Narcolepsy (Updated), A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Narcolepsy (Updated), Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Narcolepsy causes periods of extreme daytime sleepiness.
The disorder also may cause muscle weakness.
Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin.
This is a chemical in the brain that helps promote waking

Narcolepsy is believed to be due to the auto-immune disease
The immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues.
Low levels of histamine promote sleepiness.
Often the brain show evidence of mental cloudiness

The four main symptoms of Narcolepsy are cataplexy,
Extreme daytime sleepiness, hallucinations and sleep paralysis
Narcoleptics may have episodes where they fall asleep suddenly
Sleep may also happen in the middle of talking or another activity

Maintain a regular sleep schedule in a warmed environment
Avoid alcohol, caffeine-containing beverages and distractions
Avoid large, heavy meals just before sleeping
Take antidepressants and stimulants while working

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Narcolepsy can affect nearly every part of a person’s life.

It is dangerous since the person can have excessive sleepiness or a sleep attack at any time of the day, in the middle of any activity such as eating, walking or driving.

Driving a vehicle with untreated narcolepsy can be very dangerous and some countries even have laws against it.

Many people with narcolepsy do not recognize they have the sleep disorder.

About 1 in 2,000 people have some type of narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy may happen in some families, but most patients have no genetic inheritance.

I have a patient who had narcolepsy.

Once in a while when he consulted me, he would go into trance for a few minutes before waking up again.

He was treated by me for at least 10 years without a problem until one day he went into a narcolepsy episode while riding on his scooter and crashed into a car.

Happily his injuries were not severe and he recovered.

However he decided since then not to ride a scooter and took a bus instead.

He is still working in spite of his occasional narcoleptic episodes.

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder featured by sleeping at inappropriate times with intense feeling of sleepiness which ironically results in normal number of hours of sleep.

Narcolepsy is a disorder that induces periods of excessive, uncontrollable daytime sleepiness.

They may also suddenly fall asleep at any stage, during any form of activity.

The disorder also may produce muscle weakness.

It is not caused by mental illness or psychological disorders.

Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that affects and produces poor control of sleep-wake cycles.

People with narcolepsy have periods of extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, irresistible bouts of sleep that can happen at any time.

These sleep attacks normally persist a few seconds to several minutes.

Narcolepsy can greatly involve daily activities.

People may unwittingly fall asleep:
a. While at work or at school,
b. When having a conversation,
c. Playing a game,
d. Eating a meal,
e. When driving or operating other types of machinery.

Besides daytime sleepiness, other major symptoms may be:

1. Cataplexy (a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone while awake that makes a person go limp),
2. Vivid dream-like images or hallucinations,
3. Total paralysis just before falling asleep or just after waking-up.

People with narcolepsy do not use up a substantially greater part of their time asleep during a 24-hour period than do normal sleepers.

2 tests in particular are essential in confirming a diagnosis of narcolepsy: the polysomnogram (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT).

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Narcolepsy (Updated)
Chapter 2 Causes
Ch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jan 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463964675

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Narcolepsy (Updated),

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2020 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Narcolepsy (Updated), Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Narcolepsy (Updated))

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy causes periods of extreme daytime sleepiness.

The disorder also may cause muscle weakness.

Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin.

This is a chemical in the brain that helps promote waking

Narcolepsy is believed to be due to the auto-immune disease

The immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues.

Low levels of histamine promote sleepiness.

Often the brain show evidence of mental cloudiness

The four main symptoms of Narcolepsy are cataplexy,

Extreme daytime sleepiness, hallucinations and sleep paralysis

Narcoleptics may have episodes where they fall asleep suddenly

Sleep may also happen in the middle of talking or another activity

Maintain a regular sleep schedule in a warmed environment

Avoid alcohol, caffeine-containing beverages and distractions

Avoid large, heavy meals just before sleeping

Take antidepressants and stimulants while working

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Narcolepsy can affect nearly every part of a person’s life.

It is dangerous since the person can have excessive sleepiness or a sleep attack at any time of the day, in the middle of any activity such as eating, walking or driving.

Driving a vehicle with untreated narcolepsy can be very dangerous and some countries even have laws against it.

Many people with narcolepsy do not recognize they have the sleep disorder.

About 1 in 2,000 people have some type of narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy may happen in some families, but most patients have no genetic inheritance.

I have a patient who had narcolepsy.

Once in a while when he consulted me, he would go into trance for a few minutes before waking up again.

He was treated by me for at least 10 years without a problem until one day he went into a narcolepsy episode while riding on his scooter and crashed into a car.

Happily his injuries were not severe and he recovered.

However he decided since then not to ride a scooter and took a bus instead.

He is still working in spite of his occasional narcoleptic episodes.

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder featured by sleeping at inappropriate times with intense feeling of sleepiness which ironically results in normal number of hours of sleep.

Narcolepsy is a disorder that induces periods of excessive, uncontrollable daytime sleepiness.

They may also suddenly fall asleep at any stage, during any form of activity.

The disorder also may produce muscle weakness.

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder.

It is not caused by mental illness or psychological disorders.

Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that affects and produces poor control of sleep-wake cycles.

People with narcolepsy have periods of extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, irresistible bouts of sleep that can happen at any time.

These sleep attacks normally persist a few seconds to several minutes.

Narcolepsy can greatly involve daily activities.

People may unwittingly fall asleep:

a. While at work or at school,

b. When having a conversation,

c. Playing a game,

d. Eating a meal,

e. When driving or operating other types of machinery.

Besides daytime sleepiness, other major symptoms may be:

1. Cataplexy (a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone while awake that makes a person go limp or unable to move),

2. Vivid dream-like images or hallucinations,

3. Total paralysis just before falling asleep or just after waking-up.

In contrast to frequent beliefs, people with narcolepsy do not use up a substantially greater part of their time asleep during a 24-hour period than do normal sleepers.

Besides daytime drowsiness and uncontrollable sleep episodes, most persons also have poor sleep quality that can affect frequent waking during night time sleep and other sleep disorders.

For most adults a normal night's sleep persists about 8 hours and is composed of 4 to 6 separate sleep cycles.

A sleep cycle is depicted by a segment of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep accompanied by a period of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

The NREM segment can be further divided into progressively deeper stages of sleep according to the size and frequency of brain waves.

REM sleep is accompanied by bursts of rapid eye movement along with sharply heightened brain activity and temporary paralysis of