# Weak, trembling limbs



## twonK

Hi all,on a daily basis, after eating food my whole body but most notably my legs and arms, feels incredibly weak and wobby. It's like all the power from my muscles is sapped away. When I walk downstairs I feel like my legs could give way at any moment. They never have but is sure feels like they will.So my questions to you guys are:- does anyone else get this?- is it a symptom of IBS or GERD (I have both) ?- why does this happen?- is there anything I can do to prevent it?Currently I am only eating very small portions of food and am avoiding fresh fruit, cold drinks and fibre as those apparently worsen my symptoms.Thanks in advance!Pete


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## Kathleen M.

Not a symptom of IBS or GERD, but sounds bad enough to have it checked out.It is fairly common for people with IBS to also have fibromyalgia although that tends to be more pain than weakness.I would have this evalutated as it could be something that needs to be treated.K.


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## twonK

> quote:Originally posted by Kathleen M.:Not a symptom of IBS or GERD, but sounds bad enough to have it checked out.K.


thanks for the reply Kathleen. Interesting that it's not a common symptom for IBS/GERD. It feels like a chronic dip in blood sugar, so much so that I had myself tested for hypoglycemia but got a negative result. Puzzling.


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## 22331

TWONK , I TOO GET CHRONIC WEAK SPELLS AND DIZZYNESS..... FEELS LIKE A BAD HANGOVER. COMPLETELY LOOPY. EVERYTIME I MENTION THIS TO MY DR. THEY JUST WANT TO PUT ME ON MEDS FOR DEPRESSION......


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## 20637

Hi Twonk-- Yes, I too have had a similar problem, but I chalked mine up to either anxiety or not eating enough or maybe both, if that makes sense, but it is all related to my GERD. Small meals are smart, but are you sure you are eating enough, or at least often enough, and getting enough nutrition to keep you going? I was eating virtually nothing for 2-3 weeks, and tho I can certainly stand to lose some, I dropped weight very fast and felt like my insides were trembling all the time. I have had terrible health anxiety lately, so my family doc gave me a very low dose of Xanax and I took two halves, one each day for two days, and it worked wonders! I also get heart palpitations with the trembling and weak feeling, and I can tell when I eat too much food at one sitting-- that sets it off. I can't tolerate hot foods and also fiber-rich foods. I hope you find out for sure what's causing your symptoms and start feeling better soon. Hope my reply has helped some. Keep us posted!


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## twonK

> quote:Originally posted by bluewillow:Hi Twonk-- Yes, I too have had a similar problem, but I chalked mine up to either anxiety or not eating enough or maybe both, if that makes sense, but it is all related to my GERD.


 Yes, that's exactly what I had previously thought, for many years. I put it down to me thinking "unhealthily" (in REBT parlance) or just making myself anxious. When I think about all those occasions where I blamed myself for being so anxious I was weak, it saddens me.


> quote:Small meals are smart, but are you sure you are eating enough, or at least often enough, and getting enough nutrition to keep you going? I was eating virtually nothing for 2-3 weeks, and tho I can certainly stand to lose some, I dropped weight very fast and felt like my insides were trembling all the time.


Yeah when my IBS is really bad I tend to overreact and avoid food as much as possible. I'm learning that this is not helpful and try to keep eating little meals, even when I'm feeling really bad. It's hard though, I just want to never eat again when I feel like that.


> quote: I have had terrible health anxiety lately, so my family doc gave me a very low dose of Xanax and I took two halves, one each day for two days, and it worked wonders!


 Yes it's the old vicious circle. Anxiety fuels the IBS, which is anxiety-provoking and so on. I was put on Valium many moons ago and thoroughly, thoroughly benefitted from it. Marvellous drug for occasional disaster recovery!


> quote:I also get heart palpitations with the trembling and weak feeling, and I can tell when I eat too much food at one sitting-- that sets it off.


Yeah you can feel it pretty soon after eating, or during eating. I tend to blame myself a lot for "stepping over the line" which doesn't help. It's a horrible feeling.


> quote:I can't tolerate hot foods and also fiber-rich foods. I hope you find out for sure what's causing your symptoms and start feeling better soon. Hope my reply has helped some. Keep us posted!


Yes your reply certainly has helped - it's just nice to know there're others out there with these disturbing symptoms! Since I posted I've changed GI doc. The new one's moved me straight onto Zantac 300 and Amitiza. Am concerned somewhat since Zelnorm seemed to help so much with my dreadful anxiety. So far no major changes but I'm wary. Then in 2 weeks time he's doing a colonoscopy - he has this theory that a kidney operation I had 5 years ago has caused scar tissue to bind to my colon and cause trouble. If that's true and it's operable, I'll be the happiest man in the World Laters,Pete


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## 20637

Hi Twonk, Glad my answers helped some. It seems like I am having a symptom-a-day lately and I am not a happy camper, because I am not one to be sick often! I had a bad night last night with the palpitations and anxiety that I'm out of work today, which I feel is absolutely ridiculous! I love my job and I'm getting behind on my work because of whatever weird things are going on with my body. I have an endoscopy and colonoscopy on Jan. 29, so maybe I'll have answers. I hope you get some answers and relief too after your colonoscopy. Keep us posted on how you're doing and hang in there!


