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

Good luck op! A friend of mine had this where she was sleeping and tired all the time. They have just done her bloods to test for type 2 diabetes as apparently this is one of t+3 symptoms. So it's good to get checked.

They haven’t “booked you a slot” OP

Hope you get a diagnosis , must be a worry for you & your partner .

@Dustyourselfoff that’s what I said to them - but they told me they had.

Good to get checked out, well done OP.

@Dustyourselfoff that’s what I said to them - but they told me they had.

Have you ever been Anemic OP?

They definitely don't book you a slot, but give a time to go.

Good luck, hope you get some answers.

Hey, I said to them that my hospital don’t book slots because I was aware of this, but they’ve said they have so I’m just repeating what they’ve told me. Not sure why it’s relevant when I was asking for advice @TequilaNights

I'd say they could depending on the hospital. My closest a&e will triage right away and can book you slots to come back for x-rays bloods etc depending on how busy it it or necessity. It's really good and has sped things up

Good luck op, please keep updating! I hope it is easily sorted.

This sounds a lot like an aura migraine to me - I get them. I'd say it's a GP thing rather than A&E, but only because I've experienced this sort of thing with a migraine before.

Also I've been unable to think with a migraine - eg I've tried to go get a yogurt and spoon for breakfast and then got a mug and put a knife in it, and I keep staring at it and can't work out what's wrong. Migraines can be v scary - do you have vertigo/vision blurring symptoms too? That's typical for migraines

I’m a GP and I reckon this is more of an urgent GP thing rather than A and E (111 have obviously disagreed but that’s not a surprise as they use algorithms not actual clinicians). If you felt “out of control” all day and couldn’t stay awake at all I’d say A and E but if you can get up and going as normal by 10am but are just more sleepy than usual first thing in the morning and it’s been going for a while now I think that’s less acutely worrying. Either way you need bloods within a few days. Good luck at A and E.

Our A&E does this. You can't just turn up, you call and get triaged then assigned a 'slot' to turn up in. You don't necessarily get treated during your slot, that's just when you present yourself.

The only people who are seen without a slot are clear ASAP emergencies or ambulance patients.

@Headproblems I hope they can find out what's happening and there's a simple remedy for you.

But I don’t think A and E is unreasonable for this either if you feel there is a true inability to wake/stay awake at your normal time with an alarm etc. if this isn’t usually a problem for you.

Might be a slot with an out of hours GP - my bet is it’s anemia/ B12

Could be low thyroid. Ask for a full blood panel.

My Ménière's disease started like this & I can tell when I'm going to get another attack now because the day or two before I am absolutely exhausted and can't stay awake. My brain is so tired trying to regulate my balance it hits CTRL ALT DELETE on me. My ears & hearing go exactly like yours did as well.

There are vitamin deficiencies that can manifest like this, thyroid issues, migraine, middle ear problems, infection, anemic, TIA, Benign positional vertigo, labyrinthitis, autoimmune disorders, if it becomes chronic (not letting up after 3 months) and you get lots more varied vague symptoms and Dr’s can’t find an immediate physical cause with blood tests etc, it may even be Chronic fatigue syndrome, lyme disease or the beginning stages of fibromyalgia. These lists are not exhaustive and there are many many possible causes. Most are benign and will pass with treatment when the root cause is found.

Keep a diary of all your symptoms and when they happen, how they affect your daily life and quality of life.

My heart goes out to you, I know how horrible and scary this can feel. I have been there. My case was Chronic fatigue syndrome, and Fibromyalgia, but also i have autoimmune dysfunction and multiple other chronic illnesses that overlapped and confused the possible diagnoses, so took me a very long time to get to the bottom of it. Hopefully that’s not the case for you.

When you feel so exhausted and unwell it can be hard to articulate your symptoms to the Dr. Or remember everything, or even be awake long enough to go to an appointment, I had to have my partner carry me practically unconscious with comatose sleep in to the GP as they refused to come to visit me at home, or refer me to a hospital for more in-depth investigations because “I was young” and unlikely serious I was sleeping between 18 and 23 hours a day, at my worst. I had a toddler and a home to look after, I was my Mum’s carer for a serious disability, and I had to stop working but had no diagnosis.

So if you have to, it’s good to have someone to come and advocate for you with the Dr if you feel too i’ll and exhausted to speak clearly, or if you don’t get any real help, any answers to the cause after negative tests, or taken seriously. Again I am hopeful that won’t be the case with yours and that it’s something as simple as needing some iron supplements. Good luck

They probably have. My local A&E needs you to get booked in via 111 first

Our 111 books slots at a&e when something needs checking out as soon as possible.
Good luck op 💐

Yes we book time slots in AE to see out of hours GP . Hope you feel better OP .

I also meant to say sleep apnea as a possibility too. Many people don’t know they have it and it can cause excessive daytime fatigue and sleeping.

They definitely can book you slots at our hospital via 111.

Good luck op

Good luck I know how awful it is to feel dizzy.

It sounds like vertigo which can make you feel unbalanced and really unwell.