Narcolepsy Treatment
Unfortunately, there cure for narcolepsy doesn’t yet exist. When this condition is present, hypocretin loss is thought to be irreversible and lifelong. However in most people excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy can be managed with proper medication treatment.
Medications like Provigil (generic names Modafinil and Modalert) have been approved by the FDA of the USA for the narcolepsy treatment.
Medical Treatment
This medicine is being prescribed these stimulants to fight excessive sleepiness and as a result to reduce the number of sleep attacks.
It is very effective for most people and they reduce drowsiness as well as improving the alertness levels. What need to be remembered as that these medicines can cause some side effects, however they need to be prescribed to you individually by a doctor, and they have to be monitored also by a doctor.
All serious side effects should be reported, such as skin rash and allergies, which are amongst the severe side effects. Common side effects are nervousness, irritability, irregular heart rhythm, sleep disruption at night time and even anorexia.
Behavioural Strategies
None of the existing medicines can provide consistent and full state of alertness, therefore it is recommended to accompany drug therapies with a number of different behavioural strategies depending on needs of a person.
It is recommended to take short and scheduled naps at times when a person feels sleepy.
If possible, people should modify their work schedule so they can take naps when needed, and do tasks when most alert. Improving the quality of sleep can fight excessive daytime sleepiness and relieve symptoms of fatigue. There are a few tips that people can do to improve sleep quality, such as:
- stick to a regular sleep schedule
- avoid caffeine and alcohol for several hours before bedtime
- avoid smoking
- maintain nice and comfortable bed environment
- explore relaxing activities, such as warm bath, meditation, a short walk and other things that can relieve stress before bed time
It is also recommended to do some exercises, at least for a half and hour a few hours before bedtime, which can improve the sleep quality and also prevents from gaining weight. Also, another thing to remember is that even though the disease is not lethal itself, experiencing sleepiness or cataplexy during can be very dangerous, because it can cause accidents. It is known that people with narcoleptic disorder are getting involved in accidents 10 times more often that non-sufferers.
There are also support groups that are proven to be very helpful and useful for people with this condition, as they can become isolated socially, because they often feel embarrassed by their condition, they might even start avoiding experiencing strong emotions that can trigger attacks.
Also, because of the lack of knowledge of the disorder, people often judged to be lazy, undisciplined or unintelligent. As a result, these social groups can be very important for an overall sense of well-being and provide them with social network and also emotional support.
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