the diagnostic process of idiopathic hypersomnia
Diagnostic Process for Idiopathic Hypersomnia
Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH) is a chronic neurological sleep disorder primarily characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), despite adequate or even excessive amounts of sleep. The diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia can be quite difficult at times, including poor and lacking research on the disorder, as well as doctors refusing to consider it as a possibility.
Including poor research, unrefreshing sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness can be caused by many sleep disorders, including circadian rhythm disorder (a disturbance in your internal sleep-wake cycle), sleep-breathing disorders like sleep apnea (when your breathing sporadically stops and starts during sleep), narcolepsy (overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sleep attacks), and other psychiatric disorders.
Firstly, your doctor will review your symptoms, family history, and symptomatic history. They may have to rule out Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), otherwise known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The key difference between the two is that CFS is characterized by fatigue, and IH is characterized by sleepiness. To receive an IH diagnosis, you must have symptoms of hypersomnia for more than three months, as well as it having a significant impact on your day-to-day life and quality of life.
Next, your doctor may perform a physical exam to assess anything physical that may be causing your EDS, as well as reviewing your medications (which may have EDS as a side effect). A physical exam may include a CBC (complete blood count; evaluates your overall health and levels such as red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelet count, and can diagnose disorders such as anemia and luekemia), or a thyroid function test (showcases the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thyroxine).
Finally—and while there is no one specific test to diagnose idiopathic hypersomnia—your doctor may run several different ones to rule out other possibilities. Of these include the Epworth Sleepiness
Scale, a polysomnography (PSG), and a multiple sleep latency test, all of which measure sleepiness and sleep quality, which can be used to rule out other sleep disorders. An alternative option to a test would be to keep a sleep diary—which can be used to track sleep patterns and quality.
Ultimately, the final treatment for idiopathic hypersomnia is largely pharmaceutical, simply because the pathophysiology of IH isn’t well understood. The diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia is also largely based on physical exams and past symptoms; through ruling out other possible causes.
