Insomnia

For me, to sleep is the hardest thing to do. I remember my friend used to say that sleeping is an easy and favorite thing to do whenever they have time. In my office, I find many friends sleep during the lunch hour just by putting their head on the desk or sitting at the couch. Wow! So easy... I wish I can do that. I have a sleep disorder and so afraid that I might have insomnia. Sometimes in order to get a sleep, I drink a cold & flu drug or a sleeping pill. I know it is wrong, but I really need to sleep.

Recently, I read an article about FFI syndrome. FFI is fatal familial insomnia. The story is about a man at his 40, having a problem to sleep. The problem continues until he can not sleep at all, the brain just won't let him have it. The body was exhausted and the disease finally killed him. He died after 6 months from a complete lack of sleep.

According to Wikipedia, FFI is a very rare autosomal dominant inherited prion (mutated protein) disease of the brain. So far, it has affected 40 families around the world. This is a very fatal disease and inherited. If the parents has the gene, they have a 50% chance of inheriting it. Scary! The disease untraceable and ultimately fatal.

Fatal Familial Insomnia attacks between the ages of 30 and 60 years, with no apparent trigger that the sufferer can relate to. Patients have been known to survive for up to three years, gradually passing through four stages of illness:

1. The onset of insomnia, creating panic attacks and unfounded phobias, lasting for four months.
2. Severe insomnia, worsening panic attacks and hallucinations, lasting for five months.
3. Complete insomnia and rapid weight loss, lasting for three months.
4. Dementia and unresponsiveness, lasting for six months. FFI is eventually fatal.

There is no cure or treatment for FFI. This prion disease is still shrouded in mystery, and sleeping pills only worsen the symptoms. However, there is hope that one day, Fatal Familial Insomnia will be controlled through gene therapy.

Beware of it!


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_familial_insomnia
http://sleep-disorders.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_man_who_never_slept

Picture:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/iris-glows/Insomnia.jpg