My Diagnosis: Narcolepsy with Cataplexy.

Well it's official. As of last Thursday, my neurologist diagnosed me with narcolepsy and cataplexy. After a few months of symptoms including but not limited to:

- sleeping in school (and all day)
- trouble sleeping at night
- horrid nightmares
- collapsing when I laugh
- collapsing whenever I feel emotions

... several types of blood work, an MRI, four EKGs, and so many doctors that I lost track, this doctor was able to tell me what was wrong in about three minutes of meeting me. Boy, do I wish I had met him back in November.

What now? Well that's a good question. My life is definitely going to work out differently than I'd originally planned. College will be a bit harder, medical school will be BRUTAL, and then even after I may not be able to become what I want to be--an anesthesiologist. On the bright side: I'm alive. I suppose if I'd been killed by that car accident in November I wouldn't have to deal with this... but I'd be dead, and that would suck as well.

I still get to go to Italy in March (where I will celebrate my 17th birthday!) and then as soon as I get home, it's time to start medication. The wonderful concoction of stimulants and anti-depressants are going to take a toll on my mind mid-junior year, but what choise do I have?

So tomorrow I'm getting an EEG and then some bloodwork, on Monday night I'm going to the hospital for an overnight sleepstudy, Tuesday when I wake up it'll be daytime sleep testing, and on top of all that we STILL have to schedule the spinal tap that I volunteered to get for Stanford's research. Worse than all of that? On Friday morning I get to explain to my high school class what's wrong with me and what to do if I collapse in the middle of the hallway one day. Wish me luck...

That's where I stand. The reason I made this blog is so that I can hopefully talk to others that have the same thing as me and we can help each other learn how to deal with our issue. Mostly I just needed some private therapy--these teenagers suck on the sympathy level, you know. I want my life to go back to normal. I want to be happy again and have fun, and maybe turn this life sentence into something helpful and change the world somehow. There's nothing in the sleep disorder books that says I can't do that :)