Sometimes sleepiness is so sudden and so intense that it calls "sleep attack". Some people may have several attacks of sleep during the day. Sleep attacks can last from a few minutes to over an hour.
Other symptoms of narcolepsy, which may or may not occur in all patients, are cataplexy, which is the sudden and reversible decrease or total loss of muscle tone, usually triggered by intense emotions such as laughter, anger or fear; Paralysis Sleep, a temporary inability to talk or move when the patient begins sleep, during sleep or when awake and may last from seconds to minutes, and hypnagogic hallucinations are experiences very difficult to distinguish from reality and often frightening, usually occur while falling asleep or waking up.
Narcolepsy is more common than you think. Its incidence in Western countries is between 0.2 and 2.6 by 1000. It is as widespread as Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis is more common than cystic fibrosis, although less well known.
Lack of information
The diagnosis is relatively easy when all the symptoms of narcolepsy appear, but if you only have sleep attacks and cataplexy is mild or not, the diagnosis is more difficult and can sometimes be confused with other disorders.
Given that the diagnosis of narcolepsy is often delayed for many years, it is very important that primary care physician has a current knowledge about sleep disorders and likewise for the patient to provide adequate information about their symptoms.
Manuel Martinez has over 20 years diagnosed with narcolepsy. He has learned to live with it and although it has had to leave their job because it took a long time to do things, consider leading a normal life, despite their conditions.
