Diagnosis

Officially, I have something called idiopathic hypersomnia (a.k.a. IH).  That means narcolepsy without REM during the sleep study.  It's also called Non-REM narcolepsy.  I fell asleep 3 times during my sleep study (normal people would fall asleep maybe once).  So, something is causing me to be more tired than normal, but "Idiopathic" means that the cause can't be determined.

There are 3 possible reasons I did not have REM during my sleep study: 1. I have IH, but not narcolepsy, 2. I have narcolepsy and the SSRI that I take hides the REM symptom, or 3. I am too old for REM naps (REM naps go away with age even in people with full Narcolepsy).  I have other symptoms of both IH and Narcolepsy.  The thing that makes diagnosis difficult is that IH and narcolepsy overlap with normal sleepiness - even when cataplexy (muscle weakness) is involved.  We may never know if I have or ever had narcolepsy, because even if I come off the Lexapro, I might be just too old to get REM during naps.  But it doesn't really matter because the treatment is the same.

I will be starting Nuvigil tomorrow morning.  It is not an amphetamine, but it is a "wakefulness promoting agent."  I'm pretty sure that means it is not a stimulant, but it should keep me awake.

I do not have apnea or restless leg syndrome.  In other words, nothing is stopping me from sleeping well during the night.

So, there you have it.  Ok, I'm tired.  Time for a nap.