I need some rational advice. Please.

[Scaredtoo]

In July I had an episode of vertigo. I chalked it up to swimming a lot in pool and being at beach on vacation. Once I got home from vacation, the vertigo became pretty pronounced. It’s mainly when I lay down or get up or roll over in bed. It doesn’t last terribly long, maybe a good 10 seconds or so. I don’t even know what this is. It’s scaring the crap out of me though. Any advice? It’s such a scary feeling.

[Catkins]

You could see your doctor about it?

[pulisa]

10 seconds isn't really very long. It can sometimes be a disturbance with crystals in the ear which is noticeable when you change your head position.

True vertigo is something else and can really incapacitate you. My longest bout lasted about 18 hours but it can last a lot longer for some people.

My bet is that the swimming will have had some effect on your ears.

[FamilyPicnic]

Vertigo is one of the worst conditions to have to deal with. The good thing about it is that only very rarely is it caused by anything serious. Shorts attacks of vertigo especially when rolling over, such as what you described, are usually due to BPPV (and the crystals as pulisa said up above) and can be helped with the Epley maneuver. Or it could be from something else, maybe a viral infection. It's hard to know for sure, even doctors have a hard time figuring out the root cause of it. I have suffered severe vertigo in the past, hours long attacks where I couldn't move an inch. It is pure torture.