Rapid Heart Rate only during Bowel Movement

Wow, let me tell you, you guys arent alone. I have suffered from this bs lol since I was a young child. I'am now 33 and man everytime
everyday. I get rapid hb and nervous, I have my bm and whalla! all is better. My wife thinks I'am a loon but its been goin on since I can remember. May god bless us all and remember its a BM that is causing ur nervousness as we deal!

I was recently diagnosed with panic disorder after a few horrible traumas (losing my dad and grandmother in 2001 and losing my son to a preemie complication); it's also hereditary. IBS has been a part of my life since I was little. I also had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically in 2007. Since then, my IBS seems to be more erratic.

Recently, a holter monitor showed "very frequent PACs" and some "sinus tachycardia", all of which really are benign. Sure doesn't feel that way!

For me, I don't feel weird (usually) before a BM. After the BM is over, then I start to get the PACs (skipped heatbeats; flip-flops) and my heart rate goes up, usually not above 110-120 bpm. I suppose my reaction to that feeling determines whether or not it becomes a panic attack, how much my heart rate increases and what other symptoms I feel. From my therapy, I know that it only takes a split second to go from a physical feeling to a panic attack; however, it seems to me that the panic attack is more biological, less psychological, in nature somehow.

During the worst post-BM attacks, after I have diarrhea, I get cold and shivery for a while. Those are also symptoms of a panic attack.

So confusing... and annoying!

Racing heart before bowel movement - solution - pinched vegas nerve - sleep on your back - if you sleeep on your side, vegas nerve gets pinched
causing symptoms

let me know what happens
Big Kahoona

Wow, I too am glad to learn I'm not the only one here. I'm a Dietician, I eat nearly perfectly, exercise, am 19% body fat and a health nut and don't think this is related to any particular food--I've tried them all. I've tried eating less bulk so that my BM's will be smaller, but it doesn't seem to help. I try to eat foods that pass quickly (like wheat bran) so that the time spent feeling horrible will be minimized--that seems to help. I wondered if maybe the stool cuts off circulation somewhere as it passes? I went to the cardiologist once when feeling these symptoms and the EKG did indeed show characteristics of a heart in heart attack! If you have any insights, please share!

I am so glad to know that I am not alone when it comes to these unexplainable symptoms. I've also seen doctors about my heart rate, worn halter monitors, been perscibed Xanax, high blood pressure meds & still the episodes continue to happen. My next step is to see an Endocrinologist what's next. It leaves you feeling hopeless, scared, nervous, near death, it's an awful feeling.

I went to my doctor today because I experienced an especially horrible session when I had my last bowel movement. Rapid heart rate, feverish temps, arms and legs falling asleep...it was bad, but when it was all said and done I come out perfectly normal.

He said it was because I was just bearing down too much while I was pooping. That's it. Apparently "pushing" down on your gut too hard pinches a nerve in the back of your neck and that creates all the symptoms that last until you relax for for minutes. This is similar to the Valsalva maneuver. Hope that helps!

Finally did a search on these horrible symptoms that I've had for a very long time. I have back problems, anxiety issues, and Fibromyalgia which has caused me to be on disability. I too thought I was going nuts until I did a search online and found this site. This issue with bm and I guess it's called anxiety from it, is making my life a living hell. It affects my relationship with my family and friends too. The heat also brings on the b.m. issues and anxious feeling. It seems like my skin crawls before the b.m. I've changed my diet a lot and one thing I think bothers me is anything with caffeine and too much sugar. I'll do more checking on this issue and try new things in the hopes that I can feel better. :'(

Im 41, overweight and having exactly the same issues with fast heart rate during bowel movements and sometimes exercise. Lately it's gotten worse and I cant exercise, or feel as though I cant. 2 days ago was in ER and they ran the routine tests and said no heart problems. I also have sever heartburn and after heavy meals will throw up a bit of food. I told the doctor this but he seemed to ignore it. Sadly, I have no insurance, and I feel like Im in a hole I just cant climb out of.

This sucks that there is no solution !!

I had all of these symptoms and had a scan of my abdomen. The doctor said iot was just normal cysts on my liver, I didn't believe him and demanded a colonoscopy and it revealed I had the tumors in my bowels, on my liver and in my lymphnodes. Which explains the rapid heartrate when not having a bowel movement and the diahrea when having one. 4uck doctors that blame anxiety on real symptoms. 4uck 'em

I'm a 39 (almost 40) year old woman. I am soooo glad to have found this discussion. I was very worried about this.. I don't have these episodes all of the time, but occasionally when I need a bowel movement I will suddenly have rapid heart beat, the sweats, nausea and then vomiting, all whilst on the toilet.. Recently, I had a very frightening episode and was on the brink of calling an ambulance, only thing that stopped me was the idea of them having to break the toilet door down and me there halfto be terrified . After the bowel movement and vomiting the entire contents of my stomach at the same time, I was feeling better but had to lie down and sleep for an hour before feeling 'normal' again.
There are a few things I have noted about my episodes and hope others can try to relate, mabe get some feedback.
Firstly, if I am about to have an episode, I get a sharp cramp in my abdomen and sometimes a rolling pain. Then, I will feel sweaty and faint and finally nausea which is sometimes accompanied by vomiting.
I notice that there is usually a lot of poop to pass (always solid and not loose) when this happens, and it seems to smell really bad, much worse than normal. (sorry but the facts are important ! %-))
After reading this, i am going to have my doctor check into the vegus nerve pinching theory, and I'm going to ask for a thyroid test and an ECG.

