I have noticed over just the last year that eyes seem to take more time to change focus from looking close to looking far. I haven't noticed any blurriness with cats or sleep attacks though. I assume my eyes are just getting sluggish because I am getting older.

I don't experience a blurring of vision however I do at times experience a vision problem where it seems to fade out and then come back. This is usually at the onset of an attack.It happens when I've been tired for a very long time an have be en fighting off sleep. It kind of feels like the brain has decided to shut down even though I'm in the process of using it - curtains close/curtains open.

Since you indicated "blurring" I would recommend getting an eye exam to rule out a vision problem.

Are you on meds? Many of the meds narcoleptics are often prescribed cause us to be dehydrated. We mostly notice it because we get dry mouth. (More on that later.) But we also might be producing less tears. I finally had to stop wearing my contacts because of this. I used eye drops for contact wearers, which helped some initially, but finally I simply couldn't spend my entire day squirting eye drops in my eyes. Anyway, less tear production can account for blurring.

As for the dry mouth many of us experience from meds, obviously drink lots of water. There are some products out there you can squirt in your mouth to increase saliva. However, without you realizing it, and it is very insidious (sneaks up on you), over the years having a chronic dry mouth WILL CREATE ALL KIND OF PROBLEMS WITH YOUR TEETH!

I cannot stress this enough. My teeth had always been perfect when I went for my 6 month check up. My dentist used to comment that I had to be one of his best patients when it came to oral hygiene, etc. That was back in my 30's, and 40's. But slowly I began getting cavities, and eventually needed a couple of root canals.

One visit the hygienist asked me what meds I was on. When I told her, she explained that they cause dry mouth and most people aren't aware that chronic dry mouth will eventually lead to some real serious dental problems.

Nighttime was the worst, so for quite some time I slept with a humidifier in my room, which helped somewhat. Long story short (or short story long), once I hit my 50's, my dental health took a drastic dive. More root canals, lost a couple of teeth, and always the dentist said it was definitely from the dry mouth caused by my meds.

Eventually my gums receded so much and I was having so many problems that I had to go to the oral surgeon and have every one of my upper teeth removed - all at once. I had a choice of having dentures ready that day, but the downside of that is that it takes a good 6 weeks or more for your mouth to heal from that kind of oral surgery. That would mean that dentures would eventually not fit me right as my gums would be entirely different once the swelling went away.

So I opted to wait it out to get dentures that would fit me right. As it turned out it took longer than expected. I had the surgery in October and did not get my final fitting in early February. (It takes a few times of getting them adjusted, etc).

I'm having the same problems with my lower teeth and have had to have several removed by the oral surgeon. I have a partial, but the dentist said that it's only a matter of time where they will all have to go. In fact we're only holding off because I cannot have any kind of surgery until after I've had my heart stent for more than a year. I have to take meds to keep my stent opn, but to have surgery would have to go off that med for a period, as it promotes a lot of bleeding.

In fact I need 2 other surgeries that have been put on hold because of the stent and that med.

But, just a word to the wise about what happens if you experience dry mouth due to your meds. You won't notice anything for quite some time, but slowly, unbeknownst to you, there is some stealth destruction going on in your mouth.

I know this is a bit off topic, but AZhugs, I feel your pain with the dental issues. My teeth have totally gone bad these last couple years. This summer I have had 3 root canals and 3 crowns, and I know I need another root canal. I still have my teeth, but I do wonder for how long, and at what cost. My dentist has me doing a daily home fluoride treatment and also brushing with chlorhexidine antiseptic mouthwash. I use the Rain mouth spray which really helps with dry mouth. I see these ads locally for "Same Day Dentures" for $99 and think, well if I need them someday it will sure cost less than all this dental work. In reality, I would try to go with the implants since those seem to work well these days.

But about the eyes - I've read a lot of posts from a lot of different people in various narcolepsy forums that talk about having blurred vision, double vision, crossed eyes and whatnot. I know that periodically my eyes will randomly cross for half a minute or so. It's weird. Nuvigil made them crazy that way, and they just felt terrible all the time. Ritalin isn't as bad for me, but they still get very, very dry. I have a prescription for Restasis, but on my health plan I have to pay two $40 copays per month, so I don't bother with it. I always carry some kind of dry eye eye drops and my eye doctor told me to take 2-3 grams a day of fish oil for the dry eye problem.

