Narcolepsy Support Group

Hey peeps. I was curious as to how narcolepsy has affected your sex lives. *gasps* I know, so taboo. But I wanted to discuss this and see if anyone had similar problems and experiences.

So, I will open up by saying that I think that my narcolepsy, depression, and weight gain are taking a serious toll on my sex life. I have the fortune of having a wonderful partner that takes the time and has the patience to suffer through my falling asleep with me when we are in an intimate moment. My partner really makes me feel like a million bucks when it comes to that. So it's not about the whole falling asleep issue or anything, because we can always work around that. Moreso, I just have a heck of a time being able to orgasm. In fact, it's not very common that I do at all. I think a lot of it could be due to my depression and the whole whacky neurological stuff going on in my brain. What do you guys think? Technique is not a problem and neither is time or attention or patience. It is simply an inability to be able to get any good feeling from anything down there. Anybody experiencing anything similar? I was considering going to my gynecologist and seeing if she had any advice, but I thought it might make a little sense to ask my fellow narcos if you guys had any problems too before I did that. Hope this doesn't make all of you too uncomfortable :-. I figure, we're adults so we should be able to talk about this stuff and not get too wiggy. Thanks for reading!

~Me~

This topic comes up in all of my groups in regards to all of my illnesses, don't feel uncomfortable talking about it at all it's a natural part of life and anyone who wishes not to discuss it doesn't have to

I also thankfully have a super supportive husband and with everything I go through he is not pushy at all when it comes to sex, he knows if I can do it or am up to it he will be the only one to know about it of course.

I haven't had the problem of a sleep attack while making love (hmm that I know of) lol just kidding. I'm not laughing at you in anyway just at the idea that I said that. I'm sorry you are going through this right now I bet it's not abnormal in anyway. I hope you get more responses. I have more of the problem that I don't feel up to doing it much but then once I do I'm very glad I did even if I'm more sore and tired after. I know it's alot due to my medical conditions, my pain and also I'm sure maybe my meds play a big part. My OB gave me pills once that were supposed to increase my libido or something, I had a hysterectomy everything but one ovary is gone so I still produce my own hormones but he thought those pills would help my sex drive but for some reason I can't remember I didn't take them long. You could ask your OB about something like that for your libido for the orgasm issue. Maybe if you knew what was coming up your body wouldn't go into a sleep attack. Wink wink! I wish you the best and please feel free to vent as much as you need to. Hugs, Stacey

Don't feel uncomfortable at all! We are here to talk about anything that involves everyday life with narcolepsy. I am sorry to hear as well that you are going through this. I have never had a sleep attack during which I am sure has to be in the back of your mind during everything. As we all know sex for women is very much a mental/emotional thing compared to men, and we almost have to have everything working on all aspects to have a WOWSA! moment. Worrying about having a sleep attack, or your body image, or anything like that can throw it off just enough so that you take away some of the focus of the awesome stuff going on and then your focus goes to...stop thinking about that and why aren't I having the reaction I should be right now! For me it's sort of like working out....if I come home and sit down and relax (give myself a reason not to do it) I put it off and make excuses until it's been too long since I've gone and then it's getting back into the swing of things again. I find that even those times as Stacey says, I'm really tired or something like that, I never have any regrets just going for it! Then the more you do it, the more you want to keep that continuing. Your partner seems like a great person and they love you for who you are. Relax and have fun with it & let yourself go (no pun intended) and you'll both really enjoy the outcome

Thank you ladies. You're both very sweet. It's nice to be able to talk about it with someone. My next best bet would be my mother...dun dun dunnn *shudders* Lol. I love this friendly little community on here. It's very heartwarming :-D...*shifty eyes...pauses...hug attacks!* :-P. Hope both of you have a wonderful day.

I've fallen asleep a couple times, but my partner and I have decided that being woken up by having an orgasm is fun, so we've learned to 'go with the flow'. It hasn't happened in a couple years though come to think of it! I agree with those wise women who have commented- you have to make sure it happens. No sitting down, no relaxing first, plenty of mental prep! I find it helps to have a date night set aside. Doesn't mean sex HAS to happen that night, but it does help me to have a schedule to work with. I can make sure I get in the mood, schedule meds appropriately etc. It also means there are days that I don't worry about my ability or lack therof for that day. I certainly find the more I do it the more I CAN do it. I think the endorphins help my overall health!

I have also had to spend years convincing my partner that I can have fun without having an orgasm. There have been many times that hormones, or joint issues have made it impossible for me to get that far, or impossible to survive the muscle contractions. I like it better when I can, but even if I can't we are both healthier if we spend some time having "skin time". Not sure he is convinced, but we work on it!

So- I guess that means I'm not embarrassed to talk about it either! But not with my mother!!!

Post edited by: smd, at: 04/07/2013 01:16 PM