Ep126 - Narcolepsy: Understanding the Symptoms of a Rare Condition with Lindsey Kizer

OVERVIEW

According to Wake Up Narcolepsy, on average it takes about 10 years from onset of the symptoms to officially pronounce someone with narcolepsy. And normally, people need to meet 6 different specialists before they can be diagnosed. Despite of this, in a lot of cases, patients are still mis-diagnosed of other diseases like depression, psychiatric problems, or ADHD.

Our guest today is Lindsey Kizer, she is a Chronic and Rare Disease advocate and a known Rising Voices of Narcolepsy speaker. It took her more than 18 years before getting confirmed of narcolepsy. She will be sharing with us the symptoms she felt and various interpretations she got from doctors before finally realizing her disease.

If there's anything that my narcolepsy diagnosis taught me, it is to trust my gut. If you know something is wrong, even if the tests comeback negative, you're told you're fine, you're told it's in your head, keep pushing. - Lindsey Kizer

Join us as we learn from her journey of clarification, treatment, and how she got to live a peaceful and happy life despite her rare condition.

Are you so sleepy that you cannot focus? Are you tired of getting through the day drinking coffee? Are you worried how your poor sleep may impact your health? Checkout Dr. Yishan Xu’s Insomnia Treatment Course!

Click here to find out more about Dr. Yishan Xu’s Insomnia Treatment Course (CBT-I).

WHAT WILL WE LEARN

02:10 Lindsey’s long journey before getting diagnosed with narcolepsy
06:10 The ”wake-up call” that lead Lindsey to meeting a sleep specialist
10:00 What Lindsey felt after seeing a sleep specialist for the first time
12:31 Depression versus Narcolepsy
15:15 The symptoms you need to watch out for to assess if you have narcolepsy
17:13 The difficult truth after getting diagnosed with a rare disease
32:00 Changes, improvements, and learnings after getting diagnosed with narcolepsy
36:15 Listen to your body instead of normalizing the symptoms
43:22 Prioritize what’s important and what will give you the most joy