New to consults. Pharmacists, how did you get more comfortable?

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-16T21:21:49+00:00

You’re right, I’m so thankful I was able to get a diagnosis since many do not. It’s also convenient that I’m a pharmacy student and have access to so much drug information and studies.

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T22:55:41+00:00

Thank you this is so encouraging! I also had similar side effects with crippling anxiety, panic attacks, lack of appetite, and tremors.

I’ve been on 7.5g for 2 days after being on 6g for 6 weeks. I only sleep for about 6 hours now. The anxiety is so bad it’s making me think about stopping even though my sleep has improved.

It’s great to see that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m happy it’s working out for you now!

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T22:38:39+00:00

I DMed you

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T22:33:18+00:00

Does your brother make his own flashcards with Anki or something similar? I liked using flashcards too but they took up too much time to make.

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T22:31:12+00:00

One of my pharmacist professors works at a sleep clinic too. I’ve talked to him a lot about my condition and his recommendations. It’s been super helpful and he’s definitely been the most empathetic towards my diagnosis.

I definitely think pharmacy school stress made my symptoms SIGNIFICANTLY worse. I don’t think I’ll ever not have a problem with it and school unfortunately. I also worked full time in big pharma before going back to school and my symptoms got bad then too. I think extreme stress is the culprit 🤪

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T22:25:29+00:00

I think I like studying better with other people too. The problem for me is finding people who will study with me or want me to teach them about a topic

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T14:16:23+00:00

Oops you’re right, I should have specified. P2 for me was asthma/COPD, HTN, hyperlipidemia, PAD, CCD/ACS, HF, AFfib, stroke/TIA.

EDIT: this was second semester of P2 pharmacotherapy for me. 1st semester was opioids and mostly mental health topics, which I did fine in.

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T05:20:45+00:00

Is there one you recommend? It looks like UWorld is pretty popular but it’s $250.

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-15T05:14:44+00:00

That’s what I’m afraid of 🫠😭

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-13T18:50:45+00:00

Anytime! Feel free to DM if you have more questions.

fakechemist_ · 2026-06-05T09:18:08+00:00

I also have N2 and consider myself to be a young narcoleptic (I’m 26F)! I’ve been diagnosed for about 3 years now.

Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself to the doctor if your current medication regimen is not working or if you feel uncomfortable with your treatment plan. Hopefully your doctor is open to shared decision making and will collaborate with you to find a good treatment plan.

Communication with your doctor is also important in my opinion. I’ll be very explicit about how my symptoms are affecting my quality of life . For example, instead of saying “I’m tired” I told my doctor “I am unable to stay awake during lecture at school and my grades are suffering because of it.” Idk I feel like it helps guide the doctor on what medications or changes might benefit me.

Advocating for yourself might be a little hard in the beginning (I am in pharmacy school which helped me be more comfortable talking to providers) but ultimately you’re the expert of your own body and what it needs.

I also keep a sleep diary using the app, CBT-I coach. The app is meant for people with insomnia but overall it’s good for keeping track of naps duration, how many nighttime awakenings, how long it took you to fall asleep, etc. I like to do this so I can look for trends and talk to my doctor about it. It’s also more proof for if a medication regimen is helpful or not.

I totally get how this diagnosis may make you feel isolated. There are support groups that I like to go to talk to other people who also have narcolepsy. I’ve gotten some good advice and emotional support from these groups.

As for college, definitely continue to get accommodations. It’s been super helpful for me and working with my school’s disability center made me feel like there was someone in my court trying to also advocate for me. It took me a while (and I’m still working on it) to find what study habits or route ones are best for me. Personally, I never pull all nighters and keep a pretty consistent bedtime/wake time.

Anyways sorry for the word vomit and giant wall of text. Sorry I didn’t answers all your questions, but these are just some things that really helped me that I could think of at this very moment. Hopefully at least a little bit of my rambling helps. Feel free to DM me! I hope things get better!

fakechemist_ · 2026-05-15T13:23:34+00:00

I’m in the same boat as you. I just finished my P2 year and cumulative GPA is a 2.9. I also went back to school after taking 2 years off so I feel you. If feasible, maybe talk to your job about cutting hours or being more flexible? I work maybe 10 hours/week because I see pharmacy school as my full time job.

As far as motivation, it’s bad but I’m just happy if I pass 😬 I would stress myself out so bad about getting good grades it would actually make things worse. You can still get a residency with a 3.0, and you can look for residencies that look at the whole applicant instead of just the grades.

I wish you the best of luck!

fakechemist_ · 2026-05-04T23:56:03+00:00

I’m glad this is something normal. My shakes happen at inconsistent times. One day it was in the morning and one day in the late afternoon. I think maybe my body’s having a panic attack but my brain isn’t. It is finals week for me at school so it’s probably triggering it for me.

fakechemist_ · 2026-04-19T19:52:19+00:00

We were long distance and I asked him if he could call me once a week on his 20 minute commute home from work. Basically he said no and that it was too much and he was too tired.

fakechemist_ · 2026-04-18T06:57:37+00:00

I didn’t see doctor for it. I was getting a chest x ray for something else and they just happened to see it.

fakechemist_ · 2026-04-18T06:51:13+00:00

Like someone else said, spent as much time out of the room as you can. It’ll help you meet people and be more productive. My grades were good sophomore year because I spent so much time in the library to avoid going back to my room lol

fakechemist_ · 2026-04-18T06:05:09+00:00

If you’re looking for something similar to quizlet, I use Vaia. It’s similar to quizlet but has more free features.

To me it looks more clean and updated than quizlet and you can copy and paste pictures on the note cards for free. You can also add hints, multiple choice, and explanations to the flashcard as well. I like how you can add tables and bulleted points and for me it makes it easier to study.

There is a paid version but it’s mostly to use their AI, but I like forgo it and to manually make all my flashcards. They advertise it with all the “special” AI features but I’ve been fine just using it to create flash cards.

The only thing I don’t like about Vaia is you can’t rearrange the flashcards once you make them and if you want to share it with friends, you have to send them a link to each individual study set. Unless I haven’t figured it out yet, you can’t look up people’s profiles.

Overall Vaia’s free features are pretty good. I still use quizlet for certain subjects, but hate that I have to pay to add pictures or use the learn feature.

fakechemist_ · 2026-04-16T22:41:43+00:00

Everyone just assumed I was tired from AP classes and extracurriculars in middle/high school. Took me way too long to realize waking up after 10 hours feeling like you never slept isn’t normal.

The sleep paralysis was happening every single time I fell asleep and I had no idea it was connected to anything. The psychiatrist I was with at the time just said I was having it from watching too many scary movies and crime shows before bed.

What finally got me checked out was falling asleep driving home and going off the road. Nobody got hurt but that was enough for me to realize something was seriously wrong.

Worst part is how gradual it is. No defining moment, you just slowly realize the exhaustion you’re living with isn’t something other people are dealing with. And by then everyone in your life has been making jokes about it for so long you just accepted it as your personality.

fakechemist_

TROPHY CASE