# Essential Tremor



## rhcp61 (Feb 29, 2008)

Any one else got this? I hate it soooo much. I cant do any kind of fiddly work if that makes sense. Like thread a needle or anything like that, like dealing with small stuff. Its also starting to effect my head and causes my head to shake if people get close and make me nervous. I started cutting my own hair to save me the embarrassment, yes and im not bad at it at all. Also say i walk in class late my teacher will be like sign the late slip well he is standing right there so it makes me nervous and my hand shakes and i can barely right my damn name on there.


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## styler5 (Oct 7, 2006)

I THINK I have one(only the head), but my neurologist said I don't. People say they don't notice it, but what matters is it's embarrassing and annoying! So I can't even try botox.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I got it in my hands. I cant hold anything straight and my hand writing is really messy. I usually have others fill out forms for me.


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## wobblypenguin83 (Apr 21, 2004)

I used to have shaky hands when signing things, paying the cashier etc., but it basically stopped when I was on Paxil. 

I used to get a shaky head as a result of my social anxiety in situations like presentations and interviews, but now it happens all the time, which makes me think it's essential tremor. It definitely gets worse if people are looking at me, but it also happens if I'm sitting alone watching TV. So I don't know how strong the connection to my social anxiety is.

I haven't been to the eye doctor or dentist in 2 years because of it, which is really not a good thing to do. My teeth are fine (I think) but my eyesight is pretty bad so I really need to get my eyes checked. However, last time I went I couldn't keep my head still and it was really embarrassing.


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## nitarose2 (Nov 18, 2003)

I got this in my hands. Somedays, my hands shake more then other days and one of my hands shake more then the other. Like if I have a cup of juice or something, I can't feel it all the way up cuz the juice will spill out cuz my hands are to shaky, so I have to grab the cup with both hands. But when I am really nervous, my hand shaking is out of control and I try to throw the shakes out of them, lol. I also use to have the head shake problem too, but when my head shook, it felt more like a twitch or something and it would only happen when I was nervous. It went away though, have no idea how I got rid of it though.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

I have been suffering with essential tremors since late childhood, my mom also has them and her mother had them. It is an inherited condition from the mother. I have a constant tremor in my hands. It is hard for me to do anything like thread a needle hold a screwdriver steady to put in a screw, sometimes I have trouble writing. The thing that I have trouble writing on is those LCD screens. I can't hold my hand steady enough to make my signature look like a signature. It is a complete mess. They use those where we get our drivers licenses from. I wish they would go to a finger print thing instead of having to sign everything. Also, they become worse when I am stressed, tired, or hungry. They are esp bad in the morning I am very clumsy. I can't hardly hold a cup without spilling it sometimes. People have been making fun of them all my life and I am very self conscious of them and will try to hid my hands from others. I just hate when I got to go to trainings because we have to sign in up front. I just hate when there is a crowd of people behind me watching me and they always have to say oh look at his hands shake. Then they come to the conclusion that I am nervous, drank too much caffeine, etc.

There are medications used for this and the most popular I believe is Impermine. It is a beta blocker. My mom was on it for awhile, but it is also used as a blood pressure med and it lowered her blood pressure too low so she had to go off of it. Eventually I will probably have to take meds for it. They also implant a pace maker device I believe in the hypothalamus of the brain that will control them. I think it is called deep brain stimulation. It shuts down the receptors that are causing the tremor.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I also have this problem. I noticed that it started coming on at about 19. I'm 29 now. It's very difficult for me. I'm in medical school and you can imagine how difficult it is when I have to inject patients or draw blood. All my effort goes into controlling the trembling.

I'm reading on research that says this might be due to magnesium deficiency. Other people have said that taking magnesium and calcium together helped stopped the tremor. I'm looking into this to try it myself.

B-blockers like propranolol worked well for this but I didn't like taking it.


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## rhcp61 (Feb 29, 2008)

What really scares me about it is that im only 16 and i have full blown symptoms head shaking and everything. I mean it gets worse with age most likely what am i gonna be like 15-20 years from now.


