‘I’m a mum with narcolepsy - I fall asleep every time I sit down’
ok.co.ukMum Belle Breukelman has fallen asleep in changing rooms and even nodded off on dates in restaurants.The 29-year-old suffers from the debilitating condition narcolepsy – which affects around 30,000 people in the UK – but she has been accused of being drunk or on drugs when she struggles to stay awake.
Belle, who is mum to 10-month-old Billie, naps up to six times a day, sometimes for 25 minutes a time. Without medication, she would fall asleep every time she sits down.
She explains, “My sleep attacks come on without warning. When out shopping, I’ve had to jump into a changing room and lie down to nap.
I’ve fallen asleep on dates, I’ve had people assume I’m drunk and out of control. My doctor thought I was a drinker or smoked cannabis and when I was younger they blamed me for ‘staying up too late on my phone’. “As a mum of a young baby, it can be really hard.
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