First, let me say that I am so glad to have found this forum!  RLR, you are a wealth of knowledge!  

I was rear-ended about a week and a half ago and am suffering with moderate whiplash.  My heart is way more irritable than normal (I'll get to that background in a minute), I get inside trembles, on and off nauseousness, light headedness and my breathing is faster and more shallow than it should be and in general, I just can't relax.  I am having major increased sympathetic nervous system activity.

My background: I began having runs of tachycardia/atrial fibrillation and ectopic beats about 15 years ago after I had my first child.  I also have had periods of all the nervous system symptoms of Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome, without the valve issue.  I've had multiple EKGs, a couple of Echos , have worn a holter that showed PACs and PVCs, and also had a tilt table test that landed me a diagnosis of POTS.  I can go long periods where I feel great and for the most part only seem to have issues when I'm super hungry, super tired, super stressed, when I have not had enough water, or when I am ovulating or have PMS.  I have never taken any medication and control it quite well with rest, diet, stress reduction, calcium and magnesium.

Fast forward to this summer when I started seeing a chiropractor (I did read your opinion on chiropractic...).  I noticed increased sympathetic nervous system activity with the adjustments, and he seems to think it has to do with tension on the vagus nerve as my body "unwound" and a dysfunction in the HPA Axis, hence the reason my nervous system has always seemed to be off balance.  So, that's where I sat when we got rear-ended...

Now, my nervous system is ramped like it's never been ramped before and I don't know what to make of it, or do about it. I don't understand what is happening to my body. As always, the darn palpitations are the most distracting and disconcerting.  Every time I get them, it seems I get a drop in blood pressure and a shot of adrenaline afterward. Very hard to ignore!  After so many years of having them on an off, I knew the pattern and although they were annoying, when they happened, they weren't completely unexpected.  Now, they are more frequent, intense and random, coupled with the other nervous system symptoms.  Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance!