Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy, in very layman terms is defined as urges to sleep and inability to control that urge at odd hours of the day, i.e in the morning, afternoon, evening. It normally occurs after meals, when reading and the like. On a more clear definition:

What is Narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience fleeting urges to sleep. If the urge becomes overwhelming, individuals will fall asleep for periods lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, some people may remain asleep for an hour or longer. In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), three other major symptoms frequently characterize narcolepsy: cataplexy, or the sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone; vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or upon awakening; and brief episodes of total paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep. Narcolepsy is not definitively diagnosed in most patients until 10 to 15 years after the first symptoms appear. The cause of narcolepsy remains unknown. It is likely that narcolepsy involves multiple factors interacting to cause neurological dysfunction and sleep disturbances.

This is what I encounter during lectures.

The Nervous System is in the third week in progress. I'm still at the first lecture of the first week. Total bummer. I go for lectures, and the next thing I know, I'm falling asleep, scribbling some words here and there that I find might be useful. As much as I try to prevent myself from sleeping, I just fail miserably. So, to prevent embarrassing moments of falling forward, I just put my face on the table and GO TO SLEEP. The other day for CSU, despite not studying the Cranial Nerves before hand, I went to sleep in the briefing room when the video for cranial nerves was going on. I was sitting at the front row seat.

Nevermind that I am in sem 5 and I am suppose to have a hairstyle like Einstein's and dress like the guys in Chemical Romance. The juniors from Sem 1 come over to me and ask me why I look so relaxed. Little do they know that I actually have a defect with my Facial Cranial Nerve, i.e. CN7. Nevermind that I have about 9 weeks to EOS and hardly did any revision. I feel horrible.

The good thing is, I always feel that everything will be all right at the end. In this case, I have to MAKE SURE it will be all right tat the end of the day. It better be.

As I practice my clinical skills in the hospital , I realize that I have not forgotten the essentials, this means, I only have to be a little bit more disciplined and it will all be ok. Although, sometimes the thought of memorizing every single Pathophysiology, Rick factors, Sign & Symptoms for EVERY single disease is scary ( ahem: Prasad, familiar??).

I have been guiding some Sem 1s recently (academically and I find it rather useful spending some time teaching them. It helps me in a way. Hmmm.....

Anyway, unlike Adeline, who has an end goal in everything that she does, this post does not. It is just me , a grouch complaining about me, myself and I. So, this is not worth the time to read.