Sacked because I can’t stop sleeping

[desperateexhausted]

Posting here for traffic and NC because I’m ashamed and furious with myself.

So I haven’t been sacked but if I don’t get a handle on the problem I’m heading that way. I have a job with regular daytime hours (no horrible shift patterns, no very early starts or late finishes) and I can’t manage it.

A week of regular 9-6 work absolutely exhausts me to the point that I have in the past fallen asleep in my clothes the moment I got home, not eaten any dinner and slept through til the next morning several times a week. Some weekends I sleep for almost the entire 48 hours, emerging only to use the toilet or microwave a ready meal. I’ve had countless sick days (probably over 20) in the last year because I’m sometimes so tired that I can’t see straight, I feel nauseous and dizzy when I sit up and the fatigue is so overwhelming I feel like I’m being crushed.

I also sometimes (often) sleep through the morning and simply don’t turn up at work. I have two alarm clocks going off right next to my head and they don’t wake me, particularly if I’ve had a night of insomnia (which I also, somewhat ironically) suffer from. This has been going on since my teenage years (I’m now in my 30s) and affected every single job I’ve had - I’ve had probations extended, been sacked from freelance contracts, and now I’m on very thin ice at work. I’m outwardly a professional and successful person but I can barely hold down a job because I cannot stop sleeping and I’m at my wits end. Chronic fatigue has been mentioned by a previous doctor but wasn’t followed up for reasons beyond my control.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to live like this. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s ruining my life and will ruin it even more if I lose my job (which, frankly, I deserve to). I don’t want special treatment from work, I know how ridiculous it sounds as a grown adult to say ‘sorry I slept through my alarm) 20 odd times a year. I would chop off a limb for an official diagnosis but every blood test I’ve had for the obvious possible reasons comes back completely clear (and I’ve had a lot of blood tests for this over the years).

Has anyone experienced similar and found a solution? It’s getting to the point that I’m terrified every time I go to bed on a weeknight that I won’t wake up when I need to, which in turn keeps me awake worrying, which then disrupts my sleep even further. Any advice would be very, very gratefully received.

Did you end up with a diagnosis @desperateexhausted?

Insist they test you for sleep apnea - I'd suspect it, especially with the insomnia you suffer from. Good luck OP and continue on the journey to find out the source of the issue, no way if your problem usual!

I hope the private doctor has been able to help with this.

Did you have a bad viral episode before this started? I have ME following glandular fever. Google it. It sounds similar to what you have. Not spotted on a blood test. Very hard to get a proper diagnosis.

You must speak to doctor. Get all bloods done. Thyroid problem. Lack of vit D. Lyme Disease. Can all cause fatigue.

Get a blood test to check b12 deficiency, this can really impact how much you sleep.

I am sorry you are going through this- have you had blood work done ? Is there any wiggle room to work part time or reduced hours ?

Any update @desperateexhausted ?

A friend of mine was sleeping all the time, would only wake up if someone forced her. The stupid GP decided it was because she was tired. She felt slightly better, went abroad and had a fit related to sugar levels. She had a serious problem with her pancreas and was then hospitalised for a while.

Thyroid/Vit D deficiency/anaemia..,so many thing present with this crushing fatigue, you must see your gp. And speak to your line manager, they need to know that this is beyond workitis.

Hope you got sorted.

I really hope they sort it OP. Meanwhile, please take 2 Feroglobin or Floradix veggie iron capsules a day and a high dose squirt of vitamin D (D-Lux is the best imo) and look at cutting down the AD meds.

I slept away more than 10 years of my life. I was convinced soemthing was badly wrong with me. It was a combination of mild anaemia, Vit D deficiency and side effects of Citalopram. I was sleeping on average 16-18 hours a day and crawling to the CPs for blood tests which all came back normal. It wasn't until I decided to get myself well and started dosing up with vitamins and weaning off ADs that I started getting a little energy back. Now, I can't remember when I last needed a nap in the day time, but for a good 10-12 years I slept from 8pm to 8am and then again from 10am to 11 am and again from 1pm to 4pm. I felt drugged with exhaustion.

Sounds like ME. I would ask your Dr for a referral.

Definitely get bloods check. I was the same, falling asleep as soon as finish work. It turned out I had dangerous low iron and B12 Deficiency. I now have to have B12 injections for life as my stomach does not absorb it. I felt amazing after my loading jabs were finished. I'm next due in January but I am starting to feel the exhaustion again!

what about narcolepsy ? if you have had this problem since a teen , its something to consider or read up on , you definatly need your gp to refer you for more investigations

I did wonder what happened to this OP but hadn’t commented earlier in the year.

How are you OP? Did you get to the bottom of your issues?

@SwanShaped

Could you follow up the ME diagnosis? Have you heard of PoTS? Which can go hand in hand with ME.

I wondered about PoTS…

Are / were you flexible / hyper mobile as a child?

Sorry to hear this. I'm crap at sleeping at reasonable hours so can slightly imagine.

Like a PP said- a friend of mine was discovered to have sleep apnoea, she wasn't particularly overweight or anything. Try and get a referral to a sleep clinic.

If your GP's been crap it's worth changing surgeries.

There was a programme a few years ago on the BBC called the real sleeping beauty about a girl who would sleep for days and days and only wake for toilet or meals. No alarms etc could wake her. Could it be that? Kleine Levine Syndrome.

Bloody hell… a zombie thread

My old boss had your combination of insomnia at night and being shattered all day. Her GP eventually referred her to a sleep clinic.

I can't recall what sort of treatment/therapy they did, but it helped her no end.

I feel like this too OP and have my whole life. Bloods come back normal too. I was a kid who napped and never had energy for anything. I was forced into walking everywhere and it made me utterly miserable. I've always had pain from a young age also but they seem baffled by that as well...
I think you need a diagnosis of something even if it's CF so that you can have some level of protection in place for your employment.

Woops sorry for adding to the resurrection

OP you could also have POTS - its common in young woman. Its to do with your nervous system not regulating blood flow properly. It can also be why you get headaches.
Do you have a blood pressure monitor or one of those oximeters? When you wake in the morning (before you get up) test your heart rate through either the blood pressure monitor or the oximeter. The stand up for 3mins and test it again - if your heart rate goes up over 30/40 beats per minute worth looking into whether you have Pots.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/postural-tachycardia-syndrome/

Do you take any medications?

If I were you, get on the phone to the GP first thing tomorrow and explain everything you have written again, even if something doesn’t show up in a blood test you can’t be fobbed off for feeling this way all of the time.

If you can, be signed off and try and work on your self, self care, try an activity even just walking, do you snore? Could be a sign of apnea. When we’re the last time your bloods were done? You can’t live your life like this is just existing