How your sleep specialists in Columbia, SC, can help if you have narcolepsy

Do you feel drowsy during the day, and sometimes fall asleep at inappropriate times? If so, you could have a rare condition known as narcolepsy. Fortunately, it’s a treatable condition, and you need to seek out help from a sleep specialist.

The sleep specialists at Bogan Sleep Consultants in Columbia, SC, offer a wide range of sleep medicine services, including diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States suffer from narcolepsy, according to the National Sleep Foundation. If you are one of them, you already know how disruptive the condition can be.

Narcolepsy is a condition that affects your sleeping and waking cycles. Instead of rapid eye movement or REM cycle occurring later in your sleep cycle, when you have narcolepsy, REM sleep happens within minutes of falling asleep. This causes your entire sleep pattern to be altered.

Narcolepsy has some serious side effects, including:

  • Excessive sleepiness during the day
  • Automatic behaviors that you are unaware of
  • Waking up multiple times during the night
  • Inability to move, known as sleep paralysis
  • Hallucinations when you fall asleep or wake up
  • Sudden loss of muscle control, known as cataplexy
  • Restlessness and irritability, often seen in children

Narcolepsy can be a dangerous condition for people who operate machinery, or if you are driving. It is estimated that if you have narcolepsy, you are 3 to 4 times more likely to be involved in a car accident, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Treatment for narcolepsy begins with a comprehensive examination by a sleep specialist. This can include a sleep study to determine if you do have narcolepsy.

If narcolepsy is confirmed, your sleep specialist may recommend:

  • Medication therapy; includes medications to reduce daytime sleepiness and cataplexy
  • Behavioral modification; can include incorporating short naps into your day, increased exercise, maintaining a sleep schedule, and limiting sedatives and alcohol.

You can get relief from narcolepsy symptoms. To learn more about the diagnosis and treatment options of narcolepsy, call the sleep specialists of Bogan Sleep Consultants in Columbia, SC, at (803) 251-3093. Call today!