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.

g123456 | @g123456 | Nov 19, 2023

In reply to @catherine1290 "I just recently experienced the internal shaking for the first time. B/P was also high. I..." + (show)

It could be due to gut-related anxiety. Especially if it happens around the time you need to have a bowel movement. Also, mine I am beginning to think is related to my case of Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO). Either due to abdominal distension, gas production, or some other kind of effect related to it. L-Theanine helped calm my nerves.

g123456 | @g123456 | Nov 19, 2023

In reply to @jthisgirl81 "It is very scary, you're not alone, it gets so bad I can't sleep and I..." + (show)

Hi,

The anxiety you may feel is possibly related to SIBO or IMO. Perhaps a SIBO breath test could help? Simethicone (gas X) helped me greatly. I also controlled certain foods. Some say activated charcoal helps as well.

Using Miralax or some other laxative was also helpful to keep things moving (speaking from my own experience)

champton | @champton | Nov 19, 2023

In reply to @rozy288 "You should ask Cardio Dr, to do a wireless Halter monitor for 7-14 days. It will..." + (show)

Thanks for your helpful idea but I’ve done the Heart Monitors the heart stress tests and it all looks fine. So no worries there. I do know of Afib well, my husband had it and takes meds. Plus cpap machine.
I’m getting bloodwork on Wednesday to recheck my Thyroid (Hoshimoto) it keeps dropping so she lowered my dosage again. You mentioned Zanax, I’ve tried it and doesn’t do anything to calm my Vibrations. I’ve taken Tramadol back in late Aug of 2020 and my Vibrations didn’t start until mid Sept. Earlier this year about March I thought I’d Google if Tramadol could cause Internal Vibrations and it came up with a bunch of info where I called my Pharmacist n asked about it. He looked it up n came back on the phone n said he believes it could happen. I’ve only been on it maybe a year then. When I saw my Family Dr I told him about what I came across n said I don’t want no more Tramadol. But even after stopping it I still have these tremors. I get that everyone’s Neurological system isn’t the same for everyone else so if your meds work for you stay with it then. But I didn’t wanna chance it taking any more. I’m still holding out for hope that someone can calm these even halfway. I’m always telling my family that my Vibrations r angry today. My daughter says I need to put a .25 in the jar every time I say it. lol. Almost like a swear jar. I don’t take pain meds anymore. When I started PM back in 2007 for RSD they put a spinal cord Stimulator in to help control that pain but in just 4-5 yrs it didn’t help. I was on Morphine n Norco. I never took all my meds. My Dr raised it from a 30mg to 60mg morphine. I weened myself off all my pain meds. I just wonder if any of that could have caused any Neurological damage? Once that Dr left the nurse practitioner says oh no, not having you taking so much so she bumped it to 15mg. I was just at the Emergency room couple weeks ago. Hubby gave me a bear hug to tight n crushed my sternum n bruised me. The patient (Amazon driver) next to me got bitten by a dog that ran out of the house. She was there mainly for Drugs. When the Dr looked at her wound there wasn’t any. Just a tear in her sweater but she said she heard of rabid dogs running loose, well she had already said the dog came out of the house. When the Dr gave her a low dose Norco she had a fit. “ 1 pill for this ?” She was shocked. She talked them into giving her the series of shots but she left without any extra pain pills. I mention this because there’s so many people out there begging for meds or drugs. They don’t realize that it can do you more harm than good sometimes. I can talk about this. Been there done that. I was on pain meds 12 yrs. I saw one person’s post about getting back 10 yrs of life and I understand that. I wish I could write a song about all this. I’m just really trying to understand how all my vibrations/tremors started at my feet n moved up. If it’s a spinal or Brain issue like the Drs say. I know something is out of whack. I pray it doesn’t take me another full year to get a Dr to figure out what this is. I feel for anyone whose going through this. It’s not fun having a Motor running in your body to the trunk even 24/7.. it’s miserable and I’m glad I’m not the only one. What I don’t get is of all the Drs I’ve seen in the past 3 years over this, then how come they can’t come up with a solution ? Only thing I have to go on right now is my MRI images. I know the last time I saw my Neurologist on Halloween he said he will have his tech to view the images to see if they see anything. Well it’s been a few weeks since. Guess I best call them n see what they say. I need answers. I pray for all whose suffering. God Bless our Country 🇺🇸 and our People.

