HOw NARCOLEPSY IS DIAGNOSED

Sleep testing with polysomnography (PSG) and a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is usually needed for a diagnosis.

Getting these 2 tests is generally necessary for an accurate diagnosis of narcolepsy. Your sleep specialist will have you stay overnight at a sleep laboratory to conduct these 2 tests. You will be given a private room with a video/audio system so you can communicate with the technologists outside your room.

Please note that home sleep apnea tests (HSATs or HSTs) are used to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in people with suspected moderate to severe OSA. HSATs/HSTs do not screen for narcolepsy.

POLYSOMNOGRAPHY (PSG)

PSG is performed during the overnight part of your stay at the sleep laboratory. Sensors will be placed on your scalp, chest, and legs. As you sleep, a computer records your brain waves, blood oxygen level, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements.

MULTIPLE SLEEP LATENCY TEST (MSLT)

The MSLT starts the morning after PSG and measures how quickly you fall asleep during the day and monitors how quickly and how often you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. You will be asked to nap in 20-minute sessions every 2 hours throughout the day. Brain activity and oxygen levels continue to be monitored.

SLEEP TESTING IN CHILDREN

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, overnight PSG followed by an MSLT should be performed in children whose doctors suspect they may have narcolepsy. How long your child is asked to sleep during the PSG may be different than for adults because how much sleep someone needs varies with age.

The MSLT may be difficult to perform in children, and guidelines for what are considered normal test results for very young children have not been established. However, overnight PSG followed by MSLT is considered standard testing for children with suspected narcolepsy.

Learn about

UNDERSTANDING XYREM XYREM FOR ADULTS xyrem for children & adolescents ages 7 and older

XYREM^® (sodium oxybate) oral solution, 0.5 g/mL is a prescription medicine used to treat the following symptoms in people 7 years of age or older with narcolepsy:

sudden onset of weak or paralyzed muscles (cataplexy)
excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)

Important Safety Information

WARNING: Taking XYREM with other Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants such as medicines used to make you or your child fall asleep, including opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, sedating antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedating anti-epileptic medicines, general anesthetics, muscle relaxants, alcohol, or street drugs, may cause serious medical problems, including trouble breathing (respiratory depression), low blood pressure (hypotension), changes in alertness (drowsiness), fainting (syncope), and death.

The active ingredient of XYREM is a form of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Abuse or misuse of illegal GHB alone or with other CNS depressants (drugs that cause changes in alertness or consciousness) have caused serious side effects. These effects include seizures, trouble breathing (respiratory depression), changes in alertness (drowsiness), coma, and death. Call your doctor right away if you or your child has any of these serious side effects.

Because of these risks, you have to go through the XYWAV and XYREM REMS. You or your child must be enrolled in the XYWAV and XYREM REMS to receive XYREM.

Do not take XYREM if you take or your child takes other sleep medicines or sedatives (medicines that cause sleepiness), drink alcohol, or have a rare problem called succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency.

Keep XYREM in a safe place to prevent abuse and misuse. Selling or giving away XYREM may harm others, and is against the law. Tell your doctor if you have ever abused or been dependent on alcohol, prescription medicines, or street drugs.

Anyone who takes XYREM should not do anything that requires them to be fully awake or is dangerous, including driving a car, using heavy machinery, or flying an airplane, for at least 6 hours after taking XYREM. Those activities should not be done until you know how XYREM affects you or your child.

Falling asleep quickly, including while standing or while getting up from the bed, has led to falls with injuries that have required some people to be hospitalized.

XYREM can cause serious side effects, including the following:

Breathing problems, including slower breathing, trouble breathing, and/or short periods of not breathing while sleeping (sleep apnea). People who already have breathing or lung problems have a higher chance of having breathing problems when they take XYREM.
Mental health problems, including confusion, seeing or hearing things that are not real (hallucinations), unusual or disturbing thoughts (abnormal thinking), feeling anxious or upset, depression, thoughts of killing yourself or trying to kill yourself, increased tiredness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and difficulty concentrating. Tell your doctor if you or your child have or had depression or have tried to harm yourself or themselves. Call your doctor right away if you have or your child has symptoms of mental health problems or a change in weight or appetite.
Sleepwalking. Sleepwalking can cause injuries. Call your doctor if you or your child starts sleepwalking. Your doctor should check you or your child.

Tell your doctor if you are or your child is on a salt-restricted diet or if you have or your child has high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney problems. XYREM contains a lot of sodium (salt) and may not be right for you or your child.

The most common side effects of XYREM in adults include nausea, sleepiness, dizziness, vomiting, bedwetting, and tremor. The most common side effects of XYREM in children include, nausea, bedwetting, vomiting, headache, weight decreased, decreased appetite, dizziness and sleepwalking. Your side effects may increase when you take higher doses of XYREM. XYREM can cause physical dependence and craving for the medicine when it is not taken as directed. These are not all the possible side effects of XYREM.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1‑800‑FDA‑1088.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including BOXED Warning, and Medication Guide.

Important Safety Information

WARNING: Taking XYREM with other Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants such as medicines used to make you or your child fall asleep, including opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, sedating antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedating anti-epileptic medicines, general anesthetics, muscle relaxants, alcohol, or street drugs, may cause serious medical problems, including trouble breathing (respiratory depression), low blood pressure (hypotension), changes in alertness (drowsiness), fainting (syncope), and death.

Important Safety Information

The active ingredient of XYREM is a form of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Abuse or misuse of illegal GHB alone or with other CNS depressants (drugs that cause changes in alertness or consciousness) have caused serious side effects. These effects include seizures, trouble breathing (respiratory depression), changes in alertness (drowsiness), coma, and death. Call your doctor right away if you or your child has any of these serious side effects.

Because of these risks, you have to go through the XYWAV and XYREM REMS. You or your child must be enrolled in the XYWAV and XYREM REMS to receive XYREM.