difficulty waking up with narcolepsy

A naturally occurring chemical in the brain that helps maintain wakefulness. It has also been seen that narcolepsy occurs in a seasonal pattern too. Narcolepsy occurs equally in men and women and is thought to affect roughly 1 in 2,000 people. Since people with narcolepsy are often misdiagnosed with other conditions, such as psychiatric disorders or emotional problems, it can take years for someone to get the proper diagnosis. Two specialized tests, which can be performed in a sleep disorders clinic, are required to establish a diagnosis of narcolepsy:Occasionally, it may be helpful to measure the level of hypocretin in the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

It is estimated that anywhere from 135,000 to 200,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. However, medications and lifestyle changes can help you manage the symptoms. For more information, visit the NCSDR website at Additionally, the NINDS supports genetic and immunological research in narcolepsy at Stanford University.

Waking up more slowly seems to help. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy can be controlled in most individuals with medications. Vivid dream-like … Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. I got a Philips Wake-Up Light, which slowly brightens the room and wakes you with a chime that starts in audibly quiet and gets louder.

Frequent shifts between different states of sleep and wakefulness at night. For example, you may fall asleep while performing a task you normally perform, such as writing, typing or driving, and you continue to perform that task while asleep.

This results in the sleep fragmentation and daytime symptoms that people with narcolepsy experience.It remains unclear exactly why hypocretin neurons die. In the absence of other serious medical conditions, low hypocretin-1 levels almost certainly indicate type 1 narcolepsy.Although there is no cure for narcolepsy, some of the symptoms can be treated with medicines and lifestyle changes. It is seen more in the summer and spring seasons because these are the seasons when people get sick the most.Narcolepsy does not make it difficult to wake up but the patient faces more problems after waking up because of daytime sleepiness. This gene family provides instructions for making a group of related proteins called the HLA complex, which helps the immune system distinguish between good proteins from an individual’s own body and bad ones made by foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria.

Basically, a person’s body goes limp or loses strength. Neuropeptides are small protein-like molecules that are used by neurons to communicate amongst each other. Many individuals with narcolepsy also experience uneven and interrupted sleep that can involve waking up frequently during the night. To understand these symptoms, it’s helpful to know that narcolepsy symptoms can differ between adults and kids, and that the disorder comes in two types:Not only can cataplexy affect a narcolepsy patient’s whole body, but it can also cause weakness or muscle loss in specific body parts or regions. It has been seen that acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) has been involved in this pathway to cause atonia of muscles.

Narcolepsy can greatly affect daily activities. The most typical symptoms are excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations.

A physical exam can rule out or identify other neurological conditions that may be causing the symptoms. Hello all, My wife has had narcolepsy for a long time now. Narcolepsy that occurs without cataplexy is known as type 2 narcolepsy.Narcolepsy is a chronic condition for which there's no cure.