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.

You could have sleep apnoea. Similar happened to me - I kept falling asleep at work, and it transpired that Had sleep apnoea which meant that I was repeatedly waking during the night (though I was unaware of it) and never got a night's uninterrupted sleep.

Speak to your GP - I was sent to a sleep clinic where I was properly assessed (I spent two nights in hospital fixed up to a thing that monitored my breathing and depth of sleep - just nights, not days) and was given a CPAP machine to help with my breathing and keep my airways open.

I was overweight, and everything improved when I was able to lose a couple of stones and I no longer need the CPAP. And actually the weight and poor sleeping feed into each other - it wasn't until I could sleep that I had the energy to exercise and to eat properly.

Hope you get it sorted - good luck!

I was falling asleep at work, and realised itvwas collected to nocturnal coughing fits. I was diagnosed with acid reflux aka GORD, started on app I and problem solved, coughing stopped, sleeping better, and staying awake in the day.

Not saying that's your problem, I'm saying there could be a medical issue....thyroid, sleep apnoea, low iron, diabetes, anything.

Go to your GP, get bloods done and any other tests. Thats not normal.

I would def explore sleep apnoea. My DH has very severe sleep apnoea and has always had it, even when he was very thin, and you never get proper sleep with it as your whole body chemistry goes haywire

As others have said- I think this needs further medical intervention. However whilst you await appointments and tests try taking b vitamin supplement, iron supplement and high strength vitamin d supplement too. Look carefully at your diet and consider whether you are getting enough nutrients through it also.
Good luck- I hope you get some answers soon.

it was connected

@Bluntness100

I don’t want to say it’s not, but it doesn’t sound like narcolepsy to me, my husband had a relative with it, and you suddenly fall asleep. Like you’d be talking to them and they’d fall asleep as they were mid sentence. Ummedicated the person can’t drive, they’d fall asleep behind the wheel. They can’t work. This doesn’t seem to be what the op has, she’s not randomly falling asleep mid activity, it’s she’s constantly sleeping and can’t wake up.

You can have narcolepsy without the cataplexy. It’s very under diagnosed because it’s assumed you need both N+C to have it.

My DD had narcolepsy for several years before cataplexy developed.

started on a PPI

I haven't read the full thread but like many others, I would agree that it's sleep apnoea. I have this and have a cpap machine and it's made such a difference. There is a Facebook Group which might be worth joining:
|www.facebook.com/groups/347106115340401
Insist on a sleep study and take it from there.

I also have sleep apnea.
I'm under 30 and not overweight

My symptoms where extreme tiredness, waking gasping for air occasionally etc

I was stopping breathing 39 times a hour and my o2 dropping as low as 70 per cent overnight.

CPAP has changed my life. I didn't realise how unusual it was to be sleeping 12 hours a night and still feeling unable to function

Also insomnia is actually relatively common with narcolepsy

3 years or so ago, I had crippling fatigue. I’d do my 30min exercise then could not function for the rest of the day. I was diagnosed with 2 autoimmune conditions which both cause fatigue and have low b12. I am much better 3 years on but have no idea how I’d hold down a job, I still nap several times a week.

I’d suggest trying to see a rheumatologist for assessment

This sounds like POTS. You can do a rough test for it yourself, by downloading a heart rate monitor app and measuring your heart rate while sitting and then on standing. If it goes up more than 30bpm it could be POTS ( postural tachycardia syndrome). My daughter developed this and went from being an athlete to not being able to stand. It often develops in your teens.

Do get these symptoms investigated as it sounds like there really is something going on, and once you know what the problem is you can begin to treat it.

Oh gosh, you poor thing. I would be surprised if it is low iron - my ferritin has been 2 before, and whilst I felt tired I could still do everything I needed to & wasn’t sleeping excessively. I would ask if you could be referred to a sleep clinic.

Sorry only skimmed through so may have been mentioned but coeliac disease can make you fatigues as you're not getting enough nutrients. It's massively under diagnosed in this country. Tiredness (and irritability) one of the main symptoms. Not everyone suffers from constipation/diarrhea.

Do you get private medical cover which would allow you to pursue this? Can you afford to seek help privately?

Do go back to your GP as well. If you’re not drinking heavily or taking drugs there should be no reason to be like this unless you’re ill- you urgently need a diagnosis as if you have CFS or narcolepsy or another condition a diagnosis gives you the potential for treatment and a reason to give your employer.

Good luck OP, it sounds very hard. I’m often fatigued myself, but this sounds really extreme. Don’t take no for an answer - tell your GP exactly what you’ve told us and beg for help if you have to.

How has your GP not referred you ... that's negligent. Please insist op or go private or change to a better surgery.

You need to get sorted, not just for work, but for you!

Hope you get sorted soon.

[quote SylviaPlath1984]@desperateexhausted

I can only imagine how debilitating and frustrating this must be.

I wanted to ask if you have any other accompanying symptoms that perhaps are over shadowed by the obvious issue. Things like headaches, migraines, feeling faint, irregular periods, persistent nausea, muscular aches?[/quote]
Yes I do get headaches and migraines. The migraines I think are hormone related as I get them when my period’s due and I’m banned from all hormonal contraceptives as I had an aural migraine when on the pill.

I do feel faint and nauseous too, not all the time but I get random spells of nausea so bad I think I’m going to throw up, and I have to lie down and stay still til it passes. I get sore throats and tonsil pain. Periods can be irregular by maybe 2-5 days. Muscle aches yes, again not all the time. I also have chest pain and shortness of breath and I’m being investigated for asthma. I’ve had a CT scan to rule out any serious lung issues (the one time my GP was actually useful!)

I do have diagnosed depression as well - I’ve been medicated for that since my teens but I’ve tried several different antidepressants and none has made a difference to the fatigue either by improving or worsening it. I really, truly don’t believe this is mental health related. It feels vastly different to the times I’ve stayed in bed due to being in a low depressive state and this isn’t the same. It’s a crushing physical need to sleep, and it doesn’t correlate with my mood. I’m not actively suffering with depression right now, and haven’t been on many occasions when I’ve been sleeping so the fatigue doesn’t correspond with my mental health. If anything, when I’ve been depressed I have insomnia and stay awake for days on end (which also disrupts sleep, but that’s a separate issue I feel). I’m not currently depressed, i just want to stop being tired and able to enjoy my life, because I do actually enjoy it a lot when I’m awake!

Me is not life long, it happens to previously heal the energetic people. May be viral.
Definately something is wrong, get every test possible, refferal to fatigue clinic. Good luck

I’m sorry your GP hasn’t been interested in getting to the bottom of this. How many hours do you sleep a day on average?
There may be other reasons that cannot be detected on a blood test to explain this. What sort of bloods have been done?

Neurological issues, sleep apnea, thyroid, vitamin deficiency all sorts of things can cause this, but it’s a serious problem and affecting you to the degree that you might lose your job. You must take responsibility for your health hear and keep at your doctor or see a new one who will take you seriously.

demand to be referred for a sleep study. The waiting lists are horrendous though now in most areas so if you can save up to do it privately, that would be worth it.

Sounds like chronic fatigue syndrome

Low iron. Get chelated iron supplements. Drink with orange juice.

Here* sorry I’m a terrible pedant and can’t bear anyone to think I miss-spelled here!

Get a night shift job.
Some people are just night owls, that's how they are built, no changing it.
Best to work with your natural inclinations.

You need to be your own advocate & insist on finding an answer. Do not let your GP send you home without a referral to a Consultant. Get an industrial strength alarm clock that you would hear from Mars to at least get you into work & hold onto the job until you get a diagnosis & start seeing results. I hope it all works out well for you.