I think I may have narcolepsy.
So for the past year or so (or maybe a little less), I've been experiencing constant excessive daytime sleepiness (that has actually caused me to doze off sometimes), muscle weakness and sometimes complete paralysis triggered by strong emotions like laughter, surprise, excitement, anger, fear, or sadness (known as cataplexy, like today I was training my dog and I got really excited when we were done because she had successfully mastered a new command and then I noticed my walking was funny and my knees began to buckle, my legs were acting weak and strange, I think this is cataplexy triggered by strong excitement).
I've had mild sleep problems my whole life. I feel as though they've almost gotten worse. Now it feels like I go into R.E.M. Sleep immediately, I have short naps that result in vivid dreaming (generally I have LOTS of very, very, very vivid dreams so vivid I think they're real even if the dream itself is silly or impossible), I also experience sleep paralysis upon waking up in the morning. It can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.
And I occasionally have hypnopompic hallucinations (hypnopompic hallucinations are hallucinations that occur upon waking up), for example one time I thought I saw a small white bug climbing up my bedroom wall but when I snapped out of my sleep paralysis the bug disappeared completely.
So I experience all of the symptoms. Might I add I get a full 8 hours of sleep every night and drink plenty of water daily. I also experience brain fog and troubled concentration and focus narcoleptics often experience.
However my parents don't believe my sleepiness. My father scoffs when I talk about me being perpetually tired and my mother thinks I'm a hypochondriac. I've been to my GP several times and she brushes off sleepiness as a normal teenage thing and I just need to go to bed earlier and stop sleeping in. But deep down I know something's not quite right with me. Not to mention I do go to bed at a reasonable time and I don't sleep in. I feel like my GP isn't listening to me very well.
I thought my mum would understand, but she's still under the impression I'm a hypochondriac, even though I'm clearly not. I want to see a sleep specialist and get tested for narcolepsy so badly, and I've tried everything in my power to convince my parents, my doctor, etc., and nothing's working well and I'm losing hope.
Any advice?
Thank you so much for reading... I know it's an awful lot. But I could really use some assistance. Thank you