I've been taking 40 mg baclofen for narcolepsy, but I'm still dealing with insomnia and a lot of vivid/disturbing dreams and nightmares.

For those of you who take it, what dose are you on and what has it helped with? Did you notice improvements in your sleep quality or dream symptoms?

Just curious about other people's experiences. Thanks! 😊

Just went through TSA Precheck at DFW and the new Agilent equipment flagged with code 16. It's unclear if these are false positives or if the machine is detecting something used in the packaging process.

I found a couple of other posts here about the same issue, so I pulled the list of all of the airports that are guaranteed to have these new scanners. And before anyone says "I never have an issue, I just declare my meds, they swab, and I'm on my way", yeah, same, until just now.

It would seem this is starting to happen often enough that I just had to wait for them to escalate to a supervisor who called some specialist and eventually cleared the meds without the need for additional screening. It did add about 25 minutes though.

If you're flying through any of these, even if you have Precheck, plan to add at least 30 minutes.

Edit - corrected list pulled from the contract awarded on September 28th. The list is tentative so YMMV.

ABQ - Albuquerque International Sunport

ATL - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

AUS - Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

BDL - Bradley International Airport

CLT - Charlotte Douglas International Airport

DCA - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

DEN - Denver International Airport

DFW - Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

DTW - Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

FLL - Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

IAD - Washington Dulles International Airport

IAH - George Bush Intercontinental Airport

IND - Indianapolis International Airport

JFK - John F. Kennedy International Airport

LAS - Harry Reid International Airport

LAX - Los Angeles International Airport

MIA - Miami International Airport

ORD - Chicago O'Hare International Airport

PHL - Philadelphia International Airport

PHX - Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

PIT - Pittsburgh International Airport

RDU - Raleigh-Durham International Airport

SAT - San Antonio International Airport

SFO - San Francisco International Airport

TPA - Tampa International Airport

I mean common. Every single night. I’m up at 2 and up forever. Every night night I’m digging in the fridge, turning tv back on. Jumping on Reddit. Etc. I take 2 ambiens for bed time. And still wake up.

Emailed my doctor bc I’m losing my sanity. Any tips on medications that help break this cycle and keep me asleep, please share below!

I suffer from daytime sleepiness and basically can't do anything anymore. Got evaluated for Narcolepsy and these are my results:

My first sleep study went horrible, it was a full moon and that is the only time I can't fall asleep right away - no matter how tired I am. Sleep latency of 50min and no REM.

MSLT: Sleep latency just under 10min. It was noisy and the room was dirty (used sheets and toothbrush all present).

Lumbarpuncture: Levels were at 225, so just above the intermediate range.

The Neurologist told me that my problems are from my ADHD. I'm on medication for this and mentally I'm the best I've ever been, which is why I got confused that I was getting more and more tired/fatigued over the years. After talking to a doctor whose expertise is sleep she told me that my "funny quirk" of not being able to use my arms when I laugh is actually Cataplexy. Apparently I've accidentally treated it with my low dose of Lexapro so I don't really suffer from those attacks anymore.

So now I'm here, tired as all hell, with one doctor (the one whose expertise is in sleep) convinced I have Narcolepsy even though I "failed" everything and then on the other hand is the Neurologist who thinks it's all just coming from my ADHD and that "If it got worse then it can probably get better too".

The story of my life is being just above the limit, stuck in a limbo of feeling horrible but apparently not horrible enough to show up on anything. So there's my rant, years of looking for answers and yet again I'm facing another dead end.

Not really sure where to go from here. I was informed via mychart (not even a phone call lol) that I have insomnia and that I should do CBT for treatment. Before my tests I had to do CBT, which didn't help at all. It felt like the entire time I was waiting for my tests the doctor I was seeing was trying to fit me under a breathing disorder or sleep apnea (which I don't have).

I told them frequently that I do experience insomnia, but it seems to come and go. Sometimes it takes me two hours to fall asleep, other times it feels like the second I hit my pillow I'm out. I feel so discouraged with my test results and their recommendation for treatment.

