Has anyone had this? Woke up severely dizzy in the night.

[Morp]

It was terrifying tbh. I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and knew something was wrong, the room was spinning and I couldn’t get my balance at all. I felt out of it, drenched in sweat and my heart was racing (possibly because it was so scary). I couldn’t really walk so lay down took deep breaths and it stopped. My stomach was a bit upset after and I feel worn out now (went back to sleep) but nothing else. I’m on my period which is very heavy but I can’t think of any other reason. I was very hot when I woke up. Hadn’t been drinking. Guess it was just one of those things?

I guess my main question is — should I go to the doctor and tell them what happened? When I woke up and couldn’t stand up/walk I honestly felt I was going to call 999, it felt like something was severely wrong with me. But I feel ok now. Not sure what I would say to a doctor, I felt dizzy? It was worse than dizziness but I’m not sure if there’s a name for that.

Sounds a bit like vertigo, some people get it from turning over funny in bed. The heart racing etc could have been a mini panic attack because you weren't sure what you was experiencing. I would ring them this morning just for a call back to be sure

Hypoglycaemia? Panic attack? Sounds very scary.

Low blood pressure/blood sugar?
I sometimes get it.

Low blood pressure or low blood sugar by the sounds of it - I get them both, they’re not nice. Hope you’re feeling better now.

Perhaps vertigo? I've had it twice in my life. The first time I got up in the morning and fell straight back onto the bed as the room was spinning so much. Awful feeling. Got gradually better but took a few months! I could manage normal life but had to be careful what I did!

I've had night time dizziness because I have reacted to a food I ate at dinner time. I have histamine intolerance. Maybe you are reacting to something you ate earlier? What did you eat earlier on?

If the attack has passed now then it's potentially a food-related thing. Make sure you drink plenty of water to rehydrate.

Personally I wouldn't see a GP unless it happened several times, but then I rarely visit a doctor anyway. I can't remember the last time.

I have had that experience a couple of times. Doc said it was vertigo.
I do sympathise with you, as I know how frightening and just horrible it is.

I do think you should go to the doc to tell them about it. They would want to rule out any more serious possibilities. But unfortunately they don't seem to be able to help much with vertigo (in my experience anyway).

For years I was terrified of it happening again, but since those two severe episodes I have only had milder instances of it (touchwood!!!)

Oh, in my case there was severe vomiting, though. I don't know if that would make a diff to how they diagnosed it.

I had a takeaway pizza, unusual for me. Wonder if it could have been that.

Thanks everyone, I think I will see if I can see a doctor just to check my blood pressure etc is ok. I’ve honestly never felt like that in my life. Vertigo sounds right. I was also briefly confused (couldn’t remember who was in the house) but it was the middle of the night!

I have this periodically, OP and I agree, it's absolutely horrible - my sympathies. I'm aware that there are a number of possible causes but in my case it was because (apparently) sometimes a tiny particle of something gets into the inner ear and causes an imbalance. The gp recommended certain exercises that are really easy to do, only take a couple of minutes and they actually work. I was really doubtful at first that they would work but they really did, within minutes of my doing them!

Now, whenever I get that dizzy feeling, I just do the exercises and it 'cures' it.

On another occasion years ago, my dizziness was caused by extreme anaemia, so you must go to the gp first, to establish what is causing it.

Yep, I'd put money on it! Your reactions do sound related to food poisoning, just not as severe. Something on that pizza was off or 'too old' and you got an overload of histamine, so hours later your body reacts, too hot, sweating, dizziness, nausea. What were the toppings on the pizza?

Dehydration can make you feel really unwell. Pizza + period + not drinking could have caused it.

I think I'd book in with the nurse and ask for a health check though. Ring 111 if it happens again!

It was a spicy meet one and tbh as soon as I ate it I thought it might be a bit off or something! Just didn’t sit right.

but I will call the GP today.

Definitely mention the confusion too. How scary for you, but good to hear you're feeling okay now.

Yeah I suspect that was the cause, hope you feel better soon! Good to check in with your GP though.

Even if Dr says it's nothing, keep a record of it in your calendar app in case it happens again and there might be a pattern.

Yep that's a great idea. :)

I personally wouldn't see the doctor unless it happens again. You can get your blood pressure checked at lots of pharmacies, you don't need a GP appointment for that.

@CrunchyCarrot I'm really interested to hear about that association with food. The first (and worst) time it happened to me was the night after a wedding, and I had eaten a lot of cheap buffet-style beige food and drunk cheap red wine. It definitely didn't seem like "ordinary" food poisoning, or too much alcohol, but perhaps that histamine reaction you spoke of could produce the very different experience I had.
The sickness didn't come from the stomach - I had no sensation of an upset stomach at all. It came from the nightmarish dizziness, and it was so forceful that my abdominal muscles ached afterwards from the effort.

Sounds like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Triggered by a movement in bed like rolling over in a certain way. DH has had it twice and the first time was very like you described. He uses a different pillow now and avoids sleeping on a certain side, but he can trigger it mildly and move to avoid a full-blown attack now.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vertigo/

Do you drive?

https://www.gov.uk/dizziness-and-driving#:~:text=You%20must%20tell%20DVLA%20if,an%20accident%20as%20a%20result.

Look up BPPV and the Epley Manouvre. It's harmless but very annoying.

I get BPPV fairly regularly and it always starts with short episodes like this when I turn my head in the night. A week or two later I get it for hours and have to do the special movements to get it to go away.

This video is the easiest to follow.