Can you have narcolepsy without cataplexy?
Narcolepsy without cataplexy is a subtype, also known as narcolepsy type 2. It means someone experiences sleepiness and other symptoms of narcolepsy, but not cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle tone. Only a healthcare professional can diagnose and treat narcolepsy.
What cataplexy feels like?
Cataplexy is sudden muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions like embarrassment, laughter, surprise, or anger. Cataplexy can cause your head to drop, your face to droop, your jaw to weaken, or your knees to give way. Attacks can also affect your whole body and cause you to fall down.
What mimics cataplexy?
Cataplexy mimics include syncope, epilepsy, hyperekplexia, drop attacks and pseudocataplexy. They can be differentiated from cataplexy using thorough history taking, supplemented with (home)video recordings whenever possible.
What does mild cataplexy look like?
Cataplexy occurs during waking hours. During a mild attack, there may be a barely visible weakness in a muscle, such as drooping of the eyelids. A more severe episode may involve a total body collapse. Although it is a different condition, cataplexy is sometimes misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.
Why did Harriet Tubman faint a lot?
DONNELLA: In the movie, Tubman’s visions protect her. They warn her when danger is coming. In real life, those fainting spells were the result of a traumatic head injury. KATE CLIFFORD LARSON: When she was 13 years old, she was accidentally hit in the head by a two-pound weight.
What is cataplexy?
Cataplexy is a sudden muscle weakness that occurs while a person is awake. Strong emotions trigger cataplexy 1. The triggering experiences are usually positive, like laughter, witty conversations, and pleasant surprise. Episodes may also be triggered by anger, but rarely by stress, fear, or physical exertion.
Is cataplexy a symptom of narcolepsy?
Cataplexy. In its typical presentation, cataplexy is defined as a sudden and transient loss of skeletal muscle tone triggered by strong emotions (Fig. 8.2 ). It is the core symptom of narcolepsy type 1 (Na-1, with hypocretin deficiency) and is almost always absent in narcolepsy type 2 (Na-2, without hypocretin deficiency).
What happens during an episode of cataplexy?
Episodes of cataplexy can vary in severity. Less severe episodes involve momentary sensations of weakness in a few muscles, while more severe episodes involve a total loss of voluntary muscle control. During more severe episodes, a person collapses and cannot move or speak.
How is cataplexy diagnosed and treated?
Cataplexy is usually diagnosed based on an interview with patients and their families 10. In an interview, doctors are looking for the classic signs of cataplexy. A doctor may ask about how often a person experiences episodes and how long they last, triggering events, and which muscles are affected.