Knowing What to Do If You Have Narcolepsy Symptoms

Narcolepsy symptoms and their side effects can be very dangerous.  Narcoleptics are people who fall asleep uncontrollably. It is a neurological disorder that is quite dangerous as you can just fall asleep in the middle of anything, whether you are working, driving, cooking or out in the streets walking. Unfortunately, unlike sleep apnea cures, the treatment for narcolepsy symptoms is more complicated and less definitive. A device such as sleep apnea machine does not yet exist to control and manage narcolepsy symptoms. In the United States, about one in two thousand people suffer from narcolepsy or narcolepsy symptoms, and the initial symptoms are usually experienced by the age of ten to twenty five. Unfortunately, this is a lifelong condition and needs to be properly taken cared of. Knowing narcolepsy symptoms from the beginning and seeking proper treatment can help the patient have a normal life.
 What Are Narcolepsy Symptoms?

A person suffering from narcolepsy does not necessarily experience the same narcolepsy symptoms, but here is a list that you would want to take note of:

   1. Loss of muscle control or cataplexy – this muscle weakness is usually triggered by strong emotions such as anger, laughter or fear. This instance may last for a few seconds to a number of minutes.
   2. Hallucinations – experiencing vivid, visual or auditory sensations while asleep or even when you are awake. These dream like visions are very real and you will think they are actually there.
   3. Sleep paralysis – is not being able to move, talk or react at the time when you are falling asleep or waking up. This can be very scary for most people as you are conscious and aware of your paralysis when this happens.
   4. Micro sleep – are short bursts of sleep moments where one continues to do activities as if they are still awake, and then when they do wake up, they have no memory whatsoever of the incident that just passed.
   5. Night time wakefulness – hot flashes, higher and faster heart rate and even deep alertness.
   6. Abnormal and quick rapid eye movement (REM) sleep entry – because of their unique sleep cycles, they dream and enter REM as soon as they fall asleep. Normal people usually need about an hour and a half on average before they reach REM.
   7. Excessive daytime sleepiness – this is the most common narcolepsy symptom found in narcoleptics even if they do or do not suffer sudden sleep episodes.

What Causes Narcolepsy Symptoms?

You may be wondering what could be the cause of narcolepsy symptoms. Scientists have been relating it to genes and possible environmental triggers. According to studies, narcolepsy affects all races and every ethnicity, and it occurs in both males and females. Although the rate of occurrence of narcolepsy symptoms is not the same from every country, it was discovered that the majority of patients have inherited the disease. Scientists have known that all narcoleptics have a deficiency in hypocretin or orexin, a certain brain chemical that is responsible for activating arousal and regulating sleep. Also, these patients are lacking HCRT cells, the neurons that secrete hypocretin.

These are the different tests that doctors use to diagnose if one suffers from narcolepsy symptoms. These include the Epworth sleepiness scale, a nocturnal Polysomnogram, a multiple sleep latency test as well as spinal fluid analysis.

It is recommended that you ask your doctor what needs to be done after the first few narcolepsy symptoms are experienced. Narcolepsy is a serious medical condition and should be treated immediately.  Suffering from narcolepsy symptoms pushes the patient to alter one's lifestyle for their own safety.

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