h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Kleine Levin Syndrome, like sleepwalking but not. - A3161846
Author: Treadstone71 - U988417

Hello to anybody scouting though here. This is my first entry so i'm a tad lost. Still i like being lost, i tend to find interesting snippets at the back of my mind.

You are right, this is a most interesting disorder!

I am not a scout, but I believe that a fine entry could result from the basic information you have here. Some numbers regarding the portion of the population that is estimated to be afflicted with it would help. And any news of treatments that are in use or in study.

One suggestion might be changing:
'Kleine Levin Syndrome, (KLS), is a most interesting medical disorder, which is often mistaken for narcolepsy, cataplexy, epilepsy, circadian rythm disruption and many others '
to something like:
'Kleine Levin Syndrome, (KLS), is a rare and hard to diagnose medical disorder, which is often mistaken for narcolepsy, cataplexy, epilepsy, circadian rythm disruption and many other disorders '

Other changes that would be necessary include the removal of the first-person narrative approach. It would have to refer to general symptoms and problems, with yours being mentioned as anecdotal samples. (Guidelines for Edited Guide Entries frown on the use of I, me, my, or mine.)

Anything you could provide any known information regarding frequency of attacks, relationships to general health, sleep, body chemistry, etc., and/or what groups tend to be affected most often (age, gender, race, size, etc.) would be of tremendous interest.

Good luck with the piece!

Actually, given that this is in the Alternative Writing Workshop, you can leave it in the first person if you like. If you wanted to enter it for the edited guide you would have to put it in the third person.

As it is, an interesting look at a condition I was never aware existed - you seem to have a positive attitude on dealing with it - good for you!

sprout

Thank you.

I was a bit bitter when it first started cos i didn't know how to handle it, but it's just a mild irritation now, and some people sleep for months except for going to the toilet on auto pilot so i've got it much easier than they.

It's such a bizzare disorder that you've got to have a sense of humour in order to comprehend what's happening to you
Plus calling your boss to say, "can't come into work today, i woke up in a fish bar in Leeds, but i can't remember how" with a straight face just doesn't work!

Hi, TS:

This is exactly the sort of challenge about which I am curious. Whether or not you decide to go for a Guide Entry on this subject, I'd be interested in knowing how sufferers handle the day-to-day problems the result.

How do you find employment, when you probably have to warn them about the possibility of your being 'away'?

How do you keep a relationship going when you cannot explain the lipstick/aftershave/perfurme, missing time, airline tickets, etc.?

Do family and friends go nuts each time you're missing?

Are their tricks to snapping out of it, or preventing your wandering? (Perhaps, putting necessary things in unusual places, adding locks to doors, hiding keys from your 'other self'?)

Are you more or less likely to have an accident, or get injured?

All sorts of stuff that would be known only to one with the disorder who shares stories with others.

[Is there a tendency to use people's knowledge that you have it to excuse unrelated behaviour?]

Very glad though, to hear you are coping well.

As for finding employment, i try to turn it into a positive, explaining that the fact i've got past the worst of it, and shows i can be determined and dogged when required, a quality i would bring to the post, etc. Also, I have in the past managed to get a job in my sleep and woke up doing it?! Still don't remember the interview, or my immediate start, but I stayed working there the whole vacation.

Relationships are tricky. Luckily I am even more faithful and affectionate when I'm asleep. as well as being offputting to potential other suitors anyway. The pitfall is that my last partner took to a mother role rather than a partner role, and it didn't work out.

It's a good filter, in so far as I can be certain that those who I hold dear aren't flaky. They have to be good people in order to accept me with this disorder and so I count myself fortunate that the ones that ran away screaming did so, rather than letting me down later.

Family and friends are 'concerned' when I go awol, but give me the benefit of the doubt for a couple of hours, I almost always return, or check in by phone, and more often than not, wake up before anyone gets too frantic at any rate.

