Thread:CorgiMom/@comment-29650568-20170220035459/@comment-29989042-20170220164414

No, not rambling! 😘 Yes, I really do have narcolepsy (N). It's an auto-immune neurological disorder of the brain. People with N (PWN) are missing or are very low on the neurotransmitter hypocretin/orexin. It's what regulates sleep and wakefulness. (People always think it's just a sleeping disease. PWN have trouble staying asleep, just as the have trouble staying awake. When we're asleep, we skip the restful early stages of sleep and go right into REM sleep, the dreaming stage where you're paralyzed so you don't act out your dreams. That's why we are never rested. While sleeping, wakefulness keeps creeping in, causing our brains to be temporarily awake. When we're awake, sleep can creep in causing us to temporarily fall asleep. It takes an overnight sleep study and a daytime nap study the next day to diagnose N, all while you're hooked up to wires and monitored. I was diagnosed in 2008, but can trace my symptoms back to high school. N causes other problems too...cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone, which I have too. When it happens while standing, I fall to the ground and can't move or talk for a few seconds. Broke my nose last October landing on my face 🙄), sleep paralysis while falling asleep and/or waking up (I have both) hallucinating, memory problems, and others. I mostly drive in town. The farthest I can now drive is to the next town (20 miles, 40 miles round trip), and I can only drive that in the mornings while I still have the benefit from my nighttime med in my system. I can no longer take daytime meds to help me stay awake, due to side effects. I feel good only the first half of the day and sleep most of each afternoon. Then I try to be up in the evenings to spend time with my family. Some evenings I don't even get up. This game helps me stay awake in the evenings to spend time with my family. Now I'm rambling on and on and on...😋

I used to work (I was an elementary and middle school teacher), but 2 years ago I had to quit, due to my N. I'll be praying for your sister, bless her heart! 😇 She sounds as amazingly caring and kind as you are! 💖 I'm so glad she gets a couple days a month to sleep. She needs it!! 😴😴😴 🐾🐾