Question:    How does this affect my life?

Answer:    Due to the presence of chronic sleepiness, narcoleptic patients have more trouble maintaining their grades in school.  Additionally, many of those afflicted by narcolepsy prefer to work at night when their chronic sleepiness     can easily be explained away to co-workers and family.  Unfortunately, narcoleptic patients fare less well in job advancement, due to their sleepiness.

Question:    What other problems may narcoleptic patients face?

Answer:    Narcoleptic patients have a greater likelihood of suffering accidents at work or being involved in motor vehicle accidents.  Daytime sleepiness with an associated decrease in alertness is responsible.  Since the episodes are so brief, Cataplexy is rarely dangerous although a small number of narcoleptic patients may lose control of all voluntary muscle activity for several minutes.  This can result in collapse or accidents.

Question:    How is Narcolepsy diagnosed?

Answer:    Typically, younger individuals present to their physician with a complaint of uncontrollable daytime sleepiness.  Upon questioning, symptoms of cataplexy, Hypnogogic Hallucinations, and Sleep Paralysis may be elicited.  Cataplexy may not develop for many years after the onset of excessive daytime sleepiness.  When symptoms warrant further evaluation, a physician may order a sleep study (polysomnography) followed by the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT).  The sleep study is usually performed as an overnight procedure in a sleep lab.  Brain waves and other physiologic parameters are measures primarily used to rule out other unrelated sleep disorders.  Specifically, early sleep onset punctuated by dreaming during the daytime naps, in concert with appropriate symptoms, helps to solidify the diagnosis.

Question:    Is there a blood test to determine narcolepsy?

Answer:    Narcolepsy is believed to be a genetic disorder that may or may not have family roots.  In any event, there is a certain genetic finding that is present in the blood of most narcoleptic patients although this "marker" can be found in normal individuals at a relatively high degree.  The blood test is more useful in excluding narcolepsy than making the diagnosis, although there is believed to be a variant of narcolepsy in which patients do not exhibit the genetic marker.

Question:    How is narcolepsy treated?

Answer:    Treatment of narcolepsy is primarily dependent on the severity of the individual symptoms.  For example, patients who have severely fragmented sleep and awaken exhausted will often require medications to assist in a good night's sleep.  Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is often treated with stimulant medications which, unfortunately, may further worsen nocturnal sleep.  Cataplexy is treated with tri-cyclic antidepressants.  Other "therapies" are listed below: