I am a 24 yr old mother of a three year old. I have always been a person who required a lot of sleep. My mother never had to MAKE me go to bed. I was always asleep by 9:00 and sometimes would nap after dinner. I had never heard of Narcolepsy, neither had my mother.

The older I got the worse it got. I always talked on my cell phone while driving.Never realized it was just a habit to keep myself awake. That was dangerous as well. One day when I was at home with my sick child I realized I had a problem and needed to see a doctor. My daughter was 18 months old and had the stomach virus. I couldnt even stay awake to take care of her. I wanted to find out what was going on. I went to the local sleep disorder doctor and she ordered a night time sleep study, thinking I may have sleep apnea.

After sleeping through the night she ordered the day time sleep study (MSLT). After this she knew I had Narcolepsy without a doubt. I fell asleep in less than 3 mins every time that day. She put me on provigil and it did nothing for me. I am now on Ritalin twice a day. It was great at first. Now, I can tell my body is becoming dependent on it and it is not working as well. I cant stay awake in the evenings now.

I go back to the doctor soon. Hopefully they can change my meds. If not, I am planning to be strong and not let this condition take control of me. I have too many precious memories ahead with my 3 year old daughter to miss them by sleeping.