When playing soccer, she fell when she had a clear opportunity to score a goal. She later confided to her mother that she lost strength at that moment. Narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a disorder of unknown etiology, which is characterized by excessive sleepiness, typically associated with cataplexy and other REM sleep phenomena such as sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. 1963 Rechtschaffen et al. and Takahashi and Jimbo, independently report nocturnal sleep onset REM periods in narcolepsy. Main symptoms Excessive daytime sleepiness.
Stimulants are the main medications used to treat the sleepiness of narcolepsy.
Pemoline is often used initially because of its milder stimulant effect and relative safety in childhood. If not effective then methylphenidate dextroamphetamine are next choice. Other meds. include modafinil. Cataplexy is characterized by bilateral loss of muscle tone provoked by strong emotion. Episodes usually only last seconds to minutes duration.