What Sodium Oxybate actually changed for me

Hey guys! I see a lot of people on here mentioning that Xyrem has been life changing for them and, although that was enough to push me to try it, I always felt that wasn’t descriptive enough so I wanna offer a more detailed view of what “life changing” looks like in my case. Feel free to do the same in the replies !

So, my life before I was on Xyrem: - sleeping 12-18 hours a day on average, in chunks of sleep that lasted 2-7 hours each. - Every couple months I would have a bout of insomnia where I’d go 30+ hours without sleep. - could never keep a consistent “main” sleep schedule for more than a couple weeks. - most times I woke up, it was from an extremely vivid dream that would then have a lasting impact on my mental health for a couple days if it was a nightmare. (This symptom alone is why I looked into Xyrem in the first place) - always behind on chores and work. - would have to choose ONE productive thing to do on any given day (groceries, laundry, dishes, errands, a few hours of work, etc) because I knew I wasn’t likely to have energy for a second. - if I had plans with friends that were going to be more than 30 minutes, my entire day was dedicated to getting ready for that. - I could never finish a prescription of antibiotics as intended if I managed it on my own. I would miss a lot of days for my regular medications because I wouldn’t always be awake at the right time to take them. It was also extremely difficult to stay properly hydrated. - I was always the weakest and squishiest person I knew. I struggled extra to gain muscle, and I didn’t know what “good soreness” felt like because I only ever got the injury kind from over-exertion. - I had no idea that a minor cold was only supposed to last 2-3 days. I had only ever had them last 5-10 days.

I started Xyrem 3 months ago. This is my life now: - I sleep 7-10 hours a night. It’s consistently 5-7 hours at night with the Xyrem and then 1-3 hours on my own as a nap in the morning. If I need to skip the nap because I have stuff going on, it’s not that big of an issue. - No insomnia when you’re taking a sedative drug! - I’ve only had one vivid dream rattle me since starting the Xyrem, and it wasn’t even that bad. It was at least a weekly occurrence before, and now it seems to be less than quarterly. - I can do 3-5 productive things in a day and be fine! Before the medication, I’d have a couple of days like this per year. Now it’s every single day. I can do laundry and dishes and work all in ONE day AND still have energy to watch a show or play guitar!! That was unimaginable for me before. - If I have plans with friends at 2pm, I’m doing an activity or a productive task in the morning instead of just laying in bed until it’s time to get ready. I’m not forced to be on bed rest by my body. If I get bored, I have the energy to go do something about it. - I’ve been super duper extra consistent with my meds because it’s finally been so easy! I’m also drinking a LOT more water which pretty much cured my gastro issues. - When I work out, I actually gain muscle. My bicep actually feels different when it’s flexed vs unflexed. I hiked 3.5 miles with 400ft of elevation and was barely tired after!! I used to get tired just from going up a flight of stairs. - I had a minor cold for the first time!!! I was so excited to get sick and have it actually be mild!!

So many things are possible for me now. I truly feel like I have a new life and I’m just making up for all the time I lost to this disability. Like I realized “it was this easy for everyone else this whole time??? I could have done so much more!! From now on, I will.”