Question posted by H. Weir ( HWeir97@AOL) on 22:9:19 9/12/97
Question: I was diagnosed w/narcolepsy in 1991. I was also a baseline patient in Cephalon's Modofinil study in 1994. In 1996, I was committed after some shrink decided I was allegedly paranoid scitzophrenic. I found out, that after 4 months of being drugged to a state of zombie-like-ness, that not one doctor had had the professional courtesy to contact my neurologist before making a diagnosis of my condition. To date, I am supposed to be on a medication called trifluperazine, which is for severely affected schitzophrenics, but I am wholeheartedly convinced that I don't need this medication & never did. I have gone from a dress Size 10 to a Size 16 & my self-esteem is reaching an all-time low (I'm 31 & single) I have tried to find an attorney to represent me for the misdiagnosis of my condition as well as for having prescribed a medication that caused severe weight gain, but can't find a malpractice lawyer willing to take on my case, let alone a neuropsychiatrist qualified to make a new diagnosis that will accept medicare assignments. Meanwhile, here I am ... fat & ugly, unable to afford a weight loss program. And my question is, is there anyone who's ever heard of symptoms of narcolepsy, such as hypnogogic hallucinations & cataplexic reactions being misdiagnosed as mental illness as opposed to neurological malfunction. I am very much looking forward to a reply!