Life-long hand tremors?

[Sam_G319]

For as long as I can remember, my hands have been shaking and I haven't been able to figure out how to stop them from doing so. I believe it is some form of kinetic tremor, and is minimal or absent when my hands are at rest. However, when I pick something up, the shaking is more noticeable. I've noticed that this, too, depends on the circumstance. If I'm trying to lift an old CRT Television, it's not noticeable/it's absent; when I'm holding a cooking pot under the kitchen faucet and filling it with water, my hand shakes VERY noticeably. I might add that as a kid, I remember noticing my grandfather's hands shaking in a similar way when passing the milk to me from across the table. I'm not under much stress (or don't feel stressed, at least), and I don't drink coffee or ingest caffeine in any other way, at least not on a regular or daily basis. I'm currently not taking any illicit drugs and I don't drink alcohol that often (less than once per week).

Does anyone have an idea as to what may be causing these tremors and how I might be able to minimize them? Are they tremors or is something else causing my hands to shake? What should I do about this? Or is this pretty normal and nothing to worry about?

It might also be worth noting that I'm currently taking 30mg of Adderall XR per day for my ADHD.

[Sam_G319]

I know, I did a bunch of research/looked into it a lot on my own, and from everything I've read, "kinetic tremors" (as mentioned in my original post) seems to be the most accurate. I'm not necessarily looking for a precise diagnosis here, I'm just asking for suggestions/ideas as to what I can do to remedy the issue, if anything.

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

There are several different types of tremors. Some tremors only occur at rest. Some with motion. Everyone has an inherent tremor which can be exacerbated by certain conditions such as stress, caffeine, etc. This is called a physiologic tremor. Typically this tremor can be controlled by lifestyle modifications. If you continue to have the tremor and are bothered by it, you may wish to speak to your physician about it.  Additionally, a side effect of Adderall is tremor.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.