Posted 4/29/2015 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
I may have experienced similar symptoms. Here's what I went through. This may not be what you're going through, but hopefully it helps in some way.
In my case, an extreme 'episode' typically started 5 to 30 minutes after eating a meal. I'd get very bloated with a lot of stomach gas and pressure, and some reflux. Most times if I burped, it would all go away very rapidly. In rare cases, I would feel the need to loosen by belt. By this time my body was dumping tons of adrenaline into my bloodstream, I would get heart palpitations, and my breathing was labored. I would then get rocked by what I thought were blood pressure spikes and feeling almost faint, and the extreme need to stand up. If I was driving, I would pull over and walk around until I felt better. In all cases, within 30 to 60 minutes the symptoms would go away. But they were scary. These extreme episodes (with the blood pressure spikes) had happened to me maybe 4 or 5 times in the last year. But the gas, bloating, and reflux were showing up almost every day. My only relief was from over-the-counter anti-gas and antacid medicines.
It seemed food was a trigger, since it happened only after eating. So I started keeping track and paying attention. I couldn't peg it to any single type of food, however. But one day as I felt it come on, I was in a situation where I could sit calmly and still while the episode came on. I discovered that my stomach would spasm gently just before the first symptom would show up (bloating). So after that, I would try to sit still and pay attention to what my stomach would do after eating, and sure enough each time my stomach would gently spasm, I would get the symptoms.
It took some research, but what I ultimately found out and confirmed with my doctor is that I had early Type II diabetes, and something called delayed gastric emptying and rapid dumping syndrome. These are apparently closely related to the early stages of Type II diabetes in some people. The spasms and rapid dumping of the stomach contents were what was triggering my episodes. So I started a different diet tailored for delayed gastric emptying: eating frequent small meals, lots of water, activia every day, and exercising more. My life has changed immeasurably. I haven't had any episodes whatsoever since changing my diet and exercise patterns and losing some weight. No reflux, no bloating, no stomach spasms, no adrenaline rushes or anxiety, and no blood pressure spikes. I used to get heart palpitations and esophogeal spasms after eating certain foods also, but now I can't even remember the last time I got them. I feel like I'm cured.