Heart palpitations and digestive problems

[Guest Julia59]

Hi Folks---I know it's Christmas Eve---but i'll post anyway---

Well at least I made it through the night at my parents for Christmas Eve--I wish I felt better, but I held up---barely......................

WE just walked in the door at home and the tachycardia started---felt like my heart was going wild---then I felt and irregular beat---I didn't know what to make of it. Meanwhile my guts are in knots. I ended up going to the bathroom-not really much relief though. Then horrible burps------bloat and GAS---never ending gas and burps. Also nausea-----gagging and a rolling/turing/flipping feeling in my right upper abdomin.

I know my gall bladder was tested in Early 2001 and was shown to be working about 60% at the time.

What am I getting at?---i'll tell you. Is the gut acting up and causing the tachycardia----or is the hyper/adrengic attacks--tachycardia causing the Gas and stomach upset? I had my usual pain tonight---but this time I felt really weak, and had a difficult time keeping my balance. My spine also felt like it was vibrating. Anytime I used any muscles---in arms, legs---ect. , they shake afterwards. Yesterday I made cookies with my nephews---they helped but I had a lot of standing on and off. Towards evening I was in a lot of pain and started getting snappy---which means i'm trying to fend of a hyper/adrengic attack, and about to collapse at the same time. WHEN WILL I EVER LEARN?

I'm having trouble breathing----feels like air flow is restricted----very shakey----very, very shakey. I took my little piece of klonopin, but when I got home I took another. It feels like my gut is in my mouth. I ate very little---but ate the wrong things. A few chips, dip, two chicken wings-no skin, about a tablespoon of macaroni salad, some kind of tiny rolled sandwich, Maybe one cookie---and a sprite. Normally I don't get this kind of upset---even if I eat more. I don't normally eat this kind of food----I watch my diet pretty closely.

Even on my beta blocker i'll get these tachy spells. I'm under a lot of stress, and I feel obligated to visit other relitives tomorrow----but feel I just can't make it out again---and I feel I need to lay real low. My body is trying to tell me something. Maybe I should get the white count checked again---as it was high a week ago, but went back to normal in almost a day.

I just feel like my whole nervous system is irritated. I can't get a doctor besides Dr. Grubb to take any of this seriously. I have twitching all over my body----fingers, arm muscles, all over my face---eyes, chin, forehead. i was light headed all night---and i've had low blood pressure 70/40 something all week. Usually this is in the morning. I don't check throughout the day as I know if it's high---with a high heart rate---i'll get upset---and it will just get worse. I just started seeing Ken Davis ---he's been my psychologist for a while, but I also see Beth who is another one---both are very supportive, and are trying to help me. It seems i'm very easily stimulated. Maybe this is my bodies way of trying to get some oxygen in my brain.

I thought I was really going to make it through the night without any big set backs---then BOOM---I was so light headed and felt I couldn't get enough air, then the tachycardia, and a heart flip---and on and on.

This is really difficult to type, but I feel it can divert my attention some. I can't get it out of my mind what that surgeon in NY said---Dr. Bolognese--The chiari Institute. He said my sympathetic nervous system is very irritated----this was in July 2004. I just saw Ken Davis and we were discussing these two components---the sympathetic and para-sympathetic. We discussed the para-sympathetic as not working at all----and thus the "sympathetic" system being over worked-----I'm still a bit confused, but we will discuss more later on the next visit.

I feel to blame as I have been driving myself too much. I have helped people in my family---really nothing much for a "normal" person, but for me---maybe not. I still had the fatigue, pain, and many of the usual ANS symptoms------but the tachycardia was fairly under good control unless I get ill with a virus---or had any extra stress. Last week---I had to crawl around on the floor on Thursday moring before I went to see Ken Davis. I drank 24oz. of water---then a V-8---800mgs of sodium---then I felt Ok enough to drive to the appointment. Thankfully it was in my end of town.

I guess I became disconnected with the OI issues as they were never that bad for me---but I had all the rest of the fun that goes with ANs dysfunction. It just doesn't seem real---BLOOD POOLING SOMEWHERE. For some reason my mind can't accept this as real for me. I support all of you who deal with OI---but I always assumed it didn't apply to me, so in a way I was kind of disconnected partially--as I REALLY couldn't relate fully to what you all go though who have OI. That is scarey. It comes on so sudden. I don't get it---how can I stand up on and off almost all day yesterday, and today I felt I weighed a thousand pounds?

[color=#FF0000]Please bear with me---I've been getting away with not having to deal with this part of the ANS dysfunction for the most part, so it's new territory for me to crawl around on the floor. I'm thinking---why not just stand up and get on with it---but it won't work. I don't think hyper-adrengic folks can deal with florinef/midodrine-(spelling?)---because we have high BP when the hyper-adrengic (aka GEORGE) spells happen.

