Narcolepsy Symptoms

There are four main narcolepsy symptoms - excessive daytime sleepiness; cataplexy; sleep paralysis and hallucinations.

The symptoms of narcolepsy usually start to appear when you're between the age of 15 and 25, but can show up earlier or later, especially if there's a genetic component or a hormonal imbalance that's the 'trigger'.

To begin with, narcolepsy symptoms are usually fairly mild, and the first one to appear is generally excessive daytime sleepiness. This is also the most common symptom.

Excessive daytime sleepiness

If feeling exhausted all the time is your only symptom, you could be suffering from any of these sleep-related problems.

But with narcolepsy, this early symptom is usually followed by 'sleep attacks' (a sudden, irresistible and uncontrollable urge to sleep), which can come over you anytime, anywhere. If you fall asleep suddenly while driving, cooking, exercising (or during pretty much any activity), there are obviously certain dangers involved, both to yourself and those around you.

Other narcolepsy symptoms include -

• Cataplexy
  A dictionary definition of catalplexy is a sudden loss of muscle tone and strength, usually caused by an extreme emotional stimulus'. In other words, you will experience some degree of muscle weakness and loss of control. Cataplexy is experienced by around 75% of narcoleptics, and it can range from just being a mild loss of control which you can handle and compensate for, to being severe enough to cause a total collapse. Or anywhere in between the two. Although a severe attack of cataplexy can leave sufferers unable to move or talk, they remain fully conscious. These 'sleep attacks' can last anywhere from a couple of seconds, to several minutes or more.


• Sleep Paralysis
  Another of the common narcolepsy symptoms is sleep paralysis, this occurs in about 6 out of 10 sufferers. It causes similar results to cataplexy, but only happens when you're falling asleep or waking up. Again, there's no loss of consciousness, just an inability to move or speak, and some narcoleptics report a brief sensation of being unable to breath. The last of major symptoms of narcolepsy, hallucinations, may also happen at the same time as these episodes of sleep paralysis.


• Hallucinations
  About half the people who suffer from narcolepsy will experience hallucinations. These are like very vivid dream-like visions or delusions, and may involve several senses (such as hearing, taste, touch etc.) rather than being a simply visual experience. Like cataplexy, hallucinations occcur as you're falling asleep (hypnopompic hallucinations) or when you're waking up (hypnagogic hallucinations). You can think of them as very real/vivid dreams which are happening during the 'wrong' phase of sleep.

Although excessive daytime sleepiness could be caused by sleep apnea or insomnia, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hallucinations are specific to narcolepsy.

If you're suffering from any of the above symptoms, you need to see your doctor so that you can get a correct diagnosis and start treatment.

Full-blown narcolepsy symptoms can have a huge negative impact on all areas of your life, even put it in danger, so it's vital to find the treatment you need to control and manage this condition.

In spite of being ready to fall asleep at 'the drop of a hat' (or much less!) during the daytime, narcoleptics are often significantly sleep-deprived. Once you get your symptoms under control, your quality and quantity of sleep will improve dramatically, and all areas of your life will be so much better!

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