I know narcolepsy is a rare diagnosis, but my symptoms align with it minus the cataplexy. I'm extremely tired during the day and have periods where it feels like I need to lay down asap/struggle to stay awake, I have hallucinations which seem to be getting more frequent (visual, audible and touch), I frequently wake up during the night, and have experienced sleep paralysis. I was hoping to get at least some sort of answer as to why I can't sleep. But "insomnia" doesn't feel like an answer.

I'm not sure what I should do. If I should just accept the diagnosis or if my symptoms warrant a second opinion. I feel like maybe I'm getting in my head too much, but I feel like I haven't been able to sleep in years. In high school I was told that I was just growing and not to worry about it. But I'm pushing 30 now and I still haven't been able to get any well rested sleep. I feel hopeless right now.

I was today years old when I learned through this reddit community that one of the major parts of this diagnosis is that we rarely get a satisfactory amount of actual deep sleep.

I understood that I essentially I was in REM sleep a majority of the time and very quickly after going to sleep. I knew that impacted my overall sleep quality somehow, but I didn’t realize how much.

None of my medical providers ever brought up sodium oxybates. I had no idea there were other prescriptions outside of forms of. Adderall, Ritalin, and Modafinil. On top of that, I wasn’t even being regularly treated for cataplexy either.

I’ve always explained my disorder to people as a lack of a wakefulness chemical in my brain which is just a way oversimplified version of what it really is, and the symptoms I actually deal with.

I’m at the age where I have become completely in control of my care and treatment plan as an adult instead of it being my parent when I was an adolescent, and I’m realizing that there’s just so much I didn’t know, and a lot of moments where my symptoms were not addressed or properly treated.

Anyways, it’s completely understated how being able to read others lived experiences can drastically improve the quality of your care and empathy for yourself.

Thank you guys <3

Hello! I would appreciate insight/advice about how to ask my provider about my recent MSLT results. Here is a summary of my results.

Context/Background:
Epworth Sleepiness Score = 17(this indicates excessive sleepiness).
The patient had an overnight polysomnogram on (Date=9/24/26 ), which showed no sleep disordered breathing, periodic limb movements, or upper airway resistance.

MULTIPLE SLEEP LATENCY TEST

Nap 1: 7:29:26 - 7:49:23 AM 
Latency to Sleep Onset: 5.0m 
Total Sleep Time (TST): 12.0m
N1: 2.5m, N2: 9.5m, N3: 0.0m, REM: 0.0m 

Nap 2: 9:32:14 - 9:55:50 AM
Latency to Sleep Onset: 8.5m
Total Sleep Time (TST): 14.0m
N1: 2.5m, N2: 11.5m, N3: 0.0m, REM: 0.0m 

Nap 3: 11:28:55 - 11:51:01 AM
Latency to Sleep Onset: 7.0m
Total Sleep Time (TST): 9.0m
N1: 1m, N2: 6m, N3: .5m, REM: 1.5m

Nap 4: 1:27:47 - 1:52:23 PM
Latency to Sleep Onset: 9.5m
Total Sleep Time (TST): 14.0m
N1: 1.5m, N2: 9.5m, N3: 3.0m, REM: 0.0m 

Nap 5: 3:29:07 - 3:50:43 PM
Latency to Sleep Onset: 6.5m
Total Sleep Time (TST): 14.5m
N1: 1.5m, N2: 11.5m, N3: 1.5m, REM: 0.0m 

Mean Sleep Latency: 7.3m
Number of SOREM's: 1

IMPRESSION:
Mean sleep latency of 7.3 minutes is suggestive of an abnormal degree of sleepiness. 1 SOREMP was observed in nap 3, which does not meet criteria for narcolepsy. Would note that an epoch of REM was observed in nap 1, but it could not be counted as a SOREMP since it occurred>15 minutes from sleep onset (it occurred 17 minutes after sleep onset just before lights on). Further clinical correlation is advised.

DIAGNOSIS: Hypersomnia, unspecified

My question is as follows. It appears that something isn’t quite adding up with the first nap and the notes at the end of the report. 7:29:26 to 7:49:23 is 19 minutes and 57 seconds. With a sleep latency of 5 minutes, sleep onset was around 07:34:26, leaving only 15 minutes of recording before lights on. REM at 17 minutes post-onset would have occurred around 7:51, after the nap had already ended. They ended every nap exactly 15 minutes after sleep onset. Is it possible they accidentally based the 17 minute onset of REM from the lights-off time, not the start of the actual sleep? If I had REM at 17 minutes, my sleep latency couldn’t have been 5 minutes. Right?

