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Avatar universal

i dont get a rush any more

here is what happens its like a cataplexy attack i lose muscle control my heart never races when i excercise my heart rate goes up fine but    when mad  startled  suprised heart rate doesnt change and i lose muscle control and almost pass out  am i a freak cause doctors dont have a clue  does anyone else have this problem ???????
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Avatar universal
myoclonic seizures and Cataplexy sound similar.  I have had so many test.  All neg.  My falls are sudden without warning.  Sometimes it follows anger or laughing.  But sometimes it seems to be light reflecting.  I usually crumble down.  I am aware of my surrounds but can not feel my body.  I can not move a muscle or talk.  I couldn't even tell you if i am breathing.  It can last 30 sec to a 1 minutes or more.  I once had a doc at Vanderbilt state that you can have Captapelxy without a postive Narcolepsy test.  I can't remember which doc that was.  
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Avatar universal
I been to 3 states chasing any doc who thought they could fix me and when they saw the attack they realized it was cataplexy and not weakness and they are all still working on finding like cases and treatments and why it even happens to a non narcoleptic.
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Avatar universal
doesnt mean that potassium fixes it or i would be cured. Dang the luck, more docs need to specialize in the non narcoleptics end of it. Its just that nobody goes to doc saying i have cataplexy, they say I passed out but remember everything.
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Avatar universal
The heart slows during cataplexy, I have it without narcolepsy for 6months now.
Could be potassium related causing the cataplexy. Mine is always a little low when i test after an attack but they always say, geez not low enough to have ever seen that.
Its veryyyy rare cause people dont know what it really is called.
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612876 tn?1355514495
Have your doctors said it is not cataplexy?  Were you tested for narcolepsy?  It definitely sounds like cataplexy.  You may want to post this in the sleep disorders forum:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Sleep-Disorders/show/108
to see if there are others there with Narcolepsy w/ Cataplexy who may be able to relate to your experience.  When you say you "almost pass out," can you explain more specifically what you are experiencing?  Do you get lightheaded during these episodes?  

As you lose muscle control, do you drop to the ground?  Are you paralyzed or too weak to get up for a period of time thereafter?  Can you explain the episodes in more detail?

I have narcolepsy with cataplexy.  Cataplexy is rare in the absence of narcolepsy, but I believe it is possible.  You may want to get a referral to a sleep neurologist to rule out narcolepsy w/ cataplexy, even if you're not sure you have symptoms of it, especially if these attacks are bothersome to you.  

The other thing you could be experiencing is presyncope, which can be accompanied by a loss of muscle tone as well as the sensation of almost passing out.  I'm not sure how frequently presyncope is precipitated by emotions such as anger, but I suppose being startled or surprised could do it in a susceptible person (a form of situational syncope, I would guess).  When you say your heart rate doesn't change, do you know because you are wearing a heart rate monitor at the time, or because you don't feel it changing?  During presyncope, sometimes the heart rate will change (rising or dropping suddenly) while for others the heart rate remains constant and only the blood pressure changes (dropping suddenly--a vasodepressor syncope).  

If your doctor honestly doesn't have a clue, you might mention the possibility of these being attacks of presyncope, and possibly request a tilt table test.

Here is some information that may be of help for you.

**Cataplexy**
http://www.medhelp.org/health_videos/What-is-Narcolepsy/show/1595
http://mayoclinic.com/health/narcolepsy/DS00345/DSECTION=symptoms
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Neuro/Motor/Ctplxy.htm
(This is a full length TV program but it gives good examples of differing experiences of cataplexy from milder to extremely severe:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6LZzA1xWOM&feature=PlayList&p=5503C6A5308719FE&index=0&playnext=1

**Presyncope**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presyncope
http://knol.google.com/k/blair/syncopefainting/ICrKBe32/k9zEgg#
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/504482
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/services/tests/electrocard/hut.aspx


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