Today's Auditory Hallucination

Just as I was falling asleep, I was thinking about my ex-girlfriend or something and somewhere in that land between asleep and really asleep (Narcoleptics are never really awake, we are just either sleepy, asleep or really asleep ...) I definitely heard a knock on my bedroom door.

I don't know if I was thinking it was her or what, but it brought me back from being asleep to that hazy concious state and I awoke, thinking no way did someone just knock on my door, had to be a hallucination. It was odd, normally if a hallucination occurs my heart is racing and I'm freaking out, or I'll at least have to seriously consider, "Did someone knock? Am I being abducted by aliens or can I go back to sleep?"

But today I woke up and it was so preposterous to me that their could have been a knock on my door I didn't even remotely consider it.

I've woken up and had to consider if there really was a murder in my ex-girlfriend's apartment, a ghost on my stairs at home, that I heard music when every electrical item was off. However, someone knocking on my door ... NOOOOO WAY is that possible! Just laught it off and go back to bed.

Then again maybe I was abducted by aliens and the knock I heard was me being teleported back to my bed. I just hope that I threw off all the data they've been collecting on humans and sleep. :)

First Celebrity Trend of '07: NARCOLEPSY!

The first celebrity trend of 2007, according to VH1's hilarious program Best Week Ever, was "CELEBRITY NARCOLEPSY"!!!

Here's the blog posting from VH1's program about it:

Ladies and gents, only 3 days into the new year, and we already have our first official Celebrity Trend of 2007: Narcolepsy!

The trend was first spotted nary an hour or two after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s, when party host Britney Spears‘ spontaneously fell asleep on the dancefloor of the Las Vegas nightclub Pure. Check out this report:

She had been seated on a VIP tented-cabana bed overlooking the dance floor at 12:50 AM talking with one of her male dancers. She signed to he crew she wanted to leave and as she stood up, “she went into a dead faint and just fell right to the floor.”

Brit’s heavy entourage pulled her up and laid her on the bed at the same time… Eventually, Brit’s 12-man-strong security force was in place, as two of her dancers wrapped her in a blanket-hooded poncho.

Sure, we know what you’re thinking: That slut was just drunk! But you’d be wrong, Mr. Jump2Conclusions. Because her publicists assure us that, in fact, Britney was just tired and fell spontaneously asleep! Poor tired baby! Looks like she was caught by a narc… olepsy!

Also on New Year’s, Jessica Simpson was seen sitting down on a couch, then immediately laying down on the ground to catch some Z’s. A kind-hearted Q-Tip was able to quietly awake the pop star, just in time to make out for 10 hours with John Mayer.

Even Vanessa Minnillo couldn’t help but catch some shut-eye while walking out of the back exit at Marquee. Could narcolepsy be the new rage of ‘07! We certainly hope ssdjklsdjfskld…. (snore.)

There were numerous interesting comments from readers/viewers attached to the post.

"that’s odd, with the exception of q-tip the people listed in this blog cause me to have instant narcolepsy. my resolution is to care even less about these people, if humanly possible."

I love that it’s NARC Olepsy. Telling isn’t it? Especially in Britney’s case. I think it was WAY more NARC than Olepsy. LOL

Narcolepsy isn’t a joke, it’s a difficult life.
Brittney however is a joke that just won’t seem to go away.

I agree with sleepyknitter. I used to make jokes about narcolepsy until I was diagnosed w/ it. It can be a completly disabling disease in which falling asleep and falling (catalplexy) is only a fraction, though dangorous, of its many symptoms. It’s not fun having the sleep attacks, or cataplexy, 30-40 times a day. But, it would be good if it was a celebrity “trend”. That way maybe awareness and research $$$ would be pushed better.Now I find other things to laugh at (including myself).But the people you wrote about reek with yesturday’s news. On to new things!

Narcolepsy and Hallucinations: Part II

***Before reading this post you may want to check out the post previous to this (just scroll the page or click the link if you must), titled Narcolepsy and Hallucinations: Part I.***

To make matter worse for Narcoleptics that suffer hallucination, the hallucinations often times accompany sleep paralysis.