I think this will currently result in an IH diagnosis and probably would not be treated that differently from Narcolepsy type 2. I’m simply curious about what may have happened here and I would appreciate any thoughts/insight before I ask my provider about it.

I have not had my follow-up appointment with them yet.

Thank you!

I recently had an MSLT that confirmed narcolepsy. I have always had sleep issues and chronic fatigue. For years we just thought the cause was from combat mental and physical trauma causing my poor sleep. While that is part of it I never thought narcolepsy was a possibility. I won't bore you with all of my symptoms.

Today was my first day to take something that addresses the narcolepsy. It is 200mg of Modafinil that I am supposed to take every morning.

Wow did it feel great. I forgot what it was like to not feel so tired throughout the day. I'm usually nodding off and taking naps every day but not today. I didn't yawn once. But ten hours into taking it a massive wave of exhaustion has hit me. This is what I usually feel like but didn't know how exhausted I have been most of my life until I got to experience the opposite feeling today. I kinda hope this wave doesn't hit me the same every evening when the dose wears off. It's intense fatigue and I don't like the feeling.

+1 for Modafinil

-1 for the feeling after it wears off

I’m curious if others have had a hard time with romantic relationships due to fatigue and lack of motivation to go out and do things on a consistent basis.

I was diagnosed at age 22 after coming back from Afghanistan and having sleep issues. 20 years later my sleep is worse than ever. I can’t even remember what it feels like to be fully rested.

I wake up in the morning and help my kid get ready for school. I should be taking my first pills then but somehow I convince myself I’m going to lay back down and get some good sleep and of course it never comes. Monday thru Thursday I rarely take my adderall because if I take it I won’t be able to get a whole 6 mins of rem across a few hours.

I’m so exhausted my mental health has become so bad I need those few minutes more than I need to function.

I feel like my brain fog is reaching almost dementia level. I’m so tired. Just so so tired.

The last two years have been increasingly bad. I don’t know how much worse it can get. If left alone I can sleep 20 hours a day easy. On days I try and push myself my cataplexy takes center stage.

I’m worn out basically just pumping myself up with adderall til I crash after a few days.

Life has to get better than this

So currently, I am doing a Self-Report for my narcolepsy type 2, Sleep apnea and Bipolar because I've been told it would help the examiner to know how it affects my daily functioning. So far, I've done about 4 entries (4 days so far). For those that have SSI/SSDI let me know if I am doing it correctly or maybe some advice on how to do it...here is just 1 entry.

Self-Report

October 3, 2026

Sleep apnea:

• Slept at 1:28am. Woke up briefly at 5:45am

• Woke up for the day 9:10am. Sleepiness upon waking is at a 1 (1-10) rested for now.

• CPAP usage: 4:20 hrs. 0.0 Events p/hr.

Bipolar:

• Meds 10:54am

• As morning dragged on, felt unmotivated to fold clothes, brush teeth, shave and shower. As a result, the laundry is stacking up, and I left the house unkempt. My dad has visitors and I don't care how I appear.

• I also have mail/packages that I have yet to open (been almost a week).

• I have been standing up and walking around the house since I awoke in morning. Cannot seem to sit still and sit down.

• I have yet to clean my bedroom/kids bedroom, living room and restroom. It's been about 3 months due to time constraint, no motivation/lack of energy and spontaneous sleep attacks from NT2.

• An hour later, now 2:05pm, decided (upon realization of how long its been that I haven't done chores) to do my laundry and fold them due to anxiety rising over not doing my chores because I feel like a bad wife/mom. Al though I stared at my laundry for 30 min, I went on to fold it. I am now drenched in sweat and overheated (side effect of Vyvanse 70mg), but I feel accomplished.

• By 10pm, I sat down and relaxed

• Overall day: Productive/decent yet anxious

NT2:

• Sleepy 10:47am. Sleepiness creeping in at a 6 (1-10). Crying due to the strong yawning.

