GI Disorder and Internal Shaking

Posted by gigiraj @gigiraj, Feb 15, 2019

Hi all. I'm a 21 year old South Asian female and I have been having GI issues for about five years--mainly along the lines of constipation. I do have bowel movements every day but it takes a long time & I am rarely fully cleared out. These GI issues are always accompanied by other health issues (gas, pressure in head, etc). Recently, some scary new conditions have manifested: In the past few weeks, there have been times where my heart starts beating wildly and very fast. Sometimes, when I'm tired and constipated, my entire body feels like its vibrating internally; the shakes aren't visible but it feels like all my muscles are quivering. At this point, I feel a constant shaking/quivering within my body, especially in my heart cavity.

I have had TWO EKG's and both came back normal. All lab tests for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, etc came back within normal limits. I am very concerned about this internal shaking. My dad says he found something about how GI disorders can impact muscoskeletal system and since the heart is a muscle, it's contracting and being affected. But I wanted to know if anyone here can help!!!!!!! If anyone knows anything at all please please please let me know!!!!!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Profile picture for notsimon @notsimon

I have the same issue. Taking vitamin B Complex daily (morning and night) and Magnesium Complex daily (morning and night and each time i experience tremors) helps to make the vibrations / tremors less intense and less frequent. An extended water fast and daily intermittent fasting addresses the underlying issue with my gut which also makes the shaking less frequent and intense.

Right now I only experience the shaking when my gut is busy digesting, usually at night. Massaging my stomach instantly relieves the tremors.

Why massaging would make them go away I have no idea? Maybe motility is the issue?

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Thank you so much for this post and for the vitamin suggestions. I am having lots of internal shaking, too, which I have attributed to PTSD anxiety and panic attacks. But I also have a number of intestinal problems - born celiac (tho now gluten free), lactose intolerance, colitis and diverticulities, constipation, fatty liver (the newest diagnosis) and bowel urgency (just to name a few!) Finding a diet that accounts for all of this has been impossible. Like you, I find that intermittent fasting and lots and lots of fluids helps (though I'm still fat!) But now I find your vitamin suggestions very interesting. I will ask my GI doctor to look at this website and help me understand what might be best for me. I am very, very grateful...

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Hiya recently I’ve started to get the exact same issue, can I ask what the outcome was ?

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Hello,

I have the exact same symptom you describe - "internal vibrations/tremors" likely associated with colon spasms I believe. they started a few years ago and would wake me up in the middle of the night and last for 1-2 hours.. now they are constant, and seem to be aggravated by choice of foods - specifically dairy/dairy derivatives, and enriched bread, fruit in general, raw vegetables (those seem to be the goods/ingredients with the worst effects - thinking it could be cellulose gum in enriched bread that leads to especially painful episodes). If I eat anyone of those, I get dull pain in the abdomen, tension headaches/head pressure, stiff/sore neck, dizziness, intense fatigue, blurry vision and pressure on eyes, nausea, joint pain mostly around hips, etc..which can last for up to 3-4 days. Ibuprofen doesn't doesn't help much or at all, I just have to ride it out, and I have to immediately revert to liquid diet or to what I know works for me (simple chicken subway sandwiches). My doctors have diagnosed me with IBS a while back but that's all they can figure out, all my other tests look good, except non-specific inflammation (high ESR/sedimentation rate, and high CRP/c-reactive protein) and mild high blood pressure.

I would like to find out if anyone else is in a similar situation and has found solutions to mitigate such episodes, as I'm unsure of who to turn to for help.

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Profile picture for gigiraj @gigiraj

@hopeful33250 and @kanaazpereira thank you SO much for your consideration and resources! I really appreciate it. It has confirmed for me that this is definitely originating along my gut-brain axis. I am looking into VZV as was mentioned in the article. POTS does not really fit but I am looking into it as well.

I haven't had headaches so much as a building pressure in my head that goes away when I passed built-up gas. I looked at @ calical's post about their seizures and luckily, what I am experiencing is nowhere near that severe. @ tigertoo's suggestion on Transverse Myelitis is a possibility (according to symptoms on John's Hopkins' website): I have bowel issues, my legs/arms can sometimes feel heavy/odd, and sometimes I have pain [more like soreness] in my lower back/hips when I've eaten but am constipated. I am also looking into Vagus Nerve Dysfunction as that is what fits my symptoms closest (pain in ear, occasional pain in vocal cords & hoarse voice = possibly due to acid reflux, unusual heart rate)

However, my internal shaking and increased heart rate has temporarily stopped! There could be a number of reasons why this is:
1) I had been anxious about my heart for two weeks. I went to the Emergency Room and started crying. After crying and having confirmation from the ER that I wasn't having a heart attack, I felt calm and comfortable so my shaking was potentially because of a buildup of stress and lack of sleep.
2) I started taking Miralax and Prevacid on the 14th as my doctor prescribed. Perhaps they are just now kicking in.

While I am glad my heart tremors have stopped, I am afraid that this is just another stop on the way to some disease I need to identify before it's too late. I have had a myriad of symptoms over the years, most of which I believe stemmed from my gut; constipation is the one constant. I have also recently been having a variety of brain fog (trouble visualizing reasoning for instinctive activities, trouble reviewing my thoughts) and have always had very poor blood circulation, pains in breastbone/chest, strange & intense drowsiness after eating, inability to feel hunger except by way of fatigue, and post-constipation pain in the left side of my brain/left eye.

I will still look into getting a heart monitor! And I will most likely post about this in the Brain & Nervous System group as well. If it is not a GI disorder, I'm not sure how to move forward.

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Did you ever figure this out? I just starting having the exact same thing a few weeks ago and we can't figure it out.

