Can you develop cataplexy later in life?
Can you develop cataplexy later in life?
The symptoms of cataplexy may appear weeks or even years after the onset of EDS. Some people may only have one or two attacks in a lifetime, while others may experience many attacks a day. In about 10 percent of cases of narcolepsy, cataplexy is the first symptom to appear and can be misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.
How can cataplexy be diagnosed?
Tests can help diagnose narcolepsy with cataplexy, but a diagnosis is also based on the patient’s description of events and history. Often, an individual complains to a doctor about excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) with a persistent background feeling of sleepiness during waking hours.
Does cataplexy worsen with age?
Symptoms are generally stable across adulthood, though sleepiness and cataplexy may improve slightly with age. Sleepiness that worsens in adulthood may be caused by the sedating effects of medications or the development of an additional sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea.
When do you start to notice symptoms of cataplexy?
Most people start to notice their symptoms as teenagers or as young adults. This is usually when you enter college, the workforce, or other new, potentially stressful environments. Some possible symptoms of cataplexy episodes include: drooping eyelids. jaw dropping. head falling to the side due to neck muscle weakness.
How often do people with narcolepsy have cataplexy attacks?
Cataplexy attacks are usually triggered by an emotion, such as excitement, laughter, anger or surprise. Attacks can last from a few seconds to several minutes. Some people with narcolepsy have cataplexy attacks once or twice a year, while others have them several times a day.
What are the risks and benefits of cataplexy?
It can strain your close relationships as well as your professional life. But cataplexy can be managed with treatment and lifestyle changes. Once you get it under control, you can lower your risk of having an episode while doing something potentially dangerous, such as driving.
Which is the best antidepressant for cataplexy?
1 tricyclic antidepressants, such as clomipramine (Anafranil) 2 selective serotonin uptake reinhibitors (SSRIs), another type of antidepressant, such as fluoxetine (Prozac) or venlafaxine (Effexor XR) 3 sodium oxybate (Xyrem), which can help with both cataplexy and sleepiness during the day
How old do you have to be to have cataplexy?
Symptoms of cataplexy associated with narcolepsy often begin in childhood and young adulthood, between the ages of 7 and 25 years, but it can start at any time. Cataplectic attacks can vary widely. They may be mild and barely noticeable or severe with full body collapse.
How often does cataplexy occur in narcolepsy patients?
The symptoms of cataplexy may appear weeks or even years after the onset of EDS. Some people may only have one or two attacks in a lifetime, while others may experience many attacks a day. In about 10 percent of cases of narcolepsy, cataplexy is the first symptom to appear and can be misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.
Most people start to notice their symptoms as teenagers or as young adults. This is usually when you enter college, the workforce, or other new, potentially stressful environments. Some possible symptoms of cataplexy episodes include: drooping eyelids. jaw dropping. head falling to the side due to neck muscle weakness.
Why is it important to know about cataplexy?
Cataplexy reflects intermittent brief intrusions of voluntary muscle paralysis, normally associated with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, typically when an awake subject experiences or expects a positive emotion. It is a fascinating clinical phenomenon but also important to recognise for several reasons.