Side Effects Of Narcolepsy

A type of sleep disorder called narcolepsy, is a disorder with no cause, that causes a person to lose control over their sleep patterns. Simply put, he or she may fall asleep randomly throughout the day with no control over the situation. Those affected by narcolepsy may also go through times which they may lose muscle tone or experience muscle weakness, which also having sudden emotional responses can occur. Sleep paralysis is also a common side effect when the affected person falls asleep or wakes up. Lastly, another symptom someone with narcolepsy can experience is having hallucinations at the time of falling asleep.

For the treatment of narcolepsy, I would select a Schedule IV controlled substance drug such as Nuvigil, which is also called Armodafinil. It would be my chosen drug because it has been commonly used, is not additive as other treatment options, and has very few serious side effects. The worst side effect being a skin rash. Many medications have far worse side effects, also if one of my patients were to have a side effect it would not be life threatening. Other possible side effects can include numbness, pain, fever, vomiting along with a few others.
It is highly suggested, because the drug has effects on the central nervous system, that patients taking this medication should avoid alcohol.
Nuvigil can also decrease the effectiveness of birth control contraception methods. The amount given to the patient should be reduced if he or she suffers from a hepatic impairment. If the patient is classified as geriatric, lower amounts of the medication should be given and the patient should be closely observed. Prothrombin times and INR (International Normalized Ratio) should be watched more often when taking this medication. Toxic Epidermal Necrosis, as well as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, have been some serious skin reactions that have occurred while taking
Nuvigil.

I almost chose bipolar disorder for my topic of choice! I had a very close family member who suffered from the same disorder and went through several different medications before finally staying on Lamotrigine. She experienced some nausea from time to time but that was the only side effect. I think that you chose the best medication for treatment because it works really well on stabilizing patient's moods. Great post!

I found your post information to be very accurate and helpful! My grandma suffers from Parkinson's and was put on Sinemet rather recently. I believe this is the best medication for someone who has a more severe case because it has helped my grandma drastically gain some of her motor movements and cognitive processing back. Before she could not even sign her name, however, she now is able to write her name and do crossword books again. I enjoyed reading your post, you did very well!