Living With Idiopathic Hypersomnia

If you're feeling tired from either too much or too little sleep, then you could be suffering from idiopathic hypersomnia. It is fairly common, with nearly five percent of the population affected. However, without proper treatment, people who have this condition can fall asleep at any time.

This can prove debilitating and even dangerous if the person happens to be working or driving at the time. As with any sleep disorder, hypersomnia can lead to a variety of other health symptoms. In this article, we'll examine the likely candidates for this condition and the treatments that are available.

Patients suffering from hypersomnia often lose the ability to function in family, social and occupational settings. The condition most commonly impacts teenagers, young adults and people who are overweight.

This can exacerbate their weight problems, as their excessive sleep patterns means that they will use less energy. In addition to excessive sleepiness and long nighttime sleeping, symptoms include irritability, mild depression and difficulty concentrating. For this reason, people with hypersomnia should be cautious when driving or operating machinery. Kleine-Levin syndrome is a form of hypersomnia that features slightly different symptoms.

Sufferers may sleep for eighteen or more hours a day and are irritable, uninhibited, and make indiscriminate sexual advances. People with Kleine-Levin syndrome often eat uncontrollably and rapidly gain weight. However, this form of recurrent hypersomnia is very rare.

Recurring hypersomnia involves periods of excessive daytime sleepiness that can last from one to many days, and recur over the course of a year or more. With recurring hypersomnia, a person will have prolonged periods where they do not exhibit any signs of the malady. However, persons experiencing idiopathic hypersomnia are affected by it nearly all the time.

There is no known cure for idiopathic hypersomnia, but a combination of lifestyle modifications and medication can help. A regular sleep schedule, even on weekends, will make a world of difference.

It's not unusual for patients to think they may have narcolepsy or hypersomnia, when the real problem is insufficient sleep time each night. It's also important to avoid caffeine, alcohol, activities or medications that may affect sleep.

Some drugs used to treat hypersomnia are also used to treat narcolepsy. These include medications that stimulate the central nervous system such as Provigi, Ritalin and various amphetamines.

Provigi is a newer stimulant that isn't as addictive as other medications and doesn't produce the highs and lows often associated with other drugs. Amphetamines, while effective, can cause nervousness and heart palpitations in some patients.

In today's busy world, craving a catnap is nothing out of the ordinary, but regularly falling asleep during movies, dinner, or even in conversation is an indication that there may be a medical condition in play. Idiopathic hypersomnia can greatly affect your ability to enjoy normal activities, so it's important to get it treated as soon as possible.