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Re: New Narco needs info

Posted by Shadow on August 13, 2003 at 05:00:17:

In Reply to: New Narco needs info posted by leicabee on August 11, 2003 at 13:40:33:

Hi!

When you have N it will affect all parts of your life (work, family, friendships, hobbies,...). I still find it difficult to accept, but since I know my diagnosis I think I begin coping with it.

I have read the comments on your posting below... Did you have a sleep-test with MSLT? What are your symptoms besides sleepiness? Have other reasons for sleepiness been ruled out (what other tests have been done?)?

Here a very short summery on N: main symptoms are sleepiness, sleep-attacks, cataplexy, sleep-paralyses, hypnagogic halluzinations. In about 20% of PWN they are all present, but it's possible to have just some or one of them. A doc will call it N when he finds - besides a typical history - two or more sleep-onset-REM's in the MSLT, a short sleep-latency and/or typical cataplexy. The blood-test (HLA-DR2 or HLA-DQB1) is positive in 99% of PWN, but also in 25% of healthy people of caucasian origin. So a positiv blood-test is a hint but not a proof. A negative one says that it's probably not N, but isn't a proof either.
N most of the times starts in early adolescence and gets worse the following years. But there's a great variety in the severity of symptoms, so it's difficult to give any kind of prognosis.

Differential diagnosis in a person with sleepiness are other sleep-disorders like for example idiopathic hypersomnia, sleep-apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome, and of course many other diseases like thyroid problems, neurological disorders (including tumors, multiple sclerosis, encephalitis and others), gastrointestinal problems like food allergies, colitis, celiac disease, lactose intolerance and even more...

Hope this helped a bit...

Greetings!
Shadow

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