A patient with idiopathic hypersomnia says doctors dismissed her as lazy.

Health

as if Tracy Swartz

She was tired and exhausted all the time.

Alyssa Davis often finds herself juggling school and dance lessons, which she says prevents her from getting enough sleep.

But the 26-year-old model and digital marketer knew something was wrong when she found it “impossible” to fight the urge to close her eyes from sheer exhaustion.

The North Carolina resident sought medical advice, and doctors dismissed her for years, telling her to “just drink coffee” — until she participated in a clinical sleep study and was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia.

“It’s like I’m trapped in the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ — except I’m reliving the same day,” Davis said. What is The Jam?.

Idiopathic hypersomnia is a rare sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness that affects up to 50 in 1 million people. According to the Sleep Foundation news site. Symptoms include dizziness or lightheadedness when standing, headache, brief sleep paralysis, and brain fog.

Davis said she sometimes has to plan for hours to complete simple tasks, a condition that clouds her thinking, making focus a constant struggle.

I just have to get ready to take a shower [exhaustion] It will never fall apart,” she explained. “I sleep 10, 12, sometimes 14 hours and still wake up feeling like I pulled an all-nighter.”

When Davis began showing symptoms as a child, she remembers her mother often putting her down to sleep.

She was always more tired than her friends and family, which affected her daily life, and soon, her self-esteem.

“We haven’t slept together since I was little,” she said. “It wasn’t just an occasional night out. It was a constant, bone-deep fatigue that often dulled the edge of my vision.

“I was sitting in theater class excited to do my favorite lesson and all of a sudden my memory would fade,” Davis continued. “Sudden fatigue became a tell-tale sign that I was about to lose myself.”

Davis said that in high school she would become increasingly tired and fall asleep in class, sometimes having to leave to take a nap.

“I used to stumble sideways in tap dancing, fall to the floor, couldn’t sit up straight, and there were countless times I felt unsafe,” Davis recalled. “It was embarrassing, and I didn’t know what the problem was.

After seeing countless doctors who called her “lazy” and “negligent,” she became fed up and met a specialist.

The specialist suggested that she participate in a sleep study, which would require her to sleep for 14 consecutive hours.

The results showed that her body had not entered the deep sleep state required for proper rest. In 2017, her condition was confirmed.

“I was practically drinking coffee before I could answer, and it felt like my struggle was viewed as a personal offense,” Davis sighed. “Learning something wrong wasn’t just a light bulb moment, it was like a series of flashing lights guiding me forward in a dark tunnel.”

When she finally gets an answer, she struggles to control the situation.

But in 2021, it was the first drug for idiopathic hypersomnia Approved by the Food and Drug Administration For adult use.

Davis is undergoing another sleep study so she can start Xywav treatment. Now, she’s sharing her story to raise awareness about sleep disorders and encourage others to seek proper medical attention.

“It wasn’t an easy journey and it still isn’t, but getting a name for the fight I’ve been fighting for so long has been a lifeline,” Davis said.

She added: “It gave me a language to express my experiences, empowered me to advocate for myself and equipped me to fight for a better quality of life.