Posted by IsoM on February 17, 2003, at 14:47:55
In reply to Re: ADD, Celexa and Effexor, posted by What? on February 17, 2003, at 7:23:11
What?: "Can you describe your narcolepsy for me?"
IsoM: Sure. I didn't know I had narcolepsy till about 10 years ago. All I knew is that I had certain symptoms that I assumed most people had & it wasn't till I read detailed info about narcolepsy that it occurred what my symptoms were from. One doctor dismissed my concerns outright & wouldn't even pursue the idea I had it. Another told me I'd need to be tested at the sleep lab but appointments took over a year before you got tested & then I'd have to go off ALL meds for testing. My current doctor has another patient with narcolepsy & because I have all of the four narcolepsy symptoms, he said it's obvious what I have.
EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness) - one of the most obvious but not necessarily caused by narcolepsy. I can sit down to read or watch a movie & start falling asleep. It's not quick as a wink 'I'm asleep' but feeling harder & harder to stay awake & alert plus an overwhelming sleepiness in my body, craving a warm, cozy bed.
Hypnopompic Hallucinations - some people have hypnogogic hallucinations instead. Mine are on awakening, the hypnogogic are upon falling asleep. They're like a dream but you think you're fully awake & they're very distressing & frightening even if the subject is completely innocuous. They have a horrible feeling of evil or fear about them. It's hard to describe to someone who's never had them but very understandable to anyone who's had them. You sense an immediate recognition. SSRIs stop this symptom in narcolepsy so I haven't had them for years now, something I'm VERY glad of.
Sleep Paralysis - tied in with the hypnopompic hallucinations for me most times. You're awakening but you can't move. You want to wake up completely & move but your body’s paralyzed. This is perfectly normal in sleep to experience a degree of paralysis so we don't act out our dreams. When I was married & I had them, my husband would awaken me if I made weird noises in my sleep in the early morning. I'd be struggling with all my might to call out for help & would make small sounds in real life, signaling I needed help. I rarely get this now with SSRIs either.
Cataplexy - mine is mild & no big deal for me. When I used to get tickled, I'd collapse & lose all muscle strength & control. I couldn't fight back or even push away the person. I'm no longer ticklish but in very stressful times, when I'm surprised or start laughing at something silly in a movie, I collapse the same way & end of crying. I knew it was a little weird but I didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary.
What?: "What type of ADD do you have, what are the predominant symptoms?"
Isom: It's supposed to be ADHD - the hyperactivity component but because I'm female, I was never as hyper as you hear of in little boys now. But I was very active & I remembering running lots (& falling frequently - my childhood was constant scabs on my knees & lots of bruises). I have two speeds now; idling & overdrive. I either do things very fast (& still clumsily) & or i feel lethargic. The only thing I do at a normal speed & feel totally calm is gardening. It really centers & grounds me.
My organizational skills suck. I can organize others or myself very well but I can't actually practice it. When I'm doing something, I never remember to put anything back, can never find what I was using, & when interrupted, forget what I was doing or where I was at.
I have no time sense. I'm not aware of time passing so I can't properly schedule myself for doing things. I'm frequently late for anything even when I try hard not to be. My time sense is all screwed up r non-existent. When I'm focused on doing something, hours could pass & I have no awareness of how long it's been. I have a lot of trouble portioning out the needed parcels of time to do what should be done.
Hyper-interest in a subject. When something interests me (& most things do, unfortunately), I MUST learn absolutely everything about it. I work it to death. If it's not going to be something I'll pursue, I'll then lose interest as there's little for me to do with it further. But when I'm busy learning about it, I tend to neglect other things.
I'm sure there's lots of other problems but I can't think of any but as soon as I post this, I'll remember a bunch. That's another ADD thing of mine too. Oh, I've thought of one right now - constantly forgetting what I was going to do or why I had something in my hand - that sort of thing. It makes me seem addled to others, kind of like you're really not that bright at times.
If Paxil gave you diarrhea, you can try other SSRIs. I went through everyone till I found what worked for me. Do remember that even if we have the same mental & emotional symptoms, our body chemistry may be very diff. What works for me may not for you, but there's ways to help. Still, nothing will change the fact of ADD. Our brain seems to be wired somewhat differently. On the med board, viridis also has ADD. He's an associate professor of biology (though, modestly, he rarely mentions it) & is very intelligent in his approach to what's helped him. He's a good source of info too & might have suggestions to help you.
poster:IsoM
thread:200910
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/201198.html