can have a big impact on your quality of. People with narcolepsy can also experience dream-like hallucinations and paralysis as they are falling asleep or waking up, as well as disrupted nighttime sleep and vivid nightmares. The sleepiness combined with muscle weakness is called narcolepsy with cataplexy. It causes a sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to a slack jaw, or weakness of the arms, legs, or trunk. For example, cataplexy is the muscle paralysis of REM sleep occurring during waking hours. Narcolepsy is a specific neurological disorder that causes sudden attacks of deep sleep, while hypersomnia is a symptom, and refers to excessive daytime sleepiness more generally. In narcolepsy, the normal boundary between awake and asleep is blurred, so characteristics of sleeping can occur while a person is awake. People with narcolepsy feel very sleepy during the day and may involuntarily fall asleep during normal activities. ![]() Narcolepsy is defined as "undesirable sleepiness at inappropriate times." The four most common symptoms of narcolepsy are excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden loss of strength in the muscles (cataplexy), a brief loss of muscle control that occurs when a person is falling asleep or waking up (sleep paralysis), and hallucinations that occur just before falling asleep, during naps and/or upon waking up. ![]()
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