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Narcolepsy is a chronic neurodegenerative disease . It is characterized by features like excessive daytime sleepiness , cataplexy , sleep paralysis , and eternal sleep - related hallucination . In this condition , the patient feels very sleepyheaded throughout the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. even after sleeping for eight minute at nighttime . The patient fall departed involuntarily in the middle of any work or anything . The patient can not focalise on body of work or any other action like writing , interpretation , eating , etc . In narcolepsy , the patient put down REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) sleep just after 15 minutes of pass deceased . unremarkably a individual embark REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) sleep after one to one and a half 60 minutes of fall asleep.(1 )
Is Narcolepsy A Mental Illness?
Narcolepsy is a neurodegenerative disease that regard almost 1 in 2000 people all over the world and is noncurable . It is not a mental illness or psychiatric condition . But people with narcolepsy are prostrate to suffer from other genial illnesses like anxiety , low , etc . Many times when a patient has both genial illness and narcolepsy , it becomes difficult to diagnose narcolepsy . Some of the psychiatric circumstance may have the same pathophysiology as narcolepsy and hence the disease may pass simultaneously .
The symptoms of narcolepsy last forever and a day . The symptom usually seem during maturity or adolescence . It is a rarified disease and that is the reason it takes time to diagnose it . Narcolepsy is diagnosed on the basis of clinical history and other diagnostic tests . mental testing like multiple sleep reaction time test ( MSLT ) and polysomnography is used to corroborate the diagnosing . In MSLT , the daytime sleepiness is observe and in this test , five naps are observed throughout the day secern by a duration of 2 hour . The test is positive when the mean sleep reaction time is of 8 minutes or less regard REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) sleep in at least 2 out of the 5 nap . It is difficult to accurately name narcolepsy because of the comportment of other psychiatrical conditions along with it . The symptom of psychiatrical shape disguise over the symptoms of narcolepsy and hence it remain undiagnosed for a long time . Many meter nap apnea is also present with narcolepsy . quietus apnea also has psychiatric comorbidities like depression , anxiousness , etc . Patients with imprint finger tired as well as suffer from overweening daytime somnolence and the presence of hallucinations can be throw with psychotic hallucination , this way the disease is misdiagnosed due to cloak of symptoms . Also , people with genial unwellness have trouble focusing at workplace and other activities and the same happens with patients who have narcolepsy , this makes it unmanageable to diagnose the disease.(2 ) , ( 3 )
What’s The Treatment For Narcolepsy?
Medications For Narcolepsy
Antidepressants . so as to treat narcolepsy , tricyclic antidepressants and adrenergic and serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been used . Tricyclic antidepressant drug are clomipramine , desipramine , etc . Noradrenergic and serotonin reuptake inhibitor include fluoxetine , venlafaxine , etc . These antidepressant drug are useful to control cataplexy .
Modafinil . This is a CNS ( Central Nervous System ) stimulant drug . It is the first medication to be prescribed as it is non - habit forming and has fewer side result . Sodium Oxybate : It is a sedative drug . It is taken at nighttime only . This drug is helpful in treat unreasonable daytime drowsiness as well as cataplexy .
Lifestyle Changes For Narcolepsy
Say No To smoke : You must not fume especially at night .
Taking Short Naps . When you feel the sleepiest , you must keep those time periods in head and then take scant naps at exact that prison term .
Say No ToCaffeineAndAlcoholAt Night . You must not consume caffeine or alcohol before sleeping , this will assist you fall departed faster and have a better sleep .
relax Before Going To Bed . You have a nice warm tub before go to bed ; this helps you relax your trunk . This will make it easy to fall asleep.(4 )
Conclusion
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disease but it is not a psychological disease or a mental illness . However , patients with narcolepsy are prone to suffer from other mental illnesses like depression , anxiousness , etc . Most of the time , genial illnesses are present along with narcolepsy and this makes it unmanageable to diagnose narcolepsy . So to conclude , narcolepsy is not a mental unwellness .
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