A WOMAN has revealed her rare condition which makes her “faint” whenever she laughs, cries or is hungover – and once almost drowned in a pool due to it.
Chelsea Coombes, 27, first realised something was wrong when she was 17 years old and felt her face drop after she laughed.
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It continued to happen when she giggled and got worse – causing her head to jolt and her mouth to shut.
Chelsea went to the doctor at the time and was told she likely had sleep disorder narcolepsy and cataplexy – a sudden and brief loss of muscle tone – but failed to get an official diagnosis.
But Chelsea has gradually got worse and said her episodes are triggered by her emotions – such as when she laughs, cries and when she is hungover.
She is often able to laugh off the symptoms but has found it “scary” when she almost drowned after losing control of her muscles while laughing.
Chelsea, a social media creator, from Kibworth, Leicestershire, said: “It’s like a weak light headedness.
“My eyes will flicker. My leg jolts and my head will start to go.
“I’m still conscious – it’s like my brain is drunk.
“Sometime my head will jolt and my eye looks the other way.”
Chelsea first noticed something was wrong aged 17.
She said: “I was at my auntie’s house. I remember laughing and one side of my face dropped.
“I thought ‘what the hell? I think I’ve just had a stroke’.
“I laughed again and it happened.
“When it first started happening I was falling asleep everywhere.
“I still fall asleep very easily.”
Chelsea would continually find she would have a momentary loss of movement when she laughed and went to see her doctor.
She said: “At first they thought it could have been a non-epileptic disorder.”
Chelsea had several tests and saw a neurologist who believed it was narcolepsy and the linked condition cataplexy.
She “gave up” going to the doctor after tests didn’t show anything up and has yet to receive an official diagnosis.
Over the years Chelsea’s symptoms have worsened and different emotions have started to trigger it.
She said: “Laughter is the main one.
“Sometimes I’ll have it when I cry or when I’m hungover.
“Years ago it happened to me when I was carrying cups of tea and I laughed. Now carrying cups of tea is a trigger.”
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Chelsea describes the lack of muscle tone as similar to fainting – but she is conscious.
Her condition has now worsened and she can lose muscle tone up to 100 times a day.
Chelsea said: “It’s got to the point where it’s just part of me now.
“If I have got a present to give to someone I get really excited and then it can happen.
“When it’s at it’s worse my legs go.
“Any strong emotion – it happens.
“But I can have a whole day when I laugh and it doesn’t happen.”
If Chelsea is in public she usually knows to get on the ground if she can feel it happening. She says she often has strangers checking if she is OK.
She said: “I went on holiday and it happened in the pool and people had to grab me – that’s crazy dangerous.
“That’s been quite scary.”
Chelsea also can’t drive and is worried about when she starts a family.
She said: “I don’t have kids yet but I really want them.
“What would happen if I’m holding my baby and I faint.”
Chelsea has now gone back to the doctor for testing to get an official diagnosis – and to see if they can help.
But she shares her condition and episodes on TikTok to raise awareness and show other with the condition it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Chelsea said: “You don’t have to hide.
“I’m not a very serious person.
“I don’t take life seriously.”
What is Narcolepsy?
Not everyone suffering from the long-term condition will have the same symptoms, which can develop suddenly or over a number of years.
According to the NHS website, those worried about any relevant warning signs should book in a visit to their GP who can refer them to a sleep disorder specialist.
What are the symptoms?
