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

This is a lot like how I felt when I first had my B12 deficiency diagnosed (especially the sleeping!) You need bloods done at the gp to see if there is anything going on with all your levels.

Glad you went to A&E @Headproblems, which was the right thing to do imo. I appreciate you had conflicting advice from a HCP on the thread. Myself, I think they should have kept you in for more immediate investigation. It doesn't sound chronic to me so much as evolving, so in your shoes I would be as pushy with the GP as you can manage, or ask your partner to advocate for you if it all feels too much. I'm really glad you've got the ball rolling anyway.

Me too! I ended up having to have B12 injections in the end as my levels were so low. Definitely worth looking into.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this as a possibility but it could be severe vitamin D or B12 deficiency.
I had similar symptoms sleeping constantly, headaches, dizziness etc. Went to gp and they did blood test and found my vitamin D levels nearly non existent. Apparently since covid a lot of people are having issues with getting their levels back up thanks to spending so much time indoors and it could take some people a long time to naturally get levels normalised. So please get to your gp asap to get checked over.

Your GP needs to do a full blood test plus some others including, ferritin, folate & Vitamin B12. Wouldnt hurt to have your vitamin D tested also.

@Headproblems sounds like anaemia to me. I’m anaemic and when it flares up badly I get very fatigued and struggle to do basic tasks. I would go to your GP get a full blood count done but also get them to check your vitamin D levels too, mine were extremely low the last time and was prescribed multivitamins. Hope this helps x

You will never be a burden to A&E. Not with those symptoms. Hopefully it will be something that can be cleared up quickly, on the other hand if you have a blood disease the sooner the start treatment the easier it will be to treat you (and the easier you will find the treatment).

Are you under any severe stress at the moment? I had similar symptoms last year when we were renovating the house and garden. Once the stress was gone, I did feel better

@Headproblems hope you feel better soon .
Take no notice of the unkind and unsympathetic posts here . I would have done the same as you and taken myself to A and E . I get so afraid when I’m not feeling well and would hope people could show a caring touch to their posts if I asked for advice .
Let us know how you get on . Sending a caring hug 🤗

Please please don’t self medicate.. I’m so glad you’re getting help . Take care and let us know how you are.

Many of us - (me and loads of llike-minded friends,) are feeling the strain as our Earth moves into its next phase. Take time to BREATHE and clear your mind; meditate - or go for a walk in the woods. Don't be embarassed to explore your thoughts and emotions; it's time to STOP DOING - and just start BEING. Lock yourself in the bathroom and simply connect with the person in the mirror.

I hope you get some answers and feel better soon. I’m assuming they checked your iron levels? I had a whooshing type sensation in my head, fast heart rate, everything hurt and was unbelievable tired when my haemoglobin and ferritin went dangerously low. It was chronic for a while until all of a sudden got dangerous and like you I got “booked” into A&E immediate assessment, I wasn’t aware it was a thing until 111 organised so is defo a thing.

Good luck.

Could be anything from an ear infection, vertigo. Virus. Go see your GP. As for on the day app. They always keep some for such times. Good luck and feel better soon.

Pointless and unhelpful comment.

Just wanted to show some support. After 3 months of severe dizziness and several of the same symptoms you have. I can confirm how extremely debilitating it is. I've not been able to go upstairs some days. It's so frustrating when people dismiss it as trivial. After my symptoms peaked I was given a slot at A&E on one occasion and on another an out of hours Gp got me sent straight to a ward bypassing A&E so these things do happen.
Keep chasing up bloods and Mri and you may need to see an ear nose and throat specialist if other things are ruled out.
good luck and i hope you are feeling better Soon.

Sorry not read whole thread. But have you possibly had covid recently? That can cause the same symptoms and the fatigue can linger for ages. I’ve had covid without the typical covid symptoms. Main symptom was wanting to just sleep all the time.

I do hope you get some answers soon as the uncertainty is always horrible - you did the right thing getting checked out

You know already this could be a brain issue so you need to make a doctors appointment asap. First thing Monday.

The NHS is always massively overstretched. If you're ever worried about your health always, always seek medical advice (111/GP/walk-in centre etc).

Have you had any changes in your vision at all?

My mum recently went through being diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumour (non cancerous thank god and surgery went well) - she had symptoms fairly similar to what you've described, but with vision changes rather than hearing. I'm fairly sure symptoms can be different though depending on where abouts the issues are happening??

It might be worth bringing up, as the only reason my mum's was discovered is because she went in for routine knee surgery, and coming out of anaesthetic had a seizure which prompted a brain scan as she's never had one before :/

NHS can be great, but things can also be really easily missed, dismissed, or shrugged off <3
Best of luck to you, you're in my thoughts!

Could it be post viral fatigue syndrome/ long COVID? Did it start after a virus, even a small one, a little while ago? I had a minor virus in October and was like this in January, like wading through treacle, sleeping a lot and weary to the bone, and my full body just ached. Woke up feeling like id been asleep 30 minutes, not 10 hours.

This is the second time I've had that, the first time was set off by very minor glandular fever, which I didn't even know I'd had until blood tests pinpointed it. It's a very common thing to get post viral fatigue after, so worth asking if they can check on your blood tests. I ended up off work for about 6 weeks afterwards, due to physically not being able to stay awake

I just wanted to say I’m glad you were seen and given all the obs and future planning it sounds like it was sensible and needed. Often people like you who are questioning themselves so much are the people that need to be attending I’m sorry you’ve been dismissed by your family there’s clearly something physical underlying how you are feeling so make sure you continue to access treatment. I hope it all goes well for you.

Oh for goodness sake...I think we can all agree on one thing, you're ILL!! Phone 111 that's what they're there for!! It might turn out to be something simple although it sounds iffy to me and you can't be too complacent with your health, especially not these days with the state of the health service?! 🤔🙄😱

I hope you can get sorted

Only on social media can complete strangers fight for symbolic victories about who has or hasn't read something correctly, while a poster is dealing with serious concerns about their health.
Or give advice on whether or not it's urgent based on no medical knowledge, thus risking the health and potentially life of the person asking for help.
Don't hijack posts for petty squabbles
Most of all, do no harm. If you really don't know, keep schtum.