Nancy Mitchell, a registered nurse at Assisted Living Center, says these emotional triggers vary widely. However, intense emotions like laughter, sadness, fear, and excitement can all trigger cataplexy. Low levels of this hormone may cause the same muscle weakness during the day you'd otherwise experience while asleep. People who experience cataplexy typically have lower brain levels of hypocretin, a hormone that helps control your sleep and energy levels. In short, it doesn't pose a serious threat to your health.Įxperts believe a hormone deficiency may cause this symptom. You'll still breathe during an episode, and your heart will continue to pump blood. Note: Cataplexy only affects your skeletal muscles. But since about 10% of people with narcolepsy notice cataplexy as their first symptom, recognizing cataplexy could help you get a diagnosis of narcolepsy sooner. The sudden muscle weakness from cataplexy can be easily misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder. Sudden inability to move your facial muscles.
Abrupt muscle weakness on both sides of the body following heightened emotions - think fear, excitement, stress, and anger.David Culpepper, a medical doctor and Clinical Director at LifeMD. "Symptoms are consistent across age, but they vary from person to person, from a slight slackening of the facial muscles to falling down," says Dr. It typically shows up before age 25, but you can experience it at any age. Narcolepsy can occur anytime between early childhood and 50 years typically, however, there is no upper age limit to getting it, 15 and 36 years of age being the peak time periods of when it occurs.Cataplexy affects all genders equally. Untreated narcolepsy increases the risk of motor vehicle collisions and falls. The condition often begins in childhood, with males and females being affected equally. Įstimates of frequency range from 0.2 to 600 per 100,000 people in various countries. Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may improve cataplexy.
While initially effective, tolerance to the benefits may develop over time.
Medications used include modafinil, sodium oxybate and methylphenidate. Lifestyle changes include taking regular short naps and sleep hygiene. While there is no cure, a number of lifestyle changes and medications may help. Excessive daytime sleepiness can also be caused by other sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, anemia, heart failure, drinking alcohol and not getting enough sleep. Diagnosis is typically based on the symptoms and sleep studies, after ruling out other potential causes. In rare cases, narcolepsy can be caused by traumatic brain injury, tumors, or other diseases affecting the parts of the brain that regulate wakefulness or REM sleep. Often, those affected have low levels of the neuropeptide orexin, which may be due to an autoimmune disorder triggered in genetically susceptible individuals by infection with H1N1 influenza. In up to 10% of cases, there is a family history of the disorder. Narcolepsy is a clinical syndrome of hypothalamic disorder, however, the exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown, with potentially several causes. Modafinil, sodium oxybate, Wakix, methylphenidate, amphetamine, stimulants, antidepressant Medication, Regular short naps, sleep hygiene Sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, anemia, heart failure, drinking alcohol, idiopathic hypersomnia, not getting enough sleep Excessive daytime sleepiness, involuntary sleep episodes, sudden loss of muscle strength, hallucinations īased on the symptoms and sleep studies
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