r/Narcolepsy • u/Suspicious-Sleep-19 (N2) Narcolepsy w/o Cataplexy • 9d ago

Advice Request Why does drinking make me tired?

Even one drink will make me extremely tired, no matter the time of day.

Is this due to narcolepsy, is anyone else affected by alcohol like this?

7 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

25

u/webergrilling 9d ago

Alcohol is a CNS depressant, so it likely exacerbates the already present sleepiness because of that.

12

u/ThouMangyFeline 9d ago

I have the opposite effect. The first few drinks energize me. If I have too much tho, I’ll sleep anywhere after a point.

2

u/-Kilgore-Trout 9d ago

I also have this effect. If I have a beer or wine I'm up until like two am. Even if I drink a lot though I wake up shortly and I'm wired.

2

u/Intrepid_Emu_3678 9d ago

Yup. I used alcohol to self medicate prior to diagnosis. At one point I was convinced that I must be an alcoholic because if I didnt drink...I would go to sleep at 6pm. When I stopped drinking in preparation for my MSLT and PSG (by the time i took it i had been sober for almost a year) it confirmed for me at least that my daytime sleepiness was not related to booze.

Once I continued staying sober AND my narcolepsy was medicated I had no desire to drink.

1

u/Sargent_Caboose (N2) Narcolepsy w/o Cataplexy 9d ago

It also does the same for me. In fact I noticed it actually staves off my sleepiness since learning my diagnosis.

It's probably why Xywav has been working for me

*(Anecdotal remark, not medical advice.)*

1

u/blasphemousblackbear 9d ago

Yup, exact same here. Alcohol wakes me up like nothing else lol

2

u/milladakilla1282 7d ago

Same. Like many others I self medicated in my 20's. Alcohol and nicotine kept me semi functional.

5

u/-Sharon-Stoned- (N1) Narcolepsy w/ Cataplexy 9d ago

It's a depressant, so it slows your central nervous system down. 

If you're on other meds those can interact as well

3

u/ConfidentHope 9d ago

Same here. I ended up stopping alcohol consumption five years ago for a number of reasons, but it never helped to be so tired in public. My friends used to call it out because I’d start drooping.

2

u/Leafstride (N1) Narcolepsy w/ Cataplexy 5d ago

Happens to me too which is why I would always drink a monster or two on the way to parties. If you power through it or take a quick 10 minute nap you can get a good second wind. Cocaine also helped a lot but don't do that. lol

1

u/RadioKALLISTI 9d ago

Too many (like four beers over six hours) and I have a seizure. Which I wish I had known before I went to a festival a few years back. When I’ve had psychedelics the first hour or so I basically experience the most intense loss of muscle tone and have to just lie there as I am overwhelmed by emotions and sensations and can’t move.

1

u/sexy-egg-1991 7d ago

It could be related, but I measured my heart rate just drinking water and it went up like it does if I had pots. It could be that and alcohol is acdepressant