rozy288 | @rozy288 | Nov 20, 2023

@champton
I take Klonipin generic , I get 1 mg and cut in half .50 mg . It’s cheap Clonazepam .
It helps with the anxiety and shaking when I get it .
The Heart ♥️ Calm Supplement is for PVC’s and PACs heart palps .
Google it , it helps do much w/ those .
http://www.vitalbiologics.com
That’s the only supplement they sell .

GISUE | @slangston | Nov 20, 2023

In reply to @rozy288 "I looked into that years ago , it’s hard to find someone skilled in that type..." + (show)

thank you for your reply. How did you get rid of the gas? I am so bloated and constipated. I have to take linzess and senna every night but makes bloating worse. I take Wellbutrin every morning. Can't say if it helps. I also take Bentyl 4 x day. I often add Librium which seems to help with abdominal cramping. I take Ambien every night and sometimes add Z-Quill... the one that is clear... only can find on Amazon. My MD's are not happy that I am refusing surgery. I have a great Internal Medicine MD though. I also live in Florida and there are three that have taken the Barnes courses l. The one I picked is also an MD and has taken all of the Barne courses. I have had every GI test possible. I think I'm going to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester MI at some point. The three hospitals in Florida are all rated about the same.. I think they were ranked 34-35 out of 50 in the nation. Not sure exactly. Rochester is #1 and they have a cohesive team unlike many other hospitals and medical centers. So, if I decide to look at options, I'll go there for a consult. I did have a consult with Tampa General Hospital colorectal surgeon. It was one option and no specialty support. Feeling pretty miserable....

rozy288 | @rozy288 | Nov 21, 2023

In reply to @slangston "thank you for your reply. How did you get rid of the gas? I am so..." + (show)

I still have the gastric symptoms daily .
I went to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville 2 yrs ago for endoscopy w/ endo flip , entroscopy, and long SIBO test .
They confirmed what I already knew $4k later , and couldn’t help me much at all .
I take a lot of ultra Pepto liquid for 10 years , I take acid reducer like FAMOTIDINE 20 mg , I think it’s the generic of Prilosec ( I buy Walmart brand for half price ) sometimes.
It seems like you are going through so much . It’s so hard and people don’t understand it . Praying 🙏 for you .

g123456 | @g123456 | Nov 21, 2023

In reply to @g123456 "Hi, I'm a 33yo male. I realize this post is relatively old but I thought I..." + (show)

@g123456

Hi, I'm a 33yo male.
I realize this post is relatively old but I thought I would share my experience for others in case they find it helpful.

TL:DR: I was diagnosed with Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO) - Formerly known as Methane SIBO. And it seems to have caused a cluster of symptoms which include: internal shaking sensation, bloating, fullness, constipation, GERD-like symptoms, cold flashes and last but not least, anxiety/depression (It feels like they're cousins).

My first symptoms were feeling of strange fullness, in head, neck one morning followed by very elevated heart rate (~140-160bpm) after when I finally got up for the day. This lasted maybe 2-3min. I was terrified.

Fast forward two months, and this cardiac event has repeated itself almost every single night along with feelings of fullness/bloating. I ended up doing the following tests; EKG, heart ultrasound, leg ultrasound (to check for blood clots) holter monitor for 5 days, and once everything came back clear, turned my attention to the gut. Ended up doing an endocospy, stool tests, blood tests, and the main one, a SIBO breath test which finally detected a case of Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO).  The treatment is relatively high dose of antibiotics; 14 days of Rifaximin and Neomycin which I am actively following as we speak.

