Narcolepsy

From Biohacking Wiki

What Is It

Describe the symptoms of the condition. The most typical symptoms are excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations

Cataplexy – This sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake leads to weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control. It is often triggered by sudden, strong emotions such as laughter, fear, anger, stress, or excitement. The symptoms of cataplexy may appear weeks or even years after the onset of EDS. Some people may only have one or two attacks in a lifetime, while others may experience many attacks a day. In about 10 percent of cases of narcolepsy, cataplexy is the first symptom to appear and can be misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder. Attacks may be mild and involve only a momentary sense of minor weakness in a limited number of muscles, such as a slight drooping of the eyelids. The most severe attacks result in a total body collapse during which individuals are unable to move, speak, or keep their eyes open. But even during the most severe episodes, people remain fully conscious, a characteristic that distinguishes cataplexy from fainting or seizure disorders. The loss of muscle tone during cataplexy resembles paralysis of muscle activity that naturally occurs during REM sleep. Episodes last a few minutes at most and resolve almost instantly on their own. While scary, the episodes are not dangerous as long as the individual finds a safe place in which to collapse. [1]

Sleep paralysis – The temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up usually lasts only a few seconds or minutes and is similar to REM-induced inhibitions of voluntary muscle activity. Sleep paralysis resembles cataplexy except it occurs at the edges of sleep. As with cataplexy, people remain fully conscious. Even when severe, cataplexy and sleep paralysis do not result in permanent dysfunction—after episodes end, people rapidly recover their full capacity to move and speak.[1] Hallucinations – Very vivid and sometimes frightening images can accompany sleep paralysis and usually occur when people are falling asleep or waking up. Most often the content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. [1]

What Causes It

There are two types of Narocolepsy, Type 1 and Type 2.


Type 1

This is based on the individual either having low levels of a brain hormone (hypocretin, also called orexin) or reporting cataplexy and having excessive daytime sleepiness on a special nap test.

Type 2

This is usually less severe, with no orexin deficiency. Sufferers of this type still report excessive daytime sleepiness but their attacks are not as severe and usually do not have muscle weakness triggered by emotions (cataplexy).<ref name="NIH">

Treatments / Applicable Biohacks

Conventional Treatments

If you went to an average western medicine doctor, what would they prescribe to treat it? Drugs, physical therapy, behaviors, etc.

Supplements

Diet

Foods to Eat

Foods to Avoid

Gut Health / Probiotics

Practices

Therapies

Resources

Anecdotes


Name - Joe Shmoe

Experience with the issue - What were your symptoms? How did you get it? How did it impact your life?

Treatment History - What did you try? What worked? What didn't?


References