Can finger and hand tremors be after effects on anxiety, stress, and panic attacks?

[mirdee]

Hi I am a healthy 21 year old college film student male. I am about to graduate and plan on being an editor and looking forward to a long and productive career. I have had 2 blood test done, a ekg, and a eeg that all came back normal. For the last year or so I have been under a lot of stress but it was manageable. I have been living with anxiety for about 9 years now and the last 3 or 4 months have been very, very stressful for me because of what’s been going on with my life. It started with chest pain which has gone away, and then muscle twitches and jerks in different parts of my body that have went away. But now for the last 2 and half months I have developed hand tremors in both hands. The worst part is that it has affected my left hand more and my pinky and ring finger have really fast shakes. My middle finger twitches sometimes and so does my thumb. I get these finger tremors, jerks in my right hand and fingers too but a lot less then in my left hand and fingers. They do come and go, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. I have seen a psychiatrist, a neurologist, and a home doctor who all say its anxiety related and it will go away in time. I still can’t help but notice these tremors even when Im not feeling anxious and I find myself thinking about them more and more which brings back my anxiety even more and I even suffered at least 3 panic attacks in the last 2 months. I am really worried about having a disease such as Parkinson's and its making me afraid to live and like I am losing control of my body and that I will never be normal again. Please if there is anyone out there who can assure me and let me know that finger tremors and shaking hands can develop from months and years of stress, anxiety, and worrying all the time. Will it pass and is it a common physical symptom of the after effects of anxiety? Thank you so much.

[nancywest]

My husband was prescribed lexapro for anxiety and stopped taking it after 4 days because he developed jerking and tremors. That was two years ago and the symptoms have never gone away. He had never jerked or twitched before the lexapro. EEG and neurologists turned up nothing wrong. The tremors and jerking usually start when he is tired, hungry or cold. Do you think your problem is related to having taken lexapro. Has it gone away?

[vafdf]

Did the Doctors tell you how they knew that it wasn't Parkinson's? True, it isn't common with young people, but it can happen. By now, three years later, you will probably know for sure whether you have or don't have parkinsons (because, if you had it more symptoms should have developed), but I'm just curious how your doctors were so sure that it couldn't be parkinsons?

[Cox1776]

Hey,

I also have experienced similar symptoms. Over the summer, I began to worry about Triple E but realized that it wasn't because I didn't die within a week. Then I noticed a freckle I have had all my life and thought it was melanoma. I would look at it constantly. Then I had my first panic attack. I started to feel like a quick tingle in my extremities. My back became so stiff. Then I started experiencing kind of blurred vision. The scariest symptom I have had is when I lift my index finger sometimes it begins to jerk downward and or shake. The first time this happen I went into a very serious panic attack. The doctor said it was anxiety and gave me ativan. I went off the Ativan, but still got a range of symptoms. One night in September, my finger did that incredibly fast. I have been to 5 nurse practioners for various things but who all say its anxiety. Of course my fears reside with MS, ALS, Parkinsons, Lupus, or any other terminal disease. I saw a psychiatrist who put me on Buspar. But I am still scared of those diseases, can anyone help me?

[DG33]

I have been reading this post over the past several days.  I hope all of you are right and its just anxiety.  I have had hand tremors for about 3 months.  I can't tell if they're getting worse, but it gets to the point where I can't type well.  I have always been high strung and anxious.  Been taking Wellbutrin and self medicating with alcohol for years.  Then in Feb I went through some terrible marriage issues that put me in a bad way for several months.  Lots of drinking, depression and so on.  But no tremors.  Then all of a sudden in APril I start with these hand tremors.  Blew them off at first, but now they wont go away.  I'm still anxious, but not like I was.  Which leads me to believe its something else.  ALS, MS, etc.  Also have weakness and pain in my shoulders and neck.  Went to primary care and labs were normal.  Went to ER and CT/ labs were normal.  I have a neuro apt in a couple of days.  Hoping for answers.  Hoping that I have damage from chronic alcoholism, stress anxiety, anything other than some kind of neurologic disorder.  It's like everyone says....totally consuming.  I have two small kids.  Cant stop worrying.  Keep looking at myself finding new symptoms....Are my arms atrophied, does my voice shake, is it in my legs....and so on.  Been off the booze, smokes, and caffeine for days with no relief.

