Dean's List

I was so happy today when I checked my student online account. After I ended Spring semsester with a 3.5 GPA, I wasn't sure if I would qualify for Dean's List or not. I couldn't figure out if it was cumulative or based merely on that current semester.

Well I figured out out: it's definitely semester based, and I made the Dean's List at University of Toledo for Spring 2014! :D

My GPA at my last university was a pretty terrible 1.77... I say terrible because for me that really IS dreadful. In high school, I had a 3.5 overall GPA, which could've been even higher had I got been struck with narcolepsy during my junior year. 

It means a lot to me to finally have my life back on track! And it's all thanks to my friend Katie who told me last summer all about how much Xyrem was improving her quality of life and convinced me to try it too. 

Now I not only can drive again but I also have my very own car, I have a full-time job and don't even need to sneak off to nap during breaks, I'm attending college again and feeling good about it, and I'm not only doing well at school, but I managed to make Dean's List my first semester back!

So Thankful for Crystal Light!

It's a good thing Xyrem works so well at giving me a better night's sleep, because the taste almost isn't worth it...

I've heard so many different ideas of how other people with narcolepsy take their nightly doses of Xyrem. From mixing it with Gatorade, orange juice, or lemon-lime soda, to simply sucking it up and taking it plain (my least favorite option). 

The absolute best thing that I have found to cover the taste, without interfereing with the efectiveness of the dose, is to add a little liquid Crystal Light flavoring. The strawberry lemonade is definitely the best; it really covers up a lot of the bitter Xyrem taste.

 

It has 0 calories, so it won't interefere with the amount of sleep you get per dose (at least I have never noticed any differences). It just makes it so much easier to take my nightly doses, without having to mentally prepare myself and cross my fingers that I can force it down in one gulp!

Cutting Prozac Out of my Daily Meds

Since Xyrem has almost stopped my cataplexy attacks, I decided last fall that I wanted to stop taking the antidepressant I started in July for cataplexy. I didn't like some of the side effects; it was making me more nervous than I already naturally am, and I learned that it can prevent weight loss which I definitely didn't want happening.

Since I work at a school and was worried about the withdrawal effects making me moody around the kids, I had to plan to stop taking them over a break. Between having surgery, longer-than-expected recovery, and turning 21, that opportunity didn't show up until spring break after Easter.

So now, it's been an entire month off of Prozac and I haven't had any weird withdrawal symptoms! All that worrying for nothing lol. There has been a small increase in cataplexy which is manageable, and, strangely enough, I'm once again having hallucinations when I sleep.

Nine months on Xyrem and I wasn't having ANY hallucinations at night or during naps like I did every time I fell asleep before Xyrem. It was a major relief! But now I'm noticing occasional hallucinations when I nap, and sleep paralysis the other night before my Xyrem had fully knocked me out, but nothing so horrible that I can't deal with. I think it's pretty interesting, and definitely not a side-effect of cutting off antidepressants that I had expected. Really, the only change I've made was cutting out my Prozac, so that has to be the culprit.

And now I'm laughing out loud at myself as I write this, because I just realized if I were to say to a non-narcoleptic that I stopped my Prozac then started hallucinating again, I'd probably get some funny looks and psychiatrist referrals. Thank god I'm part of a wonderful community of people with narcolepsy who understand what I mean! :)

Narcoleptic Babysitting?

     Since I'm starting to feel so much better, I figure it's time to start trying more of the things I've avoided since I got narcolepsy. If it were up to me, I'd be driving already, but unfortunately cars are pretty expensive and my job isn't THAT great haha. So baby-steps it is for now. 

     Tomorrow I'm going to babysit for a family at the school I work at. The mom and dad are going out for the day with friends, so I'll be at their home with their adorable little girls. One of the kids is in 1st grade, and the other is a toddler (she's 2) , but they're both total sweethearts and are so excited for me to come over.

     At first, 10:30-7ish made me super nervous and I was going to back down, for fear of getting too tired while I'm there. But after thinking on it, I realized that this is something I can totally handle! I have extra Concerta as a back up and I'll be sure to sleep in the car on the drive there and home afterwords.

     Wish me luck! :)

Taking A Break

This semester I've decided to take a much needed break from my university life to try to feel like a human being again. Can you believe it, a college narcoleptic that feels less than human?? Crazy, I know.

Things were getting to be too much for me and I was struggling with my grades pretty badly. This for the girl who always was a stellar student before getting narcolepsy is a little tough to swallow, let alone admit out loud to other people. So I mostly kept it to myself, suffered in silence, and tried to find new ways to be successful. Unfortunately that's not as easy as it sounds when your college disability office is being less than helpful and making your life harder rather than easier.

But this summer my friend Katie (another PWN) was telling me about her recent success with Xyrem, the narcolepsy "miracle drug" for many. I finally decided to give it a try... and now I am indebted to Katie forever for convincing and encouraging me to see how Xyrem could help improve my life :)

I honestly feel better than I have in years! After almost 4 years of having narcolepsy and cataplexy, with nights full of sleep paralysis, terrifying nightmares, and disturbing hypnagogic hallucinations, I feel like a new person almost. I can function almost like a normal person again, and its an amazing feeling.

So now I realize that taking a break is probably the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I am currently working at my former Montessori school, working in the office and around the school helping wherever I am needed. And in January I plan on transferring to the University of Toledo to finish my degree and feel good about the grades I earn. I'm even interested in going on to get my Master's degree as well, but let's wait until after my first good semester at UT to talk about that... :)