About two months ago I started experiencing these the only reason I know about them is bc my spouse, family, or friends whoever happens to be around when they happen tell me about them when I come out of them sometimes it will last from seconds to a couple of minutes. However I have had such severe ones that last hours and one last the majority of the day. At first my spouse would get very angry I guess I am not very nice when I first go into this behavior they say its like I do everything in slow motion I attempt to do things but dont do a very good job. When I talk and walk they say its like a drunk person or someone on drugs. I denied these didnt believe ppl got very angry and I think those feelings were actually feelings of fear bc I had no clue what was going on. On attack was so severe I actually had a counselor appt through the state to continue my medicaid needless to say the state has found me disabled then we went to my grandmas and I was going to mow her yard well lets just say the yard didnt get finished and when my grandma got home I had just ran out of gas in lawn mower so I went inside to ask for more gas and she said"r u drunk or have u taken to much of your medications or on drugs bc u look like shit. Told me not to worry about finishing the yard". When she accused me of being on drugs it must have snapped me out of it bc I came back with some words. Also later I found out I was the talk of my family they also even made comments that my 2yr old nephew could have done a better job mowing. My family still after four yrs doesnt understand what I go through so I went home and did research about this and looked up other narcoleptic patients who have ecperienced these episodes once I got the facts. I informed my spouse and my family especially my grandma. So thats my story about automatic behavior im still looking for more answers and info on this symptom and would love to hear others stories and experiences so plz share with me to help me cope and understand this. Does anyone know how to tell that its coming before it happens or is there a medication to help?
Angie I have been told by mine wife and sons I have done the same just hang in there mine is usly after I have taken mine meds and if I out of meds for a few days
Thank you. I am just very worried that it will happen when I am home alone with our 15 month old little girl. We are looking at putting her into daycare while my spouse is at work. So hopefully when she gets into daycare that will relieve some stress and anciety which causes some of my other symptoms. Glad to hear im not alone thank u again
Angie this sounds really scary. At least daycare for your little one when you would otherwise be alone with her would take some of the anxiety away. What does your medical provider say?
Is there a danger that in a sleepy state you sometimes double up on meds? I wondered because after I took my nighttime trio of medications and then got up unable to sleep for pain, I took the whole lot again after I seemingly fell asleep at the kitchen table but continued to try to function and tidy the kitchen. Then, still out of it, decided it was bedtime I suppose and took the meds again. Since then I have counted my medications into one of those pill dispensers with the day of the week on it so at least I will know for sure if I have taken too many. Not saying for a minute that you did the same, just wondered if it was possible. Now I’m away to google automatic behaviour episodes.
Did you find this article Angie? It’s a lot to wade through though you could skip the first three pages, but describes very clearly what these episodes are and might be particularly helpful to your husband and other family members. It could make the episodes easier to handle. If you have a computer and printer it would be useful to have it printed out to hand to members of your family. You shouldn’t have to go through such negative, aggressive responses for something out of your control.>
http://benthamopen.com/toslpj/articles/V006/1TOSLPJ.pdf
Yes it is very possible I have down that several times not knowing it I did the samething I know divide all my medications into a daily dispenser for 4parts of the day and a extra one for as needed pills I did alot of research its hard to find on the interenet but I finally found wished I would have kept the sites. They say the cause is when your brain gets really tired but your body doesnt want to give up yet so basically your falls asleep on you and leaves your body to do whateve r it wishes. My spouses recorded me during one just smoking a cigarette and I couldnt believe how impaired I was no wondef ppl think im drunk or on drugs aduring these times.
Yes it is very possible I have down that several times not knowing it I did the samething I know divide all my medications into a daily dispenser for 4parts of the day and a extra one for as needed pills I did alot of research its hard to find on the interenet but I finally found wished I would have kept the sites. They say the cause is when your brain gets really tired but your body doesnt want to give up yet so basically your falls asleep on you and leaves your body to do whateve r it wishes. My spouses recorded me during one just smoking a cigarette and I couldnt believe how impaired I was no wondef ppl think im drunk or on drugs aduring these times.
Also thank you for the article.
Also my medical provider didnt give me much insight which was frustrating too. They are supposed to be there to help you so I am in the process of trying to get him to write referral for me to see a neurologist who specializes in narcolepsy and a psychiatrist who specializes in narcolepsy I would switch doctors altogether but I am in the middle of fighting for disability which the state of missouri has already found me disabled so know just waitinv for federal my lawyer says he is very positive I will get it I should have a court date coming anytime after october. I have read about others dosages and medications and I am on the minimum he refuse to up any yt? Hing even though I tell him how bad I am getting my spouse tells him how bad I am getting. The response I get is its bc I have a little one I finally went to a psychiatrist who thank god put me on sleeping meds so I could get some sleep at night so its a little frustrating. Sorry ill stop ranting and venting lol. I am very thankful though after seeing five docs he actually took the time to figure out what was wrong.
