Dear Georgia,
Today is the day and your results of your MSLT are conclusive. I know you felt in denial, Narcolepsy? Really? Nah! Then the doctor nicely tells you and shows you on the computer the results. He told you that you fell asleep in less than 5 minutes for all your naps. I know deep down inside you felt that it was going to unfold this way but you were hoping it wouldn't happen. For the past twenty some odd years fighting feeling tired and being diagnosed with CFS to Fibromyalgia. Why did it take so long? How did this get missed? I know the cataplexy just started happening this past year but why did it take this long to figure it out? You know in the back of your mind you thought about it. Being tired all the time and taking naps in the car at work. It was really becoming a fight of just living. Drinking so much coffee to the point of overload was a sign but you tried to ignore it. Finally a name to what has been going on for a very long time. Some closure to what has been going on for decades. You feel anger, sadness and why me.
As you start your new Narcolepsy journey you will start to notice things that you thought were normal. You lay there falling asleep and start to dream. Then you think, wait, I am not asleep, oh, wow! Yes, part of the narcolepsy that you thought was normal. The medication will bring you a change and help you feel more awake and you will see a difference. Your son will be six this year and you will have more energy to spend with him. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. You will be able to work, be a mom, be spiritual and be able to take online college courses, in fact three of them! You can do this! This is not the end but a new beginning, a beginning of starting your life. I am not saying it will be easy but it will be a lot better than before medication. You still need to nap but not the 2-3 hours you were napping on your days off before medication. Pace yourself and try not to stress the little things. Everything is going to be okay. I promise that from this day forward that it will be a tough journey but easier now you know it is Narcolepsy, really!
Sincerely,
Self
