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.

One more thing y'all. Our gut is our second brain. My troublesome spot is "BRAIN FOG." I had it so bad that I was putting laundry in the fridge, couldn't find things that I laid down, and my brain was crazy. I'm a RN and didn't realize this. I was thinking another autoimmune response disease. My father had the same thing before he passed at age 50. He was a Type 1 diabetic (another autoimmune disease) and I too have Type 1 diabetes. Then his gut started and GI specialists didn't know what to do. They still don't know what to do. I have zero confidence in GI specialists. Medical schools are not teaching something of dire importance - Microscopic Colitis.This is a difficult disease to deal with and people are suffering.

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@oakbourne

Thanks, JK, plus the hospital trying to milk me for all I got. This is Beaufort, SC, and they have always been notorious for doing this evil.

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Oh, don't even talk about Beaufort, SC, hospital. I had a diabetic low in Beaufort, and taken to the hospital and treated like an alcoholic. They are beyond bad! I was wearing a Dexcom, information stating I was a diabetic and they did all these tests to pad their wallet. They performed an ethanol test and treated me like an alcoholic.I refused to pay the bill and will never pay it.Do what they may, but they will never see a dime from me. SCAM HOSPITAL!

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H all-
In case this helps, my arms and hands used to get pins and needles and fall asleep in a very scary way (zero feeling at all). My doc told me I had "Saturday Night Palsy" and to teach myself to sleep with my arms straight. I have and yes, the falling asleep stopped but the vibrations in my hands continue. Hand vibrations now seem physical, not sure (?). I have a heart monitor thing that requires you to put two fingers on a device and when I am vibrating, it says it cannot read due to disruptions. I am sure those 'disruptions' are my vibrating figures, even though I can't see my hands shaking. I have the heart monitor because of the double beats, missed beats and flopping feeling that happens in my chest. All heart work ups come up with nothing, good news.

I also had a sleep study to test for restless leg. No legs movements in legs but did have sleep apnea which my heart doc can't believe as I am very thin. CPAP helps though. Also, sleep doc thought my ferritin (stored iron) was low and seems that eating foods high in iron might be helping me sleep better (?). I force myself to eat liver (yuk). I think liver (biotin) may also be helping my super thin hair grow back too. Connection?

I am all in for these low cost solutions but still obsessed with 'why'?
rjk

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@gigiraj

Wow @rjk this is really helpful! Just read your post from October 15th as well and the news about the diet is heartening, especially with such intense symptoms. I should try that out and see what happens. Just to reiterate for everyone---my heart is normal and I don't particularly get palpitations anymore. I've started moving around & getting more physical activity in. But the internal vibrations and finger twitching (which I posted about in another group) are still very much there. Parasthesia in my arms showed up again a few times in December, making it hard for me to sleep.

Just last week, I was barely able to sleep because I had internal vibrations all over my body....usually they have just been confined to my fingers. I was able to sleep just fine last night without them bothering me so I suspect it may have something to do with my period, last week, and the gas build-up that usually comes with that. The SFN sounds very plausible though. Literally all my problems seem to connect to my gut health, just like yours. I got a second blood test that tested my liver last week and will be seeing the results tomorrow---will update if it's abnormal.

Will look into SIBO!

(Just FYI---I'm trying to share as much information about my condition as I can so that people suffering similarly can see what matches. Sorry if anything is TMI)

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"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." You literally have the exact same problems I'm struggling with that no one can find an explanation for. About 2 years ago I had troubles with gagging all the time and they diagnosed a small hiatal hernia, for that I took PPIs then about a year ago in May 2019 I noticed a sudden change in stool it took on every form or colour imaginable and I had a lot of pain in my epigastric area. I did multiple blood tests which only showed elevated levels of bilirubin but still within non dangerous levels. I did CT scan of abdomen and thorax which were both normal. But yea for a year now I am super fatigued all the time, my legs and upper arms can feel really strange (like a mix of crawling, heaviness, weakness, creepy) and I also feel weird/sore around my kidneys in the back but I can also feel it on 2 points from the front of my body (where my kidneys would be located).