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## venusfruit (May 9, 2008)

I have tremors too. I get them during panic attacks, like when I have pay for something at a cash register, or when I have to sign something in front of people and I think they're staring at me. They used to be really bad during class presentations, or when I had to write something on the class blackboard. A few years ago, I started to have twitches (everywhere) because my anxiety was at its worst. I would also get the occasional head twitch. This made me panic because I thought I was having early signs of MS. I would get so terrified that my hands and feet would feel numb. I knew these were all symptoms of anxiety, but I couldn't stop the scary thoughts. I would go to the gym and have a heavy workout to reassure myself that my neurological system was fine. However, this reassurance would be short-lived. A heavy workout itself can cause muscle twitching. 

It's rare that I have a panic attack when I have a muscle twitch now. The twitching and tremors are less frequent now. Still, it can be scary.


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## saraeliz (Oct 2, 2008)

I know exactly what you are talking about...I don't know what to do to cure it. Whenever I have to do something in front of other people or sign my name, I become extremely self conscious. It's very debilitating and I don't know what to do.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I naturally tremble when I'm nervous. It's a lot like a frightened Chihuahua, really. Beta blockers help me a lot. I remember when I was on Wellbutrin (approx. 5 years ago) it made it so bad that I couldn't play piano, my fingers would shake and hit the wrong key.


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## mulerbest (Oct 13, 2010)

*I got this thing all over my body. i need ur help*

Hi i am MB from Ethiopia i have been suffering from this thing for about 3 years. Without knowing what is happening to me i was thinking of killing myself and other bad thoughts but now i have found that i had this social anxiety disorder and this essential tremor. and i am especially suffering from this Essential tremor because it affects all over my body it shows up everytime i walk (during night or day) and every time i perform something. This essential tremor gets worse if i am exposed to social situations. Beacuse of these bad things happening to me i am now staying in my home and i sleep more than any other family member. So every one i know who can help me is you out there so please do help me. I have two big problems :-1 i have got no confidence to go to a doctor
2 i have no money even if i decide to go so please help me overcome my problem 
if you are going to help me then i am voluentarilly to give u my full adress
u can only know how it is bad and how it hurts.


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## mulerbest (Oct 13, 2010)

*I got this thing all over my body.*

Hi i am MB from Ethiopia i have been suffering from this thing for about 3 years. Without knowing what is happening to me i was thinking of killing myself and other bad thoughts but now i have found that i had this social anxiety disorder and this essential tremor. and i am especially suffering from this Essential tremor because it affects all over my body it shows up every time i walk (during night or day) and every time i perform something. This essential tremor gets worse if i am exposed to social situations. Because of these bad things happening to me i am now staying in my home and i sleep more than any other family member. So every one i know who can help me is you out there so please do help me. I have two big problems :-1 i have got no confidence to go to a doctor
2 i have no money even if i decide to go so please help me overcome my problem 
if you are going to help me then i am voluentarilly to give u my full address
u can only know how it is bad and how it hurts.


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## quiveryhands (Jul 14, 2011)

I'm 39 and was diagnosed as having essential tremor after the birth of my son - 5 years ago (the tremor was passed down from my mom, who to this day is still in denial of it - she thinks it is just nerves). My friends and family don't seem to notice it ... hell, I didn't think my hands shook that bad (they shake slightly every now and then). I haven't interacted to much w/ the business world because I've been a stay at home mom...that is, until now.....today I had to fill out paperwork and get fingerprinted for a new job. I noticed my hands start to tremble and my writing got worse and worse. I could not hold my hands steady for the machine to take my print. I had to do constant repeats. I couldn't help but think what the girl in HR was thinking, which made me more nervous and so embarrassed. Later, I told my husband about it but he seems to think it is no big deal... but then again he does not have essential tremor Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions on a no meds solution that worked for them? If have to take meds, I guess I will but sometimes the cons out way the pros. I just hope I don't pass this down to my children.


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## decadeAndAHalfOfSA (Jul 11, 2011)

I was diagnosed with this about 10 years ago. It was very mild then and hasn't worsened at all. I actually wonder if I really have it or if it's because of anxiety or benzo withdrawal.

Anxiety supposedly makes it worse and yeah, when I have to sign something in public, like a check or something, then I do get kinda shaky but also tense in general too. That may just be SA though.

Anyways it doesn't really bother me and nobody has really noticed or commented. I was diagnosed when I had tendinitis issues. I went to a doctor and when holding my hands outstretched, she noticed a tremor and said it wasn't normal and sent me to a neurologist who diagnosed me and told me to come back if/when it significantly impaired my life. It really doesn't at all though.