In my own research before coming upon this discussion, I had convinced myself that this might possibly be one of the early signs of menopause. (eek_)
I am not ruling that out either, so I will ask the doc to check that out too.

I'll update if I find out anything and I'm Hoping others who added to this discussion will come back with updates too.

P.s.
I too have had a lot of stress in recent years, but I think most people nowadays do. I don't think it's down to stress or anxiety. My last episode (biggest yet) was during a time of no stress at all..

Lonna, you are not alone. my name is Charles and about 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and it’s been giving me all your symptoms, the thing that triggers this the most is coffee and pork so stop it all together and drink a lot of water because dehydration has a lot to do with it also, I take fiber pills it helps, but we are in it for the long haul, all we can do is try to keep the symptoms at bay take care and hope I helped ,if you want to keep in touch my email is charlesnewsome14@yayoo.com

I have had this problem also. I have often woken up in the middle of the night with scary heart palpitations and panic. Like others, it has gone on for years, and no doctors have any ideas about it. I had been thinking that it was sugar related, so I went off sugar completely and went on a low GI diet. This made a dramatic improvement! Then as I began putting that together with the bowel movement connection, I began suspecting digestive issues. Someone offered me kefir one time, and I drank some just to try it. It made a large improvement in my symptoms, so I started drinking it on a regular basis. I had a marked improvement immediately, and gradually continued to improve to where I felt normal again. I didn't have any trouble except when I would eat sugar. Recently, I had a diarrhea bug, and my digestion was all turned upside down. A lot of the symptoms returned. Now I'm trying to recover again. Slowly, things are getting better, and I'm continuing to drink Kefir. I really view it as a life changing substance! As other people have said, so many things are linked to digestion. A lot of these things started, for me, after taking antibiotics as a teenager and in my early 20s. After taking them in my early 20s, I had a lot of trouble, and the symptoms, which I already had in small amounts, became really really bad! Maybe your problems are different, but I would give Kefir a try. It is cheap and easy! Most grocery stores in the Northeast carry it now. Natural food stores have it. I'd be interested to see if it helps anyone else with this problem.

Kfandrich, thank you so much for the kefir advice. I will definitely google where I can buy some immediately. I stumbled upon this website late at night after experiencing the same symptoms for some time now. I did not know what too think. It seemed to be stress related but I am not sure. After several combat tours with the military, a very bad divorce (that almost did me in...but God is so good!) and some other major life changes...I now find myself alone for the first time in many years and with these physical ailments that have left me baffled and scared. Sweaty/tingly hands, arms and feet...and when really bad, my face and the roof of my mouth. I believe hydration to be a big factor...I normally work out pretty hard (cardio, weights, martial arts, etc) and I have had some of my strangest and worst attacks after working out especially hard. Its to the point that now I am sometimes pulled out of a sound sleep my a strong panic feeling. I pray to God for healing always. BMs can be very hard but I pound the water anyway and it helps. I believe that I have to be extremely careful with the type of foods I now eat. I have all but eliminated bread from my diet as well as alot of processed foods and cold cuts. I cook my meals regularly, sugar free protein shakes daily, and at least two or three gallons of water a day. I am very fit and trim and am 41 years of age. I believe it might be a very good thing for chronic sufferers to get together online...especially before and after the attacks to help one another cope, this can be very devastating. If anyone is interested I am Paul and ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

It's 4:30 a.m.and I've just been woken up yet again by the pain underneath my chest. I have to pass my bowels but am afraid of getting up out of bed because my heart will begin to beat too fast. This has always led to panic in the past and has ended up with me in the emergency room. My life has been a total pile of sh*t since December 2011. I lost my job, broke ties with my family and totally quit smoking. Therefore, I understand that my body has undergone some major changes both physically and mentally. However, waking up before dawn due to pain and difficulty breathing, (which by the way, is somewhat relieved by burping copious amounts of both gas and sick) is only one of my symptoms. In the last year I have visited the A&E room at least a dozen times with the same complaints: dizziness, tachycardia, cold sweats, vomiting, panic attacks, increased bowel movements, pain in the left side shoulder and back. To go from being a healthy weightlifter to becoming an invalid who is scared to even fart too hard is a devastating blow to the psyche, and one which has hindered me from leading a normal life, so much so in fact that I am contemplating quitting my new job as a teacher and signing off sick full-time. I'm only 31 and feel that this is something that should not be happening to someone of my age. Living under the constant daily fear that you're going to die is something that takes a bit out of you each day, and slowly withers you away. I'm attending CBT sessions at the moment, to see if dealing with stress will help deal with my ailment, but I think it is physically too far gone. My wife is pretty adamant that I have a stress induced stomach ulcer, mainly due to the vomiting, acid reflux and digestion issues, but that doesn't explain the shortness of breath and rapid heartbeats...(or does it). Sometimes I feel like life is no longer worth living if I am to carry on like this. Sometimes I have good days which feels like a fluke. All I know is I share all of your sorrows and concerns, and the fact that we are all still suffering but are looking for answers means that perhaps there is chance of us helping each other. I would like to suggest that we create an online community which supports people with our condition, so that it may lead to increased recognition both within the medical field and as general knowledge. I believe that this should be an entirely free service which is devoid of any financial investment, and is purely run based upon the devotion and cooperation of people like us who are seeking the answers behind an illness which is both debilitating and terrifying. I urge you all to help each other in taking this forward,  and maybe, just maybe, we can open doors for others who have been suffering. I hope this message reaches you in good health. 

 ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed***Please read our Terms of Use