Narcolepsy Forum Posting

Posted by NarcOMatix on August 11, 2003 at 01:05:01:

Cudos to you, oh “Zzzz_Im_awake_really”. I'd also like to come "out of the closet".

I myself am on the verge of investigating what is wrong with me. I've had enough. I'm done with having bad performance reports at work (back office of an investment bank in Europe), missing out on bonuses and appreciation of my work. I'm the one always getting the bad joke of "isn't time you get some work done, Jack..."gigglegiggle. I don't want to ask myself anymore how come I'm not motivated enough to see a task through. I don't want to beat myself up anymore over going to the john to catch 20 mins of sleep.

If I remember right, it started in 1999 when I had a job in the front office, on the phone all day. Looking back I realize I must've lived on adrenalin, cuz I kept myself awake by keeping busy with clients, it was a temp office.
The next year I switched to my current job, back office of a bank.
It occurred to me that everyday after lunch I would doze off for seconds at a time. Funny enough, one close colleague had the same thing. This made me think it was the "heavy lunch" we both tended to take, that it wasn’t me. So I started to take peeks into female colleagues' lunch 'ensembles' and realized I was taking fattier lunches than they did. And they never seemed to have the post-lunch dips. So I started eating "like a girl" as I called it: 2 wheat buns and a little bowl of soup! This solved only a fraction of the problem.
So next thing I quit smoking two years ago. Thinking this would up my overall stamina. Never changed the drowsiness one bit, though. It would drive someone to give up quitting altogether, but luckily I stand strong.
Lastly I took up exercising two months ago: twice a week for appr. 80 mins.
No results, on the contrary, the tendency to visit the john, up my feet against the wall and be gone in 3 mins has grown. Now it has multiplied: I do it in the morning too. Round 11 it grabs me. I stare at the monitor and lose focus, my arms start weighing 40 pounds and I can't hit another button.
So I consulted the phys instructor, he said What time do I have breakfast. I said 10.00 and I never take more than 2 buns with cheese or peanutbutter .
Much too much fat and too late was the reply.
He told me to try the cruesli (I don't know what it's called in the US, it's dried wheat and fruit) with yoghurt right after getting up. That seemed to ease me up a bit. But still I visited the john again 5 times last week. I'm fed up. I'm very frustrated and angry. Only after my pregnant wife googled up the word sleepines on the Net after I had a fit this week, did I realize that I'm not alone.

I've been deeply, deeply ashamed of myself for "squirreling" (Austin used this word in Re: Narcolepsy and Employers, great word) off to the bathroom to sleep during broad daylight. Scared to be caught doing something your every fiber commands you to do, a man of 36 years old!
Father to be. Fancying the corporate PowerNap idea but afraid to promote it, afraid of being suspected. I recently brought up the gossip that my gastro-intestinals don't function too well, 'probably because of quitting smoking'. This was to make sure people were thinking what I preferred they think, whenever I squirreled off...

I haven't seen my GP yet, but I made an appointment: come tuesday I'm showing her all of y'alls descriptions of your experience with N. I'm suspecting food has a part in my story, seems eating (not overeating, mind you) or not eating seems to trigger it, although my friend the nap returns at five o'clock, after work.

I'm very glad to have found this site and to have found understanding people concerning this illness.

Keep you posted, I'm only starting my journey but thanks to this site, much the wiser and much the more educated.

NarcOMatix

Follow Ups:

• Re: Reaction to Zzzz_Im_awake_really zzzz_Im_awake_really 14:12 8/21/03 (0)

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