Sex: F
Vaccine: FLUX(H1N1), HEP
Symptoms: Blood test abnormal, Continuous positive airway pressure, Fatigue, Impaired driving ability, Muscular weakness
Clinical narrative: This case was reported by a consumer and described the occurrence of narcolepsy in a adult female patient who received Hepatitis B vaccine. Co-suspect products included H1N1 vaccine. On an unknown date, the patient received Hepatitis B vaccine at an unknown dose and H1N1 vaccine at an unknown dose. On an unknown date, an unknown time after receiving Hepatitis B vaccine and H1N1 vaccine, the patient experienced narcolepsy (serious criteria GSK medically significant), sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, muscle weakness, fatigue and nightmare. On an unknown date, the outcome of the narcolepsy, sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, muscle weakness, fatigue and nightmare were not recovered/not resolved. It was unknown if the reporter considered the narcolepsy, sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, muscle weakness, fatigue and nightmare to be related to Hepatitis B vaccine. Additional details were provided as follows: The patient had worked in the healthcare industry from 2007-2010. The patient received Hepatitis B and influenza with H1N1 vaccines. Since 2009, the patient always had sleep apnea and have worn a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), due to this she had struggled over time with daytime sleepiness. Things changed and the daytime sleepiness progressively worsened. The patient's regular physician sent her to an ENT and she had surgery to help her apnea. Her severe apnea improved between the surgery and the CPAP, but the daytime sleepiness turned scary, she fell asleep while driving daily, muscle weakness and fatigue took over her body and nothing was helping. The ENT sent the patient to a specialist with a sleep disorder degree. He suspected narcolepsy. The patient had to take a stimulant to keep her awake to function, since she was a mother and had a career too. With the help of a stimulant, she can stay awake long enough to get her through the day, but every 2 hours she was hit with this overwhelming exhaustion. Sometimes it was so bad that she went into automatic behavior, felt like sleeping with eyes open. The patient's sleep study showed that she entered REM (Rapid eye movement) within 5 minutes of sleep and did not come out of it. She struggled daily to get out of bed and with each day it as a guess on how she would feel. The patient's blood test showed low levels of hypocretin. Her thin frame was now considered obese. The patient experienced terrifying nightmare, where she screamed out and jump in her sleep and was classic narcolepsy. The patient knew and remembered the narcolepsy cases in another country in 2009. She inquired about how many cases had been reported after H1N1 in this country. She had taken shots since 2003, with her current symptoms and asked should she not receive the vaccines and if she did would it worsen her current symptoms. She inquired about her low levels of hypocretin could be genetic and should she not allow her children to be vaccinated with the H1N1 to be safe. Currently they had also received H1N1 vaccines since 2003 and she was worried about seeing the same symptoms in them.