Hey David,

I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Hypersomnia in May of this year after trying to live with it for...as long as I can remember. High school wasn't too big of a problem for me since my parents were there to tell me to get up if (rather: when) I turned off my alarm and overslept. Once I got to college, though, things got pretty bad. I'm in my third year now and almost failed out. I didn't have anyone to answer to when I overslept, and a lot of people attributed it to laziness so I began to think it was me... I was the problem, I was the reason I was sleeping so much, the alarm went off but I turned it off and kept on sleeping, and most importantly I should be able to do something about it. Then I met someone who had narcolepsy and started to realize that maybe I had something to. A few appointments and sleep studies later, turns out I did.

Sorry for life story there, I just saw a lot of parallels between yours and mine so I guess I'm hoping it'll be at least a small comfort that we've had many of the same experiences. The irritation you talked about is also something I've experienced, but it was much more severe when I was younger (around elementary school). It's still there, but not nearly as bad.

Enough about me... I'll try to get you as much information as I can find - I'd rather not try to explain much myself since I'm most definitely not an authority on anything.

First, I learned quite a bit from this:
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/120/8/1423.pdf
It's a study on 42 people with various forms of hypersomnia. Really, its point was to find a line among the different hypersomnias as well as attempt to further distinguish them from narcolepsy, but it does have a lot of very interesting stuff in there about hypersomnia that I hope you'll find useful.

Something I was just reading might also be worth looking in to as well:
http://www.beatcfsandfms.org/references/IdiopathicHypersomnia.html
From the article, "Delayed sleep phase syndrome is a diagnostic consideration in some patients whose main complaints are extreme difficulty awakening at the desired time and excessive morning sleepiness. These patients are not sleepy throughout the day, however, and go to bed or fall asleep extremely late at night." I'm not sure how much you feel relates you to, but it might be worth looking in to.

Those are two of the few things I've been able to find that really went in depth, though. Before my tests and after my diagnosis, I searched everywhere for information about the disorder but most of the websites really say the same thing ( http://www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id=48 is a good example).

(Heh - I've exceeded the limit. Gotta break this up into two posts. I should really try to not be so long-winded...)

(part two)

When it all comes down to it though, the only way to be certain is to make an appointment with a sleep specialist and see what they have to say. From what I've heard, your concerns are more than enough to warrant an appointment. Hopefully, if they agree, they'll be able to schedule you for some tests and you'll know a few weeks after.

If there is any possible way you can see someone... the only advice that I can really give you is to do it. After my diagnosis, my doctor prescribed medication and my quality of life was instantly and incomparably better.

Two last things. The first is that the tests are incredibly expensive - make sure your insurance (hopefully you have it) is willing to foot the bill. I thought they were, they didn't, and I got slammed with a $1,600 bill (and that's after a very generous discount by the office that I went to). Second, there is no real treatment for the hypersomnia itself. Instead, most doctors will prescribe medication for to combat Excessive Daytime Sleepiness - usually Ritalin, Adderall, or Provigil (Modafinil). The strange thing is that, with my provigil, I don't have nearly as much of a problem waking up as I ever did before. 8 hours of sleep a night and I'm up the next morning (this is down from 12-13 - and I feel much better after the 8 than I ever did after the 12-13). I'm not sure if there would be any changes in your medication (if you are diagnosed) since your sleepiness is only present in the morning, but I just wanted to let you know the common route taken.

Feel free to post any more questions you have... I'll try to be any help I can. I hope all goes well, and let me know what happens if you happen to think about it a few months from now.

Greg

Hi David
the first step HAS to be seeing a doctor. I know it's easier for me in the UK, with free healthcare, but I really think you should. There are chances you have something else, something which could be easily solved - and even if it IS hypersomnia, you might find a medication which really works for you. I would really advise seeing a doctor - if you're anything like me, you'd give anything to get back some of your life!
All the best
Caroline