Living with Narcolepsy

Sadly, I will have narcolepsy for the rest of my life but I won’t let it stop me from enjoying it. Here’s what I discovered that works for me especially when I am a single mom of six handsome boys, teaching 2 classes at a University and I am deaf.

1. Count your blessings, I’d rather to have Narcolepsy then to have cancer!

2. Take a little pillow, blanket and eye mask with you in your car because it helps to pull over to take a 10 to 15 minute nap. I managed to drive 6 hours without trouble as long as I pulled over to sleep for 10 to 15 minutes whenever I start to get tired. I love feeling refreshed again and alert enough to drive. A sleep mask helps to speed up the process of trying to sleep.

3. Chew on crushed ice, for some reason it keeps me awake. I have tried every possible food, candy or snack you can think of to keep myself awake and crushed ice works best! I buy bags of crushed ice from the food store and keep them stored in my freezer so whenever I need to drive, watch a movie or type on the computer I take a large cup of crushed ice and chew on it while doing what I need to do.

4. Provigal helps me a lot, if I forget to get a refill, I would have a day of nothing but sleep. I am grateful for Provigal even though it costs a lot. It helps!

5. Taking sleeping pill at night when I know I will have a sleepless night forces my body to get the rest it needs. You will know if you’ll be able to sleep that night or not.

6. Make modifications to make it easier for you to live life such as for me, I don’t have all day to do everything so instead of washing dishes all the time, I use paper plates, cups and bowls. Also, since I am a teacher, grading is IMPOSSIBLE so I hired an assistant to do it for me.

7. Instead of fighting or flighting against Narcolepsy, embrace it. Find ways to deal with it like I have to being deaf myself.

8. Okay, now I am tired so I had better make it to bed before I fall asleep on this computer and wake up with a stiff neck! I hate it when that happens! Ha ha. Good luck!