Symptoms often start in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood (ages 7 to 25), but can occur at any time in life. Since people with narcolepsy are often misdiagnosed with other conditions, such as psychiatric disorders or emotional problems, it can take years for someone to get the proper diagnosis.
Daytime sleepiness often is the first symptom to appear. Feeling sleepy makes it hard to focus and function. Some people with narcolepsy continue doing a task when they fall asleep briefly. For example, you may fall asleep while writing, typing or driving.
Some people have symptoms regularly, while others are less frequently affected. Narcolepsy is usually a long-term (chronic) condition. Symptoms may develop slowly over a number of years, or suddenly over the course of a few weeks.
There are 5 main symptoms of narcolepsy, referred to by the acronym CHESS (Cataplexy, Hallucinations, Excessive daytime sleepiness, Sleep paralysis, Sleep disruption). While all patients with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime sleepiness, they may not experience all 5 symptoms.
Possible triggers
A number of factors may increase a person's risk of narcolepsy or cause an autoimmune problem. These include: an inherited genetic fault. hormonal changes, including those that take place during puberty or the menopause.
Narcolepsy is characterized by uncontrollable excessive daytime sleepiness, paroxysmal cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. It is often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, resulting from the overlap in symptoms and a lack of understanding of narcolepsy.
Depression. Many signs of depression and narcolepsy look alike. Among some of the most common are trouble sleeping, fatigue, weight gain, and lack of focus.
One feature that does distinguish excessive daytime sleepiness due to narcolepsy is a “sleep attack,” when people fall asleep suddenly, unintentionally, and in a way that is out of their control. Such episodes can occur multiple times throughout a day and last for varying amounts of time.
A sleep study, known as polysomnography.
This test measures signals during sleep using flat metal discs called electrodes placed on your scalp. For this test, you must spend a night at a medical facility. The test measures your brain waves, heart rate and breathing. It also records your leg and eye movements.
Doctors look at how quickly and frequently the patient goes into rapid eye movement (REM)/dream sleep stage during the sleep study. The results of the sleep study combined with any medical tests performed and a comprehensive medical history help doctors determine whether a patient has narcolepsy.
A person with narcolepsy is extremely sleepy all the time and, in severe cases, falls asleep involuntarily several times every day. Narcolepsy is caused by a malfunction in a brain structure called the hypothalamus. Mild cases of narcolepsy can be managed with regular naps, while severe cases need medication.
The onset of narcolepsy can occur anytime between early childhood and 50 years of age. Two peak time periods have been identified; one around 15 years of age and another around 36 years of age. Some researchers believe that narcolepsy is under-diagnosed in children.
There are specific signs that point to narcolepsy: Excessive daytime sleepiness. Many people with narcolepsy are unable to stay awake and alert during the day. There are times when they have an irrepressible need for sleep, or unintended lapses into sleep.
If you need to wake someone with narcolepsy for safety reasons, be aware that they may be confused and disoriented. Temporary episodes of paralysis or muscle weakness might also take place.
Objective: Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity.
Narcolepsy in pediatric patients is often misdiagnosed as a more common medical condition, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, depression, syncope, or other sleep disorders.
Most people with narcolepsy have daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Not everyone has all these symptoms. Surprisingly, despite being very tired, many people with narcolepsy don't sleep well at night.
You need to be medically able to drive, which includes being able to stay awake. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the government agency that oversees highway safety, says that people with narcolepsy should only drive if they're on a treatment that helps them stay awake.
Many of the symptoms of narcolepsy can occur in any person who is severely sleep deprived, with the exception of cataplexy, which is unique for otherwise neurologically intact persons. CSA is mainly secondary to congestive heart failure or to brainstem structural damage and can lead to disrupted sleep.
Anxiety disorders, especially panic attacks and social phobias, often affect patients with narcolepsy. Anxiety and mood symptoms could be secondary complications of the chronic symptoms of narcolepsy. Recent studies have shown that narcolepsy is caused by defective hypocretin signaling.
We are tired during the day, but as soon as the lights go off, we are wide awake. Have you ever found yourself telling someone that you are just too tired to sleep? If this sounds like you, then you may have a sleep disorder. A common sleep disorder associated with MS is narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy symptoms are often called a tetrad, meaning that there are four core symptoms of this condition: excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and cataplexy.
The hallmark symptom of narcolepsy is an excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), in which a person falls asleep at times when they want to be awake. EDS may include daytime sleep attacks that occur with or without warning, persistent drowsiness and fleeting moments of sleep that occur in between a person's waking state.