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Some personal thoughts for "newbies"

Posted by me 2 on May 05, 2002 at 21:36:47:

I was just reading through some of the recent postings, and noticed that some of you who are fairly new to Narcolepsy are going through the anger and depression that goes along with this type of diagnosis, so I thought I would share with you all.
I have had Narcolepsy for around 28 years, as near as I can figure. I am 43 and started having serious problems around 16 years old, which caused me to drop out of school.
After being on the "medical merry-go-round" for years, I was finally diagnosed when I was 34, and was SO thrilled to finally have a name for my problems, and medication that was going to magically make me all better! Then I started researching Narcolepsy,I kept seeing "no cure and "life-long chronic condition" and I went straight into a deep depression! All I could do was get out of bed and lay on the couch! I didn't even dress or bathe or eat for awhile, and once I slept through 3 days without waking up! I thought I was gonna die, then I thought maybe I WANTED to! But being a mom, I couldn't do that to my kids, so I finally pulled myself up and decided to have the best life that I could manage to have. I told myself that it's no worse than other conditions that I could have developed, like the little kids I've seen with crippling arthritis and such.
Now I only look at the positive side of Narco,... yes, there IS a positive side!
Such as...I am notorius at work for being able to handle "situations" because I'm so "laid back"! Oh, if they only knew...
Also, since I decided to take control of the Narco and NOT let it whip me, I have managed to go back to college for my Quality Engineering degree, and even made it into Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society! Not too bad for a high school drop-out, huh! And, it helps when I am working on my stained glass, because I am not easily distracted. Over time you learn to focus more on a task than other people might.
As far as my family, they know this is permanent, they have come to accept my "attitude",(I get cranky when tired, which is often!) and I manage to get out of LOTS of things that I don't want to do, because I "need a nap"!
So, even though it seems like you are trapped in a nightmare, take heart, you CAN gain control over this, and you will eventually develop your own type of "normal"! It will get easier to handle, though I know it seems overwhelming!
Sarah

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