Do I Have Narcolepsy?

Do you experience recurrent periods of an irrepressible need to sleep, lapsing into sleep or napping occurring within the same day, at least three times per week over the past 3 months?

If you have long-standing disease (not in children), do you experience brief (seconds to minutes) episodes of sudden bilateral loss of muscle tone (cataplexy) with maintained consciousness that are precipitated by laughter or joking, occurring at least a few times per month?

Do you show hypocretin deficiency (as measured using cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin-1 immunoreactivity values)?

Did you ever do a nocturnal sleep polysomnography (sleep test) and if yes, did it show rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency less than or equal to 15 minutes or did you ever do a multiple sleep latency test and if so, did it show a mean sleep latency less than or equal to 8 minutes and two or more sleep-onset REM periods?

Based on your answers, there probably is no reason for concern. People with narcolepsy have sudden attacks of sleep and experience daytime drowsiness. They usually have difficulties staying awake for a long period of time. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder and cannot be cured. If you experience these symptoms, it may be important to talk with your doctor to find out what the cause is. Additionally, it may be important to tell your employer what you are experiencing and that you are searching for a solution.

Based on your answers, it may be important to plan a visit to your doctor. Narcolepsy can interfere with your daily activities. Additionally, people may not understand your situation and think you are just lazy. Narcolepsy can also cause problems with intimate relationships and it can even cause dangerous situations. For example, if you would have an attack while driving a car, you could easily get involved in an accident. Talk with your employer at work to see if there are ways to accommodate your needs.

Based on your answers, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. After some tests, your doctor may make an initial diagnosis of the disorder and refer you to a specialist. A specialist will carry out additional tests to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms. Narcolepsy cannot be cured but maintaining a healthy lifestyle and medication can help you manage your symptoms. A healthy lifestyle includes avoiding nicotine and alcohol and regular exercise. Also you may take short naps during the day to reduce sleepiness.