Slept for 18 hours yesterday because I couldn’t wake up - GP or A&E?

[Headproblems]

Just looking for some advice because I know the NHS is massively overstretched at the moment and I don’t want to waste resources if this is just a GP thing.

Basically for the past few months I have been experiencing lots of headaches and some dizziness and oversleeping. It hasn’t been consistent so I’ve never really got it checked out because it’s never been enough to cause huge issues.

However this week, every day I have been struggling to wake up and until at least 10am I have been in and out of sleep feeling completely without control, no matter how hard I’ve been trying to stay awake I fall straight back to sleep within minutes and have to force myself to stay awake.

In the middle of this week I walked upstairs and my ears went fuzzy and my head started spinning, it was really scary because for about 3 minutes my ears went in waves and I could barely hear, like I was under water.

I’ve tried earlier nights but nothing has been helping. I have my own business and it’s affecting my work, being unable to concentrate and missing meetings.

Yesterday I slept for 18 hours throughout the day, it was impossible to wake up I was so drowsy, at one point I thought I was awake and I was talking to my partner about ingredients (?) but I was still asleep and apparently all he could hear was muffles, and it got to a point where my head started waving and it felt like I was falling every time I shut my eyes, this lasted for about 10 minutes.

I awoke at 8pm and went back to sleep at 1am, and this morning couldn’t wake up until 11am and had to literally force myself into a cold shower to wake up.

I managed to get up and ready, have come downstairs and I am so dizzy I feel like I’m going to pass out (I haven’t), and my head feels like there is pressure around my temples.

I’ve not taken any new medication and the medication I do take I have been taking the same for about 8 years now, no changes that I can think of in diet, I do feel dehydrated from all the sleep though.

I’m unsure whether to call 111 because I’m feeling shaky and dizzy but not sure if it would be better to wait it out until Monday for an emergency GP appointment.

But not being able to wake up is scaring me and frustrating me, I don’t want to be sleeping the days away, I physically just cannot wake up no matter how hard I try.

Please if anyone can give me some advice or has experienced this before I would really appreciate it

Definitely go to the GP. DD1 had this last year, sleeping all the time and migranes. She was on the pill injection and since shes stopped having it, shes much much better and sleeping normally now. It can be something like heavy periods, or low iron. if you feel dizzy sitting or standing up, check it out with a blood test with the docs.

Call a gas engineer and get a gas safety check on your boiler and any gas fires your have in the house. This sounds familiar to when we had a gas leak from our fireplace. The headaches the sleeping, the feeling so low energy.

Is your skin dry?

When my thyroid decided it didn't want to work I was tired all the time, and cold and my skin went dry.

Obviously I'm not diagnosing you just making a suggestion.

Oh no, hasn't left you feeling any better really has it. Let us know how you get on over next week, hopefully all is ok till then take care

I hope they can get to the bottom of this quickly for you OP.

I hope you're feeling better. I wonder what the diabetes test showed?

Have you been bruising easily recently OP? Or sweating at night?

Hope you are ok today.

If they were worried about an infection they would have kept you in and given you antibiotics so I imagine your white count was elevated but not concerningly high.

Hopefully you’ll feel better my Monday but if not give the GP a ring on Monday so they can investigate things.

Had you not taken any paracetamol for your headache yourself at home?

he was very dismissive

yes, he was frustrated.

you had turned up, complaining of tiredness, but constantly tapping away on your phone, you hadn’t even taken a paracetamol for your headache but the sounds of it.

You are not a nice person.

Reading this thread is exactly why I would never create a post on here! Hope you manage to get sorted op xx

Thank you to the very many mean-minded people who have posted on this thread: you have saved me a lot of time in the future, as I'll now be deleting MN from all my devices.

The OP, whatever you as an individual might think of her situation/decisions, was clearly scared, and came here for advice. For a worrying number of you the 'appropriate' response was to question whether or not she was telling the truth about having a timed appointment at A&E. This place makes me despair of humanity, so I'm off.

And yes, this is a flounce, and please don't waste your time responding as I won't be reading it!

OP, I hope you get swift and useful treatment to resolve your health problem.

Hope you get some answers on Monday. My NHS hospital has time slots if you phone up 111. I know as dh was given one. He had septics. We didn't go to a&e as didn't want to waste their time...asked on here at the time. Phoned 111 who booked him into a time slot at a&e. Never seen him so I'll. Hope that answers those questioning it. Time slots are a thing.

I found there's a few nasty people but 99÷ are lovely. Just hover and read. I stop posting for abit when people get vvv nasty. Says more about them than you. Mumsnet is a very useful place and can be helpful. Ignore the nasty people. I go through stages like you not wanted to go on but do return eventually and hope I help others as much as I been helped by others on here. Excluding advice on my husband when he had septics.

Yes same. I have pernicious anaemia which is low B12 and it is like this. It can be very serious indeed.

OP has been told to go back to the GP just because the system doesnt allow to start futher investigation, including MRI, without GP involved. (Which I find ridiculous.)

OP is getting so many amateur diagnoses in here , not helpful .

Not go back to gp, go to gp she hasn't been to the gp in the 2 months she was feeling unwell. A&E is not there to deal with chronic issues that is what gps are for

My NHS consultant who deals with my chronic condition clearly doesn’t know this then, having given me a serious ticking off for waiting til Monday to call the specialist nurse for advice, rather going straight to A&E on the Saturday when I got into serious problems with a flare up. He was very clear when he said “next time you are wondering in the back of your head if you should go to A&E, that’s the time you go to A&E.”

The op clearly states that whilst she has had some ongoing problems it hasn’t been consistent. The past 24-48 hours or so have been extreme, consistent symptoms that are very worrying and quite possibly indicative of several serious conditions. It’s not in any way unreasonable to call 111, and to then follow their recommendations under the circumstances.

Please get an emergency appt with your GP on Monday op. And if things get in any way worse today then call 111 again. I’m surprised they didn’t investigate you a bit more.

This 100%