18 replies to this topic

[greatbig47]

I'm currious to find out what makes people have a cataplectic episode. For me, it's almost always laughing. There have been 2 incidents where it was brought on by stress.

I got a poll running on this, so let me know if it's a "none of the above".

Thanks, friends!

-Stu

[lindavwill]

For me it used to be laughter, but now it's more often anger. The anger attacks aren't as strong, or maybe I've just learned to control them better.

[noddingmom]

Out of the blue excitment. Hearing good news that was unexpected. This seems to be what hits me hardest next to laughing

[greatbig47]

Anger has only brought me down twice, and it felt different. It's hard to explain HOW it felt different, but it definately wasn't the same as laughing. Think it means anything that it feels different?

[Marcianna]

my replys were deleted from this. I wont repost them, but I just want to say that as long as we are talking about symptoms of a medical condition here, we should be allowed to actually talk about them. :x

[Cryopathic]

The things that make me have a Cataplexic Episode is extreme levels of emotion like Laughter, Anger, E.T.C.

[Toph4er]

Stress and laughing, but mostly stress because I have learned to suppress my laughter. It is only on a rare occasion that I laugh aloud. So yea, it's mostly the stress that does the trick...but wait I forgot, my doctor said it was just "feigning" and I was hiding in my depression

Chris"Toph4er"

[sleepyavon]

Laughing, anger are my typical ones, but the one besides laughing is fighting off sleep attacks. I can get really frustrating, and it is the main reason I stopped driving.

[Toph4er]

O yeah, I forgot my biggest and most frequent trigger: Yawning. I have what I would call "chronic yawning" that doesn't just stem from being sleepy, but rather it causes the sleepiness and of course, cataplexy. I always fear the time when I might collapse, yawning is harder to suppress than laughter!

Chris"Toph4er"

[Sam.Toombs]

All negative emotions for me really - stress, anger and fear are big ones as well as shock.

I lived with this girl a couple of years back who one day thought it would be funny to jump out at me as i came in the house from Uni ... it was funny until i collapsed and then she started freaking out and apologising, she knew i had narcolepsy but it didn't occur to her that that would trigger it. Of course she felt so guilty i managed to get cups of tea on demand for about a week ... Score!!

Laughter will trigger my cataplexy as well but only if it is extreme - if i go to a comedy club and i am in stitches for ages because it is good , then it will cause an attack but other than that i am lucky ... i don't think i could deal without being allowed a good laugh with out consequences

Sam

[Cryopathic]

her that that would trigger it. Of course she felt so guilty i managed to get cups of tea on demand for about a week ... Score!!

[Cryopathic]

Ha hA hA ha! ROFL! lol

[Andrea Egan]

All of the above; even anticipating an emotion. In addition, I have cataplexy when I eat my favorite foods/beverages (swallowing triggers it). It also occurs when I get overwhelmingly tired. I cataplexy in my sleep where I get these seizure-things where I lay there and twitch...my doctor said it's probably from cataplexy since my dreams are really emotional. The twitching incidents also happen when I'm exhausted, and when I have prolonged/multiple cataplexy attacks that just build upon each other. (I get "that feeling" over and over in rapid succession and my body spasms accordingly). I'll just lie on the ground and twitch; this seems to freak people out the most. Sometimes for milder attacks, just my facial muscles will twitch, which is just embarrassing.

[sleepy1]

laughing, puppies, babies, anger, surprise, fear, my neices, and grand daughters...

[Kim Kay]

Feeling overwhelmed brings on my symptoms. In college when I was in class I would be triggered by being either extremely interested in a topic or being overwhelmed/confused by information.

[Sleepingcrow]

I didn't really understand what you meant by "pass out with cataplexy", but I can tell you what triggers a cataplectic attack.

-Stress, anger, feeling overwhelmed, and bad medication combos.

Pushing myself to stay awake when I'm actually tired i.e. being overtired, not having a narcoleptic attack "tired", can cause me to get the shakes (a mild cataplectic attack).

I'm grateful laughter doesn't cause them for me. I laugh a lot.

[Arete]

Eating and sneezing almost knocks me out... I can shake my head and keep standing, and my speech gets completely slurred. Oh yeah reading anything but fiction knocks me out in 5 min. I can only drive for more than 30 minutes with someone else in the car with me.

[Rrrapture]

I also get cataplexy when I taste something really delicious! It happens after a second or two of putting it in my mouth. I get this weird feeling -- the opposite of a rush, but it's not unpleasant. It hits my head, my jaw slacks a bit (I do keep my mouth closed, or try to lol), and it travels down to my hands and sometimes my whole body. I can't move for a few seconds and I also have to stop chewing. lol That's how I know food is especially good (or I was especially hungry or stressed).

All of the above; even anticipating an emotion. In addition, I have cataplexy when I eat my favorite foods/beverages (swallowing triggers it). It also occurs when I get overwhelmingly tired. I cataplexy in my sleep where I get these seizure-things where I lay there and twitch...my doctor said it's probably from cataplexy since my dreams are really emotional. The twitching incidents also happen when I'm exhausted, and when I have prolonged/multiple cataplexy attacks that just build upon each other. (I get "that feeling" over and over in rapid succession and my body spasms accordingly). I'll just lie on the ground and twitch; this seems to freak people out the most. Sometimes for milder attacks, just my facial muscles will twitch, which is just embarrassing.