Never apologise for venting. We all do it and it’s better out than in!
I’m a fine one to talk but it is terribly important not to double up on medications because of the sort of medications they are. When I did it I had an almighty hangover type headache next morning.
I hope when you get the disability business sorted out that you will be able to find a doctor who can better help you.
Good luck angie.
I get several of these a day. They are microsleeps where you slip into a REM cycle but you are still functioning. To the naked eye you appear normal but if closely assessed, you can tell a person is asleep. Your speech can slow or slur. You won't move quite the same and your actions will become more of a rhythmic pattern than what you would do if you were functioning normally. However, with automatic behaviors and my own experiences, it is uncommon to be unaware of them as you are dreaming so you would be very aware of the dreams you are having. It is almost like you have a thought and then that thought turns into an intense daydream. You lose complete awareness of your surroundings and everything. It is crazy. Like I said, I get several of these a day. If you would like to talk, feel free to message me :)
I have no idea if I have those symptoms. I just talk like a drunk or just can't move when my sleep attacks. I know my family has always called me slow and say I take too long to do somethings when I know I usually move fast. The only explanation I can come up with is that there must be spells when I lapse into sleepiness and when I come out of it I am moving as my fast usual self. I guess there is time that I miss and not realize it. I have noticed this when I was working as a secretary. I can be moving as fast as a cheetah one minute and then the next minute it's like I am a caffeine junky just getting off their high (I actually don't really drink coffee like that). But from the way coffee lovers talk about their lows and highs of their coffee fixes, I assume that is what it is like LOL. There are times when I am talking to someone and I barely hear what they are saying, because I zone out. I'm fighting sleep at that time. These episodes usually happens after I have been very busy and moving around a lot. I think my brain has had enough or too much adrenaline or something. I really can't explain what it is or what causes it, but my family still doesn't understand it either. They all know that I have narcolepsy, but they still talk about me like it doesn't exist and continue to call me slow.
I feel really angry that in spite of knowing you have narcolepsy you are called slow! It sounds to me as if you are doing an amazing job coping like you do. Why will people not educate themselves when a family member has a rare disease!
They don't care to learn anything about what I am going through. All they care about is what interest them and my struggles is not one of them. I look at it as they love me, but they're not that into me. So I cope alone. That means any attempts to get to my doctor's appoint that is miles away. I have to do it on my own. Anything to try to make my life easier and simpler I have to find on my own. It's just that clear to me. I have been going through another depression episode and as usual, I am all alone in it. Well actually, I found two other friends that I have been able to talk to. It wasn't easy, but I spilt my guts. They are easier to talk to than my family.
Thank you Nel. I really appreciate your kind words. It means a lot to me.
I am glad at least that you have friends you can vent to. You can always come on here and have a rant too. I am sure everyone here understands and will wish you well.
Me too, Nel. I know you guys are here for me as well. For that, I am more than grateful.
I've had to self-impose some rules regarding how I work at home...
#1, I don't do any work, including fixing PC's, editing photos, writing emails, etc, past 9PM. It gets to be 9PM, I listen to some music, watch TV, play some games, anything but something I could potentially screw up.
Countless times I've stumbled on work I started days, weeks, or even months ago without having any memory of starting it. Most of these things were only partially-complete, and what was done was done entirely wrong. Emails come out in a rambling nonsensical spew of words.
#2, if I start getting drowsy in the middle of the day, revert to rule #1. Stop working, find something less important to do, or take a nap.
The other problem I've noticed is automatic behaviors that I do subconsciously. In particular, my left arm likes to reach up under my shirt and grab my right shoulder, I haven't been able to figure out why, but it'll do that hours a day.
Other times I look down and realize that my hands are unbuttoning my shirt, and have no idea why I'm doing that.
Dan O.
Its crazy what this does to ppl like us who suffer from it. My spouse has told me when i start to go into one of these episodes I get this look in my eyes like im in a daze my pupils get very small and my eyes get glossy and on the onset I start to get get mean just verbally she says it last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes usually. Then after that is when I start doing thingsthat dont make sense she says she cant understand me when I talked and its like watching a movie in slow motion. She says she tries to get me to lay down or even sit down I refuse to and tell her im fine. Some research I have done and some other ppl have said if someone talks to them or touches them it will bring them out of it but that is not the case for me. I wished I knew or could tell when these episodes r coming on.
Thank-you for your response
for everyones resonse I dont feel so alone or crazy no more.
I have not found anything on the net better on the subject than the one I already sent you the link to, and not surprising because it says in that article that there hasn’t been research on the subject. As far as a warning that you are about to go into automatic behaviour, people report an intense sleepiness but nothing more than that.
I am glad that you feel less alone and especially that you don’t think you are crazy! I hope the responses of other members will also help your spouse to understand the condition as it must have been very difficult and worrying for her too.
Have you looked at Julie Flygare’s videos on You Tube? They are helpful I think and perhaps could help to educate your wider family.