Woman Diagnosed With Rare Disorder Dubbed 'Real-Life Sleeping Beauty'
Due to a rare disorder, a woman is being referred to as the "real-life Sleeping Beauty" because she can sleep for up to 22 hours every day.?
Joanna Cox, 38, struggles to stay awake during the daytime due to her excessive sleeping habits. Idiopathic hypersomnia is a rare condition that makes it difficult to wake up and leaves you feeling "unrested" and "mentally foggy." She was diagnosed with this condition. Here's her story:
Woman sleeps for 22 hours a day?
Back in 2017, when Joanna started feeling worn out during the day, she started having strange symptoms. She discovered that she could sleep anywhere, including clubs and cars.
"It started out of nowhere - nothing triggered it, I just felt really tired. At first, they thought it was depression, and I was referred to a mental health specialist. But that was ruled out because I didn't have any other signs apart from tiredness," Joanna was quoted as saying by Mirror.
While the symptoms grew worse, no one was able to identify her illness. In 2019, she was compelled to leave her job.?
In October 2021, she was finally referred to a sleep clinic at Pontefract Hospital in Yorkshire, where she received a formal diagnosis of the uncommon sleep disorder. Her condition has gotten worse over time. When she tries to stay awake, she also experiences "vivid hallucinations" and frequently sees "hundreds of spiders crawling" all over her bed.??
She admitted it was ruining her life. She resembled a sleeping beauty in real life. "Once I am asleep, I cannot be awakened. Because I never know if I'll be awake, I am unable to work, drive, or make any plans. I can't remember what day it is or how long I was asleep when I wake up. Living with it is incredibly lonely, so I just need some assistance," she added.? ?
She was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia
She was observed throughout the night before receiving a formal?diagnosis of the uncommon sleep disorder, idiopathic hypersomnia. Joanne now finds it difficult to stay awake for more than a few hours a day as a result of the condition's worsening over the years.?
The mother is frequently out walking her cockapoos, Autumn and Bobby, both six years old, around two in the morning because she feels most alert then. Joanna claims that while trying to wake up from a deep sleep, she experienced "horrible, vivid dreams" in addition to finding it difficult to stay away.
She was awake for 12 hours one day recently, which was a record for her in almost six years. The shortest is typically only a few minutes, just long enough to get up, have a drink, and then go back to sleep.
The mother of two has tried a variety of?treatments?and medications but hasn't found anything that effectively reduces her?symptoms. She seeks a medical professional who can assist her in leading a normal life.
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