My Narcaplexy Treatments: Chiropractic Care

Since narcolepsy is a lifelong 'illness' with only a few medications that help narcaplectics fight off their symptoms, we are always finding other ways other than pill-popping to make us feel better. One thing I found fascinating when I attended the Narcolepsy Network 2011 Conference this October was the huge interest everyone took in each other's treatment. The first questions out of anyone's mouth after "Do you have narcolepsy? Cataplexy??" was "What kind of medication do you take?"

The main form of healthcare that I use that helps me is regular visits to my chiropractor, Dr. Nickalis Dumas. Without Dr. Nick, I have no idea where I would be today. 

Dr. Nick was featured in Toledo City Paper's 2009 and 2010 lists of the city's best doctors, and as a runner-up in 2011.

I owe so much to him and his staff for taking care of me and treating me like I'm family (and for my family for convincing me to go for that first visit despite my doubts!). Check out his practice, Rapid Relief Chiropractic Center in Toledo, OH:

Rapid Relief Chiropractic Center

Meeting "The Other Julie"

As I mentioned before, the conference in Las Vegas was full of Narcoleptics young and old, each with their own story to share. One woman who really struck me as a truly amazing person was Julie Flygare, a woman with Narcaplexy who has devoted her life to being an advocate for this disorder. She ran the Boston Marathon for the group Wake Up Narcolepsy in April 2010 which raised money for Narcolepsy research, worked with Harvard Medical School to create an informative Narcolepsy video to be shown to all of its students, and has a blog where she keeps her fans updated on her daily trials being an advocate for Narcolepsy and her work on her memoir.

I attended two of Julie's sessions at the conference; one about blogging and the other about advocacy. It was almost like hearing a motivational speaker, I imagine. She was so inspirational and made me want to tell go tell every person in the casino about Narcaplexy (now THAT would give Narcaplexy a weird reputation!). I still can't believe that I spoke with her, and then she asked to take a picture with me for her blog! That was a pretty great moment for me :)

And then to make things even crazier, my True Life episode, True Life: I Have Narcolepsy, aired on the 18th! They changed it on me at the last minute so I haven't even seen it yet :( I was flying home from Las Vegas when it premiered. So if you didn't get the memo and missed it, be sure to watch out for reruns or when it gets posted on MTV's website.

Cataplexy Man

Today is the first time that I've ever met another Narcoleptic person besides myself! Not just one either, I met so many Narcoleptics today it was just so surreal. I'm excited for the actuall conference to start tomorrow, to hear what these speakers have to say. Hopefully after this week I will have made some new friends and have a better understanding of my illness and how to help others :)

BTW, this is my new favorite dude "Cataplexy Man''. He was a gift from someone at the NN conference and he falls just like most of us! Haha check out why he's so special below:

Viva Las Vegas!

So today instead of looking out my window at my neighbor's backyard, I can look outside my 14th floor hotel room and see the beautiful Rocky Mountains across the skyline (I even took a webcam picture for you!). I'm in Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual Narcolepsy Network Conference! This will be my first conference, as I'm a new patient, and no words can describe how excited I am.

This will be the first time I ever meet another person with Narcolepsy or Cataplexy, and not just one, but a whole conference full of them! I know for sure a little Cataplexy attack is in my future when I meet these people, but it's so worth it. So wish me luck! I'll post again tonight and tell you how it goes :)