Sodium oxybate has approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating excessive daytime sleepiness, poor nighttime sleep, and cataplexy. They can also lead to irritability, anxiety, changes in heart rhythm, and other side effects. The other drugs are older and more likely to be habit-forming. Modafinil and armodafinil are usually the first choices. A person may need naps of 15–20 minutes throughout the day.Ī doctor may also prescribe a central nervous system stimulant to prevent sleepiness, though no drugs are likely to be completely effective. One way to manage narcolepsy is through behavior modification. The following sections will look at these in more detail. There is currently no cure for narcolepsy, but medical treatment and lifestyle tips may help.
Narcolepsy and cataplexy motor block full#
After the episode, people will recover their full capacity to move and speak. Episodes can last from a few seconds to several minutes.
This is an inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. Triggers include strong emotions, such as surprise, laughter, or anger. This weakness is temporary, lasting 2 minutes or less, but it can lead to falls and other accidents. Some people will have only mild weakness, such as a head or jaw drop, but some may collapse to the ground. CataplexyĬataplexy refers to sudden muscle weakness that affects the face, neck, and knees. They may result from the blend of wakefulness and dreaming that occurs with REM sleep. Hypnogogic hallucinations are vivid, often frightening sensory hallucinations that occur while falling asleep. People with narcolepsy will usually have a persistent feeling of sleepiness with a tendency to doze off at intervals throughout the day, often at inappropriate times. Overall, however, a person with narcolepsy usually spends the same amount of time asleep as a person without the condition. It can also disrupt nighttime sleep patterns. The primary symptom of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness, but it may also involve cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.
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