"Stop being so Narcoleptic"

...is something my Mum jokingly says when I am feeling overwhelming tired.... truth is, she may not be far from the truth. In an effort to finally fix all my numerous ailments, my doctor sent me to see a sleep specialist. The sleep clinic that I went to has a neurologist, ENT, and a couple other different types of doctors there and they all work together to determine what could be disturbing your sleep or making you excessively tired. 

Yesterday, I went for a consultation and through answering a plethora of questions, they believe I may have Narcolepsy! Wait, wait. Narcolepsy? I thought that is when you fall over with episodes of sleep throughout the day? That is correct, however, not everyone with Narcolespy has accompanying cataplexy (loss of muscle tone/control). The most common symptom of Narcolepsy is extreme daytime sleepiness with periods of extreme drowsiness every 3 to 4 hours during the day. You may feel a strong urge to sleep, sometimes followed by a short nap (sleep attack). I just don't have the involuntary sleep attack part. The Doctor stated that Narcolepsy often begin as a child and is due to low hypocretin levels which affects your 'wakefulness.' My parents have always told me stories of me falling asleep at the kitchen table, having to hold onto a chair during dance class, and constantly complaining of excessive sleepiness. Throughout my life I've been battling extreme fatigue and urges to go to sleep, I even admit practically nodding off while driving to the point where I've had to pull over and take a 20 minute nap before going on the road again. 

Narcolepsy, due to your body not getting the right kind of sleep, can cause: impaired memory, brain fog, clumsiness, anxiety, headaches, decreased energy, and extreme fatigue; Which helps explain why I have such a HORRIBLE memory and am so clumsy! 

Anyway, so determine whether I have narcolepsy or not, I have to have two sleep tests done: first I have to sleep overnight at the clinic hooked up to a bunch of wires, this is called a polysomnogram and tests for airway obstructions and record your sleep patterns. Then, I will stay into the next day and get a multiple sleep latency test or MSLT where I will go to sleep for about 15 minutes every 2 hours. Unfortunately, due to my surgery on Wednesday, I have to wait to have the tests in July. They want me to be off all medications and to be sleeping 'normal,' meaning not being awakened by pain from my surgery. 

Maybe this year will be the year of the cure to all my problems! hahha

So surgery is in FIVE days! Eeek! I'm starting to get really nervous! Especially because I know I'm going to be sleeping horribly from the pain and having to sleep on my back with pillows under my legs.