Extreme daytime drowsiness is the main and earliest sign that you could already be suffering from narcolepsy. It might reach years to finally identify a sleep disorder as narcolepsy as other factors might have caused it, and the condition happens no matter how many hours you've rested. Narcoleptics often feel fatigued and exhausted or both.
This maximum tireedness is often known as an attack because it occurs suddenly. These commonly run from thirty minutes up to some hours. To present you an example of a narcoleptic, view the movie Deuce Bigalow. Narcoleptics even bring really poor memory and blurred vision.
According to studies, a big chunk narcolepsies are hereditary. Bad genes prevent the hypothalamus from telling the body to stay alert. The sad part is, narcolepsy can occur anytime no matter what you are doing. It does not require a stimulus.
Cases that are not related to the genes are blamed on a dysfunction in the amygdala. According to studies, the cerebral protein called hypocretin is very low in narcolepsy patients and, therefore, accounts for the hypothalamus’s inability to function well.
While narcolepsy has no cure, you can find relief for the symptoms through therapy and medications. The kind of treatments a narcoleptic is given depends on the severity of his or her problem; and since it is a disorder that is tricky to figure out, it could take some time before the most appropriate regimen is found.
The most prescribed drugs to treat narcolepsy symptoms include methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and Modafinil, which are high in hypocretin. These must be taken in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle. Caffeine has also not shown any help and should not be taken.
Finally, using any type of drug to remedy narcolepsy symptoms requires the close watch and supervision of a physician. Narcolepsy is something that we should take seriously because, unaddressed, it could be morbid. There have been cases that sufferers experienced attacks while driving, which eventually led to their deaths.
