Diagnosis of Narcolepsy

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Your GP will discuss your symptoms with you (and your partner).

He/she may rule out other reasons to feel drowsy e.g. lack of sleep or having another condition e.g. sleep apnoea, depression, misusing drugs etc. Approximately four out of five people with narcolepsy also suffer with cataplexy. If you also describe periods of short- lived weakness (cataplexy) when, happy, anger, amused etc. narcolepsy is a very likely diagnosis.

You may be referred to a sleep disorder clinic. Although there is no specific test, a diagnosis of narcolepsy is reliable if you are monitored with an electroencephalogram (EEG) that demonstrates specific brain wave patterns. The EEG records of the electrical activity of the brain from the scalp.