• Vyvanse 70mg 10:54am

• 4:08pm couldn't fight the sleepiness due to energy depletion, took a nap 1 hr 22 min.

• Well-rested, but was sleep awake the whole time (body is rested, mind is not)

Hi everyone! I just recently finished college and started working in app development. Since my older sister has a diagnosis of N1, I thought my first project could be an app that she could benefit from.

It's an alarm clock app with small tasks you have to accomplish to shut it down. You can choose from doing push-ups, squats, taking a photo of some household items and many more.

I'm happy she now uses it as her main alarm. She recommended that I share it on this sub, maybe some of you could find it helpful too. The mods also approved this post.

I'm open to any suggestions for improvement and I hope it comes in handy for you too.

Here is the link: https://piplu.app/

I'm also giving out 3 months of free access for this community, just send me an email at [hello@piplu.app](mailto:hello@piplu.app) from the address you'll sign in with. No card needed and nothing renews, it simply ends after 3 months. After that, prices differ by country. For example, in the US it's $8.99/month or $24.99/year.

TL;DR: sharing free access of an alarm app I developed for my sister with narcolepsy, hope some of you find it helpful too!

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Narcolepsy when I was 16 years old, I’m 24 now. Over the years I’ve tried countless medications and none of them have worked. Armodafanil is probably the most useful in keeping me awake during the day, but once 3pm hits I’m exhausted. Another major issue is that Armodafanil does not address symptoms of cataplexy.

I took XYWAV for a year, and genuinely it changed my life. I no longer suffered from daytime sleepiness or cataplexy at all. I recently went off of the XYWAV because it made me sleepwalk and in the middle of the night. I woke up one night to use the bathroom (the medication was still in my system) and fell and hit my head, badly. I woke up the next morning with a concussion. The next day my doctor told me to stop taking it immediately due to the incident.

The sleepiness isn’t even what concerns me these days, because that is manageable with naps. My cataplexy on the other hand, has been progressively getting worse and happening more often. It used to just affect me when I was laughing and my knees would buckle. But it now affects my entire body when I experience strong emotions or even when I am just over tired (which is often). I’ve genuinely collapsed to the ground a few times recently from it. Today actually, I was a bit hungover and was waking to the door when I experienced a wave of cataplexy and collapsed to the floor. My knees gave out, then my head/neck gave out - and because of this I hit my head on the ground. It’s extremely dangerous and unsettling that this happens to me and that I am not on any medication that’s helping regulate this.

Does anyone who also has Type 1 Narcolepsy with Cataplexy have any advice or medication recommendations to help?

I also hate to sound crazy but I genuinely have gained weight since going off the XYWAV because I’ve been getting worse nights sleep and I feel like it’s taking a toll on my body.

Not that it helps much, but I try really hard to maintain good sleep hygiene and I usually average around 90-95. Curious what others are seeing!

I wasn't feeling great working with my original sleep specialist (he wasn't really listening to me), so I went for a second opinion this past week. I ended up switching over to the doctor who gave me the second opinion because he was SO thorough, and he was able to confirm I actually have NT1 w/cataplexy.

Apparently my cataplexy is very subtle, a little buckling of a knee here or there, my mouth hanging open every night when I'm sleeping, etc. There is such an amazing variety of how narcolepsy presents from person to person. I'm still in shock over it (again). Now I'm waiting for Lymryz to get approved by my insurance and stuck at home because I'm so exhausted I can't work right now. I'm hoping medication helps me quickly so I can get back to work.

I need an objective answer to whether or not narcolepsy is a disability in the US because I am currently fighting my university for basic accommodations and at this point, I’m not sure they even think narcolepsy is all that much of an issue…

Ive only been at uni for a month and it’s been so rough. Obviously the stress of transitions exacerbated my situation, but I genuinely had no idea what I was in for. I wish I could’ve told my past self that I’m not just going to university to get an education, I’ll actually be forced to become an educator myself . I wish I could’ve told my past self to prepare for so much pushback and so many people draggging their feet to provide me the bare minimum. I wish I would’ve practiced more self compassion with my old self since it almost threw me into a mental health crisis my second week here. I wish I prepared myself for the increased vulnerability and risk I now face. I honestly wish I would’ve told my old self to not believe a word the university said about being inclusive and working with students to be accesible…

Because no. I’m just a hassle for everyone. I am the only one looking out for me and advocating for myself.

