Dr. R Bart Sangal Treats Daytime Sleepiness and Narcolepsy at Michigan’s Sleep & Attention Disorders Institute
The only thing worse than tossing and turning all night is being sleepy and walking around tired the next day. If you or someone you love is experiencing daytime sleepiness or fatigue, you may be suffering from hypersomnia. People with hypersomnia always feel like they have no energy. Work is affected. Relationships are affected. And, it can be very dangerous if someone with daytime sleepiness drives or operates machinery.
Come to the Sleep and Attention Disorders Institute in Sterling Heights, Mich. Sleep expert Dr. R Bart Sangal treats patients with hypersomnia and narcolepsy. For more than 30 years, he has been diagnosing sleep and attention disorders in the Greater Detroit metro area. Rest assured, he will diagnose your sleep disorder and find the right treatment for you.
What are Narcolepsy and Idiopathic Hypersomnia?
Narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia cause daytime sleepiness. They usually begin in childhood or early adulthood. Simply put, hypersomnia or daytime sleepiness is dozing off when you should not. People with this condition find it difficult to stay awake when they should.
This condition is more dangerous than simply feeling tired. It can be life-threatening. Falling asleep on the job or while driving, for example, can have a fatal result.
There are two different types of narcolepsy. Patients with one type have cataplexy. They lose muscle strength when emotional, such as laughing. They have a loss of orexin cells in the brain. Patients with the other type do not have cataplexy. All narcolepsy patients may (or may not) have sleep paralysis (waking up from sleep feeling paralyzed). They may also have hypnagogic hallucinations (dreaming while half awake). Idiopathic hypersomnia patients do not have these other symptoms.
Symptoms of Hypersomnia or Narcolepsy
- Dozing off while studying, reading or watching TV
- Dozing off sitting in a meeting or theater or as a passenger in a car
- Dozing off stopped in traffic, at a traffic signal or while driving
- Struggling to stay awake during the day at work, school or in social situations
- Struggling with fatigue and lack of energy to do tasks
Additional symptoms of narcolepsy are:
- Sleep paralysis (waking up from sleep feeling paralyzed)
- Dreaming before falling asleep or after waking up
- Cataplexy (losing muscle strength when emotional or laughing)
If you or your loved one has daytime sleepiness, make an appointment with sleep disorders expert Dr. R Bart Sangal. He trained at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD., and is board certified in Sleep Medicine. He won’t give up until he finds out what’s wrong and the best treatment for your hypersomnia or narcolepsy. Call us at 586-254-0707 or fill out the form so we may contact you.
What Causes Hypersomnia/Narcolepsy?
Hypersomnia or daytime sleepiness is a common condition. It can be caused by a wide variety of things. The important thing to remember is that it can be treated. You don’t have to be sleepy anymore. Here are some things that cause daytime sleepiness:
- Sleep apnea: This is snoring and stopping breathing in sleep.
- Sleep Deprivation: This is not getting enough sleep. Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a day. Sleep deprivation can also cause an attention disorder such as ADD/ADHD.
- Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy is daytime sleepiness with increased REM sleep pressure. Patients fall asleep too easily. They go into REM or dream sleep too quickly. A brain chemical (orexin) may be low.
- Idiopathic hypersomnia: This is daytime sleepiness without the REM sleep pressure. Patients fall asleep too easily. The do not go into REM sleep quickly.
- Depression: It can cause sleepiness.
- Medicines (many psychiatric medicines, opioid painkillers) can cause sleepiness.
- Drugs and alcohol can cause sleepiness.
Hypersomnia testing/ Narcolepsy testing:
Testing for hypersomnia is done at the Sleep & Attention Disorders Institute in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The test is completely painless. Our technicians are friendly and well-trained. People come to see Dr. Sangal from all over Oakland and Macomb counties, including Macomb Township, Clinton Township and Pontiac. He is passionate about helping patients feel rested and alert during the day.
About the Test: Patients come to the sleep center in the evening and we apply sensors to the skin and scalp. They sleep in our beautifully decorated and extremely comfortable bedrooms. We have six private bedrooms. If you have sleep apnea or other condition affecting your sleep, Dr. Sangal will diagnose it.
The following day, we do a nap test or MSLT. We give patients four or five nap opportunities. If they fall asleep quickly and go often into REM or dream sleep, they have narcolepsy. If they fall asleep quickly but do not often go into REM sleep, they may have idiopathic hypersomnia.
If you are getting enough time in bed, and there is no other cause found, we treat with medicines. These medicines work on brain chemicals that keep you awake and alert, mostly dopamine and norepinephrine. Most, but not all, of these medicines are stimulants.
Patients stop medicines that prevent REM sleep before testing. A sleep diary before testing shows if you are getting enough sleep.
Hypersomnia treatment/ Narcolepsy treatment:
Treatment of hypersomnia (daytime sleepiness) is that of the cause.
- CPAP for Sleep Apnea
- Increased time in bed for sleep deprivation
- Stimulant medicines for Narcolepsy. Medicines that suppress REM sleep stop sleep paralysis and cataplexy
- Stimulant medicines for Idiopathic Hypersomnia
With proper treatment, you will feel better and have more energy. You will lower your chance of auto accidents.
Feeling Tired All the Time is Not Normal! Dr. R Bart Sangal Can Help
If you or your loved one has daytime sleepiness, come to us. We can tell you what is causing it. We can treat it. You will feel better, more refreshed. We are located in the Greater Detroit area, at the corner of Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, Rochester Hills and Troy. We also serve patients from Clinton, Warren, Bloomfield Township and Royal Oak. Call us at 586-254-0707 or fill out the form so we may contact you. Come to us. Improve your school or work performance. Improve driving ability.
