Ok, not a title you will see on any news articles, but sure does catch the eye doesn't it!  It makes me wonder what we would find out about unsolvable car accidents.  Since it is only possible to discover Narcolepsy when an individual is alive and tested by a sleep specialist, I guess that we'll never know how many fatalities are caused by having sudden sleep attacks behind the wheel.  Does anyone else ever wonder how many undiagnosed people drive with Narcolepsy being untreated?

Did you ever wonder what caused an accident that you couldn't remember, or how about a car accident in which there was no obvious cause given other then the driver appeared to have fallen asleep behind the wheel?  Honestly I never really thought about it until I had my own car accident.  My doctor tested for sleep apnea, but there was no sign shown in the sleep study.  So, we both agreed it may have been lack of sleep, and over working together.  But after my second accident and me being diagnosed with Narcolepsy, that question is always on my mind.

See my 1st accident happened mid morning at around 10:10AM to be exact.  I had felt myself getting drowsy, but happened to be running late for my doctor's appt.  So I decided to keep driving, instead of stopping for gas and a quick breath of fresh air that most likely would have woke me up enough.  Well that has been one of the worse decisions I have made in my life, and a decision like that will never happen again.  If I am tired when driving I stop and take a quick snooze to refresh myself.  To this day the last thing I remember was passing the gas station then being woke up about a mile and a half down the road.  The impact didn't even wake me up, but a police officer arriving on the scene did.  Now take into consideration that the stretch I don't remember had three traffic lights and several turns.  Needless to say I am an absolutely lucky individual to have made it far without wrecking.  I also thank god that I didn't hurt or kill anyone else.  Well about a year and a half later my second accident happened only seconds after I had gotten off the phone.  I woke up seconds after getting off my cell and traveling through a red light, and I was drifting off to the right side of the road.  Rather then trying to swerve back onto the road where I could have injured others or caused other vehicles to wreck.  Again I thanked god for allowing no one else to get hurt. 

See in both of my accidents I showed how one can doze off for several minutes or just afew seconds.  Either way Narcolepsy is a very serious diorder that is no where near getting the kind of attention it should get.  Hopefully in time there will be many more individuals bringing Narcolepsy Awareness to the public in an effort to encourage those who feel they may have Narcolepsy or to have loved ones or friends encourage individuals that they feel may have Narcolepsy to get in touch with a sleep specialist and get tested.

Best Regards In Health,

Living Narcoleptic

 

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