PLEASE help..having symptoms now..dont know what to do

[mamiJ]

Hello
I have mitral valve prolapse and dysautonomia and have had "episodes" of pressure and palpitations in the past, but not for a long time.

Today, I am at work on the PC..before breakfast, I felt a little jittery, but I thought it was because I had not eaten.  I drank a coffee and had a pastry like I normally do and about two hours later I started to have tightness in the chest where I have to take a deep breath to be able to breathe..I also started to have palpitations and a great wave of weakness/fatigue. I had tightness in the calf muscles, but that went away. I can barely lift my arms enough to type and I feel very sleepy.

The pressure has gotten a little better...this has been going on for about 30 minutes.

Does it sound like just a mitral valve prolapse thing? I hate to make a big deal about it to be told that I am "fine"

Thank you for reading!!

[Heiferly]

Are you on any treatment regimen for your dysautonomia (i.e., medications, special dietary changes such as salt/fluid loading or certain food restrictions, OTC meds or vitamins, non-medicinal treatment such as compression garments, and/or therapies such as PT or aquatic therapy)?  

Do your doctors regularly monitor certain blood labs or other aspects of your condition, such as your CBC, electrolytes, EKG, etc. and have there been any abnormalities in these over time or lately in particular?  

If you aren't sure when the last time your electrolytes have been checked, you may want to call your doc and double check this and if it's been a while, discuss with your doc whether in light of this episode it might be wise to recheck them now.  An electrolyte imbalance could account for heart palpitations as well as symptoms in your calf muscles (or any muscles really).  Keeping electrolytes well controlled is important for those of us with dysauto.  Either way, it may be wise to at least give your doctor a heads-up that this episode occurred in case s/he wants to see you and possibly run a test or two just to make sure nothing is changing.  Especially if it's something as treatable as a minor deficiency, it's much easier to catch it now and start treating it than to let it go on and potentially become a bigger problem.  

I always err on the side of at least keeping my doc "in the loop" of any changes I notice in my condition.  You know what's "normal" for your body and what isn't, and it can't hurt to send a quick update to your doc just to make sure it's not serious.  In the meantime, if I were you I'd be cautious with caffeine intake and try to make sure to get enough water to stay well-hydrated.  

If you let me know more about your meds etc., I may be able to give a more targeted response.  Hope you're feeling better by now,
-Heiferly.

[enzymelover]

I don't know enough about mitral valve prolapse to know for sure, but it sounds like you triggered adrenaline or blood sugar changes. Do you drink a lot of coffee? It does sound like something caffeine would do. You could be flushing important minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) out of your system, especially if you are not replacing these daily.
I sometimes have palpitations and sleepiness myself, with sugary or caffeinated food and drink. But I don't have MVP.