Hiding keys etc? Tried it. Sensible in theory but in practice it's a Very Bad Idea. It freaks me out, when I'm asleep, and i think I'm being held against my will.
It's better to put everything in really obvious places, and then I'm very relaxed and less likely to go walkies at any rate.

The threat of injury or misadventure is heightened, crossing the road has been known to make my mates wince a couple of times. Generally though I bimble around a little spaced out, and slower than usual so in that sense the risks cancel out mostly.

I have once faked an episode, but it galled me to do it, and was to the benefit of my close friend, who still does not know. It's testament to how much I would do for him, and I still get bile in my mouth thinking about it. In theory it would be possible to pull stuff, and claim ignorance, or diminished responsibility, or just pullmore sickies etc
However, apart from being very honest by nature, I would worry about the 'Cry Wolf' factor, and the less times it's seen as a potential issue, the more understanding people are when it is.

Thank you very much for your interest. It's nice not to be written off as crrrazy!

Crazy? Not in the least!

You seem to have an incredibly rational reaction to the whole thing. I have simple OSA, and it took some time to get to the point where I could get through whole weeks without looking sleepy, or nodding off during a meeting.

It sounds as if, like water, you find your own level, especially in regards to working through the problem honestly instead of trying to hide it and concoct elaborite webs of fibs.

Sorry about the relationship thing. Never know what bring may out the maternal instincts in a mate. It's a pity you couldn't have worked through that part of the problem. Sounds like a caring, understanding person who just lost focus.

I can't say I'm the least surprised that you faked it at least once. But, it's very good to know that your ethics (and guilt glands) win out in the end.

I'd still really like to see and Edited Guide entry on this one, even if you leave this entry, as it is, in AWW.

Good luck to you!

I will get round to one eventually. Don't know how forthcoming it will be though and is becoming an oft repeated mantra at the mo.

Got many many job interviews to attend, whilst not offending my current employer, but mostly tis cos i got engaged last week and there's soooo much to organise!

Thank you all for your feedback though and i'll get to work on it at soon as we have a date set, we can relax a bit after that's sorted.

Date nearly set, venue found pending registrar.
However start new job on Dec 1st and am looking at houses!

Would you take it amiss if I say it sounds like a fascinating disorder? Thank you for sharing your experiences of it.

Sounds like you are busy at the moment. Do you have more episodes when you are stressed? Ignore me if that's a question too far, I'm just curious.

N

Yep, I definitely get them more often when I'm stressed. Had a big one this weekend when we stuck in Runcorn on Saturday night, for which I felt terrible,. since it left my partner stuck in Runcorn, with a child effectively, rather than a suppotive knight in shining armour. I don't deserve her.
Stress, tireness, pain, and heat all seem to exacerbate it, although i've experienced extreme forms of all of the above and been fine so it's not definitive.

Being stuck in Runcorn sounds bad enough without the added hastle of an episode. Much sympathy for you and your partner. Having a supportive partner can make all the difference to managing an illness well. It amazes me the things that people manage to deal with, for themselves and for their partners. But if you have no choice but to live with something then you do. You find ways to get on with things and work around whatever gets in the way or put up with it till it passes if you can't work around it. The resiliance of people is a strange and wonderful thing.

N

Having read your article three times, and perused through several other articles about similar things....


If you put in some facts about the syndrome rather than linking to a site, you could put this in the edited guide i THINK.
The edited guide looks for factual based articles but relating your own experiences of something which you have written about is acceptable I think.
As it stands it's a very good article. Could you perhaps talk about some ways you deal with things or something for other people who have the syndrome or have been recently diagnosed with it?

Kat

Aww the author never came back! That's a big shame because this is a terribly interesting subject.

However I am pleased to announce that this piece has been picked by the <./>underguide</.> miners and will eventually make its way onto the <./>FrontPage</.> and into the UnderGuide Archives.

Congratulations to the author. The new version will be at A3988335.

Thank you for contributing to the UnderGuide and thank you to everyone who commented.

Kat