[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANNIE EMBERTSON: Hi, Dr.
Emsellem.
Good seeing you.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Good to see
you too.
How have you been doing?
ANNIE EMBERTSON: A lot
of changes this year.
I got married last fall,
and I started a new job
this March.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: A lot
of changes.
How have you been coping,
in terms of the narcolepsy
and life?
ANNIE EMBERTSON: Pretty good.
My new job is working
in an inpatient unit
at the hospital.
So, that's been a little bit
of a hard change,
trying to get my sleep schedule
in order.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Are
your medications keeping you
adequately
alert during that entire time?
ANNIE EMBERTSON: Yeah I take
my daytime stimulants
in the morning.
And then usually, I take one
of them when I eat lunch.
And then I'm usually
able to make it the whole day.
I'm able to take a 20 minute
break in the afternoon.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM:
So a short nap is refreshing
and sort of resets.
ANNIE EMBERTSON: Yes.
In fact, even after my nighttime
sleep, oftentimes I wake up not
feeling refreshed.
But a 20 minute nap will feel
like I've slept all night.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Medicines
that you're taking that are
directed towards the cataplexy
generally help?
ANNIE EMBERTSON: I take
the nighttime medicine that
deals with the cataplexy
and daytime sleepiness.
And since I've been on it,
I definitely feel more
controlled.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Do you ever
get cataplexy with sadness,
or if you get upset?
ANNIE EMBERTSON: When I get
angry at my husband, my knees
will buckle.
And usually, with mirth or kind
of joy, and anything that's very
touching to me,
like emotionally, I'll
have a slight bend in my knees.
I have heard that when
some women get pregnant,
that their symptoms either get
worse, or sometimes
they go away.
Have you had any patients who
have been pregnant deal
with those symptoms?
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: So,
a pregnancy is a little more
complicated with narcolepsy.
I've had patients work
through their pregnancies,
but the medication's generally
not considered to be
a healthy thing to be on.
The biggest challenge
is learning to use
the timed naps, as well as
exercise, to get you
through the day,
having a job that will be
accommodating.
ANNIE EMBERTSON:
Another question, I guess,
is as you age, do people's
symptoms get worse, or do they
get better?
Have you seen any changes
in your other patients?
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Mostly,
symptoms seem to be quite
static over time.
With normal aging, we just don't
see the disorder disappear,
unfortunately.
But we also don't usually see it
worsen either.
ANNIE EMBERTSON: I feel
like as a health care provider,
I'm starting to be more
open with colleagues
about my sleeping disorder.
That's one of my goals,
is to try to be more open,
and to do more awareness.
Because there is a lack
of knowledge
out there in the general public,
for sure.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: Good, good
for you to try to come out
of that box a little bit
and help people understand.
In terms of new research
and where we're going--
looking at stabilizing
nighttime sleep, finding ways
to treat the cataplexy,
looking at the overall impact
on life
and social circumstances--
and encouraging people
to get the exercise that they
need to stay healthy.
And try to keep this in its box,
manage it, and not let it run
your life.
ANNIE EMBERTSON: Well, that's
all the questions I had for you.
Thank you so much.
DR. HELENE EMSELLEM: You're
very, very welcome.
And I always do tell my patients
you have to talk to me
about the pregnancy
before you talk to your husband,
so we can clear the decks
with beds.
[MUSIC PLAYING]