Posted by Barbara Donnelly on April 28, 1999 at 05:05:49:

In Reply to: Have I or havn't I? posted by Tony Greenwood on April 20, 1999 at 16:09:39:

I recently expounded on my son's narcolepsy and allergy relationship (I posted: Have you tried this?). If he inadvertently eats the wrong food now that he is completely off of anything with carrots, beans, corn and soy, the first thing that happens to him is his fingers begin to tingle. Then his thought processes begin to fail, he feels very weak, and just wants to go to sleep. This happened recently to him at the Denver airport where he chose to drink a Pepsi One thinking it did not contain corn syrup. He spent over half an hour trying to find the TWA counter! He was by himself and said it was really scary, because he now is so aware of the difference between feeling good and having a problem. It was several hours before he felt better. Please, again, get allergy tests! They are simple and non-invasive. And don't forget chemical allergies. You could be having reactions to cleaning solutions, etc., that your grocery store uses. I know someone whose child is allergic to chlorine! He can't even take a shower in the city water any more!

I hope the medical profession will start focusing on the immune system more. Allergies can cause an "over-load" and cause "reactions" that do not include the typical hives, stuffy nose and asthma. My son's reaction was narcolepsy. I also read about someone who got relief if every time he ate he took a Benadryl. He probably has food allergies and the Benadryl blocks the histimine reaction that the immune system produces, which in turn makes him sleepy. Avoidance of the offending foods seems like a better alternative to pills.

Don't give up! Don't let the doctors tell you they don't know why you have narcolepsy. There IS a reason. And for some of you it may be an allergic reaction that you can avoid because you were lucky enough to discover the allergens causing it.

Follow Ups:

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