palpatations,sweating & sic feeling? - Acid Reflux / GERD Message Board

sammyo1 · 01-14-2008, 05:11 PM

Hello everyone, I thought I would get some opinions here. I have been waking up shortly after going to bed with heart palpations, sweating, nausea & sometimes alittle dizzy, I just kind of feel sick. I was diagnosed with gerd years ago but was told it was not to bad, so what is this, anyone know? could it be esophagus spasms? This is pretty scary & I am tired of it. I do feel at times like something is stuck between the breastbone. This pounding sensation & palpations is to much, I have also been feeling like I have been choking like I am not swalling right in my sleep. I am on alot of meds due to a shoulder & cervical issue whic also causes me alot of chest, shoulder & back pain. I am due for surgery for the shoulder Jan,31, after all that pain & surgery I don't want all this to. I can't eat alot right now because of the pain I am in & I am becoming frightened to eat at all. Already had the whole cardiac workup done to. This is really starting to bother me, at times I just can't seem to breathe right when this happens. I will look into this with my doc. but already focusing on getting the shoulder under control, I have a ton of inflammation due to the shoulder all the way into the ribcage & upper chest, I also wonder if this could be contributing at all. Any opinions or suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks Sammy

flowergirl2day · 01-14-2008, 09:20 PM

Hi Sammy,

Quote:

I have been waking up shortly after going to bed with heart palpations, sweating, nausea & sometimes alittle dizzy, I just kind of feel sick. I was diagnosed with gerd years ago but was told it was not to bad, so what is this, anyone know? could it be esophagus spasms?

Sorry to hear about your shoulder.

What meds are you on for your inflammation? Inflammation frequently leads to other problems. I am glad yours is being treated. Antiinflammatory drugs can have quite a few side effects. If you are taking a lot of medication, you might be experiencing unwanted side effects or drug interactions. Some prescription meds cause palpitations, as do other external and internal factors. I am pretty sure mine are medication-related for the most part. I am on a few meds as well. My heart does this when it's time for a dose of medication. I take it and they stop shortly after. Sometimes I get palpitations for no good reason.

Some other causes of heartbeat abnormalities are stress, unbalanced electrolyte levels, hyperthyroidism, anemia, caffeine, alcohol, illicit drugs, OTC and prescription meds and structural abnormalities of the heart. I agree with you, they can get scary. How did you cardiac workup go? Everything checked out OK?

There are people on this board suffering from esophageal spasms. They might offer some insight. Choking is a symptom of GERD (I have it and so do many others here

) , breathing problems are also very common with this disorder - unfortunately!!!

I hope your doctor will offer some solutions.
Good luck with your surgery!

tigger2211 · 01-14-2008, 10:07 PM

I totally feel for you!! I have been sleeping in an upright position on the couch because of the same thing! I've been scared to go to sleep. I find that I have little to no relief until I have a bowel movement and then it seems to calm down some. I frequently have the racing heart/palpatations though when I get gas trapped in my stomach. It flutters and carries on, between my breast bone, right where my esophagus ends and stomach begins. It is SO annoying and scares me stiff! I've done hoards of research on my symptoms and so far have come up with GERD and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) as possible reasons for this. This message board has helped a lot in knowing that im not losing my mind and Im not alone. It can be very scary, but I find that if I "calm" myself down, focus on breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth and manage to get a burp out, it feels better. Do you take anything for GERD? Im going to try everything until I find something that works!! Read through some of the forums in the Acid Reflux and IBS sections. You might find something you can relate to. Best of luck to you!

sammyo1 · 01-15-2008, 07:17 AM

Thanks, I was on nexium, protonix, & acouple others in the past but honestly still had this occur. Not often but I learned not to eat & never heavy before bed. At this time I do not eat a whole lot or little at a time. I looked up the esophagus spasms & one of the sites was right on with the symptoms. I am on alot of meds for the shoulder at this time. This has happened several nights in a row. It is a very scary thing & I can understand not wanted to go to sleep or bed. My cardiac workup came back fine. Turst me the first time I had this I really thought I was having a heart attack. My heart was racing so bad that I could barely talk. Yes it does tend to calm down after I burp. Not always easy to do. I am constipatied at times from the meds but this was occuring before all the meds just not as often. I am so swelled every where perhaps that is why it is occuring so much. started last night I took some water & noticed had a hard time getting it down so that tells me alittle something. I have never noticed that so much before, then took one of my meds & felt like it would not go down. Great bad enough to have the shoulder which leaves me in chronic pain. I guess I will have to make a doc. appointment. I will look into it some more. I hope you all get some relief It really is nasty. Does this only occur at night or when you are lying down? It is strange how it occurs shortly after going to bed. I know I was told by the specialist no eating or even drinking water after 6:00 pm, it is not good for anyone, but I always drink water. Tahnks again I will continue to watch for posts. Sammy

tired47 · 01-15-2008, 11:29 AM

Hi All,
Don't know if you read some of my other posts. I have similar symptoms, chest pain, relieveved by burping, rapid heartbeat, had normal cardiac workup. Now the Dr. says ( an cardioglogist/electrophysicist) I have SVT. Supraventricular tachycardia. I am on Verapamil and it has helped immensely. Also taking magnesium tablets( carry them in my purse now) helps relieve the pain, pressure. He also told me to try bearing down when the rapid hearbeat starts- it will almost feel like pop, but it does help at times. Or drinking very, very, very cold water, that helps me more. All this time I thought it was in my head, but it is not. It is common and undiagnosed I was told. I hope this helps just one person, and all this "grief" I have gone thru in the last year will be so worth it. Good luck, blessings to all.