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1207048 tn?1282174304

Question about cerebellum and hand shaking.

I'm not sure if I can say I'm having hand tremors. It is not happening all the time, but I've noticed it over the last few weeks.

If I'm holding a book I will notice it. Or if I'm holding a fork or spoon out in front of my mouth (like if I'm holding a bite of food up, but I'm talking instead of eating, and I just keep the bite of food up instead of lowering it to my plate). It is not a big shaking, more a slight jumpiness/ twitching. But, enough where my husband could see it from the other end of the table today at dinner. I've had the book I was holding jump out of my hand because of it, but usually it is more of a slight twitching and not a big shaking.

I see my neuro tomorrow so I will bring this up to him. But I was looking online a bit today trying to figure out what the shaking could be. On a few different sites I found info saying that tremors could be caused by lesions in the cerebellum. Again, I'm not sure if the shaking/twitching I'm having even *is* a tremor. But, I also found that the nystagmus I do have could be caused by a lesion in the cerebellum. And also vertigo could be caused by a lesion in the cerebellum.

That's a few too many things going on in my cerebellum! LOL

I'm not sure what is going to happen at my appointment tomorrow. It is a follow up for the vertigo/steroids. I'm hoping that the vertigo will "earn" me another MRI to check for any new lesions. But, realistically, I'm assuming the appointment is more of a "So, how did the steroids work out?" type of follow up.

I guess I'm just looking for some info on if my occasional shakiness is considered a tremor?

As always, thanks for any help you can give me!
~Jess
4 Responses
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648910 tn?1290663083
Mine are much as you described.  I use utensils with large handles which gives them some weight.  It makes it easier to hit my mouth :0)

I was at the doctor yesterday (GP) who still insists I have MS...off track...he told me i needed to take my klonopin more often.  It does help with the tremors and I know he is right but my goodness so many medications :(

terry
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
Dennis, I didn't know gabapentin was supposed to help with that problem, but your doc obviously knows more than i do about this and many other things.  I'll read up on that.  I'm not sure if my tremor has changed since beginning gabapentin (for eye pain) last year.

Jess, you describe the conditions quite well under which I find my hand shaking.  However, mine has always been a rhythmic back-and-forth shaking.  I'd have to stretch to call it a twitch, which I think of (rightly or wrongly) as being more sporadic or intermittent.  Just one man's thoughts.

Part of my first MRI included thin slices through what the neuromaniac called the "cerebellar pontine angles," but nothing showed up there.  Not the world's finest images, on a 1.5T system.  This year's looked better, IMHO, still 1.5T, but a different lab.

Peace to all.
Helpful - 0
645800 tn?1466860955
Jess,

  What you are describing is a tremor, and is how my tremors started out. Once it got to the point that all of my food would fall off the fork I mentioned it to my Neuro. He put me on Gabapentin for it. This has worked very well up until yesterday. Now the tremor is almost constant. I need to call about this tomorrow myself.

Dennis
Helpful - 0
338416 tn?1420045702
I had (probably still do have) a lesion in the right cerebellum.  For a year or so, I had action tremor, nystagmus, and vertigo.  

Action tremor sounds like what you're describing.  If I held my hand out straight, with the fingers stretched out, it would shake.  Squeezing aerosol cheese on a cracker would cause my hand to shake, and trying to paint a straight line - well, that was out!  All my lines had very even tiny little wiggles.
Helpful - 0
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