Nurse with 'Sleeping Beauty' disease

American Bella Andreou, 24, suffers from an extremely rare condition called "sleeping beauty syndrome," which causes her to sleep more than 20 hours a day.

The symptoms began when she was 17 years old. However, she didn't receive an official diagnosis from a doctor until September of this year.

"People call it Sleeping Beauty syndrome, but the reality is far from that beautiful name. It's like a nightmare. Have you ever had nightmares like falling off a cliff and then waking up startled? For me, that nightmare lasted 10 days," Andreou said.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the medical term for this condition is Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS), which causes intermittent, prolonged periods of sleepiness, often lasting 16-20 hours a day. Experts are currently unsure of the exact cause of this condition.

Normally, Andreou is an extrovert and energetic. However, during episodes of KLS, she becomes childish, erratic, and somewhat reckless. She often feels dizzy, lightheaded, and her body doesn't function normally.

"I feel like I'm in a dream, I can't really wake up," she said.

Bella Andreou, 24, suffers from Sleeping Beauty syndrome. Photo: NY Post — Bella Andreou, 24, suffers from Sleeping Beauty syndrome. Photo: *NY Post*

She shared that the only way to escape this condition was to stay awake all night. The next morning, she felt better. The illness also made Andreou afraid to fall asleep, because she didn't know if she would be able to wake up the next morning.

Andreou first experienced a KLS cycle in 2016, after drinking alcohol. She would sleep soundly, then wake up in a state of brain fog (confusion, forgetfulness) and drift back into sleep. This lasted 10 days, leaving her feeling nauseous.

"I lost consciousness and felt like I was dreaming. I woke up and couldn't wake up properly. I often had to sleep 19 hours a day. My parents were away at the time. When they came home and saw me, they thought I had been injected with opioids, because the symptoms looked so severe," she explained.

At the age of 17 to 18, her menstrual cycles typically lasted 7 to 10 days, returning after about 4 weeks. At the time, doctors mistakenly thought she was just trying to "get attention." Experts also found nothing wrong, suggesting it might be a side effect of birth control pills.

"For several months, I lived in fear that I would go insane. I knew something was wrong with me. My parents said that during those times, I looked lifeless and listless," she recounted.

To date, she has been living with the condition for eight years. She knows that the main causes are alcohol, stress, and hormones.

Thuc Linh (According to NY Post )

Source link