Living with Narcolepsy

I was just diagnosed with narcolepsy yesterday, but I have been falling asleep inappropriately since early high school. I fell asleep in classes all through college and when it was time to study for the final often found that I couldn’t read my own notes cause I had been automatically writing while asleep. I am now 26 years old and looking forward to discovering what I am capable of without the constant sleeping.

Though I am only at the beginning of my journey with narcolepsy I wanted to post here because the recent archives of living with narcolepsy are a bit terrifying. The stories about the really severe cases of narcolepsy made me fear for my future and what this condition may develop into later in my life. But for now my symptoms are very mild, probably the best they’ve been since puberty. I am still sleepy most of the time, but I haven’t fallen asleep in a meeting or while reading in at least a few months and that used to happen daily. For anyone else that discovers they have this condition I want to be an example that it may not always be horrible for you.

And for those of you who have had a very difficult time with severe symptoms, thank you for sharing. Reading your stories has made me aware of what I may face and I will now be extra vigilant in handling my treatment. That may not make any difference in the end, but I hope that just by being aware of the troubles I’ll face that I can take some preventative steps to reduce the impact of our disease on my life.

I just finished reading the archives of Living with Narcolepsy.