Why You Should
See
a Sleep
Specialist
Narcolepsy is a complicated condition and is often misunderstood—even by many doctors. Primary care physicians generally have limited training in sleep disorders, so their knowledge about narcolepsy is also limited. They are generally not very comfortable diagnosing narcolepsy and often do not use the appropriate tools and tests to make the diagnosis. Therefore, they usually refer patients to a sleep specialist to be screened for narcolepsy.
In a study of different doctors, here’s how often they correctly diagnosed their patients who had narcolepsy:
Neurologists
Internists
General practitioners
Psychiatrists
Pediatricians
55%
24%
22%
11%
0%
Many doctors are not aware that narcolepsy affects children.
"I really started to just look into researching sleep disorders, trying to find somebody that could help us."Watch Kiah and his mom discuss finally getting a diagnosis.