"I sleep too much" follow-up

[fpr85]

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Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males. I have these symptoms with the exception of the last one, I also read that it is fairly rare. How rare are we talking? And how can you be diagnosed with it (blood tests, etc.)?

Thank you.

EDIT: I missed this when I was reading earlier http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kleine_levin/kleine_levin.htm I highly doubt I have it because it seems to be pretty rare, and I sleep, tops, between 13-16 hours a day.

 

[Kevbot]

Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males. I have these symptoms with the exception of the last one, I also read that it is fairly rare. How rare are we talking? And how can you be diagnosed with it (blood tests, etc.)?

There is a pretty common disease - Med student disease, where you diagnose yourself for no apparent reason. Also if you come across a diseases where you sleep 5-6 hours a night, have cravings for Wendys chicken nuggets at 1:00 am, and have a tendancy to be really sarcastic on web forums, let me know.

 

[azzarah]

I am pretty sure increased sleep and appetite are also signs of depression/anxiety. As they say, common things are usually more common. Medical school could be stressing you out. Do you guys have a counseling (sp?) center?

 

[Stitch626]

Thyroid disorder? Anemia? Both pretty common.

How come under your name it says you have a baculum when in reality you clearly don't?

 

[fpr85]

Wow, I've got a tough crowd here

First off, let me start by saying that I don't have "med school syndrome" because I'm not in med school. I only posted in the allopathic forum because my first post on "sleep problems" was posted in here too.

I wasn't being sarcastic, I was asking how rare it was because I couldn't find any numbers or anything, I thought perhaps someone in here would be knowledgable along these lines.

Give me a break, the baculum thing is a joke.

 

[phoenixsupra]

Wow, I've got a tough crowd here

First off, let me start by saying that I don't have "med school syndrome" because I'm not in med school. I only posted in the allopathic forum because my first post on "sleep problems" was posted in here too.

I wasn't being sarcastic, I was asking how rare it was because I couldn't find any numbers or anything, I thought perhaps someone in here would be knowledgable along these lines.

Give me a break, the baculum thing is a joke.

What the hell is a baculum?? 13 hours of sleep isn't all that unusual for a college kid. As for the increased appetite and sex drive....that's only a problem if you don't work out and can't get laid. 😀 The most common reason for oversleeping is not wanting to get up. Our poor little brains tend to sort of rebel when we insist on force feeding them with a steady diet of boring crap. There could be a dash of depression in the mix too. Do you have trouble getting up on a day when you're going to be doing something unusually fun? See a doctor if it'll give you peace of mind. Medschool syndrome is more than just thinking you have the illness you're learning about. I had an oversleeping problem just like yours when I was studying pharm. It went away the very day I finished the course. 😉

Just curious, where did you come up with Stein-what's-his-face?? I had certainly never heard of that before medschool. Perhaps you've got trypanosoma cruzi - american sleeping sickness. That one seems to be everywhere on the step 1. From the fact that you even know about SL I'm guessing you may want to loosen up a bit and find some fun things to do. Good luck. 🙂

 

[fpr85]

I do have a tendency to read a lot and thus become a bit paranoid. As for a baculum -- it's a penis bone and is found in some mammals. The only ones that I know for sure that have it are hedgehogs, shrews, and bats, I'm sure there are more.

I'm part hedgehog 😉

What the hell is a baculum?? 13 hours of sleep isn't all that unusual for a college kid. As for the increased appetite and sex drive....that's only a problem if you don't work out and can't get laid. 😀 The most common reason for oversleeping is not wanting to get up. Our poor little brains tend to sort of rebel when we insist on force feeding them with a steady diet of boring crap. There could be a dash of depression in the mix too. Do you have trouble getting up on a day when you're going to be doing something unusually fun? See a doctor if it'll give you peace of mind. Medschool syndrome is more than just thinking you have the illness you're learning about. I had an oversleeping problem just like yours when I was studying pharm. It went away the very day I finished the course. 😉

Just curious, where did you come up with Stein-what's-his-face?? I had certainly never heard of that before medschool. Perhaps you've got trypanosoma cruzi - american sleeping sickness. That one seems to be everywhere on the step 1. From the fact that you even know about SL I'm guessing you may want to loosen up a bit and find some fun things to do. Good luck. 🙂

 

[stoic]

Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males.

Wow. You just described my entire college experience.

 

[fpr85]

Wow. You just described my entire college experience.

aha! not even in med school yet and I've already diagnosed my first patient 😉

 

[MD Rapper]

from klsfoundation.org

"Kleine-Levin Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder characterized by periods of excessive amounts of sleep and altered behavior. The disorder strikes adolescents primarily. At the onset of an episode the patient becomes progressively drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night (hypersomnolence), waking only to eat or go to the bathroom. When awake, the patient’s whole demeanor is changed, often appearing “spacey” or childlike. If demands are placed on the patient, he or she may become irritable. When awake he experiences confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy (lethargy), and lack of emotions (apathy). Most patients report that everything seems out of focus, and that they are hypersensitive to noise and light. In some cases they exhibit food cravings (compulsive hyperphagia). Instances of uninhibited hypersexuality during an episode have also been reported."



