Cause

Thank you for confirming this. Doctors in our area are unaware of narcolepsy so it has been a very rough 5 years of several misdiagnoses and chronic mistreatment. All symptoms are present and extreme due to meds that increase tiredness. To add to this, catatonia keeps returning and masked symptoms for the first 3 years and will continue until the underlying cause is treated. Fluoxitine is helping as it is a stimulant used in IH and is reducing severe cataplexy but the sleep attacks are excessive so often wide awake and dreaming along with automatism and impaired awareness. Sleep meds are desperately needed but now awaiting advice from top doctors.

Hi . I hope you get some responses from the community. We still don't know everything about what causes narcolepsy, but if it is an autoimmune disease, it makes sense that it might develop after a bout of COVID. Infections can cause the immune system to accidentally attack the brain cells that make hypocretin. That loss of hypocretin can then cause Type 1 narcolepsy. Here is an article about the causes of narcolepsy that might interest you: https://narcolepsy.sleep-disorders.net/types. Are you on a treatment plan that helps? Wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member)