I couldn’t sleep at all last night. Tossing and turning, just like the song. Then, about 4am, I needed to get up to go to the bathroom. The second I sat up, the room started spinning to the left. I managed to get to the toilet but the disorienting feeling increased as I carefully made my way back to bed.

Then, suddenly, I felt my dinner rise from my stomach. I grabbed the small plastic wastebasket next to the headboard just in time and violently vomited into it, over and over again.

The noise of my retching woke up my husband, who turned and asked, “What’s happening?”

“Vertigo,” I gasped, and vomited some more. It was awful. It felt like I was on an out-of-control carnival ride. I could barely catch my breath. Lying down made it worse, so I sat on the side of the bed, bent over the wastebasket, trying not to get vomit on the bedclothes. The abdominal spasms were agony, and after three or four minutes of this my stomach was empty and all that came up was mucus.

I had been through this once before, several years ago. It’s called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), caused when calcium particles in the inner ear become lodged in the semicircular ear canals. My restless tossing and turning had probably caused it.

Hubby got some extra pillows and put them against the headboard. “Sit up,” he said. I covered my legs with the sheet and quilt. But the spinning wouldn’t stop and soon I had to vomit again. By now the noise had awoken the cats, who cried and scratched the bedroom door, thinking that we were going to get up and get them breakfast. Tears ran down my face and I had to blow my nose over and over to get the vomit out.

Hubby left briefly and returned to the bedroom with his iPad. After a moment searching online, he said, “We’re going to try the Epley Maneuver.” He positioned me on the mattress and read the directions to me, which involved controlled head movements designed to dislodge the calcium particles. I did it once but it didn’t appear to be working, so we waited a few minutes and I attempted it again. By then I was exhausted, both from lack of sleep and the abdominal pain and effort of vomiting.

The second time was the charm. The vertigo began to subside. I rolled over slowly so as not to bring the nausea back. Hubby gently tucked me in and positioned the wastebasket within reach, just in case. In an instant I was asleep.

I got up this morning at 11 am and rewarded my husband with many hugs and “thank yous.” I felt weak and shaky, but a late breakfast helped. I’ve put my to-do list aside in favor of some light chores at my desk, and tonight I’m headed for an early bedtime. Whew.

Posted in Memoir, Real Life.