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.

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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@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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@thunderseed

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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After fighting for an additional month I finally got them to check my iron, B12, and Vit D. The iron and D are both significantly low, my folate is low, my B12 is on the lower side of "normal" and they wouldn't test my ferritin. I started taking iron and a multi and in 2 weeks there is a massive improvement. I insisted on a referral to a hematologist. I want this to be looked into more and get more things tested. I'm looking forward to that appointment.

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@trishplace

This is so me!!!! Several years ago, I would notice I was shaky in the mornings and after I eat any kind of a full meal, whether it was just soup or your typical dinner, I would almost immediately get dizzy/lightheaded. It never felt like reflux. I'd ask my PCP about it and she'd have tests run. Nothing. Two years ago I had a massive diverticulitis attack and it turned out to be an infection and through the colonoscopy/upper endoscopy, I was also diagnosed with h Pylori, a hiatal hernia and gallstones. Last year I had my gallbladder removed.
Just this past June I had inflammation in my sigmoid colon - more diverticulitis, and did 6 weeks of Augmentin and a follow up colonoscopy.
Things were getting better a few weeks ago and now I'm back to the shakiness, dizziness and frequent bowel movements. My mornings are horrible. I wake up with the feeling of trembling and dizziness. My therapist said my adrenals are probably not functioning well and he said to take an herbal adaptogen for support. I also just started on Lexapro a couple of weeks back to help with anxiety. It's causing nausea. Great. I hope to keep in the loop on this subject and hope someone finds some solutions!

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Did you ever find out why this was happening? I have very similar symptoms and it’s exhausting.

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I am so glad that I found this!!

I was diagnosed with SVT (supraventricular tachycardia in January 2020) and with gastritis and GERD in July 2020. About a month or so ago, I began experiencing internal shakes. Externally, I'm fine. Solid, no shaking at all, but inside, I feel like a crumbly, shaky mess!

Also, my heart rate has been fluctuating and my heart beat is very strong. I wear a fit bit to keep track of it and I've been in the fat burning cardio zone on more than one occasion while doing NO cardio. I have reached out to my cardiologist, who put me on Metoprolol (beta blockers). For the most part they help, but my heart rate spikes around 4am, while I'm sleeping, which to me is odd.

But then again this whole thing is odd!

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@djk8880

I have all these same symptoms. Literally was thinking it was ms. Comforting to know Other people are experiencing and going through similar issues.

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Me too. I was really afraid it was MS.

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Hello. I've had undiagnosed internal shaking for over 2.5 years. For a while it was being masked with Lyrica. I have had so, so many tests and puzzled so many doctors. In the past few weeks, it suddenly got a lot worse. It used to happen only at night; now it's happening during the day as well az accompanied by periods of intense tenderness along my upper chest. It's a little scary because it has gotten so much worse. It's so bad at night now that I'm barely able to sleep. When I do fall asleep, I am awakened by the shaking. Between that and the chest soreness (along my sternum), I'm just a mess. It takes so long to get appts for each test now, and this continues to get worse.
Has anyone else experienced the chest soreness? My doctor has ordered blood work and a Holter monitor, which I did already two years ago. I've come full circle. I do have a hydrogen breath test coming up in 3 weeks, but that seems like a long time considering my discomfort. Has anyone gotten to the bottom of their internal shaking?

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Sometimes at night just before falling asleep and sometimes early morning before getting up I have a brief episode of mild internal shaking, almost like I'm cold. (I also have kidney disease and renal patients are cold a lot.) At first I thought it might be related to years of antidepressants but when I learned my type 2 diabetes likely had caused my gastroparesis I wonder if these episodes are related to vagus nerve damage from the diabetes.

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