At first I thought my spinning head and nausea were symptoms of a hangover. But could they be connected to a documentary I had made on Havana syndrome?
Waking foggy-headed and with the room spinning on 26 December is surely not an uncommon condition. Who among us hasn’t felt the effects of overindulgence on Christmas Day?
These were my immediate thoughts when I rose in such a state in my parents’ house in Dublin two years ago. An hour later, the room continued its relentless swirl, nausea was building and it was becoming hard to stand. So far, so Christmas hangover. I remained in bed and waited for things to blow over. They didn’t. Gradually, family members stuck their heads into my childhood bedroom and wondered if everything was OK. I could only say that I felt quite strange.
After a couple of hours, I thought I was over the worst, so I joined my mother, sister and wife in the kitchen. Moments later, they watched on helplessly as I vomited in the kitchen sink, a silent bond created between them.
This process repeated itself several times over the next day, so I visited a doctor. The GP diagnosed a case of vertigo: not any Hitchcock-infused vision, but dizziness and nausea, usually caused by inner ear problems. Often this lasts only seconds, but there can be more prolonged incidents. I was prescribed medication to restore order.
