out of control eyes

[bdianne]

I have twice woken up in the morning with my eyes shifting back and forth horizontially very very rapidly and my head feels like it is whipping around and around.  I cannot stand or move around as I am extremely dizzy and nauseous.  I cannot control my eyeballs and try to lie still holding them to make them stop.  If I move too fast or soon after they stop it starts again.  I have compared both times this has happened to see if there was something common to cause it, i.e., eye strain, illness, computer usage, etc., and nothing was the same.  This is very frightening and as I am otherwise a very healthy person with no medical issues very puzzling to me.  The actual spasams last 1 to 2 minutes, the residual effects a few hours.  Any ideas about this? The two happened about 2 months apart.

[bdianne]

Thank you, I will.  Do you think this could be caused/triggerd by allergies?  The first incident was when I was staying in a hotel room in AL which was so humid and the sheets were so wet we had to run the AC at full blast just to endure it.  I was already taking Zertec and thought that maybe the room was moldy.  The second episode I was also on Zertec because of runny eyes, nose, aching head and neck, tight chest - all my allergy symptoms.  I usually only take the Zertec for a few days  when it gets bad then quit when the symptoms are tolerable again.  I have used Zertec for over a year with no problems prior to these.

Thank you for your help.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

You could have some sort of vertigo - like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo - which can be triggered by turning over in bed or other movements of the head.  I am more concerned with the feeling of spinning (vertigo) than the eye movements which could be due to the vertigo.  Your problem may lie in the inner ear which controls your balance.  I recommend you see both an ear nose and throat specialist and an ophthalmologist right away.  Special testing should be able to give you an answer.

MJK MD