Real voices. Real stories. Demystifying Narcolepsy, One Symptom at a time.
About the Waking Up Tired Podcast : Narcolepsy Symptoms Explained.
Diving into the real-life experiences of individuals living with narcolepsy. We offer detailed information centered around how they each experienced one of the symptoms before being diagnosed.
My name is Di Spillane and I’m living with narcolepsy type 1 in Australia. I first experienced symptoms when I was around the age of nine. Yet, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 49. Learning about narcolepsy changed everything. It inspired me to raise awareness, hoping others recognize their own symptoms and seek a diagnosis.
So, what is narcolepsy? Narcolepsy can be characterized as having several features, the main being excessive daytime sleepiness and an irresistible urge to nap. Other symptoms can include cataplexy, which is a muscle weakness triggered by strong emotion. This occurs only in people with narcolepsy type 1. Symptoms can also include sleep paralysis and sleep hallucinations.
There are a host of other symptoms that some experience. You’ll hear more about those during this podcast series.
Not everyone experiences all symptoms, and each person’s journey is different.
This podcast shares real stories from people living with narcolepsy, because symptoms alone don’t capture what it’s truly like. We believe lived experience speaks louder.
Waking Up Tired Podcast – Narcolepsy Symptoms Explained will be available to listen on any podcast platform. You can start listening from the 22nd of September 2025.
