This happens to me on cross-country solo drives.  Those eyes *really
want to stop seeing anything*!

In my case I feel sure it's not narcolepsy, just plain tiredness.

Yes, if you are experiencing these types of symptoms it is quite possible
that you could have narcolepsy.  My mother has been a diagnosed narcoleptic
for a long time.  It didn't start effecting her until she got into high
school.  It was a long time after that when they finally diagnosed her as
being narcoleptic.  

There are many symptoms of narcolepsy:  sleep paralysis or sleep aptnea<sp?>
catapletic attacks, and just falling asleep while doing normal things.
My mother told me that she had an aunt that would fall asleep in the
middle of sentences then wake up a few minutes later and continue.

Narcolepsy can be diagnosed by looking at certian brain waves.  There is
a specific pattern that narcoleptics exibit.

One other interesting point to make about narcolepsy is that it is
hereditary.  It doesn't show up in every generation, but if any of
your relatives have had narcolepsy, there is a possibility that
you could have it also.

I haven't had any problems with it yet, but I'm watching for the signs.

One time while in college, I did have an experience that might could
be linked to narcolepsy and this discussion.  I was taking a nap on
the couch while listening to the stereo.  When I went to sleep the music
was playing fairly loud, or I guess that I went to sleep.  I was laying
face down on the couch with my arms at my side.  After a few songs, some
commercials came on.  The stereo was too loud to be listening to commercials
so I started to turn it down.  I didn't bother to open my eyes, but I
reached over to the table by the couch where the remote control was.  I
felt around on the table for the remote, then ran my fingers over it to
find the volume buttons.  I started pressing the down button, but the
volume wouldn't go down any, so I repeatedly pressed it harder.  Nothing
happened.  I opened my eyes to try to figure out why it wasn't working,
and discovered that my arm was still by my side.

Yes, there are varing degrees of narcolepsy.    

Andy

                                                            ^^^^^^

This has happened to me, too; and I think this is not connected with
narcolepsy as the reason is clear: a long run of several days without
sufficient sleep and overdoses of caffeine...

It happens when you're just over-tired.

Olaf
--



   "Stop talkin' and start chalkin'!" - Eight Ball Deluxe

What you describe may be "excessive daytime sleepiness" which can be due to
a sleep disorder; you may be "sleeping" a lot but the sleep may not be
normal, restful sleep.

If you snore and /or have pauses in your breathing while asleep, you may
have sleep apnea syndrome.  If you have to struggle to keep your eyes open
while driving, stop driving! Death tends to be irreversible.

You should get to be seen by a sleep disorders expert.

If you want more information on sleep apnea syndrome -- I'm about to
publish a book on the subject. But there are several other sleep disorders
and other conditions, not just narcolepsy that need to be considered. But
don't ignore this level of fatigue!

--
Jerry Halberstadt       New Technology Publishing, Inc.
POB 9183: c/o Mailboxes Etc.(#110)
955 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02139 USA

I actually don't think that it is tiredness either.  I think that your
mind is going into some kind of trance state.  I have found that I
can revive myself by turning on some music LOUD, and singing along.

I think that if you give your brain something else to do, it won't shut
down.

Guido

As with any other disease, of course.  But normal people do get
drowsy after lunch, etc.  Without the cataplexy, sleep paralysis,
hypnogognic hallucinations OR irresistable sleepiness, I wouldn't
call it narcolepsy.  These patients can not usually avoid sleeping.
They can fight it for a few moments, but they will sleep.
A good way to diagnose it is by EEG.  The patients go into REM
sleep immediately upon falling asleep.

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "I have given you an argument; I am not obliged

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

writes...

Does the term "highway hypnosis" ring any bells?  I haven't heard any
good explanations for the phenomenon, but it's hardly unusual.  Part
of it is linked to the fact that you do inhale some carbon monoxide
when you're on the road.  This generally produces similar effects to
exhaustion (no pun intended).  Pulling over and getting some fresh air
helps.  If you really are exhausted, pulling over and getting a nap
may help.  Consuming large quantities of caffiene or chain smoking are
other (less healthy) ways of staying alert.

  |  Silicon Vulture         |  "I was not sleeping on the job.  I was  |

No. These {*filter*} just take away the feeling of tiredness, but the
tiredness itself remains. It can be relieved only by sleeping. How
long {*filter*} work is also person-dependent. (When I take a coffe I'm
more tired as short as 10 minutes later.)

Olaf
--



  "My heart is human - my {*filter*} is boiling - my brain IBM" - Mr. Roboto

I'm pretty sure that I read in either Omni or Discover about a study on the
effects of caffeine.  It stated that it DOES increase alertness, and
DECREASE fatigue.

--
Chad Helfenberger

writes...

I can't speak for you, but I know that caffiene does help me keep my
eyes open.  Since I can't drive with them closed, I'll still keep
caffiene as a viable option.

 |  Silicon Vulture        | These opinions are mine until I get royalties. |

At the end of one semester in college, I stayed awake for almost 5 days
straight. I was popping Vivarins for the last 2 days. They seemed to keep me
going, but I really crashed at the end. I'm lucky I didn't go into
cardiac arrest or anything. This is not a recommended thing to do.

An interesting thing was, that the combination of misery from too much
work to do and the sleep deprivation and the onslought of caffeine
gave me what seemed like "waking nightmares" or something. Maybe they
were just bouts of panic, but my perspective was kinda whacked at the time.

No kidding!  (Seriously, is this _news_?)

--
Steve Dyer

Yes!  The same issue reported that {*filter*} gets you drunk, {*filter*}
gets you high and acid causes tripping.

Sometimes caffeine seems to make me MORE tired, and other people report
this as well.  Of course, {*filter*}s like us drink so much of the stuff
that it could easily be that occaisionally we get tired after happening
to have drunk some coffee... does anyone know the low-down?  What does
Omni say?  :-)

        True.  But sleep paralysis (though *not* to this extent) is a  
normal brain function.  In layman's terms (since that's about as well as I  
understand it) motor functions shut down almost completely during REM  
sleep to prevent the person from acting out his dream movements.  
Sleepwalking can occur when this shutdown doesn't happen.  Many people  
have had the experience of waking up from a dream and being completely  
paralyzed for a few moments; it's the result of a small lag in this motor  
function and nothing to worry about.

TG
--

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