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Profile picture for hypochondriacmaniac @hypochondriacmaniac

I have everything that you do including the lump in the throat, kinda like I'm being strangled especially when I lie down. The internal vibrations are the worst for me. I literally can barely function with them. You didn't mention insomniac which was my first clue that something was wrong. But it wasn't long before the lump in the throat and the internal tremors were contributing to my not sleeping. I've been to 6 Drs in 5 months for this and I'm suppose to see a neurologist next but they haven't even called to refer me yet. Might I add that I've lost faith in most Drs since all this started for me. Seems nowadays if they can't relate to what you are saying they just dismiss you as crazy. Truth be told this condition, whatever it is has made me not want to live anymore if I have to live with the internal vibrations. Mine are worst in my chest, stomach and basically my whole trunk. I'm also experiencing massive muscle spasms in my back and my arms and hands along with all this insanity. Has your sleep been affected? Hoping you are on the mend.

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Did you ever find out what was causing this? I’m have the same symptoms.

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Have you received a diagnosis? I have the exact symptoms.

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I've been getting the internal tremors and rapid heart rate. Sometimes it feels like it starts in my legs and sometimes in my gut. Always after standing up for more than just as couple of minutes. I've been in bed for a month because if all of this. I do have gut issues as well and have wondered if that is the reason for all of this. I've found that drinking electrolyte water helps to calm down the symptoms but if I stop drinking it, they get worse again. I'm at such a loss as to what to do.

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I have similar symptoms but it started with feeling pins and needles all over my body, along with random muscle spasms everywhere and these internal tremors that seem worse in my chest and abdomen but are really everywhere else too.

I also experience constipation (but have for years without any other symptoms so not sure it’s related.)

I too have been struggling with anxiety and depression. But I’m not sure if that’s the cause of my symptoms or if my symptoms are causing anxiety. Still worth admitting that this follows a very stressful traumatic time in my life and I have noticed anxiety produces similar tremors or at least makes it worse. Yet I doubt it’s fully caused by anxiety due to symptoms worsening while I sleep.

Anyway be careful when they say within range because it took a few doctors to finally tell me my b12 and iron was actually low. Even mildly low levels can cause symptoms.

I have noticed mild improvement since taking high levels of all vitamins for a short while, at least I can sleep now and I couldn’t sleep at all before due to the symptoms. The pins and needles are a lot less pronounced and now i just have internal tremors.
Today though the internal tremors are worse, and I feel noticeably shaky accompanied with muscle fatigue and so I’m just kind of doubting it’s due to vitamin deficiency because I’ve been taking vitamins 3x daily for quite a few days now. Granted my doctor said it could take a month to notice improvements

So just fyi ask to see the numbers on your b12 / ferritin and get your other vitamins tested. For example on my blood test, the b12’s range said in between 150-600 is normal. Mine was at 162. And so a few doctors overlooked it until one said 162 is actually on the low end. Everywhere else says the range should be 200-800 and being mildly low on b12 can produce symptoms even anxiety.
Also my ferritin was mildly low. I assume I probably am low on other vitamins hence why I started taking all vitamins.
(I don’t really have a well balanced diet just because I never ate on a regular basis, fasted a lot and hated cooking meals)

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Hi all, I'm so glad I found this forum. I have similar symptoms that started cca. one year ago, with an acute phase, triggered by very spicy food and alcohol. I was suffering from shaking and rapid hartbeat with hypertension 2 weeks long (never had these before). And I was cold - normally, I'm rarely cold, I rather dislike heat.
I started a diet, the symptoms were gone but returned when I ate something irritating. Later, I experienced symptoms only when I drank alcohol. So I avoided alcohol for a long time.
EKGs, heart ultrasound, lab test results were fine except slightly increased CRP and GPT (liver enzyme) but these got back to normal level.
I had gastroscopy and was diagnosed with: mild chronicus, aspecificus duodenitis and mild chronicus, reactiv antrum-gastritis. It turned out that my DAO is low, which is probably an aftermath of duodenitis.
I took antacids, probiotics and the symptoms were gone. But during my holiday I tried alcohol again and I have symptoms again. I'm not sure alcohol caused this as the symptoms do not appear right after drinking alcohol, and despite I avoid alcohol again, I experienced shaking and rapid hartbeat recently.
I am very concerned about this. I thought the inflammation would heal in almost one year...

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Profile picture for greeneyed @greeneyed

Hi all, I'm so glad I found this forum. I have similar symptoms that started cca. one year ago, with an acute phase, triggered by very spicy food and alcohol. I was suffering from shaking and rapid hartbeat with hypertension 2 weeks long (never had these before). And I was cold - normally, I'm rarely cold, I rather dislike heat.
I started a diet, the symptoms were gone but returned when I ate something irritating. Later, I experienced symptoms only when I drank alcohol. So I avoided alcohol for a long time.
EKGs, heart ultrasound, lab test results were fine except slightly increased CRP and GPT (liver enzyme) but these got back to normal level.
I had gastroscopy and was diagnosed with: mild chronicus, aspecificus duodenitis and mild chronicus, reactiv antrum-gastritis. It turned out that my DAO is low, which is probably an aftermath of duodenitis.
I took antacids, probiotics and the symptoms were gone. But during my holiday I tried alcohol again and I have symptoms again. I'm not sure alcohol caused this as the symptoms do not appear right after drinking alcohol, and despite I avoid alcohol again, I experienced shaking and rapid hartbeat recently.
I am very concerned about this. I thought the inflammation would heal in almost one year...

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Forgot to mention: the shaking and rapid hartbeat starts when I lie down. This seems to be important as many of you mentioned the same.

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