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

The op managed to get up and have a shower by 10 am she chose bot to take paracetamol and was able to sit in a&e all evening playing on her phone does this sound like an emergency to you. A flare up of a diagnosed chronic condition is a completely different situation as you likely have a care plan so it states what needs to be done. Before you got diagnosed with your condition did you go to your gp for bloods and referrals or did you wait until a Saturday to go to a&e thinking you will be fast tracked and then complain that a dr who works in emergency medicine is dismissive. Like I said earlier if people keep misusing the nhs at the rate they are were gonna lose it which means unless your rich your screwed

Exactly people really don't seem to grasp what a&e is for

It's the equivalent of checking yourself in a&e on Facebook. Just to get a load of msgs saying you ok hun? Il pm you hun

@Flowerynight people feel and deal with pain very differently. I was smiling and joking with the nurses and keeping my husband updated via text with a collapsed lung a few weeks ago. I was equally cheerful in labour. Everyone is different.

But she went in because she couldn't stay awake, she wasn't in an enormous amount of pain.

Why would OP take paracetamol? She’s not in pain !

Please go to a and e if you feel worried. That sounds very frightening for you.

Sorry I see you have. Good that you are in the system now OP and I hope you sort it out.

Yep. but the amount of people on this thread disagreeing really highlights why the nhs is in the state its in

As usual, posts being deleted because they're highlighting that someone had a different choice to make and they could have used resources differently (if they are the posts I think they are, its difficult to tell)

Pernicious anaemia. I had a year of similar symptoms was going back and forth to the Drs got fobbed off with it’s my age peri menopause ect. Wasn’t until it started to affect my sight I demanded bloods and asked for the results. My B12 was so low I’m surprised I was able to walk up the stairs. Now self inject, life changing.

The OP phoned 111 and 111 sent her to A&E. She's done nothing wrong.

It's not a&e. Speak to your GP tomorrow. You may need tests. Anaemia, vitamin d deficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, diabetes, lupus to name a few. see your GP and he can rid some tests and refer you to the appropriate service

111 always do! It's definitely for the Gp to investigate not appropriate for a&e.

Glad you’re being investigated OP. There is nothing worse than having horrible symptoms and no answers. I’ve been there myself this year.
fwiw I went to a&e last summer cos I had chest pain that wouldn’t abate - I 99% knew it was heartburn but even taking all the meds did not shake it and I was pacing the floor. The Dr who I saw (after 4 hours, once I’d had tests) couldn’t have been nicer & said he would’ve done the same in my position and in the end I had investigation done on private insurance but in that moment I wasn’t going to risk not getting checked out.