Learnings:
1. Not knowing what is happening to my body caused me great anxiety
2. Bloating/Excess gas can cause anxiety and trigger the heart palpitations (Check Roemheld Syndrome and vagus nerve)
3. Anxiety has probably been the worst of all symptoms and it needed to be managed.
4. Gas can be controlled by watching your diet, FODMAP diet seemed to help. Gas X also was helpful in quickly relieving bloating.
5. Feeling soft internal tremors seem to be directly correlated to the gut for me. I feel them most overnight and in the morning as I wake up. Bowel movements or gas relief seem to greatly reduce this sensation
6. Hormones can play tricks on you when all this is going on. I legitimately thought of several occasions that I had spilled cold water on myself but it was just what seems to be a localized cold flash.
7. Nerves felt weird and odd, I think related to anxiety.
8. Depression and feelings of sadness prevailed on some days. I think this is related to pint 6, the hormones.

Lastly: My anxiety was bad as I had a lot of life changes happening. Lost my job, had to let go of my apartment, was planning to move countries. Many things hit at once. It’s entirely possible your IMO diagnosis (or any other) may not cause so much anxiety but for me it did. It felt like my life was completely on pause.

Jump to this post

Can't seem to be able to post a URL but I found this video about how this person cured SIBO to be very helpful. Putting it out here for anyone reference. On Youtube: "How I Cured My SIBO "IBS" (+Gastritis, Duodenitis, NAFLD, & POTS) *w/ Brain Fog*"

mezeni97 | @mezeni97 | Dec 5, 2023

In reply to @rozy288 "@debbie0985 , 7.5 years ago when my chronic digestive disorders started, I got a lot of..." + (show)

Hello, did you finger out what caused shaking/ palpitations in your upper gut? I have GERD and Hiatus Hernia too. I experience at night especially when I lay in my bed after eating, i feel like a heart beat and i always thought it is sugar, I checked my sugar is fine, then i checked my pulse which shows fine, then i had EKG for heart but i didn’t have 24 hours EKG. Came back normal. I was thinking maybe a nerve in my stomach causes this . I find it difficult to fall asleep! So i am laying in my bed and i could not fall asleep in 2 hours, i go and cook some fried eggs and then my stomach full i gusess pushes the nerve and it goes away the palpitations… i have this every night atm!! Please tell me if you find anything or they finally diagnosed you!

rozy288 | @rozy288 | Dec 5, 2023

In reply to @mezeni97 "Hello, did you finger out what caused shaking/ palpitations in your upper gut? I have GERD..." + (show)

Hi ,
I saw my 6 th Gastro Dr in Oct at Orlando Gastric Institute.
She seems very concerned but just put me on an old Antidepressant they use for Gut issues called Mirtazipine .
We slowly up the dose to 30 mg . I take it at night .
It’s not really helping w/ all my chronic digestive disorders but makes me less depressed 😔 about them ( most days ).
I still take my Ambien to sleep and sometimes.50 mg Klonopin which I’ve taken for years .
I’m a yo/yo ,
She wanted me to take IB- Guard and like Metimucil but I was getting pelvic pains so I stopped .
Today I’m just a mess , 1000’s deep wet sewer tasting burps , urge to run to bathroom 8 x , non stop churning gut .
I barely ate much today too .
I don’t know 🤷‍♀️?
She wants to redo my colonoscopy early next year.
I’ve got 7 diagnoses but really anything I’ve tried ( which seems like everything) hasn’t helped me much .
It’s so frustrating as you know !
Really sucks the joy out of life .
I go day by day , hour by hour .
God Bless you …

elliep | @elliep | Dec 6, 2023

In reply to @tazdvl "Thank you all for returning to this thread and posting your current status. @rjk I found..." + (show)

i have not found B12 or magnesium helpful for the internal tremors. pretty much everything i have tried has not worked.
however a blood pressure meds are working and are keeping my blood pressure down.
at this point a benign adrenal tumor (Pheochromomotoma - spelling?) is being considered, as my blood level of normetanephrine is elevated. more tests to follow.
if you have been down this path already and nothing or something came of it, please let me know…
thank you

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