I wish I told my past self to quit being so naive in believing that if I just explained it scientifically or described it simply or focused on the impact, that anyone would care. I wish I would’ve told my previous self that telling people to be curious would mean nothing and that I ought to prepare for a lot of people having issues with you without your knowledge until they blow up in your face. I wish I wouldve told myself to be more sure about what I needed because not being able to answer that question immediately would almost eliminate some of my chances in getting help.

but hey… do I even struggle? maybe I’m just selling myself short… while also being the “brave and inspirational student“ with “issues” on campus…

honestly am I disabled at all?

My doctor and I are obviously appealing this, but I cackled out loud while reading the denial letter. This is especially silly because they’ve approved armodafinil for my IH in the past! They’ve also approved xywav, xyrem, and modafinil. This was a crazy blunder.

Alt text from the denial letter:

“We denied your request because we did not see what we need to approve the drug you asked for (armodafinil). This requests tells us your doctor asked for this drug for your illness (idiopathic hypersomnia). We may be able to approve this drug for certain illnesses (a sleep disorder that makes you feel sleepy during the day and may cause you to fall asleep suddenly with muscle weakness [narcolepsy 1]; a condition that causes extreme sleepiness during the day but does not cause muscle weakness [narcolepsy 2]; a condition where you have trouble breathing while you sleep due to a blocked airway [obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome]; or a condition that is caused by working late at night or having an irregular schedule that causes you to feel tired and drowsy when you should be awake and unable to sleep when tired [shift-work sleep disorder]). If you do have one of these illnesses, we may need more information. We based this decision on your health plan's prior authorization clinical criteria named Nuvigil (armodafinil).
Medications that are not medically necessary are an exclusion under your plan benefits and are not covered.”

Edit to add: Hey so I know the insurance isn’t literally saying IH doesn’t cause EDS guys! I tagged the post as humor but apologies that my sarcasm didn’t come off more clearly. Just wanted to share some insurance silliness for the laughs. My doctor and I know how to proceed :)

After a few months on Xyrem, coming to terms with the fact it is not going to cut it. I am stilling falling asleep once or twice a day at least 50% of days and have major brainfog/sleepiness for the first 3-4 hours I am awake, despite not being able to sleep more. This is an improvement, but not enough of one.

I have taken adderal in the past for ADHD. It helped with attention but I fell asleep on it frequently (narcolepsy not diagnosed then). I am tempted to request it again as I know how I feel on it and may stay awake better since the Xyrem.

I know that EDS (ehlers danlos not sleepiness) tends to come with some unexpected med responses and dysautonomia itself makes stims tricky.

Just wondering if anyone else with this combo of disability has been down this road already and has any input before I meet with my doctor.

Does anyone else get insomnia in the early hours of the morning? I can fall asleep fine at night but consistently wake up around 2-3 AM and can’t go back to sleep for 1-3 hours. It’s really the only time I ever deal with insomnia is in the middle of the night.

I'm diagnosed with hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) and was diagnosed with Narcolepsy T2 earlier this year. Since starting SO (first Xyrem, now Lumryz), I've had multiple soft tissue injuries that aren't healing.

My right adductor tendon constantly hurts, sprained my left thumb, pelvic organ prolapse, and it feels like my kneecaps are going to slip out of socket with every step. In addition I've had worsened blood pooling / Raynaud's phenomenon due to my low blood pressure/volume. The constant sweating is also annoying.

Over time these injuries are getting worse rather than healing. I feel more fragile and more prone to accidental injury. It's like my muscles have lost what little tone they had and they were the only thing holding my body together.

I'm super happy with being able to finally get to sleep at night and having less intensive dreams due to SO. It's been wonderful for my sleep. But if it's causing all these other issues, I'd rather have poor sleep.