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## Onuiz24 (Mar 31, 2011)

I was diagnosed with essential tremor about a months ago, it primarily affects my head and hands and I've had the tremor for a couple years but never went to the doctor because the symptoms weren't bad enough. I am only 23 and I hope this doesn't get any worse, I've been looking into deep brain stimulation surgury. I'm sure you all can attest that social anxiety and essential tremer are a horrible combo to have. This freaking sucks, it severely restricts my quality of life and to make it worse I've been in the army for the last 4 years and I'm constantly forced into social situations that make my tremor worse.. and noticable. I'm getting out in 3 months thankfully. I feel like my life is over because of this, if I can't find something to make my head tremor stop then my life is pretty much over because I will never feel comfortable around anyone. I still have things I want to do, I want to travel all over the world and experience other places (which ive done in the army just not in the way i wanted), meet someone I can be comforatable around and fall in love, go to school and get a good job and be satisfied with my life but now I feel like those opportunities are impossible and have been taken from me. I feel uncomfortable and nervous every freaking time I go out in public.


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## rgu1290 (Feb 4, 2009)

I've been having it since I was 12. Now, on the verge of working in a pretty big company, I'm really anxious. Whatever I do, movement or not, just cant seem to control the shakes like I used to before. My life's going down the toilet as I type this and I'm clueless. Middle, high school and college...all have just been the same story. Dont do sh!t!


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## GingerInTheMiddle (Dec 12, 2013)

I've had it in my hands and sometimes in my legs (if I'm standing on someone's shoulders) since I was 14 but I was only diagnosed last year (I'm 24). It gets worse with the stress but I think that it's very mild when I'm not stressed. On bad days, I'd have to do my (engineering) homework by typing it on the computer. On super bad days, I'm screwed. 

Nothing works except alcohol, and I don't even like to drink!!!


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## peace be on u (Mar 3, 2015)

mulerbest said:


> Hi i am MB from Ethiopia i have been suffering from this thing for about 3 years. Without knowing what is happening to me i was thinking of killing myself and other bad thoughts but now i have found that i had this social anxiety disorder and this essential tremor. and i am especially suffering from this Essential tremor because it affects all over my body it shows up everytime i walk (during night or day) and every time i perform something. This essential tremor gets worse if i am exposed to social situations. Beacuse of these bad things happening to me i am now staying in my home and i sleep more than any other family member. So every one i know who can help me is you out there so please do help me. I have two big problems :-1 i have got no confidence to go to a doctor
> 2 i have no money even if i decide to go so please help me overcome my problem
> if you are going to help me then i am voluentarilly to give u my full adress
> u can only know how it is bad and how it hurts.


Ask God's help, ask only to one God alone from the bottom of your heart. If He is willing, He'll certainly help you, but you'll have to ask.


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## peace be on u (Mar 3, 2015)

I have it sometimes, and I can't afford a doctor for this, I just simply ask to the one and only God to ease it for me from my heart, and all praise and thanks to Him, He does.


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## peace be on u (Mar 3, 2015)

Onuiz24 said:


> I was diagnosed with essential tremor about a months ago, it primarily affects my head and hands and I've had the tremor for a couple years but never went to the doctor because the symptoms weren't bad enough. I am only 23 and I hope this doesn't get any worse, I've been looking into deep brain stimulation surgury. I'm sure you all can attest that social anxiety and essential tremer are a horrible combo to have. This freaking sucks, it severely restricts my quality of life and to make it worse I've been in the army for the last 4 years and I'm constantly forced into social situations that make my tremor worse.. and noticable. I'm getting out in 3 months thankfully. I feel like my life is over because of this, if I can't find something to make my head tremor stop then my life is pretty much over because I will never feel comfortable around anyone. I still have things I want to do, I want to travel all over the world and experience other places (which ive done in the army just not in the way i wanted), meet someone I can be comforatable around and fall in love, go to school and get a good job and be satisfied with my life but now I feel like those opportunities are impossible and have been taken from me. I feel uncomfortable and nervous every freaking time I go out in public.


Ask God's help, ask only to one God alone from the bottom of your heart. If He is willing, He'll certainly help you, but you'll have to ask.


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