“My mother has narcolepsy since the last 10 days all of a sudden. How can it be treated?”
My mother is 72 years old and keeps falling asleep at random times of the day, kind of like narcolepsy. But I'm not sure if these are symptoms of narcolepsy or if it's just part of aging. This problem happened all of a sudden. How should it be treated? If it can be treated?
1 Answer
What you are describing is called excessive daytime sleepiness, and narcolepsy would be exceedingly uncommon as a new diagnosis in a 72-year-old female. This is not normal and the likely causes could include sedating medications or sleep deprivation, which may not be voluntary (consider pain, excessive urination, noisy environment, etc.). Sleep apnea is also common as one ages and affects potentially as many as 5%-10% of adults, especially if they are overweight. First step is careful diagnosis. Consultation with a sleep specialist is needed.
