Missy7

Hi all, I'm new to the board and I hope you can relate to this.

I get these attacks.... prominently when I go to bed at nights. It feels like as soon as I lie down, someone puts weights on my chest and it gets harder and harder for my heart to beat sufficiently. I get a really full feeling and it almost feels like my bowels are filled with gas and with each bubbling feeling, my heart feels like it's skipping a beat. My chest gets tighter especially when I lie on my side. As you can imagine, the discomfort keeps me up many hours at nights. Somehow the symptoms ease up when I sit up and I fall asleep like that, (giving me a stiff back and neck). Sometimes these symptoms make me feel lightheaded and because I'm constantly worried, I even wonder if I have a serious heart problem. I worry that I'll have a stroke and literally drop dead.

I recently had an ECG done which was normal. I also wore a 24hr heart monitor but as luck would have it, had no symptoms while it was on.

My doctor is sending me to chest X-rays and a barium swallow. I have been told that I have IBS but I feel that's a cop out for any stomach problem they can't seem to diagnose properly. I've been really good with my diet the past 4 months, even ensuring I stop eating 7pm every night so that I can fully digest my food before bed time. I can't seem to relate this problem to any cause in particular. All I know is that it's driving me crazy.

I would greatly appreciate any of your experiences which may be similar. Thank you for your time.