Mother, 47, with sleep disorder that causes her to pass out when she laughs is given date rape drug

A mother with a debilitating disorder that causes her to pass out when she laughs claims a ‘date rape drug’ has given her a normal life again.

Heather McFarlane, 47, suffers from terrifying sleep attacks that leave her unable to move or speak but still completely aware of her surroundings. 

The condition, known as cataplexy, is triggered by emotional stimuli such as laughter or excitement and can leave sufferers feeling ‘trapped’ in their body.

Ms MacFarlane, from Glasgow, claims she began experiencing the seizure-like symptoms in 2010 after laughing at a Peter Kay stand-up show.

‘When I laughed, I had a kind of shutdown, as if I had rebooted in a split second – like the power had gone out and come back on again,’ she said.

The mother-of-three’s life slowly started to fall to pieces as the condition worsened, with even a slight smirk enough to trigger an attack.

Ms MacFarlane said the disorder ‘saw part of me disappear’ as she struggled to watch television with her children or hold a conversation with friends. 

But she is now able to live a ‘normal’ life again after being prescribed sodium oxybate, a purified form of the date rape drug GHB.

Ms MacFarlane, from Glasgow, claims she began experiencing the seizure-like symptoms in 2010 after laughing at a Peter Kay stand-up show

But she is now able to live a ‘normal’ life again after being prescribed sodium oxybate – brand name Xyrem – a purified form of the date rape drug GHB