Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that can be easily misdiagnosed if one is not reading the signs carefully. This disorder is characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness despite getting enough sleep at night. This chronic neurological disorder is also accompanied by hallucinations and sleep paralysis. The controllable urge to nap (be it at school or the office) can be easily dismissed as laziness or drowsiness. However, narcolepsy is a much more severe condition.
“I was diagnosed with narcolepsy when I was 25 years old, following a thirteen-year journey to diagnosis. I began looking for answers for overwhelming sleepiness along with my paediatrician when I was 13-14 years old. The diagnosis and treatments all centred around depression. After connecting with my paediatrician, I consulted four psychiatrists and my internal medicine doctor, who all missed the underlying issue of sleep. Along that journey, I was also diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD). It wasn’t until I took it upon myself to schedule an appointment with a sleep physician, a Fellow Member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (FAASM), for perceived sleep apnea that I received the answer I had been looking for…narcolepsy,” said Matthew Horsnell (a person living with narcolepsy and cataplexy), community director, Trend Community, USA.
Horsnell stated that his depression was due to sleepiness and not the other way around, and it took him a decade to realise it.
The incidence of people suffering from narcolepsy is approximately 1 in 2000, and there is little awareness about this sleep disorder. If anything, Matthew’s experience is a testament to how easily narcolepsy can be misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.
Lauryn Craine, writer, and a person living with idiopathic hypersomnia in USA, told Happiest Health that living with this condition is difficult and explaining it is tougher. “I doze off a lot and have energy to do only limited tasks. I get up and daze for an hour and then go to the bathroom, [considering] I don’t get back to sleep again. Later, napping starts from 2 pm and goes on till 6 pm and again, fewer tasks and back to sleep. We mostly sleep soundly except for the occasional sleep paralysis or hallucinations.” Currently, she is on medication to treat this condition along with following a sleep schedule in order to know when she’s more likely to doze off.
Watch Matthew Horsnell’s story here:
How is narcolepsy different from sleep deprivation?
Dr Jyoti Bala Sharma, director-neurology, Fortis Hospital, Noida, says, “Narcolepsy is a brain disorder that makes you feel sleepy most of the time. People with narcolepsy sometimes fall asleep suddenly, even when they don’t expect to. They can even fall asleep while in the middle of activities, such as eating, talking or driving. People usually develop narcolepsy during their teens or early 20s. Some people get it earlier, and others later. Once it starts, the disorder can create difficulty in performing work, schoolwork or other normal activities.” Sleep deprivation occurs when you don’t get enough sleep at night due to pulling all-nighters or other reasons, she added.
How does one know if they are narcoleptic?
Diagnosing narcolepsy can be challenging because the initial symptoms mask themselves as mundane actions that one might feel is a result of exhaustion or other mental disorders. Dr Sharma lists out specific signs to watch out for in order to know if you are narcoleptic:
- If you are feeling sleepy at inappropriate times. For example, while driving.
- If you generally feel sleepy throughout the entire day – irrespective of the fact that you have had a sound sleep at night.
- Due to sleep (or we can say due to narcolepsy), you may feel weak or fall during moments of being angry, excited or happy. This terminology is called ‘Cataplexy.’
- Sometimes, people may see or feel things moving near them for a few moments. It can be very scary for the person.
- People who have this problem feel depression or anxiety.
- Being unable to move or speak in the few moments right after waking or falling asleep. The medical term for this is sleep paralysis
How is narcolepsy treated?
Narcolepsy is often treated with behavioural changes and medicines. A neurologist must be consulted to treat a person living with this condition. Dr Sharma points out some options to manage narcolepsy:
- Trying to avoid medicines as they can make the patients drowsy.
- Following sleep hygiene and taking naps when you cannot sleep in case of an important event.
- Seven to eight hours of sound sleep is a must.
Takeaways
- Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness.
- It can often be misdiagnosed as laziness or drowsiness.
- Narcolepsy can be accompanied by sleep paralysis and cataplexy.
- Narcolepsy can be treated through behavioural changes and medication.
