Can you get narcolepsy later in life

Narcolepsy is a condition that affects the nervous system. Narcolepsy is a rare chronic condition. Experts estimate it affects about 1 in 2, people. The symptoms of narcolepsy usually begin between the ages of 10 and 25 years, although the condition is often not recognized right away and often misdiagnosed.

In a majority of cases, it also causes unexpected and temporary loss of muscle control, known as cataplexy. This can be mistaken for seizure activity, especially in children. Also, people with narcolepsy can have difficulty maintaining jobs, doing well in school, and have problems maintaining relationships due to the attacks of excessive daytime sleepiness. Everyone with narcolepsy has excessive daytime sleepiness EDS , in which you suddenly experience an overwhelming urge to sleep.

EDS makes it difficult to function properly during the day. Cataplexy is a sudden, temporary loss of muscle tone. It can range from drooping eyelids referred to as partial cataplexy to total body collapse. Laughing and intense emotions, such as excitement and fear, can trigger cataplexy.

How often it occurs varies from person to person. It can happen several times per day to once a year. Sometimes cataplexy may occur later in the disease course, or it may not be known if you take medications that suppress it, such as certain antidepressants. REM sleep is the sleep stage when you have vivid dreams with loss of muscle tone. It usually starts about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. REM sleep can happen at any time of day for people with narcolepsy, within about 15 minutes after falling asleep.

Sleep paralysis is an inability to move or speak while falling asleep, sleeping, or waking. Episodes last only a few seconds or minutes. Sleep paralysis mimics the paralysis seen during REM sleep.

People with narcolepsy may have vivid hallucinations at the same time as sleep paralysis. The hallucinations usually occur when falling asleep or waking up. You may also experience decreased alertness and focus throughout the day. Excessive daytime sleepiness usually is the first symptom to appear and is often the most troublesome, making it difficult for you to concentrate and fully function.

Sudden loss of muscle tone. This condition, called cataplexy KAT-uh-plek-see , can cause a number of physical changes, from slurred speech to complete weakness of most muscles, and may last up to a few minutes. Cataplexy is uncontrollable and is triggered by intense emotions, usually positive ones such as laughter or excitement, but sometimes fear, surprise or anger.

For example, when you laugh, your head may droop uncontrollably or your knees may suddenly buckle. Some people with narcolepsy experience only one or two episodes of cataplexy a year, while others have numerous episodes daily. Not everyone with narcolepsy experiences cataplexy. Sleep paralysis. People with narcolepsy often experience a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking. These episodes are usually brief — lasting a few seconds or minutes — but can be frightening.

You may be aware of the condition and have no difficulty recalling it afterward, even if you had no control over what was happening to you. This sleep paralysis mimics the type of temporary paralysis that normally occurs during a period of sleep called rapid eye movement REM sleep. This temporary immobility during REM sleep may prevent your body from acting out dream activity. Not everyone with sleep paralysis has narcolepsy, however. Many people without narcolepsy experience some episodes of sleep paralysis.

People with narcolepsy may have other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea — a condition in which breathing starts and stops throughout the night — restless legs syndrome and even insomnia. Some people with narcolepsy experience automatic behavior during brief episodes of narcolepsy.

For example, you may fall asleep while performing a task you normally perform, such as writing, typing or driving, and you continue to perform that task while asleep. When you awaken, you can't remember what you did, and you probably didn't do it well. See your doctor if you experience excessive daytime sleepiness that disrupts your personal or professional life.

The exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown. People with type 1 narcolepsy have low levels of the chemical hypocretin hi-poe-KREE-tin. Hypocretin is an important neurochemical in your brain that helps regulate wakefulness and REM sleep. Hypocretin levels are particularly low in those who experience cataplexy. A number of factors may increase a person's risk of narcolepsy or cause an autoimmune problem.

Research carried out in found an association between the flu vaccine, Pandemrix, which was used during the swine flu epidemic of , and narcolepsy in children. The risk is very small, with the chance of developing narcolepsy after having a dose of the vaccine estimated to be around 1 in 52, The total time someone with narcolepsy spends sleeping is not necessarily different from that of people who do not have the condition. During REM sleep, your brain activity increases and you may dream.

During the latter part of the night, REM sleep is more prominent. If you have narcolepsy, this pattern is much more fragmented and you may wake several times during the night. You may also experience REM sleep much earlier than normal after falling asleep, and the effects of REM sleep, such as dreaming and paralysis, while you're still conscious. Narcolepsy can sometimes be the result of an underlying condition that damages the areas of the brain that produce hypocretin.