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Re: Does anyone relate to any of this?

Posted by SleepyHead2 on April 16, 2007 at 12:09:28:

In Reply to: Does anyone relate to any of this? posted by Joy on April 09, 2007 at 07:19:35:

I remember, before being treated for narcolepsy, having strange dreams like you are describing..like a murder mystery. I also wake during the night and could not get back to sleep, but I was told this is also a symptom of N. Our brains do not sleep or stay awake when we want them to. I am taking Xyrem now and it helps alot. During the day, I take Provigil, but I also have sleep apnea. When I use the CPAP and take my medication, I feel the best. But, like others have said, I have was told to lose weight (then only 10 or 20 pounds) and exercise, which didn't help that problem, then I was depressed, then only sleep apnea..meanwhile the treatments and meds for these didn't help that much. Finally, I had a MSLT done and I was diagnosed with narcolepsy.

The problem is that lack of sleep causes many more illnesses, such as depression. When you are sleeping properly, your body helps heal itself. This isn't happening to people who suffer from sleep disorders. I am not a doctor, but with me, it was a snowball effect. I was tired from not sleeping, didn't eat properly because of being tired, worked - slept - ate - no excercise...so I gained weight. With weight gain, comes more problems - high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, etc. Depression can get worst as you gain more weight. The more weight, the less active, the worst the sleep apnea (if you have that, too). I have since lost about 50 lbs, and am not pre-diabetic,since being treated about a year ago. Unfortuneately, I still have high blood pressure, which is hereditary. Also the Xyrem has a high sodium content, which doesn't help blood pressure, either. The weight loss was mostly because of side effects of the medicine (loss of appetite), but I am learning to eat better and I feel great, now. But, I totally understand the frustration with blaming the symptoms on other things.

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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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