Citation

Miskoff JA, Chaudhri M. Cureus 2019; 11(6): e4901.

Affiliation

Internal Medicine, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Curēus)

DOI

10.7759/cureus.4901

PMID

31423380

PMCID

PMC6689471

Abstract

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder, which can manifest in childhood, or adolescence by causing excessive daytime sleepiness, hallucinations, sleep attacks or cataplexy. Although presentation can vary, nearly all patients present with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). There is often a significant delay in diagnosis, which may lead to a misdiagnosis. Timely diagnosis and management may dramatically improve quality of life and symptoms. If missed, a patient may be at risk of accidents at home, work or while operating motor vehicle or machinery. This particular case describes a 42-year-old male, taxicab driver, who has been living with this undiagnosed condition his entire life along with examining real life consequences of his condition due to his occupation.

Language: en

Keywords

case report; excessive sleepiness; hypocretin; motor vehicle; narcolepsy; off label; sleep disorder; sodium oxybate