[bjfoste1]

and also I got these symptoms close to when I had my 2 big panic attacks.

[bjfoste1]

I believe it will pass. A year ago I was going through the same thing you were with the slight tremors/ twitches and I do believe it is anxiety related. I went all out getting a spine and brain MRI which showed nothing. If your really worried about it get some testing done to make peace with yourself. But like I said I have gone through things like this that were in fact anxiety related. Even to this day I get muscle twitches in my legs and arms but I brush them off (begnign fasiculation syndrome which is triggered by anxiety) .

[Morgardee]

I'm 38 and at the end of June (2010) I started to get the exact same thing as you. Twitching left hand and the muscle spasms waking me in the middle of the night. I've only seen the family docotor so far and she things I just have low level twitches and that's it. I'm still looking into anxiety right now and waiting for my first EMDR session in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this will all pass.

Good luck to us all.

[mirdee]

thanks to all who replied i appreciate all the answers. i am still on ativan and it works really great in the fact i dont feel anxious or like im about to panic. i havnt felt this calmness in months and now its like wow is it possible to feel calm again like nothing is wrong? its almost a euphoric feeling but unfortunently these godd**n finger tremors and my hand resting hand tremors continue on for some godd**n reason. w.e. maybe it will go away, maybe it wont, maybe it will get worse but i pray it will get better. at least i can watch my fingers and hand shake without giving a damn.

[mirdee]

i mean yea i feel tired sometimes like i dont have energy or that i dont want to do anything all day. but every 2 or 3 days i ride my bike for 20 30 minutes and i also lift weights like bench presses and curls and thankfully i still have all my strength which allows me to exercise, walk, run, ride, etc. i was on lexapro because i saw a psychiatrist a year or more ago because of a dui i had and court made me do outpatient so i told them how i always get nervous easily, i get angry easily, i like to keep things inside because im not a talker or an open person and when im out socially i get self concsious or think something bad will happen and they said its anxiety, try lexapro. i stopped taking it after i was done with court and didnt have to see the psychiatrist anymore and i just wanted to live without the pills again. i look back at it now and i just dont see WHY i was so paranoid all the time or self concsious, i had friends, i had a job, i went to school, i have good looks its not like i had something wrong with me, but my mind always made me think something was wrong with me for no apparent reason. maybe its because ive been smoking weed since i was 16 and ive stopped it for the last 2 years i dono. a lot of my friends still do smoke but their perfectly fine and ill be honest i still have a smoke now a then but definitely not daily or weekly. the reason i thought about parkinsons is i was having muscle jerks and before like a year ago they went away in a few weeks. then back in march i had them again and one night i woke up like OMG it might be parkinsons and it just came out of the blue one night. ever since that nightmare like the entire month of april i was looking at parinkson tremors and victims on youtube, i was reading symptoms, i was watching michael j fox and i literally consumed my mind with the idea. its so hard now NOT to think about it because i learned so much about it and i constantly have those images and thoughts about the disease in my mind, its really consuming. even when im with friends, listening to music, playing video games, working out, in school, on the train, in the bar someting always triggers those thoughts and find myself thinking about parkinsons. then i see my hand tremor or finger jerk and i get anxious thinking i have it and it will get worse. every since ive been on this board and have been taking the anxiety med and trying not to think about it as much, im a lot calmer and as im not worrying or paying attention to my hands and fingers i dont know if the tremors are going away or if im just not noticing them more. hopefully hopefully it will get better.

[anonymous680]

Are you fatigued? Do you feel ill?

