What was your experience like before being diagnosed?
I’ve had severe fatigue for years now. For a long time, I chalked it up to uncontrolled depression, but my depression has been well controlled for about a year and the fatigue has never improved. I’m still exhausted 24/7.
I can easily sleep 10–13 hours at night, wake up, and still feel like I barely slept. On weekends or days off, I’ll often take two naps that are 2+ hours each, and I still don’t feel refreshed.
It’s gotten to the point where it’s becoming difficult to function. I don’t have the energy to do housework or much of anything outside of work. My routine is basically: wake up, go to work, struggle to make it through the day, come home, lie down, go to bed, and repeat.
My lab work has been essentially normal, and I’ve recently switched PCPs because my previous doctor seemed to attribute everything to my depression. My new PCP agrees that something else may be going on and has referred me to neurology for evaluation for possible narcolepsy.
I’ve also noticed that caffeine has absolutely no effect on me, and I was previously prescribed Adipex (phentermine) for weight loss. Even while taking that, it didn’t improve my fatigue or daytime sleepiness at all, which surprised me.
What was your experience like prior to being diagnosed with narcolepsy?