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

100% tell them about the lump! I hope you get some answers and help soon

Yes def tell them about the lump. That needs looking at even if it’s not related to the other issues

Yeah always get lumps checked out.

@Headproblems i’ve also been watching the thread, I hope you get some answers soon. Sounds like you are going to really need to advocate for yourself, good luck!

I'm crossing my fingers that your GP is on the ball tomorrow and takes appropriate action. I'm so sorry to hear of the awful way you were treated at the hospital (despite the tests they were willing to give). Well done for speaking up for yourself. Nobody else will 😕 Sorry also to hear about your mother's bizarre attitude. I'm wishing you all the best and look forward to hearing how it goes with the GP

Also been waiting to see how you are. So sorry you’ve been treated so poorly. I wish House was real and he could get his whiteboard out and work out what’s wrong with you.
hope your gp sends you for tests.

Aww shocking way you were treated in the hospital, way u have no energy and so sleepy and dizziness is not normal , I'd complain to pals definitely, especially not even getting pain relief. I hope u get sorted tomorrow, will watch to see your update letting us know how you get on , all the best 🍀😘

Maybe make a point at the doctors that you feel like you've been fobbed off at every avenue and not believed or taken seriously straight off the bat - Maybe even record the GP appointment if they allow it with permission just for your own records and for complaints later if necessary.

The way it sounds as though you've been treated is appalling if I'm being honest.
I know hospitals are stretched but that's no excuse in my opinion - we had a real scare with my mum last year and she wasn't taken seriously, doctors/nurses didn't even look at her notes, weren't making sure she was getting anti-seizure meds for her meningioma whilst she was in for kidney sepsis. She literally could have died had her partner and I not stepped in on her behalf.

Even if it does turn out to be nothing too serious (which I hope it isn't), it's disgusting they've treated you in this way. Maybe the next patient they treat this way it actually WILL be something serious god forbid.... They need to get their perspective sorted sometimes I think, people don't tend to go to hospital on a whim...

Just a small thing years ago I was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis- very dizzy & wanting to sleep. Ask if you can see an ENT specialist to rule that out.

OP please look up pots.

Two of my friends have this and it sounds identical

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/postural-tachycardia-syndrome/

It’s absolutely disgraceful how you have been treated! I would definitely go to PALS and maybe local paper/MP!
I hope you are up and awake for calling the doctors this morning x

OP @Headproblems prepare a list of your symptoms, be concise but state them at their worst.
Prepare a list of possible conditions from this thread that you want to be investigated for

Hi I’ve been lurking on this post for a bit and glad you got back with a reply.
I am currently leaving the NHS but can say hand on heart, if I had gave the treatment that you report I should have been reported and it has made me so so cross for you.
You don’t need not only to go to PAL, you need to go to their Facebook site and their chief executive to say exactly how you were treated. Ask for copies of your notes. And when you ask for something to be done, my top tip if they refuse is to ask them to write in your notes they they are refusing your request and ask they show you they have wrote this. You will often find if they have to put it in black and white their attitudes change

You'll need a separate appt for the lump. Too much to discuss in 10-15 minutes otherwise.

Ignore that advice OP

What a ridiculous idea... my GP always asks 'is there anything else I can help you with today' every single time... of course you mention it all in the one appointment... especially as it could well be related to OPs other symptons.
You fruitcake!

Don't be daft, the GP will ask her when she's in getting her lump looked at if she's been more tired than usual anyway.

The problem is, if the other problems have nothing to do with the lump then gp is going to act on the limp and until that’s been resolved will do nothing about all the other horrendous symptoms

well let's hope its not a neurological/genetic disease. My DIL has DM1 (one of the muscular dystrophies) and one of the symptoms is sleeping 17 hours a day. She was only diagnosed after she gave birth to a baby with the congenital form and then she was genetically tested. The other symptom of it...is an inability to grip and if you do, not to be able to ungrip easily. Horrible condition caused by too many repeats of a gene sequence. Rare of course... she has adult-onset no sign before that. I wonder if my grandaughter hadn't been born whether she would ever have found out. She thought it was her laziness etc...and it certainly wasn't. I too thought it was odd how she declined walking far, was fussy about eating avoided it, all caused by the condition. It happens. I too have had some pretty brusque treatment by the NHS recently. We are in a sorry state. Keep on keeping on, it sounds so distressing for you.

I think what's happened so far is a good example of why several people who claimed to be GPs suggested going to the GP in the first place not A&E. She wasn't fobbed off, she just went to the wrong place to go for assessment so essentially no treatment was provided and just a standard investigations before being signposted to goto her GP who would investigate matters like this. Clinicians can often be blunt because they're busy and whilst we understand it's frustrating for people who don't feel well. For someone to return again despite already being reviewed will have been especially frustrating. A&E is not a place to go to try and be seen quicker or bypass the GP and hospitals are under increasing pressure to turn patients trying to do this away (because it's impacting on emergencies).

And yes 111 haven't helped by suggesting to go back, but this is just a signposting service, they're not medical it just follows a flowchart and they tell you where to go. If you call and say I feel really unwell/can't cope they'll tell you where the nearest A&E is, it's not a clinical assessment where they consider what the cause of your illness is, what assessments are indicated. It doesn't matter to them that you've just come from A&E and been discharged to see GP. Likely if OP called again today they'd again they'd still advise her to return to A&E and the cycle will keep repeating because A&E often will not be as thorough as a GP would in these instances. It could well be that the GP does a more thorough assessment today, identifies a need for a specific test that needs to be done in hospital today and would refer for that to occur if it was indicated.

As to whether to mention more than one problem in this case it's probably worth going through them all and absolutely mention the breast lump, essentially if you're presenting with new lump and unexplained lethargy you should be referred under 2ww for breast screening. As others have said lumps can be many things, and more commonly nothing sinister but important to get checked. Essentially either the lump will be causative or unrelated, but it'll be checked first because if it is a breast cancer this needs to be diagnosed as the priority. If it's shown to be a non-fatty mass/discharged from breast clinic in a few weeks time then you return to the GP to continue work up for other causes of your tiredness.

I can see why people suggest only 1 issue though. If you present with one overriding symptom then this would be the crux of the investigation. If you present with multiple ailments that you've stored up because it can be difficult to see a GP then depending on what's going on then the clinician might just pick the one that's most important to them (not necessarily to you), or the symptom you were actually really worried about gets dismissed since the clinician considers that it might not actually be that bad if you're also wanting to discuss it in the context of lots of other aches and pains/social problems.

I am a GP, you fruitcake.

Can't say for sure but the extreme tiredness isn't a classic symptom of breast cancer. Its likely 2 separate issues that deserve proper time for discussion and assessment.

Some surgeries offer the option to book a double appointment if the op can do this she can discuss both in one.

Gps can be dickheads who knew?

My GP surgery very clearly states that it's one issue per appointment.

Your GP asking "is there anything else I can help you with" is probably their way of asking why you haven't left their room yet 😉

Do you would rather a patient you have in front of you doesn't raise a concern concern because you only want to hear about the things that the patient assumes are related to a single condition? Surely the patient should share all symptoms with you and then you can make an informed clinical decision about what things are related to each other?

Are you really expecting the patient to self triage?