6 replies to this topic

[Marcianna]

No.
Cataplexy does not mean flexible like a cat. Seriously have you heard that one before?

We all know the definition by now but here is something that I have NEVER heard:

The word Cataplexy is LATIN Meaning: "struck down by fear"

hmmm. Interesting.

And for those who would like to know, Narcolepsy is Greek.
It means: "seized by somnolence."

Sounds like a book title.

( DIBS!)

[Bobbie]

[quote name='Marcianna' date='26 February 2009 - 12:54 AM' timestamp='1235609651' post='8378']
No.
Cataplexy does not mean flexible like a cat. Seriously have you heard that one before?

We all know the definition by now but here is something that I have NEVER heard:

The word Cataplexy is LATIN Meaning: "<i>struck down by fear</i>"

hmmm. Interesting.

And for those who would like to know, Narcolepsy is Greek.
It means: "<i>seized by somnolence</i>."

The Latin Meaning of Cataplexy is probably due to the fact that it was first encountered by man when they hunted deer. Sometimes the deer would fall to the ground in fear at the sound of the shot (cataplexy) making the hunter think he had hit his target. When the hunter went to get his kill, the deer would be gone having recovered from a cataplexy attack. I found this definition in an encyclopedia in the library when I was first diagnosed. There was no definition describing cataplexy in humans at that time.(1960)

[hathor]

haha so thats why i cant have snowball fights lol fear of being hit so i drop like a deer!!!

[Rob]

lol so you get the deer in the headlights look? literally? lol as far as the deer hunting thing goes i have actually experience what they were talking in the encylopedia. i was out with my step dad hunting and we were running dogs. for people that have never hunted before and have no idea what i'm talking about. running dogs is where we use dogs like small beagles to find the deer and chase(or kinda herd) the deer to the hunter that are in various spots. back to the story lol we were just getting ready to go home and one of the other hunters was still out rounding up his dogs. we had all met up in one spot and radioed to the guy where we were. well he came back over the radio and told us that his dogs found a fairly big deer and he was chasing the deer our way. all of us were standing in a field pretty close to the tree line when BAM this deer jumps out of the tree line and like 6 of the hunters all started firing(sounded like WWIII out there) and the deer fell to the ground. so we loaded it up on the back of a fourwheeler and out of all the excitement goin on nobody even noticed that there wasn't any blood. out of 6 hunters nobody hit the deer. i'm walking beside the four wheeler with the deer on it and the deer jumps up and off the four wheeler and takes off across the field again and finally somebody actually landed a shot on the deer. i had never seen anything like that before and it scared the crap out of me when the deer just jumped up and off the four wheeler. just thought i would share that experience.

[hathor]

lol i go striaght past that startled look to hitting the deck. i do it with splashing water aswell!!! i thought it was rabbits and small creatures that do the whole playing dead thing or is that different somehow?

[Rob]

i don't know either. i know with smaller animals they do it as kinda a defense mechanism but as far as deer i don't know. that was the only time i have ever experience that hunting.

[Bobbie]

You probably already know about the dogs they have been studying at Stanford who have Narcolepsy/Cataplexy. There is also a bunch of goats in Texas who also have it. Maybe if they studied that "defense mechanism" in various animals, they would find they all have cataplexy. Would be interesting to know, huh? I truly enjoyed the hunting story! Thanks for posting it.