Idiopathic Hypersomnia... I have what?!

i wasn't diagnosed with this but have all the symptoms. and yes, it has interferred with my life for as long as i can remember. i too was on anti-depressants which helped but the thing that changed my life was a med called Provigil. It is typically used to treat narcolepsy, but it helped me so much i can't even tell you. no daytime sleepiness, no need for naps during the day, no dragging, fall asleep like a normal person at night, etc. i had to go off it when i was pregnant and strangely didn't need it anymore after he was born so i don't take it anymore. but while i did it changed my life. i felt normal. sleep is so important! most ppl take it for granted. maybe this would work for you too?

I have the same diagnosis for the same symptoms, and have also struggled with this for years through multiple doctors prescribing one anti-depressant after another; my sleep study came back with no apnea. My latest doctor started me on Adderall about 8 months ago, and I've gone through the same story time and again since: a dosage works FANTASTIC, for a while... so we move up on the dose, all is great for a few weeks or a month or two and then it's not enough anymore, again. I started out on 10 mg instant release, twice daily; I now take 30 mg extended release, twice daily, and I'm told this is the highest dose she will allow. It did work fine for a few months even, but for about the past 6 weeks the daytime sleepiness has been back, some days in force, and one issue is that stimulants of this type prevent one from falling asleep even if they're overwhelmingly tired. So it's not even possible for me to take naps during the day, even though some days I go through crushing tiredness.

To summarize: your mileage may vary, but it's likely methylphenidate will work well for you for a while, but you may find yourself continuously having to increase the dose and maybe to the point where no further increases are possible and your symptoms persist (or recur) at the maximum dosage.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I am and have been on since starting the Adderall an anti-depressant - Effexor (venlafaxine) XR. Although I don't feel "normal" (I empathize with your choice of words), I still feel better than I did a year ago, so I'm content to leave well enough alone for now.