Kelly Cullen ’13 | Social Media Editor

A few weeks before school started, Alexa Thompson ’13 went to a sleep doctor to find the underlying cause of her excessive sleepiness.  Alexa Thompson always thought she slept more than the average teenager and knew there had to be some cause, she said.

“I always use to joke around with my friends and family that I had to be a narcoleptic,” said Thompson. “What other explanation could there be for me falling asleep at any chance I was able to?”

Falling asleep at random times, Alexa Thompson’s mother knew something was up with her daughter, Dana Thompson said.

Dana Thompson thought her daughter had a tumor at first.  Considering there was no history of any sleep disorders and there is a death in the family due to a tumor, her mind automatically went there, Dana Thompson said.

However, her doctor decided to perform a sleep study.  Alexa Thompson had to sleep overnight at Macomb Sleep Institute so various tests could be performed to determine how often she went into REM sleep.  Hooked up to various wires, Alexa Thompson had to stay in the room from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. take five 20-minute naps two hours apart.

After many tests and hours later, Alexa Thompson found out she had narcolepsy.  The results of the sleep study found that Alexa Thompson can fall asleep within a minute, which is rare for most narcolepsy patients, Alexa Thompson said.

According to Mayo Clinic, narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep.

Dr.Chirag Popat at the Henry Ford Sleep Disorders and Research Center said the most common ages for people to be diagnosed with narcolepsy are 15 to 30 years of age.

To combat the excessive sleepiness, Alexa Thompson was prescribed Adderall at first, which did not help, so she switched over to Provigil, Thompson said.

Medication for narcolepsy is a stimulant that helps to keep people with narcolepsy awake during the day, Dr.Popit said.

One of the biggest concerns with narcolepsy patients is driving, Dr. Popat said.

“After patients with narcolepsy are steadily taking medication, and their symptoms are controlled over a longer period of time, they can most likely drive,” said Dr.Popat.

There is no cure for narcolepsy, but medications and modifying lifestyles can help patients manage their symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic

Alexa Thompson and her parents have been working on a sleep schedule to try to ensure she is getting enough sleep, but not too much.  Whenever Dana sees her daughter sleeping when she shouldn’t be, she tries to wake her up and get her busy, Dana Thompson said.

“The busier I am, the less I fall asleep randomly,” said Alexa Thompson.  “If I am comfortable at my house it is very easy for me to fall asleep whether I’m working on homework, sitting outside with my dogs or watching TV.”

Before school started, Alexa Thompson went around to all of her teachers with a doctor note to warn them of her sleep disorder.  Because she cannot help but sometimes fall asleep, Alexa Thompson said it was important to let them know ahead of time.

“Most of my teachers were very understanding for the most part and appreciated me coming to them ahead of time,” said Alexa Thompson.

Dana believes her family has grown a lot of patience because of her daughter’s condition, Dana Thompson said.

“It can get frustrating when my daughter is always falling asleep when she should be working on her homework or studying for tests,” said Dana Thompson.  But I realize she can’t help it and so long that she continues doing well in school, and keeps herself busy, we will all get through it.”