Are you just sleepy? Or is it a sleep disorder? Watch this.

Narcolepsy is often thought of as an adult sleep disorder.⁷ However, symptoms most commonly start in childhood or adolescence. ⁷ While the five major symptoms of narcolepsy are the same for children and adults, they can present differently.^1,8 Misdiagnosis is common, and people with narcolepsy can experience symptoms for more than a decade before getting the right diagnosis. ^6,7

DID YOU KNOW?

• Narcolepsy is not as uncommon as you may think. Approximately 1 in 2,000 people have narcolepsy and it is estimated about half of people with narcolepsy remain undiagnosed ¹
• More than 50% of people with narcolepsy say their symptoms started before age 18 ⁶
• Everyone with narcolepsy has EDS, but not everyone describes it in the same way. ^2,3,8
• On average, patients had six doctor visits before receiving a narcolepsy diagnosis⁵

¹ Ahmed I, Thorpy M. Clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy. Clin Chest Med. 2010;31(2):371-381.

² Ahmed IM, Thorpy MJ. Clinical evaluation of the patient with excessive sleepiness. In: Thorpy MJ, Billiard M, eds.

Sleepiness: causes, consequences and treatment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 2011:36-49.

³ Miglis, Mitchell G., and Clete A. Kushida. Daytime sleepiness. Sleep medicine clinics, vol. 9, no. 4, 2014. pp.

491–498., doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2014.08.007.

⁴ Dodel R, Peter H, Walbert T, et al. The socioeconomic impact of narcolepsy. Sleep. 2004;27(6):1123-1128.

⁵ Maski K, Steinhart E, Williams D, et al. Listening to the patient voice in narcolepsy: diagnostic delay, disease

burden, and treatment efficacy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 Mar 15;13(3):419-425.

⁶ Thorpy, Michael J., and Ana C. Krieger. Delayed diagnosis of narcolepsy: characterization and impact. Sleep

medicine, vol. 15, no. 5. 2014, pp. 502–507., doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2014.01.015.

⁷ American academy of sleep medicine. Central disorders of hypersomnolence. In: The international classification

of sleep disorders – Third edition. American academy of sleep medicine. 2014.

http://www.aasmnet.org/ebooks/icsd3 [aasmnet.org] [na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. Accessed February 28, 2014.

⁸ NINDS narcolepsy fact sheet. National institute of neurological disorders and stroke web site.

https:/www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Narcolepsy-Fact-Sheet [na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. Accessed January 24, 2018.