I do not think Restless legs was the correct diagnosis unfortunately. Your case seems so similar to mine and I believe it is something in the gut. Just yesterday by chance I discovered that after oversaturating myself with vitamin C, which leads to watery diarrhea made me feel temporarily a lot better. I'm theorizing that there could be a bacteria or fungus in my gut that releases toxins that produce these symptoms in me. And the watery diarrhea acted as a kind of gut cleanse for a few hours which washed away the toxins for a period of a few hours.

You could try the experiment yourself if you have symptoms, if you experience the same relief it could point us both in the right direction. I drank half a glass of water mixed with a teaspoon of ascorbic soda every half hour until I have to rush to the toilet (Your guts will rumble a lot). It usually takes like 4 glasses and you'll end up an hour on the toilet.

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Also want to add that you should look into SIBO, I just read it in the post above and it makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna mention it to my doctor too.

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Yes, I had SIBO fooorrrrreeevvvvveeer but finally kicked it.

Was re-reading some old articles and remembered that a B12 deficiency can cause neurological vibrating sensations. I had been on B12 with folate and, looking back, that might have helped (?).

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Thank you all for returning to this thread and posting your current status.

@rjk I found a similar article about B12 and have been supplementing with B complex that has 100% of my daily value. I also found an article that referenced magnesium deficiency as a possible cause. I have also added a magnesium supplement to my daily regimen. I've been taking it in the morning with food. Don't take it on an empty stomach. The article discussed several benefits to a magnesium supplement, including aiding digestion, reducing muscle spasms, and improving neurological symptoms. My mother used to take magnesium when she got leg cramps at night.

Tonight my vibrations were pretty strong at bed time, so I took a magnesium to see if it helped. If it does, I'm going to start taking it at night to help me sleep without the vibrations waking me up. An hour later I can still feel the vibrations, so I'm not very hopeful at this point.

Like many of you, all of my symptoms stem from my gut. Every symptom I have correlates to some sort of pressure or other discomfort in my abdomin. I even get pain in my right shoulder that is radiating from my abdomin, as it accompanies right side abdominal pressure, and goes away when the abdominal pressure goes away.

Something else that is notable....I discontinued a diuretic (Chlorthalidone) and the potassium supplement that goes with it last September. I had been taking that medication for approximately 6 months when my symptoms appeared. Some of my symptoms have either disappeared or been reduced since I stopped taking it. I believe that some of my symptoms were side effects of the drug, i also wonder if my continued symptoms are lingering damage done by the medication.

Again, thank you all for your comments. Take care.

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tazdvl-Yeah, I take magnesium chelate (300 mg), but not sure if it is helping or not. I used to take magnesium oxide for constipation. I know magnesium is supposed to help you sleep and also helps with migraines. I forgot about the sleep part. I take it in the morning after reading your post will switch that to bedtime to see if it helps. Thx! 🙂

Another tip is supporting lymphatic system, helps get toxins out of body. My vibrations were super severe when my workplace was under construction and after our building had a fire so I really think the vibrations, for me, also have something to do with toxins. The lymphatic stuff helped - dry brushing, soaking in epsom salt bath, jumping on a mini trampoline, exercise (walking and really swinging your arms) and toe tapping. The toe tapping really helped when the vibrations started in my feet and would travel up and down my body all night. I did it right before bed. Here's a link but lots of videos: https://heartdrumbeat.com/toe-tapping/.
The dry brushing is also supposed to help remove cellulite but can't say I see a difference (rats).

I figure, none of this stuff can hurt me, so why not try?

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Hi all-found another good forum on neuropathy called Neurotalk. Reassuring to find others with same symptoms and lots of good suggestions of what to do. Covers lots of neuro issues, I found the peripheral neuropathy most helpful.

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I have had this problem more than 5 years but it has worsened within the last 2 years. I have noticed whenever I have carbs it is alot worse however if I have supplemented myself with iron and folic it is alot less and the gas is alot less. When the abdomen is filled with air i get the shaking palpitating and breathing issues. I lie in a reclined position and burp continuously for half hr then I dont wake up from the vibrations. If I stay away from carbs and take my iron (orofer) and vitamin c and b complex then I have the best week ever and I could have carbs also but not alot and definitely not the last meal. When it get really rough DICA is my rescue. Hope my experience helps. I think many of us have iron deficiencies or mal absorption of iron and just dont know.

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