A Bit of a Background

I was officially diagnosed with Narcolepsy at age 21, but suffered with Excessive Daytime Sleepiness all through my teen years. Now that I am familiar with cataplexy, I remember instances as far back as childhood where I would laugh at something and not be able to tightly grip a pen or pencil for a minute or two afterward. I have had "attacks" of cataplexy as an adult, but they are rare and not life-altering. For me, an attack consists of the feeling that my knees go a bit weak, but people around me have never even noticed when it's happened, and it passes in an instant. I have read of some people not being able to walk, get out of bed, or hold their children without fear of an attack, and I feel truly fortunate that my case is not more severe.

Being diagnosed with Narcolepsy was one of the hardest and most wonderful days of my life. It was depressing to know that I had this condition for which I would be on medication for the rest of my life, and that it would continue to present many challenges that people without Narcolepsy did not have to think about. My only regret is that I wasn't diagnosed sooner, but I'm sure every Narcoleptic feels this way. My high school experience would have been vastly different if I was awake for more of it. After a short pity party and a good shoulder to cry on, I moved on to feeling so RELIEVED! Finally, I could put a name with the issues I had been having all these years, and it was motivating to know that I wasn't just lazy!

Taking Provigil gave me a leg up so that I could finally feel the way a rested, non-Narco feels on a regular day. I started taking college courses part-time a year or so later, and was able to stay awake through (most of) the classes.

Fast-forward a few years...I am now a full-time college student in my last semester. I will graduate about a month after my 29th birthday. I just got married in May to a fantastic man who has known from day one about my condition and accepts the challenges that he will face as the husband of a Narco. I am still on Provigil, though I had to switch birth control methods as a result of potential conflict with my medication, and am happy to report that I don't experience any side effects or issues with efficacy that some other folks have reported with using Provigil. I do still get sleepy in class from time to time, particularly when the room is warm and/or the lecture boring. :) Over the years, I chose to tell a few professors about my condition, usually when the class size was small enough that they knew who I was and would clearly notice if I nodded off. Everyone has been very understanding.

Upcoming challenges for me include: finding a job, finding a job working for a company that will be somewhat flexible regarding my condition, and one that doesn't have a super-long commute (long, monotonous drives are not ideal for a Narco).

The biggest Narcolepsy-related challenge I will face will be pregnancy. This is the main motivation behind the starting of a blog. We want to have children, and I plan to stop taking Provigil when we start trying to get pregnant. There has not been a great deal of research done on the effects of Provigil during pregnancy, but I have read that it can increase the chance of miscarriage, and I don't want to expose my baby to the medication if I can help it. This may change, but that's the plan for now.