You are too young to chase after a parkinsons diagnosis in my opinion.

Withdrawal from alcohol or anti-depressants could be causing your symptoms.

Why were you on Lexapro, and why did you stop? Just wondering.

[mirdee]

thanks to all that replied. i thought about lyme disease but it doesnt seem likely because my 2 fingers shake for a few seconds and stop. they only shake if im holding my hand out and have my palm open. or when im sitting typing and im resting on my wrist both my hands have a slight tremor. ive taken lexapro for 8 months and then off it for about a year so i had a feeling if i never took it maybe i wouldnt have developed tremors. ive also been doing a lot of drinking lately because it seemed to help but my psychiatrist and nuero both said if i keep it up it wont go away and i will become dependant. i put down the bottle and now im trying ativan for severe anxiety and honestly the last couple of days the tremors have gone down quite a bit except the jerks i get in my left pinky which come and go as well. my neuro also wants to do another eeg or something silimiar because he says i still MIGHT have epilepsy but i dont think thats an accurate diagnosis since ive never had a seizure or collapsed or lost consciousness in my life. im going on vacation over seas for the next 2 months everyone says change your lifestyle around go out have some fun, stop thinking about it do something fun and adventurous and in time hopefully it will pass. i strongly want to believe that but with anxiety the thoughts of losing control and fear of it getting worse is very mentally consuming. i will continue the ativan for 2 to 3 weeks see if it helps becuase it does calm me down but i know its also addicting and i dont want to use it too long. my psychiatrist has also given me buspar which is a lot safer and you cant withdraw from it but if the vacation and just letting go doesnt help, then when i get back i will try buspar. its wierd everyone says only anixety symptoms, physical or mental come and go. one minute youll look at your hand and fingers shake or jerk. the next they will be still. in the morning sometimes or different parts of the day there is nothing going on in my hands, feet, legs, arm, etc. but in the afternoon or something my arm pulses, or hands shake and goes away for awhile and then comes back. hopefully one day it will completely go away.

[anonymous680]

I wanted to say, if it isn't a physical disease state you are in, I would bet that supplementing with magnesium would be of benefit to your twitching and anxiety as well. Maybe I am wrong, but I think it's worth a try.

61% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for levels of magnesium according to Wikipedia.

[anonymous680]

I honestly would look into Lyme Disease. it's what I had causing similar symptoms. Your lab results will probably look more or less normal if you have the disease.

Unfortunately, it's a controversial disease to have, so it may be hard finding a doctor to take you seriously.

Visit the Lyme forum, and post all your symptoms you have had over the years, and see what they think.

For muscle twitches, try a good quality magnesium (anything but oxide is generally ok). You can get this at your health food store, and if you don't know much about nutrition and supplements, someone working there may be able to help you. It may help ease your anxiety a bit as well. Mag-Tab SR from Walmart is good as well (you might as well just get that).

I had twitches all over my body. Sometimes my hands, sometimes my legs, and sometimes even my eyes.

The panic attacks are horrible, and even though they made me feel like they were going to kill me every time (literally), out of the hundreds I have had since being ill, none have. And my attacks were serious as in 200 bpm heart rate for hours on end.

Take care and feel better.

[clyons11]

I also suffer from anxiety, and have for a while-- sometimes it's worse than others, but it's a fairly constant presence. My fingers shake sometimes as well and I sometimes have twitches in my hands/fingers, legs, and face. For me, anxiety is related to a lot of muscle tension, so I think this reaction makes sense.

Are you on any medication/seeking any treatment for the anxiety? Maybe it's related to more than circumstances-- just a guess since it's been a problem for so long. I know my anxiety gets worse depending on what's happening around me/to me, but it's always there even when the rest of the world seems "calm."

I would talk (again) to a doctor about this-- or maybe a therapist. It seems like it's causing you a significant amount of distress. I don't think it's abnormal, but I also don't think you have to put up with it necessarily. I hope that was somewhat helpful.