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I'm a PatientComorbidities May Mask the Symptoms of Narcolepsy
Studies indicate onset of symptoms occurs most commonly between 10 and 25 years of age; however, diagnosis is often missed and/or delayed for more than a decade due to the overlap with symptoms of other medical conditions.1-5
Narcolepsy Can Be Difficult to Diagnose
Could your patient have idiopathic hypersomnia instead of narcolepsy?
Review the differences
Symptoms of narcolepsy can overlap with or mimic the symptoms of other conditions1,2,4
5 main symptoms of narcolepsy5,6
Other symptoms and conditions
Is It Narcolepsy?
In a physician survey and retrospective chart review study of 252 patients with narcolepsy, 60% of patients had initially received a misdiagnosis of another disorder. The most common misdiagnoses included depression (~31%), insomnia (~18%), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (~13%).2
A patient’s perspective
Watching patients describe the difficulty of getting diagnosed can help you discuss, recognize symptoms, and understand your patient’s life-long journey.
- Ahmed I, Thorpy M. Clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy. Clin Chest Med. 2010;31(2):371-381.
- Carter LP, Acebo C, Kim A. Patients’ journeys to a narcolepsy diagnosis: a physician survey and retrospective chart review. Postgrad Med. 2014;126(3):216-224.
- Luca G, Haba-Rubio J, Dauvilliers Y, et al; European Narcolepsy Network. Clinical, polysomnographic and genome-wide association analyses of narcolepsy with cataplexy: a European Narcolepsy Network study. J Sleep Res. 2013;22(5):482-495.
- Thorpy MJ, Krieger AC. Delayed diagnosis of narcolepsy: characterization and impact. Sleep Med. 2014;15(5):502-507.
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Central disorders of hypersomnolence. In: The International Classification of Sleep Disorders – Third Edition (ICSD-3) Online Version. Darien, IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; 2014.
- Thorpy MJ, Dauvilliers Y. Clinical and practical considerations in the pharmacologic management of narcolepsy. Sleep Med. 2015;16(1):9-18.
- Cheung J, Ruoff CM, Mignot E. Central nervous system hypersomnias. In: Miglis MG, ed. Sleep and Neurologic Disease. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier Academic Press; 2017:141-166.
- Roth T, Dauvilliers Y, Mignot E, et al. Disrupted nighttime sleep in narcolepsy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2013;9(9):955-965.
- Moturi S, Ivanenko A. Complex diagnostic and treatment issues in psychotic symptoms associated with narcolepsy. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009;6(6):38‐44.
- Pagel JF. Excessive daytime sleepiness. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79(5):391-396.
- Miglis MG, Kushida CA. Daytime sleepiness. Sleep Medicine Clinics. 2014;9(4):491-498. Available at: https://www.sleep.theclinics.com/article/S1556-407X(14)00083-6/pdf. Accessed April 30, 2021.