Here's the problem: I was really excited about this blog at first, but the longer I spent thinking about it, the less funny I could be about narcolepsy. I definitely don't want to have an entire blog about how much narcolepsy sucks, but I don't want it to seem like a walk in the park either. So basically, here is a list of a few quotes from other blogs that summarize why I don't think Narcolypso is going to be the comedic goldmine I had hoped...
1. "Narcoleptics do not sleep longer than normal during a typical 24-hour period, but their sleep is non-restorative" (from http://www.healthcentral.com/encyclopedia/408/509.html?ic=506048).
In other words, when you hear me say I got 10.5 hours of sleep last night, that does not mean I am well rested. It just means I was unconscious for a long time without getting any rest.
2. "Narcolepsy is depressing. Picture the life: You are intelligent, love to be active, involved, affectionate, and funny. But your illness makes you dull and slow. Mentally lethargic, you'd rather just listen to the conversation rather than participate. You can sometimes make it to the party, but the first thing you need to do is find a place to nap" (from narcolepticswife.blogspot.com).
Turns out a ton of narcoleptics are diagnosed with and medicated for depression for years before doctors realize that depression is not the problem. It's a symptom of a lifestyle that is just super unpleasant.
3. "And all of the people in my life, they got so mad at me. They told me I needed to get more sleep and eat right. I remember people telling me everything from how selfish I was for not doing things that I should have been doing, to someone asking me if I had a drug problem" (from narcolepsy-daily.blogspot.com).
Even worse than people actually saying these things is the constant paranoia that it's what they really think even if they aren't saying it.
4. "...[When] the potential to work for a person starts falling because of day-time feeling of sleepiness there are reasons that the person may...loose his or her potential to enjoy the positive things in life. A patient with narcolepsy can be compared to old people in the community who lose their status of being productive because of health reasons" (from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1551231/are_depression_and_narcolepsy_twins.html?cat=5).
Again, the point is not to make people feel sorry for me in reading this. What I want is for people to understand the constant frustration of this condition, and why maybe I'm not as fun as I used to be before my body attacked my own brain, killing the cells that produce orexin 1 & 2 (small proteins in the brain that regulate sleep). More science jargon available at http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_causes_narcolepsy_000098_2.htm.
So there you have it: why Narcolypso will rarely be funny from now on.
