Doctors dismissed my debilitating exhaustion as 'laziness' and told me to drink ... trends now
A young woman from North Carolina has told of the anguish of being consistently dismissed by doctors as 'lazy' - when in fact she was suffering a debilitating life-long condition.
Since her teenage years, 26 year-old Alyssa Davis has struggled to stay awake during the day, often tumbling over in exhaustion in her school days.
As she reached adulthood, the digital marketer saw no change in the problem, which she described as a 'constant, bone-deep exhaustion that often blurred the edge of my vision'.
However, multiple trips to the doctor proved unfruitful, with physicians simply advising her to 'just drink coffee' and accusing her of laziness.
It wasn't until 2017 that Ms Davis was finally diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, a narcolepsy-like condition that affects roughly 50 in a million people, and causes excessive sleepiness for an unknown reason.
Twenty-six-year-old Alyssa Davis was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, a narcolepsy-like illness that causes excessive sleepiness during the day
Ms Davis spent years looking for answers from doctors who called her 'lazy' and recommended drinking coffee
Ms Davis is now in the beginning stages of approval to take the first FDA-approved medication to treatthe condition, which can be especially dangerous if a person is driving or operating heavy machinery.
Idiopathic hypersomnia is a little-understood disorder and is considered chronic.
Doctors typically opt for medication to prevent daytime sleepiness, as people with hypersomnia typically cannot fall into a deep, restful sleep during the night.
She said: 'It’s like I’m trapped on Groundhog Day – the exhaustion never leaves my body.'
Ms Davis said that she has fought extreme exhaustion for much of her life, dozing off in class or even having to
