What are the five signs of narcolepsy?

They include:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness. People with narcolepsy fall asleep without warning, anywhere, anytime. …
• Sudden loss of muscle tone. …
• Sleep paralysis. …
• Changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. …
• Hallucinations.

What can narcolepsy be mistaken for?
Narcolepsy is often misdiagnosed as other conditions that can have similar symptoms, including:

• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Other psychologic/psychiatric disorders.
• Insomnia.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.

Can you suddenly develop narcolepsy?

It is often triggered by sudden, strong emotions such as laughter, fear, anger, stress, or excitement. The symptoms of cataplexy may appear weeks or even years after the onset of EDS. Some people may only have one or two attacks in a lifetime, while others may experience many attacks a day. Is narcolepsy a mental illness?
However, narcolepsy is frequently misdiagnosed initially as a psychiatric condition, contributing to the protracted time to accurate diagnosis and treatment. Narcolepsy is a disabling neurodegenerative condition that carries a high risk for development of social and occupational dysfunction.

Can narcolepsy be cured?

There’s no specific cure for narcolepsy, but you can manage the symptoms and minimise their impact on your daily life. Making some simple changes to your sleeping habits can sometimes help. If your symptoms are more severe, you’ll usually need to take medicine. What happens if narcolepsy goes untreated?

When left untreated, narcolepsy can be socially disabling and isolating. It often leads to the onset of depression. Type 2 diabetes mellitus may occur more often in people with narcolepsy. Making lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

Can a brain tumor cause narcolepsy?

One of the most frequent causes for symptomatic narcolepsy is brain tumors, usually in the region of the third ventricle and the diencephalon. Depending on clinical profile, the mass effect or surgical removal of space occupying lesions may play a definitive causative role in the occurrence of narcolepsy symptoms.

How do you wake up a narcoleptic?

Try these tips to pack more quality ZZZs during your normal bedtime hours:

1. Relax before turning in. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.
2. Try to go to bed at the same time each night.
3. If you wake up during the night, avoid reaching for your phone or other electronics. Screens stimulate, not relax, you.

Why do I fall asleep when I sit down?

The most common causes of excessive sleepiness are sleep deprivation and disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia. Depression and other psychiatric problems, certain medications, and medical conditions affecting the brain and body can cause daytime drowsiness as well.

What foods help narcolepsy?

Research is limited, but some people with narcolepsy say their symptoms improve when they follow a ketogenic (or keto) diet, which is a restrictive, low-carbohydrate, high-fat, moderate-protein diet. “There’s some clinical data from small studies of low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet in people with narcolepsy,” Li says.

How serious is narcolepsy?

Why do I jerk when I doze off?

It’s normal for the muscles to relax, of course, but the brain gets confused. For a minute, it thinks you’re falling. In response, the brain causes your muscles to tense as a way to catch yourself before falling down — and that makes your body jerk.

How many hours of sleep do narcolepsy need?

These 24-hour sleep recordings of two individuals—one with a normal sleep pattern (top) and one with untreated narcolepsy—clearly demonstrate the disrupted nature of sleep and wakefulness in narcolepsy. … Sleep basics.

People with narcolepsy	People without narcolepsy
Spontaneously wake from sleep	Generally sleep well

How do you test for narcolepsy?

One helpful self-assessment tool for recognizing sleepiness is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). You can measure your daytime sleepiness using a printed version of the ESS (PDF) or the online version of this screening tool.

Can you have narcolepsy and be bipolar?

Clinicians have reported cases of narcolepsy with prominent hypnagogic hallucinations that were mistakenly diagnosed as schizophrenia. In some bipolar disorder patients with narcolepsy, the HH resulted in their receiving a more severe diagnosis (ie, bipolar disorder with psychotic features or schizoaffective disorder).

How does narcolepsy affect personality?

Narcolepsy can be associated also with less conspicuous problems, including introversion, sorrowfulness, feelings of inferiority, impaired affectivity modulation, emotional lability, irritability, aggressiveness, and poor attention that some authors have defined as the “narcoleptic personality” (4).

Are narcolepsy and ADHD related?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. However, despite their differences, both narcolepsy and ADHD share the symptoms of sleep disturbance and excessive daytime sleepiness. Recent studies have suggested a link between the two disorders.

Why do narcoleptics gain weight?

People with narcolepsy have been found to be prone to weight gain even when they don’t eat more. Low metabolism may be part of the reason. When you have narcolepsy, your body burns calories more slowly. Some researchers have suggested that daytime sleepiness makes people less active, and so more likely to gain weight.

Does Vitamin D Help with narcolepsy?

[39] found no difference in serum 25(OH)D levels and frequency of vitamin D deficiency between 174 type 1 narcolepsy patients and 174 healthy controls. In the narcolepsy group, no significant association was found between vitamin D deficiency, disease duration, severity and treatment [39].

Does caffeine help narcolepsy?

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a small dose of caffeine has positive effects on alertness in patients with narcolepsy. However, larger trials are required to confirm these findings.

Do people with narcolepsy lose weight?

A common narcolepsy drug is Xyrem. Xyrem is made of sodium oxybate (SXB) which raises lipolysis. Because of this, people on SXB usually lose weight. A 2013 study showed people using SXB for 3 months lost an average of 11 pounds.

Are people with narcolepsy smart?

However, no study has previously investigated whether intelligence plays the same role in narcolepsy patients. Nevertheless, one study found that narcolepsy patients with a high IQ exhibited significant cognitive impairment, which suggests that intelligence and cognitive impairment are independent.

Can you gain weight with narcolepsy?

People with narcolepsy are not only excessively sleepy, but they are also prone to gaining weight. In fact, narcoleptic patients will often pack on pounds even as they eat considerably less than your average person.

What drugs cause narcolepsy?

Drug Abuse as a Cause of Narcolepsy

• Steroids, including prednisone.
• Diet pills.
• Drugs that treat high blood pressure, like beta blockers.
• Hormones, such as oral contraceptives.
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stimulant medications.
• Some antidepressants.

Can narcolepsy be caused by trauma?

Central nervous system disorders such as tumors and vascular legions involving the hypothalamus can cause secondary narcolepsy. In addition, brain trauma can contribute to post-traumatic narcolepsy despite lack of any definite brain lesion.

Can you drive with narcolepsy?

When sleepiness is under good control, many people with narcolepsy are safe to drive. However, they must know their limits. Some individuals may be safe driving around town for 30 minutes but not on a four-hour, boring highway drive.