Living

When I was first diagnosed with narcolepsy type 2, I was not sure what to expect and thought I was alone since I don’t know anyone in person with narcolepsy...

Having grown up for most of my life in the United Kingdom, where the common colour of the sky is grey and taking vitamin D daily is standard practise, I...

I haven't been sleeping well. Just because my body tells me I am exhausted, doesn't mean I will fall asleep well or even quickly. Things often roll around in my...

Untreated narcolepsy places a huge burden on the lives of people living with the condition. Problems at school and work are common, leading to poor education and unemployment. Relationships suffer...

Dear Stranger, I see you eyeing me from across the room. Your table is in the other corner of the restaurant and you won’t stop looking at me. I know...

It may sound weird, but once I had everything approved through insurance and had my sleep study booked, I was oddly excited. I mean, who really wants to sleep in...

“I just really like boobs,” I cried to my college roommates once. “You know, sometimes we really wonder about you!” they giggled, the attractive sporty blonde duo that they were...

Have you ever found out important information and it was something you had to explain to basically everyone anytime you meet someone? My experience with narcolepsy so far is just...

Disease burden is a term doctors use to talk about how much an illness impacts a person’s life. It will come as no surprise to anyone with it that narcolepsy...

I am in bed, my sheets tangled around my limbs. My hair is sticking out in sections of tangled curls. I’ve taken my medication an hour earlier, but my body...

For anyone who has read my work in the past, you may be aware that I’ve been taking a new medication for about 3.5 years. Xyrem has allowed me to...

“You must have needed it.”  This is the phrase I have heard for most of my life when I have awakened from a nap. I never really paid attention to...

“What do you do?” If I were granted control of conversational dialogue, I would remove this question from the vernacular. No longer would the first question asked during introductions center...

Welcome to part 4 of my series on "Mom Life and Narcolepsy." As we discuss the elementary years, I want to share a little about myself. My oldest was in...

Have you ever had someone think you were being rude because you couldn't sit still or because you were constantly fidgeting? I know that feeling all too well! For years...

I have been living with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember. Old journals written by my 8-year-old self reveal everything from suicide ideation to frequent panic...

My world is different from yours. When I wake up in the morning, my first thoughts are never about what I’ll be doing that day, or rehashing some likely dramas...

We first started to understand the connection between narcolepsy and our immune system after the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Doctors saw a surge of new narcolepsy cases after people recovered from...

My diagnosis journey was a long 20 years full of misdiagnoses and misunderstandings. When I was young and until I was diagnosed, I always felt like something was off but...

As a person with type 1 narcolepsy, I often struggle to feel gratified from the food that I eat. A 2016 study found that it is common for people with...