Is there an over the counter or internet test for narcolepsy?

[ICRS]

I suspect that I have narcolepsy, but want to test to see for sure if I have it or not.

 

[wedi42]

this thread made me fall asleep

 

[Ryan]

Yep, the same place you check for brains, there's a free e-test somewhere.

 

[Random Variable]

What about an over-the-counter test for hairy ass disease?

 

[potato28]

Originally posted by: Random Variable
What about an over-the-counter test for hairy ass disease?

I think I might need that test...

 

[Jeff7]

I don't know what the spectrum of narcolepsy is, but I see someone at my school who had it.
At any random time, she'd just be out in an instant. One time was for graduation recital, she was in the band section, and *snap* like that, right in the middle of the musical piece, she slumped down in her chair. Two friends stopped playing and carried her off somewhere. I don't know how much warning there was, but when it hit, it was quick, and she was completely out.

In that case, I think it'd be pretty darned obvious if you had it or not.

But again, I don't know if it's a disorder that has a spectrum of severity, as does something like autism.

 

[ICRS]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
I don't know what the spectrum of narcolepsy is, but I see someone at my school who had it.
At any random time, she'd just be out in an instant. One time was for graduation recital, she was in the band section, and *snap* like that, right in the middle of the musical piece, she slumped down in her chair. Two friends stopped playing and carried her off somewhere. I don't know how much warning there was, but when it hit, it was quick, and she was completely out.

In that case, I think it'd be pretty darned obvious if you had it or not.

But again, I don't know if it's a disorder that has a spectrum of severity, as does something like autism.

Some times I feel a sudden rapid onset of intense sleepiness. Other times I seem to loose conscious without recalling any sleepy sensation. sometimes I seem to suffer gaps in time when I am doing something, which could only be explained by me having fallen asleep for those minutes or seconds, I even experience vivid dreams during these minutes of unconsciousness. I have been fallen asleep and entered a dream state seconds after having a conversation withsomeone. What is worst I have seemed to fallen aseep behind the wheel, and suffered gaps of consciousness when driving (was even pulled over once).

 

[kranky]

I would confidently say your symptoms require a doctor visit to be further investigated. Do it before you kill yourself and/or someone else while driving.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: ICRS
I suspect that I have narcolepsy, but want to test to see for sure if I have it or not.

There is no definitive test for narcolepsy. The best objective test for narcolepsy is testing for the neuropeptide named hypocretin (orexin) in spinal fluid, which requires a spinal tap (not without some risk).

The absence of detectable hypocretin in spinal fluid is highly correlated with narcolepsy, but not definitive because abnormally low or no detectable hypocretin has been found in other conditions such as brain injuries and Parkinsons-like disorders. Conversely, not all persons diagnosed with narcolepsy have abnormally low levels of hypocretin in their spinal fluid, suggesting a multi-factoral origin or cause of narcolepsy. i.e. Someone with abnormally low hypocretin may not necessarily have narcolepsy, and someone with narcolepsy may not necessarily have abnormally low hyprocretin.

However, taken together with the presence of signs and symptoms consistent with narcolepsy, it becomes as definitive for narcolepsy as it gets. i.e. if you have the hallmark symptom of excessive or irresistible sleepiness and you have abnormally low or no hypocretin in your spinal fluid, the degree of certainty or confidence that you have narcolepsy is greater than 90%.

Other diagnostic criterion can approach 90% but are more interpretive or subjective. If you have excessive or irresistible sleepiness and you experience cataplexy, another primary narcolepsy symptom, the certainty or confidence that you have narcolepsy can approach 90%, provided that you are in fact experiencing cataplexy and not something else such as syncope. Cataplexy is almost unique to narcolepsy. It also has been found in other disorders/conditions such as brain injuries, but is very very unusual outside of narcolepsy. Cataplexy can vary widely in the extent or severity of its affects, but in any event, the common theme is sudden muscular weakness that is triggered by an emotional response such as laughter, elation/joy, or anger, ranging from weakness in the legs, arms, or neck to total physical collapse.

Sleep paralysis is also very common with narcolepsy, but not unique to it. Hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations (very realistic dreams that occur when falling asleep or waking from sleep), while also very common among narcoleptics, are not unique to narcolepsy. But again, when taken together, these four primary symptoms of excessive/irresistible sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucations are highly unique to narcolepsy and even have their own name - the narcolepsy tetrad. If you have all four, its practically certain that you've got narcolepsy, but it is not a requirement that you have all four symptoms. Some only experience three, others experience only two.

I'm one of the lucky bastards who have all f-cking four, plus a monster case of chronic depression (also very common among those with narcolepsy or other sleep disorders). It it could be worse, my cataplexy is much less severe than the total physical collapse type.

You need to get your ass to a doctor before you kill someone or yourself. I am extremely lucky that I did not injure or kill anyone in the two car accidents, and many many near-accidents, before having the goddamn sense to get myself to a doctor and beg for help. I could be rotting away in prison right now but for sheer f-cking chance that nobody happened to be in front of me (or was able to get out of the way in time).

 

[PlasmaBomb]

If you suspect you have narcolepsy you shouldn't really be driving... the last thing we want is you driving into a tree or a bus.

Get yourself checked out :thumbsup:

 

[Capt Caveman]

:laugh: internet test for narcolepsy

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
In that case, I think it'd be pretty darned obvious if you had it or not.

But again, I don't know if it's a disorder that has a spectrum of severity, as does something like autism.

Indeed, it does. In fact, what you are describing was the girl suffering an attack of cataplexy, not a 'sleep' attack. Its a very popular/common misconception that someone with narcolepsy 'goes out' as to mean slump over or collapse into sleep.

However, they don't collapse because they fall asleep. They collapse because their muscles suddenly become paralyzed. This is cataplexy. Its a short circuit of the neuromotor pathway as it runs through the hypothalamus, causing partial/intermittent to complete disruption of the nervous signals traveling to skeletal muscles. Its actually more than that, involuntary muscle tone and reflexes are taken out as well. Fortunately, involuntary breathing muscles and the diaphram are not affected.

During these attacks, they are usually awake and completely aware of what is happening, at least for the first several seconds and possibly up to several minutes. At some later point into these attacks, they might fall asleep, but not initially.

Fewer than 10% of persons with narcolepsy are afflicted with the full-out total paralyzing cataplexy. Typically, it manifests in fleeting muscular weakness, such as the legs buckling at the knees, losing arm strength, dropping of the head, slackening of the jaw or facial muscles, blurred vision or slurred speech (any one or combination thereof).

There are several documented cases of persons being declared dead during an attack of cataplexy. One woman in Australia reportedly got sent to the morgue twice before they thought to give her a medical alert bracelet.

I wonder what it read: "I'm not dead, you med school flunky - just paralyzed!"

 

[Tsaico]

It is also possible you are epileptic too. I have a nephew who was describing similar things like you. His teachers also thought he was day dreaming or just standing there. Turns out he was having petite mal seizures. It is almost as if he is stuck in time, and then comes out of it as if nothing had happened. He describes it as feeling icky (he's six) and other times he doesn't even know it happened.