• 💖 [Donate To Keep MyPTSD Online] 💖 Every contribution, no matter how small, fuels our mission and helps us continue to provide peer-to-peer services. Your generosity keeps us independent and available freely to the world. MyPTSD closes if we can't reach our annual goal.

Other Cataplexy

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sisyphe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataplexy

Does anyone else have cataplexy? The wikipedia page says it's really rare, but it doesn't seem that uncommon to me to see someone fall over laughing or have their jaw drop when they're shocked, so I'm wondering if a lot of people have it to some degree but it's just not a common thing in most people's lives.

I used to crumple to the floor whenever I tried to run away from my abuser, and I always thought it was my own fault for being too scared, but when I think of all the other times I've crumpled over laughing, maybe it was just cataplexy and had nothing to do with me being any more scared than I should have been. It makes me wonder if the cataplexy might have actually contributed to my PTSD by making me more helpless than I should have been and more anxious, whereas I was always assuming it was my inability to cope with the trauma and manage my anxiety that was causing the cataplexy. I definitely do remember having cataplexy before my first traumatic experiences, so I don't think it was the traumatic events that made me more anxious and more likely to experience cataplexy.

If anyone else has had experiences with cataplexy I really would like to know just how common it is and if you think it has anything to do with your PTSD.
 
Cataplexys are directly related with Narcolepsy, a sleep disorder in which the brain enters REM sleep immediatly when falling asleep, and sometimes even when awake. If you really are suffering from cataplexys, you should go to a sleep lab and get tested. And if you continue to suffer from them and aren't narcoleptic, you might be one of the medical marvels, because cataplexys are a symptom of narcolepsy and no other disorder, and they aren't something to be looked lightly upon. Other symptoms of narcolepsy are hallucinations when waking up or falling asleep, sleep paralysis, and constant day-time sleepiness.

I used to think I have narcolepsy (might still have it) so I did a lot of research on it. For me, if I get less than 9 hours of sleep a night, I begin to hallucinate throughout the day, and vividly before I fall asleep. I also suffer from day-time sleepiness, and generally when I fall asleep, I start drifting off into a dream - quite literally. But the one symptom I never seemed to really have was cataplexys. One of my eyes and eyebrows droop occasionally, but it might not be severe enough to be considered a cataplexy. I don't know.

Anyways, I really think you should get tested. Cataplexys are a sure fire sign of narcolepsy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top