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## twonK

How odd, I'm having my colonoscopy on the 29th too... May the Intestinal Gods be with us.I've no idea what's going on with me of late since I've had some kind of cold/bug/flu on top of switching to Amitiza. I've no idea what's down to the bug and what's down to Amitiza - too many variables!


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## 20637

Yes, good luck to both of us. And may we find out what the heck is wrong! I had a great day yesterday, but a rotten one today. Cannot find a pattern. How long did you have to wait for your appointment? I had to wait over a month for mine, which is way too long-- I'm not a patient person! Again, Good Luck and let us know how it goes!


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## twonK

Well my doc wanted me to give amitiza 2 weeks before doing the colonoscopy and the most appropriate date ended up making it a 3 week wait. I didn't really mind at the time since he was very positive about amitiza, even with my history of not responding to most drugs.However since it's basically not working, like you I am finding the 3 weeks a long wait.


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## 20637

Hey twonk, good luck tomorrow! I'm heading for the kitchen to mix up my Fleet Phospho Soda prep with lots of ginger ale--- yum, can't wait! What is the prep you're using? Hope you get some good news and some relief!


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## madge

bluewillow, thinking about you today. Soon the prep will be over. Hope the results will be good (most likely they will be).Twonk, hope things work out well for you too.


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## 20637

Hi Madge and thanks very much for thinking of me! Are you still feeling better? I hope so. Well the Fleet stuff is really working, but I am SO nauseated, and I am not one to get nauseated easily. I guess it's all the ginger ale. I just had to let it sit to get most of the bubbles out. I'm just trying not to think about it. Today I worked on a quilt for my daughter and her hubby and am planning one for my son and his new wife, so that'll keep my mind occupied, hopefully. Will let you know what the results are!


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## twonK

Hey thanks for the shout, that's really cool of you guys and good luck to you too, bluewillow.My delectable culinary delights consist of Gatorade and 2 bottles of Saline Lax tonight, yum. Gonna be a hungry fellow tomorrow for sure...I'm hoping otherwise but I recon he's gonna find nothing and diagnose IBS. We shall see.Cheers,Pete


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## twonK

So bluewillow, how did you fare? Alright?Apparently I have "a very long, windy (as in bendy, not farty) colon". Now maybe I'm extremely medically ignorant but I thought all colons were long and windy, lol.So it's perfectly healthy apart from being a bit narrow in stretches, very windy and long. It's good that there's nothing seriously wrong however it's bad that there's no clear cut reason for the C, pain & discomfort =0(Pete


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## 20637

Hi Twonk! Glad you made it ok and there was nothing seriously wrong! I made it fine too-- gee, the saline laxative/ginger ale "cocktails" were definitely the worst part! I'll never be able to look at ginger ale again! I had a small polyp, which was removed and biopsied, small hiatal hernia, some internal hemorrhoids (a surprise) and a nodule in the fundus (whatever that is!), which was biopsied. But the GERD part of me looked ok, no esophageal damage, thankfully. SLept through most of it but I feel fine today-- just a bit foggy-brained but that's really nothing new for me!







I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad it's over!!!


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## twonK

wow man what _isn't_ wrong with your guts???







What's the prognosis for you, will those small operations solve your GI problems or significantly alleviate them? I've been put on a high fibre diet+Miralax. I don't quite see how:a) that will work when it hasn't worked before that will help when I have a "long, bendy colon".


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## madge

TwonK, glad your test went okay!


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## 16331

PPI"S can deplete us of nutrients, that's why I take a Multivitamin. But I have to be careful, not to take one that's too strong in nutrients, such as too much B vitamins, or other nutrients, which cause me more anxiety, and also stomach problems.


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## madge

Anxiety is nasty, isn't it? I think it's the basic cause of the jittery, shaky feeling I sometimes get. Or the tired, weak feeling, and the sensation that my heart is beating very hard (even though my blood pressure and pulse are okay at the time).If it's not anxiety, then maybe it's sensitivity to certain foods. Not sure which. Maybe IBS is part of the problem too. I'll probably never know, but I don't have the energy I used to have. Often kind of tired or weak. Sometimes jittery inside. Hands shake a little. I do take clonazepam (similar to valium)at bedtime each night and that has helped some. But I think part of the problem is related to foods and how I digest them too, not just anxiety.


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## twonK

That's what I keep on asking myself - is this anxiety, or is it my body freaking out from something I ate.And on the whole, I think you're right. It's both. IBS --> anx --> IBS and so on. Terrifying thoughts have the power to weaken your knees, as does having really bad IBS symptoms.The harder you try to avoid the anxiety, the worse it gets. Similarly doing nothing seems insane, since both IBS and anxiety are so horrible to bear.I guess that's where things like meditation and so on come in. That's how I've achieved the most relief so far.


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