A girl with Narcolepsy, NOT a narcoleptic

So I am officially growing up. You can tell this by looking at my walk with narcolepsy. I was diagnosed when I was 20. It was a really hard diagnosis for a college student. I would pull all nighters, either at parties or studying, then sleep a few hours at a random time, and expect to keep going. every day was a different schedule and I didn't keep regular hours at all. I refused to change my life at all, and started taking all sorts of meds to help regulate my wakefulness and my sleep. I was having sleep attacks all the time, and even cataplexy pretty often. It was a really bad time in my life, and Narcolepsy ruled my life. I was a narcoleptic.

However, after living through that awful time, I have since learned how to not be a narcoleptic, but instead a girl that happens to have narcolepsy- narcolepsy does not define me. I have rearranged my life around a schedule that I stick to as best I can. I have even gotten to the point that I no longer need medication to keep myself awake, or to fall asleep at night. I still have some days where I am very tired, and I have to be careful with driving, but that's a reality of my life now. at least I have been able to admit it to myself, and accept it, so that I can move on. In the past I would have never missed out on doing something because I was too tired to drive, and that could have gotten me into a lot of trouble. I am so thankful that I have finally learned how to deal with this, and not effect my life too much with it. (affect? The one grammar rule I don't get no matter how many times I read it)

I went to my Dr. yesterday and he was floored on how well I'm doing now, and shocked that I didn't need any medication. He was telling me how proud he was of me for growing up and accepting this as part of my life now, and you know what? I'm proud of myself too. :)