!/!/head shakes!/!/

stevie100 · 12-11-2003, 06:28 PM

im a 21 year old male and for the last year i have been suffering from Head shakes. They happen when im out and about. My head would start shaking for about 20 minutes sometimes it starts, stops then starts again. I have tried Propranol, carpmazine, which are supposed to relax the muscles in the head, but ive found these tablets to make it worse. I was just wondering if there are any other tablets to try which would help? When i got the propranol tablets last time i was at the doctors he said that the next thing to try would be some sort of anti-depressant. Any help welcome.

Wittesea · 12-12-2003, 01:24 AM

Hi Stevie,

I was wondering what your diagnosis is? I am assuming it's Essential Tremor (also known as Familial Tremor or Benign Essential Tremor) based on your description.

There are several medications that may or may not help Essential Tremors (ET) ... a few that I can think of (off the top of my head) are the Beta-Blockers (Inderal, Corgard, Lopressor Propranolol) or the Anti-Convulsants (Primidone) or the Atypical Neuroleptic (Clozapine) or Anti-Depressants (Mirtazapine also known as Remeron). There are other medications that are used to treat ET, but I would have to look them up... (I can look it up if you need me to).

I have been diagnosed with a slight case of Essential Tremors (it runs in my family). I don't take any medications for it because my tremor is only in my left hand (so far) and it is not too bad (yet).

If ET is your diagnosis, then it sounds as if your doctor is right on track with trying the different meds to try to slow or stop your tremors... it is a trial and error effort to try to find the correct medication that will work the best for you and your body... everyone react differently from the meds... some people's tremors completely disappear with medications, and other people have absolutely no reduction in their tremors with medications.

So, if it is ET then I wish you luck and I hope the next medication that you try works... and if it's not ET then sorry for the useless information

If you let me know the diagnosis I may know something about that too....

Best of luck,
~Wittesea

stevie100 · 12-12-2003, 04:26 PM

Ive been to the docs but he is unsure what is causing it. He said it could be anxiety or nervous related. He said it could be ET as well but im not sure which it is. I have another appointment at the docs next week, any suggestions as to what medication I could try. Maybe sumthing to relax the muscles in my head maybe.

Wittesea · 12-12-2003, 05:20 PM

My only suggestion is that if the doctor suspects ET as a possibility, then you should go see a neurologist. A good Neurologist can diagnose ET, but if you saw a Neurologist that is a Movement Disorder Specialist they might know more about the correct medications and therapies, as well as any new advancements in treatment.

There is an orginazition called International Essential Tremor Foundation. They have a website, newsletters, and they organize face to face support groups all over the country. Their website is [url]http://www.essentialtremor.org/[/url]

I have a severe anxiety disorder, and when I am very anxious my tremor gets worse... so it is entirely possible to have a tremor that is caused by ET but made worse by anxiety or nervousness. I don't think that a muscle relaxer would help ET tremors because with ET the tremor affects the muscle (making them stiff and tired), but is not caused by muscle stiffness.

From my understanding of ET the muscles become stiff because we unconsciously 'fight' the tremor. When we stiffen our muscles in an attempt to control the tremor or make it less noticable it can become quite stiff and painful. The only way that I have found to relieve the stiffness is to do relaxation exercises (which make me tremor a lot) but it lets the tremor out.

I have noticed that if I consciously stop trying to control my shakes then I have less shakes and tremors.... it is as if I relax and shake a LOT for a few moments, then the shake/tremor goes away for a little while.

Best of luck to you, and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.
~Wittesea

destinyevans · 12-14-2003, 05:46 PM

Hi

I had bad shakes, jerks, spasms from FM and RSD. I started taking Baclofen about 8 months ago. It maybe worth trying. It is used for MS and works on the nerves of the central nervous system. It has worked wonders for me.

Hugs Destiny