Well isn't that just wonderful, not only can you not move while you're falling asleep or waking up, you're seeing/hearing things! And according to everyone, but Standford, what you're seeing and hearing is often really freaky!

So I guess maybe don't watch horror movies ever ... and just try to be like Peter Pan and think Happy Thoughts all the time...

Fortunately I have yet to experience sleep paralysis, however, if I ever do I'm just going to try and think of big turtles holding the hands of nice old ladies in hopes that Stanford's definition is most accurate.

I am pretty sure I suffer from mild hallucinations. I know that from time to time I have seen things (more on those stories later), and last semester I woke up at one point int he middle of the night to use the restroom, and as I was falling back asleep I started hearing things and I thought someone was trying to break in to the apartment to murder me and my ex-girlfriend (she was my g/f at the time and it was at her place that this happened). I totally flipped out. I kind of thought it was a dream though, it was weird.

And the reason that I even posted about the hallucinations at all is that yesterday as I was falling asleep in the afternoon in my bedroom to catch a nap, right before falling asleep I swore I heard music. Like i heard music, but nothing was on anywhere and it was so subtle and faint that I thought if I wasnt laying perfectly still in an empty house i probably couldn't hear it. And it was driving me crazy becuase I couldn't figure out where the music was coming from ...
and then I was out.

Pretty sure that was, as NINDS puts it, an auditory delusional experience. I have those fairly frequently actually.

Well at least it's better than seeing things!

-Jim-

Narcolepsy and Hallucinations: Part I

The hallmark symptoms of Narcolepsy are Excessive Daytime sleepiness and Cataplexy, as well as the intrusion of REM sleep (that's when you dream) at times it should not occur. One result of being thrust into REM sleep immediately upon falling asleep or coming out of REM right before you wake up, is that hallucinations can occur, and thus hallucinations are one other major symptom of Narcolepsy, although not necessarily a defining attribute.

I don't think anyone defines hallucinations better than the National Institute of Neurological Disorders (NINDS) when they state:

These delusional experiences are unusually vivid and frequently frightening. Most often, the content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved.

Man, hallucinations just sound like a bucket full of joy, don't they?! I think it's the fact NINDS refers to them as "delusional experiences". Haha, why not just say what you're really saying:

Hallucinations are when the crazies hear and see thing as they fall asleep or wake up.

George Washington University defines hallucinations a little more plainly, and makes sufferers sound a little less loco by stating that hallucinations are...

vivid and often scary dreams and sounds reported when falling asleep.

Is it really just me, or does that not sound nearly as bad?!? It's just me, isn't it? Or am i just hallucinating that people are actually reading this article? :)

Notably the world-renowned Narcolepsy research facility at Stanford University defines them the least horrific by stating:

During hypnagogic hallucinations, patients experience dream-like auditory or visual hallucinations, while dozing or falling asleep.

That sounds almost pleasant. Like, "oh I'm drifting to sleep in my chair and wait, is that Aunt Betty? Hasn't she been dead since I was six? And why is she holding hands that Turtle? Wait, does since when doTurtles have hands?!?"

If I had hallucinations like that I'd look forward to falling asleep a lot more often!

Finding support is like coming out of the closet...

One of the most important parts about being Narcoleptic or knowing someone who is Narcoleptic, is finding a support group.

It's amazing how it feels to know that there are other people like you. I can't explain it! Unfortunately there are none around this area, or most areas, however, the web is an amazing thing and there are numerous on-line support communities.

My absolute favorite comes from TalkAboutSleep.com. I mean seriously, the site slogan is "ALL SLEEP, ALL THE TIME" ... you know it's my kinda place! They have a ton of different forums dedicated to sleeping, for those with sleeping disorders and those without!

Anyway, they actually have two forums, the Narcolepsy Forum and a Narcolepsy Forum for those under age 30.

I strongly recommend both. But don't take my word for it! On a recent forum posting to t he Under 30 board, a poster had this to say: "Hey I'm Jess. I am so glad that I found this website. It is like coming out when your gay! I feel so relieved that there are more of you, like me, out there."

I think that quote says it all!