Questions posted in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Subject: Re: SHAKY HANDS
Forum: The Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum
Topic Area: Parkinson
Posted by CCF neuro MD MM on October 26, 1998 at 15:07:34:
In Reply to: SHAKY HANDS posted by D.J.S. on October 26, 1998 at 11:18:53:



mY HANDS HAVE ALWAYS SHHOK SINCE I WAS BORN. NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO TELL ME WHAT MY PROBLEM IS. BUT LATELY, MY HANDS
HAVE BEEN SHAKING REALLY BAD. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR WHAT IT MIGHT BE. IF ANY ONE HAS ANY INFO ON THIS PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
DJS

=
I think I can reassure you that the problem you have is highly unlikely to
be Parkinsons diaease as this does not start early in life.
It is most likely to be benign essential tremor which does start in young
people and often runs in families.
There are a number of drugs which can be used to treat this problem and they
are usually very successful, they include propanolol and mysoline.
One of the odd things about this problem is that alcohol makes the tremor
settle down. We do not reccomend this as a treatment, but if you have ever
noticed that it is better after a drink it helps to establish the diagnosis.
One thing which should be checked is your thyroid activity to ensure it is
not overactive and also your serum caeruloplasmin as problems with copper
metabolism can also cause tremor.
I would suggest that you have this checked out as there are several
treatment options available if this is benign essential tremor.


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