Narcolepsy:Are there different Variations?

I have narcolepsy. My first symptoms begun with me falling asleep every time I was in a moving vehicle within a few minutes, it escalated to falling asleep whenever I would sit down or relax at all, and then into falling asleep even when I was actively doing things (I fell asleep in exams, holding babies, watching films, even in concerts standing up and while walking). It’s definitely best to get it looked at even if it isn’t narcolepsy. It sounds as though you have sleep attacks. Another symptom of narcolepsy is entering R.E.M (dreaming) sleep very quickly. The average person dreams after around 90 minutes of sleep, whereas someone with narcolepsy would dream much quicker and would have very vivid dreams. I can dream within five minutes of sleep, and often have very vivid lucid dreams/nightmares that I normally remember. Some people with narcolepsy also experience Cataplexy (I do)- which is a loss of muscle control/muscle weakness/lightheadedness with intense emotions such as laughter (what I have) or anger. When I laugh, I briefly lose parts of my vision and in less severe cases my knees buckle and I have to hold onto something and stop laughing as soon as possible, but in more severe cases people have to hold me up and I struggle to come back into control. There are many more symptoms, not everyone experiences all of them, so the best advice I can give is to do your research and contact your GP about any concerns you have. The waiting process can be long so the quicker you address it the better, and don’t always believe the first doctor you see. My first doctor said I was just a lazy teenager (which obviously wasn’t the case), and led me to resist speaking to more professionals for over 2 years. You know your body better than anyone, trust it if something seems wrong. I hope this helped.