With this disease/disorder if it's not one thing, it's another thing.

Not entirely off topic, Ministrmom. Dry eyes, dry mouth. I'm trying to think if there has been any positive impact anywhere on or in my body due to narcolepsy. Honestly, can't think of one. Not in a physical sense, anyway. However, looking for the roses amongst the thorns, I have learned so much, grown as a person in a way I might not have without these often intense challenges, gained insights, compassion, and to top it all off, have formed friendships with so many incredibly wonderful pwns.

But, back to semi-hijacking the thread, regarding dry mouth, one of the prices we pay for taking these meds - you are right at the age when my root canals, etc started. Like I mentioned, the damage is insidious. But then it becomes obvious, as the need for root canals increases. I too use special toothpaste, by prescription only. Do all that I can to keep the juices flowing, so to speak.

I have an incredible dentist, as well as a terrific oral surgeon who is also an internist. It's a long story, but when they saw what was going on in my mouth, and learned some of the details of my life's journey (narcolepsy pales in comparison to hell I lived in for 40+ years), knowing I live (no, make that barely exist) on SSD, much below the average (the thanks you get for being a stay at home mom for so long), they took me on and do not charge me a penny for all of the work they have done on me. They are an incredible blessing in my life.

I don't think I even want to know how many thousands and thousands of dollars worth of work they have done, with much more to be done. And as luck would have it, have had me meet them at their offices late at night as I have a knack for having complications, and always they couldn't be nicer or understanding.

As for the $99 dentures, a word of warning. You get what you pay for. (Well now, didn't I just say I didn't pay anything? Hmmm) Seriously, going for the cheap fix on dentures will bring you misery down the road. My dentures were carefully crafted, going back for adjustments a couple of times until they fit as perfectly as possible.

I would LOVE to have implants, though. However, at a couple of thousand dollars per tooth, it would never be on my radar. That said, when the day comes when the remaining bottom teeth I have must go, they are going to put an implanted tooth in on each side to use as anchors for new bottom dentures.

As for all the eye problems, obviously age affects our eyes. But just like my brain seems to fade in and out, my eyes seem to do the same. Sometimes it's hard to focus. Sometimes I think the desire to close my eyes for sleep is so strong, that it's almost as if my vision cuts out even if my eyes remain open.

Sleepystar, I don't know how old you are, but I think it goes without saying that it wouldn't hurt to see the eye doctor. You're probably thinking, well, yeah, duh! But not just for a vision check, but for a good look at your optic nerve, and perhaps a visual field test, etc.

As a completely off topic aside, my service dog needed 2 root canals. Saw a veterinary dentist, in fact the dentist for the Phoenix Zoo. Thankfully I did not have to pay for it, but he does take 50% off his bill for service dogs. After the root canals, he wanted her to come back for crowns. The root canals were done on both of her bottom 'eye' teeth. Well, the cost for one crown, at full price was $1600! With his 50% discount, she could basically get two for the price of one. Still, that's pretty steep and there was no way our service dog organization needed a bill that size when like everyone else, they are feeling the financial squeeze of the times.

Yes, blurry vision is my biggest complaint, but because I have perfect vision from an eye test, theory is "there's nothing wrong with me".

It's like a camera that won't autofocus. So far I haven't seen a test that will detect this issue, but I feel I could create one whereby you press a button every time your vision blurs. I know over a period of an hour, I'd be pressing that button hundreds of times!

The blurryness is worse when I'm more tired than usual.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

AZHugs, I'm 24 and saw the eye doctor only a few months ago but it couldn't hurt going back just to check, ok well it hurts my pocket lol. I'm not currently taking any meds for N. I'm hoping to start Xyrem soon because I'm about at my wits end with the exhaustion that never goes away.

Amost Alice, that's exactly what it's like. Things just go out of focus and I just have to wait for it to come back.

AZhugs, that's so sweet that your dog got the root canals done gratis like that. And that your oral surgeon has been so helpful to you as well. I've read some of your profile and you really have had a difficult life and gone through more heartache than most people. I'm glad at least some good people are cutting you some slack.

I seriously wouldn't get the $99 dentures, but it is comforting to know that at least it's an option. I've spent about 6K this summer on my teeth, and the trouble just doesn't seem to end. Between all the money and the pain and cold sensitivity, I have to think that at some point it would be better to have implants or dentures.