Young man sleeps for up to 20 hours due to rare illness

A 19-year-old girl has been confusing doctors for years because of her family’s habit of sleeping for nearly 20 hours straight, which gave her a headache.

The painting began in September 2017 when Erin Bousquet, then 14, began showing signs of lethargy and seemed “out of her mind,” according to the US newspaper The Washington Post. He also had trouble staying awake by sleeping for at least 20 hours.

It was only in March 2020 that a neurologist examined the teenager and, after detailed analysis, stated that he probably suffered from Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), a rare sleep disorder also called “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome”.

According to the doctor, long sleep episodes usually last from a few days to a few weeks and are unexpectedly recurring. This situation also causes irritability, increased appetite, desire to eat, disorientation and forgetfulness in patients. The cause of the disorder is still unknown and may be the result of genetic factors or malfunctioning parts of the brain that regulate sleep and appetite.

Erin’s mother, Kristen, said that the girl was also nervous, her pupils were dilated and she was saying meaningless things. At first, she and her husband Greg believed it was a joke, but soon realized something was wrong with their daughter. “It was very scary. At first we thought he was just kidding,” his mother recalled.

Erin’s family, residing in Lincoln, Nebraska (USA), took her to several specialists for two years. She even consulted psychologists and neurosurgeons, but none of them could pinpoint the cause of the drastic changes in Erin’s behavior.

At one point her mother and doctors believed the problem was related to Erin’s menstrual cycle, and the hypothesis was premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). But the tests and symptoms presented by the teenager were not consistent with this theory.

troubled life

Despite various evaluations and treatment attempts to alleviate symptoms, no effective method has been found against KLS. For Sundell, Erin’s situation is puzzling because the cause of the disorder and how to control it have yet to be discovered.

The doctor has also sought help from other professionals in Omaha, but none of them are familiar with the syndrome. The situation led the neurologist to conclude that there was nothing to be done for now. Although Erin’s family is disappointed, the girl now sees Sundell annually for an assessment of her condition.

“Our approach was to wait carefully and hope it would pass,” said the neurologist, who insisted on finding therapies and other alternatives to alleviate the patient’s suffering.

For Erin, this issue brought her serious losses as it not only affected her personality but also caused her to miss important moments like school championships, her 18th birthday, family Christmas parties and college lectures as she slept for a long time all day long. to them.

“The hardest part for me is knowing that I’ve missed so much over the years,” he complained.