Uh, I woke up with KILLER VERTIGO (all right, ALMOST killer vertigo, as I'm still alive). I took something for it. But damn, it takes all day to get it to sit and stay. My friends at Wikipedia have helped me to elucidate the finer points of this disorder for your reading pleasure (I've edited heavily):

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Vertigo (from the Latin vertere, to turn, and the suffix -igo, a condition, i.e., "a condition of turning about"[1]) is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is stationary with respect to the earth or surroundings.
There are two types of vertigo: subjective and objective. There is a subjective vertigo when a person has a false sensation of movement. In the case of objective vertigo, the surroundings appear to move past a person's field of vision.

The effects of vertigo may be slight. It can cause nausea and vomiting and, in severe cases, it may give rise to difficulties with standing and walking. (I've always wondered what would happen if I had an attack while driving and got pulled over. "I'm having a vertigo attack" seems somewhat lame, and the cops have already heard it, I'm sure. Trying to walk with vertigo looks suspiciously like trying to walk drunk, so I think I'd be screwed until I blew a 0.0 on the old breathalyzer.)

Vertigo is usually associated with a problem in the inner ear balance mechanisms (vestibular system), in the brain, or with the nerve connections between these two organs. The most common cause of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. Vertigo can be a symptom of an inner ear infection. Vertigo can be a symptom of an underlying harmless cause, such as in BPPV or it can suggest more serious problems. These include drug toxicities (specifically gentamicin), strokes or tumors (though these are much less common than BPPV), and syphilis. (FYI - I don't have syphilis!)

Vertigo can also be brought on suddenly through various actions or incidents, such as skull fractures or brain trauma, sudden changes of blood pressure, or as a symptom of motion sickness while sailing, riding amusement rides, airplanes or in a motor vehicle. Vertigo can also be caused by Carbon Monoxide poisoning. It is also one of the more common symptoms of superior canal dehiscence syndrome and Meniere's disease.

Vertigo can also occur after long flights or boat journeys where the mind gets used to turbulence, resulting in a person's feeling as if he is moving up and down. This usually subsides after a few days.

Treatment is specific for underlying disorder of vertigo:
vestibular rehabilitation
anticholinergics
marijuana (Hey, happy to see Our Green Friend on the list!)
antihistamines (Also happy to see these familiar favorites)
calcium channel antagonists, specifically Verapamil and Nimodipine
GABA modulators, specifically gabapentin and baclofen
neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors such as SSRI's, SNRI's and tricyclics
benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a special kind of vertigo, is treated with the Epley maneuver (performed by a doctor or with a BPPV maneuver at home)

Vertigo can easily be treated. There are tablets available under prescription after seeing a local doctor or specialist. These tablets can treat the vertigo into going away within a couple of months. Vertigo can also stay with a person for life. (As has mine; though it's so rarely a problem I forget about it until I have mornings like this one.)