rapid eye movement

[goggy]

i woke up (was definitely not asleep) and had no control over the movement of my eyes. they were darting around at such a speed that i felt dizzy and nauseous. i did try to focus on one object but was unable to as i had no control of my eye movements. was also unable to move my body. would you have an explanation for this as it has really upset me. many thanks, cath

[Jules77733]

This definitely sounds neurological in nature...I would recommend going to an ER if your dizziness and nausea continues--in the ER they will definitely order a CT scan of your head. It seems like sleeping has something to do with all of this, but perhaps you had some sort of complication in surgery...is anyone monitoring your progress following the osteotomy? The nystagmus could be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but if you're experiencing other symptoms (i.e. dizziness and nausea), I would not be surprised if it cropped up again at some point. I think it's safe to assume that your issues are either being caused by the surgery, itself, for whatever reason, or the drugs you took during/after the surgery (I tend to think it's the drugs due to your nausea, or an infection obtained during surgery). Either way, you should probably get to a neurologist or your orthopedic surgeon and talk to them about the symptoms you're experiencing. While they are not life-threatening symptoms at the present time, it's imperative that you seek medical care before they worsen.

[goggy]

things are getting worse. i woke this morning and could barely move due to dizziness and nausea. was staggering around as if drunk. this lasted for around 2 hours. an convinced both are related. i am not a person who suffers with dizziness, if anything am very firm on my feet. the nausea feeling is still with me four hours later. not pleasant, although will cope with this if i never have to experience the R.E.M ever again!!!

[goggy]

hi jules. thanks for replying. i can rule a couple of these causes out, no head trauma,ct or mri scan and no history of neurodegenerative diseases in the family. i do drink alcohol, but hadn't on the night it occurred or 4 days prior. i have had a general anesthetic, probably 15 yrs ago, but suffered no side effects. i had a B.R.T osteotomy performed and  did take the painkiller codine (co-codamol) for ten days but have not taken this in the past two weeks. could this experience be one in a life tome occurrence? i certainly hope so!!!!

[Jules77733]

That's called nystagmus, I believe. There are a looooooot of different causes for this, so it'd help to know more about your medical history. Are you a heavy drinker? Do any neurodegenerative diseases, like MS, run in your family? Have you ever had a CT scan or MRI of your head?

Some of the potential causes are brain tumors, drugs (SSRIs, barbituates, salicylates, etc.), alcohol usage, head trauma, and stroke, among others. Toxic effects from sedatives can also result in nystagmus, though I would assume that if you were going to experience a reaction to the anesthetic, it would've happened sooner than three weeks later. Have you ever had general anesthesia before, and what procedure were you put under for?

[goggy]

i forgot to mention that i closed my eyes in the hope that it would stop, but a few seconds later when i opened my eyes it was still happening. i hope that someone could give me an idea as to what happened. i don't take any medication although i did have a general anesthetic three weeks age. could this be relevant?