Treatment typically consists of medication and lifestyle changes.įaenza emailed the neurologist to ask if she might have cataplexy. If untreated, the lifelong disorder can greatly impair social, cognitive and psychological functioning. Excessive daytime sleepiness is its hallmark symptom. It often develops in adolescence and is believed to result from genetic factors coupled with an environmental trigger. The disorder is estimated to affect 1 in 2,000 Americans. The cause of narcolepsy, which can range from mild to debilitating, is unknown. She also noted that in some cases people with narcolepsy can fall asleep without warning during activities including eating, talking or driving. Cataplexy is not present in Type 2 narcolepsy, which tends to be less severe.įor years Faenza had noticed that when she got angry or excited her legs felt briefly “tingly and weird” and weak. Episodes, which last seconds to a few minutes, can be occasional or frequent and resolve on their own. “It clicked,” Faenza said.Ĭataplexy is the sudden loss of voluntary muscle control and weakness while awake that is triggered by strong emotions including anger, fear or excitement. She was struck by the description of a condition called cataplexy that occurs in Type 1 narcolepsy. It felt like I was going to be in a perpetual state of exhaustion.” - Julie Faenza I wasn’t doing well at work, and I couldn’t do much of anything else. “This was affecting so many things in my world. “I hadn’t even realized I was sleepy.” She had often fallen asleep without warning at home while reading or listening to music, but never while driving.įaenza called her internist who referred her to a sleep disorders clinic. She was uninjured - and greatly relieved that no other cars or pedestrians were in the vicinity. One morning in early spring 2013, after seven hours sleep, Faenza hit the gym at 5:30 a.m., returned home for a shower and breakfast and then drove to work.Īs she was turning into her office complex shortly before 7:30 she suddenly fell asleep, only to be awakened by a violent jolt as her car rolled onto a curb. She also began going to a gym regularly before work exercise reduced her daytime sleepiness. Once she had an engaging legal job, the therapist predicted, her sleep problems would resolve.īy October 2012, Faenza who had married, passed the bar and gotten a job as a legal analyst, began lowering her dose of Adderall under a doctor’s supervision in the hope that might improve her sleep. “You’re bored,” she remembered her therapist telling her. The expectation was that after the twin events, her sleep would improve. “They said, ‘Of course you’re tired, you have so much going on,’” Faenza remembered being told. I hadn’t even realized I was sleepy.” - Julie Faenza
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