Outdoor Adventures With Narcolepsy

I went camping with my service dog, Kida, this past weekend. She is a German Shepherd, covered in thick fur that sheds in endless clumps.

It was a 40-minute drive to the campsite – not too bad! But also not the shortest. I prefer to take shorter trips to ensure that I can drive the distance safely with my narcolepsy, especially after exerting myself from adventuring.

Taking safety precautions to travel with narcolepsy

People react strongly when I talk about traveling alone as a woman, let alone as a person with narcolepsy. Just like there are things I have to do to ensure my safety while traveling as a woman, there are things I have to do to ensure my safety while traveling with narcolepsy.

I tend to overcompensate when it comes to outdoors safety due to my condition. Certain activities aren’t suitable for someone who cannot stay alert or loses muscle control randomly.

Swimming as safely as possible with my service dog

For example, I took my dog down to the river by our campsite. There were free life jackets and signs stating how important it was to watch for undercurrents; even though rivers appear calm from the surface, there can be dangerous undercurrents lurking beneath.

I made sure to wear a life jacket in case I had a cataplexy attack while in the river. I had my service dog on a rope and didn’t want anything to happen to her, either, so I tried to put a life jacket on her. It didn’t fit!

Sleepiness set in while I floated in the river

We were able to swim for a while, but it didn’t take long for me to get tired. I was already exhausted from the drive. I started “resting my eyes” while floating the river in my life jacket. Minnows darted around my feet, tickling me. The bright blue sky became too bright for my eyes.

This is usually a good indication of sleepiness setting in. I was able to hold on to my rope, tied to my service dog, and take a short rest while floating. Once my dog realized how tired I was, she started acting up (typical), so we made our way back to our campsite.

Camping in my car to save energy for the drive home

I’ve had the experience in the past of trying to drive home after packing up camp. It didn’t work out so great – I was so tired that even the short trip was too much for me to take without getting a nap in first. So this camping trip, I decided to try something different.

All I did for “setting up camp” was back into the campsite with my car, lay down the seats, and set up a bed in the back for Kida and me to share. The next day, when it was time to pack up and go home, all I had to do was roll up my bedding, set up the back seat again, and load Kida into the car.

This made the drive so much easier – I wasn’t tired from packing up an entire tent by myself. Instead, I was nursing back pain from sleeping on the hard plastic of my car. But – c’est la vie!

What tips do you have for adventuring with narcolepsy? Please share – I need all the help I can get!