Weird [sleep?]driving experiences.
Question:
I have had narcolepsy since 1983.I have been on medication since 1/96 i don’t think the the doseage is right yet.IF anyone is on dexedrine let me know how it works.
Response:
My daughters friend has a new baby girl about a month or so old. At night her arms often quiver or otherwise shake and they tried to wake her up and could not get her to wake up for about five minutes. The parents are scared to death and the mother holds her all day because she is afraid to put her down. They plan to see a neurologist. Could this be a sleep related illness ? Gene
Response:
Gene Sarver wrote: > My daughters friend has a new baby girl about a month or so old. At night > her arms often quiver or otherwise shake and they tried to wake her up and > could not get her to wake up for about five minutes. The parents are > scared to death and the mother holds her all day because she is afraid to > put her down. They plan to see a neurologist. Could this be a sleep > related illness ? > Gene
I think most of us (myself included) are way out of our league on this one. I remember when my second child was first born and she slept very heavily for sometimes 10 or 12 hours at a time. I used to try to wake her to feed her every 4 hours, which the pediatrician recommended. It was virtually impossible to wake her when she wanted to eat. Both of my kids were very active in their sleep, even as infants. Babies do twitch and startle while sleeping, make noises, and other disturbing activities. This sounds a little bit similar, but could be something very serious. You can never be too careful with your children. I would get to my pediatrician immediately!! Insist that they evaluate the baby, and request an apnea monitor for the parents to use while the baby sleeps. Holding the baby 24 hours a day can only last so long …
Response:
Rylan (ry…@aol.com) posted: =On Sunday nights going back to the base I would have the same experience. =I would be an hour or two down the road and not remember getting there. =It happened a lot. I have a very strong will when driving to not fall =asleep and find that a pumpkin or sunflower seed in my mouth will help =keep me awake. I have found that no matter how tired I am, if I have _anything_ to eat while I’m driving I can keep myself awake (at least until I run out of that food supply). —Kevin Simonson
Response:
Dear Keeper: What you describe sounds like automatic behavior experienced by people with narcolepsy. I’m not saying it is limited to that disorder, but it is a possibility. Other symptoms of narcolepsy include: excessive daytime sleepiness, vivid dreams or images while going to sleep or waking up, awareness of sleep paralysis, disrupted nighttime sleep and cataplexy (sudden, brief loss of muscle control which can be very slight or result in total body collapse). Sleepiness is the only symptom necessary for a diagnosis–other symptoms may or may not be present. Other symptoms/consequences may include: short attention span and trouble concentrating, fatigue, ocular problems, and depression. If you have any of these symptoms and want further info, please contact me at my e-mail address. Marguerite Utley, author, "Narcolepsy: A Funny Disorder That’s No Laughing Matter"
Response:
In article <19970317125901.HAA12…@ladder01.news.aol.com>, Rylan <ry…@aol.com> writes >When I was in the navy I drove on the weekends to a big city for fun. (3 >1/2 hours). >On Sunday nights going back to the base I would have the same experience. >I would be an hour or two down the road and not remember getting there. >It happened a lot. I have a very strong will when driving to not fall >asleep and find that a pumpkin or sunflower seed in my mouth will help >keep me awake. (Now I know it was the apnea I was fighting.) One time I >hallucinated and saw a hugh steel wall across the road. Scared the crap >out of me. It was at night and so real. >Rylan
I too experienced similar hallucinations whilst driving at night, distant cars and lorries would become faces, animals or other such objects. I felt as if I was in a dream like state, and the shapes seen were interpretations of the shapes and shadows I was seeing. I always kept a packet of caffeine tablets in the car, two or three of them kept me going for another half hour (I thought that I was tired because of a two hour each way journey to work – I now know better). Luckily I never had a crash, a few near misses though – you probably know the scene, a distant vehicle suddenly appears six feet in front of you – the extra adrenaline also helped to wake me up! — Paul Kemp E Mail: p…@kemp.demon.co.uk Home Page: http://www.kemp.demon.co.uk/
Response:
miser…@mindspring.com (