I could bet my life on the fact that you don't have KLS! Stop and think for a minute... does this REALLY describe you?? I think you may have somewhat of an anxiety problem. We all go through periods where we sleep too much and are hypersexual... its called being young, working hard, and being mentally pushed to our limit.

 

[Pemulis]

I'm not a doc, and I'm not in med school yet, so I defer to the people on this board. BUT, I have a good friend who had similar symptoms, and ended up being diagnosed with Celiac's disease. This is also pretty rare, from what I understand, so I would assume it's pretty unlikely that you have it, but in case the issues your experiencing are something more clinical, you might want to keep it in mind. Basically, it's some sort of severe allergy to wheat gluten. Since he cut this out of his diet, he has a lot more energy, has normal eating habits, and has gained a lot of physical strength.

Something to keep in mind...of course, there are probably 50 other illnesses that have these symptoms, so ignore what I just wrote. 🙂

 

[deleted29780]

i really have a problem with most of these syndromes, which are in most cases utterly ridiculous. Somebody sits down for a very long time, realises he is bound to leave this earth without leaving a mark. Comes up with this silly idea of a neurological disorder. In most of these so called disorders... the "patients" are just tired, stressed out or just depressed from drug or caffeine abuse.
KLEINE-LEVIN SYNDROME - STUPIDITY

from klsfoundation.org

"Kleine-Levin Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder characterized by periods of excessive amounts of sleep and altered behavior. The disorder strikes adolescents primarily. At the onset of an episode the patient becomes progressively drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night (hypersomnolence), waking only to eat or go to the bathroom. When awake, the patient’s whole demeanor is changed, often appearing “spacey” or childlike. If demands are placed on the patient, he or she may become irritable. When awake he experiences confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy (lethargy), and lack of emotions (apathy). Most patients report that everything seems out of focus, and that they are hypersensitive to noise and light. In some cases they exhibit food cravings (compulsive hyperphagia). Instances of uninhibited hypersexuality during an episode have also been reported."



I could bet my life on the fact that you don't have KLS! Stop and think for a minute... does this REALLY describe you?? I think you may have somewhat of an anxiety problem. We all go through periods where we sleep too much and are hypersexual... its called being young, working hard, and being mentally pushed to our limit.

 

[DrBodacious]

Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males. I have these symptoms with the exception of the last one, I also read that it is fairly rare. How rare are we talking? And how can you be diagnosed with it (blood tests, etc.)?

Thank you.

EDIT: I missed this when I was reading earlier http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kleine_levin/kleine_levin.htm I highly doubt I have it because it seems to be pretty rare, and I sleep, tops, between 13-16 hours a day.

I would say that the take home messege of the information you posted on KL syndrome is that there is no curative treatment. If you are honestly unable to drag yourself out of bed to get to work and make ends meet, then think about getting some stimulants prescribed to you by a physician. I know it is hard for myself to be active and motivated. I just cope with it and I suggest you do the same.

 

[ddmo]

Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males. I have these symptoms with the exception of the last one, I also read that it is fairly rare. How rare are we talking? And how can you be diagnosed with it (blood tests, etc.)?

Thank you.

EDIT: I missed this when I was reading earlier http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kleine_levin/kleine_levin.htm I highly doubt I have it because it seems to be pretty rare, and I sleep, tops, between 13-16 hours a day.

These symptoms seem to describe just about every guy I know, med school or not. Maybe we are all screwed.

 

[joy77]

Hi.

I was doing some reading around and saw Kleine-Levin Syndrome, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this but basically (from what I understand) the symptoms are immense hours of sleep, increased appetite and sexual drive... and that it is predominantly found in males. I have these symptoms with the exception of the last one, I also read that it is fairly rare. How rare are we talking? And how can you be diagnosed with it (blood tests, etc.)?

Thank you.

EDIT: I missed this when I was reading earlier http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kleine_levin/kleine_levin.htm I highly doubt I have it because it seems to be pretty rare, and I sleep, tops, between 13-16 hours a day.

The symptomatic periods can consist of days or weeks of sleeping; they are often separated by long periods of "normal" functioning. The increased sexual drive often leads to inappropriate/obscene behavior, and the increased appetite usually manifests itself in the form of carbohydrate binges. The people affected usually have little or no recollection of the "episodes". There have been only a few hundred cases written up worldwide since the syndrome was first characterized.