I just can't get any Doc besides Dr. Grubb that is willing to explore this brain stem compression and relate it to the balance problems, breathing problems when I turn my head a certain way, all the twitching, and of course the leg and arm weakness. And now my ANS issues are getting worse. Now I have discovered that if I lean my head back it affects my breathing.....................

I think i'll encourage my nephew Jeremy to go to Medical School------he's got some good common sense.

I can't expect Dr. Grubb to deal with all of this.

Julie :0)

[ben_uk]

Hi Julie

I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I also feel like my nervous system is way overexcited.

Anything calming is likely to be of benefit, such as meditation, or yoga breathing exercises.

A good one is the Corpse pose, where you lie on the floor, close your eyes and just breath abdominally for 20 minutes imagining all the muscles (one by one) relaxing.

Hope today is a better day.

Happy Christmas

Ben

[Gena]

Hi Julia,

Just a quick note to send you hugs and healing vibes on Christmas Day. Sound like you could use them. I almost always get palpitations/arrythmias/tachycardia if my digestive system is out of whack...and I normally cause that if I eat too much, too much sugar or too many refined carbs. I normally try to avoid all of these foods, but it seems during holidays this type of food is all around us and sometimes hard to resist. Sometimes my digestive system will be upset not by the foods I eat, but when ANS gets over active. So sometime's it's hard to tell what's causing what. When I'm feeling POTSy though, it really doesn't matter what I eat, I can get tachy and irregular beats.

I get hyper-adrenergic spells too, although this only brings my BP up to a normal level from a very low level. I never get high BP, sometimes borderline but only for a few minutes.

I know you normally eat pretty well, but try to avoid that sugar. It stresses our adrenal glands even more.

Well, girl I'm glad you made it through Christmas eve and baking cookies. I hope you are resting quietly today.

Hugs,

Gena

[mom4cem]

Hope you had a good day today. If my reflux acts up, I get palpitations and my heartrate starts to quicken also. Sometimes even when the tachy is first, later into the episode I start with the endless burps. The do say the pressure of the stomach when full can put pressure against the heart and cause palpitations. I have seen many posts on that at www.medhelp.org .

[momofpreciousboy]

Julie, what you are describing is very similar to what I go through and at my worst went through every day. I am sorry, and all I can say, is it happens like you described. It is the worst feeling. If I turned my neck, it made me sick-dizzy, just felt like someone was stirring in my head, eyes, everything. The twitches, and vibrations too. I am paying for this weekend too. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. JenniferTX

[gwen]

I am so sorry you have been feeling so bad. Try telling a normal person you had to crawl to get the phone:-) I have been going to my good friend a chiro for ultrasound on neck and shoulders and adrenals, a very gentle manipulation of lower neck, then about 10 min. of traction which consists of lying on a table that has rollers underneath that go up and down my back. seems like my middle right side responds for some reason. I have to say I do feel better afterwards. I just wished it would last longer. :-)

[jenwic]

This all sounds so familiar. A few weeks ago I felt horrible for a few days: tachy, heart adding beats and flipping a lot (maybe 25 added beats a day compared to none to 3 on a normal day). I couldn't figure out what in the world was causing the worsening symptoms. Then, days later ,I was very nauseated. I had a stomach virus that lasted for days. At least I was glad that I at least had a reason for why I felt so bad. I don't normally have that many added beats even if I have a virus. When I tried to get up and do anything I was weak and very shakey and tachy. For four days when I tried to take a shower my heart about pounded out of me and my heart skipped all over the place. I had to cut my shower very short then sit on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel for several minutes to get the strength to get up and walk. When the virus cleared out of my system I felt much better (well.. normal for me anyway). Hope you feel much better soon.

[Guest Julia59]

Thanks for all the responses!

Still feeling very wired, but I am able to sleep and recover. I take a small dose of Klonopin in the evening as this seems to be when I am the most wired.

I dont know what's going on with my body----but I sure in the heck don't want to see another doctor. Bev from Dr. Grubb's office seems to think my hyper-adrengic issues are acting up---thus messing with the rest of me.

However, I have a lot of upper back pain---and difficulty breathing---especially when I put me neck in different positions, and the problems with numbness in arms and legs is increasing along with a vibrating sensation in my legs---especially if I pound my foot on the floor as we do sometimes to get eachothers attention. My basement is drywalled with thick drywall---and full commercial carpeting, so it's very sound proof and hard to hear eachother call our names out, so we pound on the floor with our feet---or go to the top of the steps.

My spine also feels like it's vibrating. I have no idea if any of this has anything to do with my recent hyper-adrengic attacks. They did seem to pop up after several dental appointments---and when I pulled or popped something in my lower neck-upper thoracic spine.

All this stuff is such a mistery isn't it?

Julie :0)