Re: Narcolepsy

If you are trying to go the natural route to improve your Narcolepsy symptoms, here are a few ideas.

One thing you can do is look at eliminating lots of carbohydrates from your diet. A 2003 study done at Duke University (published in the journal 'Neurology'
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/12/2300)
found that Excessive Daytime Sleepiness was improved 18% by eating a low-carb, ketogenic diet (similar to like an Atkins Diet).

Some in the scientific community think that Narcolepsy may have a link to autoimmune disorders; and a potential link to celiac disease, which is an intolerance to many of the proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye.

Either way, cutting down on carbs might help your sleepiness.

In addition, behavior modification like going to bed and getting up at the same time every day will also help.

Keep a journal for a few weeks and rate your "awakeness" on a scale of 1-10 at every hour on the hour. Look back and see if there are certain times of day that you are always very sleepy, and try to take a 20-minute nap about an hour before that time of day.

I would also say, why don't you see a different doctor? There are a number of other drugs out there for Narcolepsy that you could try that may not interact negatively with your recovery. For example, Effexor is an anti-depressant but it also acts on norepinephrine so there is a mild stimulant effect.

Try visiting
http://www.sleepcenters.org/
to see if there is another sleep physician in your area that may be better educated about current treatments for Narcolepsy than your current physician. Because of your status as a recovering addict, they may need to consult with someone like a Psychiatrist on the pharmacology, but it would be worth a shot.

Good luck. I did not see any improvement in my symptoms or my quality of life until I got on a medication AND behavior regimen. I strongly suggest seeing a different physician.