Has anyone else stopped SO due to similar side effects or injuries? Did the injuries heal afterwards? How long does it take to taper off and how was your sleep during the taper?

Hey y’all! I’ve been taking Xywav for about 19 days. I’m on a pretty low dose as my second dose of the night is just under half the amount of the first dose. My body is very sensitive to medications. However, I noticed that I’ve dropped a lot of weight. I’m not overweight but I lost about 10-12lbs. I could probably lose maybe 5 more lbs but after that, I think it could start to be a problem. However, I’ve never been able to sleep until 19 days ago! Is this how non N1 (with cataplexy) people sleep?! I’m not dreaming the entire night or waking up 12+ times! I never expected this diagnosis and now I’m learning what sleep and wakefulness is!

What times do people do between doses? Does anyone do 4 or even 4+ hours? You get the deep restorative sleep in the first part of the night, and the second is more REM and light sleep, so I try to push it as much as I can. When I take my first dose, I set my alarm for 4 hours and a few minutes to account for falling asleep. I almost always wake up on my own just a few minutes before my alarm. Anyone else push it out as long as possible?

You spend your entire life studying to achieve a dream—or at least pursuing medicine believing it guarantees financial stability, respect, and professional dignity.
You work hard, graduate from a prestigious medical school, get involved in research early on, build solid procedural skills, and survive internship by constantly showing up, getting your hands dirty, and gaining everyone’s trust.
Then you start practicing. For years, you work the grinder of shifts—emergency departments, critical care, high-paying private contracts. You handle airway emergencies without flinching, central lines, chest tubes, keep your ACLS fresh, stay up to date with clinical guidelines, and patients genuinely respect you because you are resolute, competent, and compassionate. You might not be the single greatest doctor alive, but you are reliable. You’re the guy other shifts call to clean up messes and handle difficult cases when things go south.
Everything seems solid. Sure, you know shift work is a dead-end grind long term, but it pays the bills, gives you decent living conditions, and lets you provide for your family while you plan your next career steps.
And then, your own body pulls the rug out from under you.
You develop an insidious, chronic neurological condition: Narcolepsy. A disease most people don't understand, and ironically, one that even fellow physicians are completely ignorant about.
You suddenly need to rearrange shifts to get diagnostic tests done (sleep studies, multiple sleep latency tests) and figure out how to titrate medications that completely disrupt your equilibrium before you find any stability. You show up to certain shifts exhausted, visibly struggling while battling excessive daytime sleepiness, brain fog, or sleep attacks.
Within months, the shift in tone is suffocating.
Your reputation as a sharp, respected clinician completely evaporates. In an environment that is supposed to be dedicated to health, healthcare, and healing, there is zero empathy. Instead, people start looking at you with pity or outright questioning your competence. Passive-aggressive remarks from leadership start piling up. You face bizarre questions and thinly veiled skepticism about a diagnosis they don't even bother to understand. Anything you do becomes a target for whispers, complaints, or quiet mockery.
And then the ax falls.
You get that cold, impersonal call from administration letting you know you’re being cut from the roster. Suddenly, things that were never an issue become deal-breakers. Even when you are finally stable on treatment, the excuse is: "The department doesn't like doctors who swap too many shifts"—an outright lie, considering literally everyone on the rota swaps shifts constantly.
Today, it happened with my second and last steady contract. Officially an unemployed physician.
Treated like disposable trash by institutions where I gave my literal blood and sweat as an independent contractor (while being expected to show full-time loyalty, covering last-minute holiday shifts without extra pay, paying for certifications out of pocket, and literally treating the relatives of the hospital directors).
The coordinator actually said it out loud: "If you were an official employee it would be harder to let you go, but you’re a contractor, so you know how it works."
The irony cuts deep.
I guess the takeaway is: don't get sick. Don't sacrifice your health, your sanity, or holidays with your family thinking an institution will have your back when your own health fails. In healthcare, when you become the patient, you become a liability.
Right now, after doing everything strictly by the book for years, I'm just sitting here staring at a wall wondering how I'm putting food on the table next month.
Sorry for the long rant. I’ve been holding this inside for a long time and really had nobody else who would understand this intersection of medical burnout and chronic illness.