TERRIBLE hand tremors......

[2johndeereboys]

Hi.....My name is Lisa, I am 40 years old and I am Bipolar (have been diagnosed for almost 12 years now) I have developed a terrible tremor in both my hands.....this has been going on now for a looong time.....if I had to put it in terms of years I'd say this has been going on for the last 2-3 years!!

I only notice this when I am using  my hands......like when I am holding something. Like a piece of paper I am trying to read.....it is nearly impossible to read the paper from the constant shaking!

I am on the following meds.....    1) Topamax 50 mg BID
                                                2) Zoloft      100 mg BID
                                                3) Abilify      30 mg   take 1/2 tablet BID
                                                4) Amitriptylin 10 mg  1 tab @ H.S.  (just started this med 2 weeks ago)

I also have these "spells" where when I am just about to fall asleep.....I will "jerk" my whole body and wake myself up......this doesn't happen a lot but it has been going on for years too.....

I see my Psych DR in a couple weeks and will let him know about these problems......I have told him about the hand tremors before but I was on Lithium and he thought the tremors were from being on Lithium!!

Thanks so much in advance for ANY insight anyone can give as to what might be going on!!

Lisa
=)

[2johndeereboys]

thank you so much for your reply......my psychiatrist has offered another med to deal with the tremors (back when I was on Lithium) but like you I declined it.

I have a very good relationship with my Dr and I think I just need to be more clear as to how much this is bothering me.....

thanks so much again!!

[persephonedemeter]

I had pretty bad hand tremors like you described when I was on Lithium, and my feet did jerk occasionally when I was sleeping. Like you my pdoc knew all about it. I also was on Abilify concurrently. When my feet and arms were constantly moving or restless, my dr. took me off the Abilify. He identified and dealt with it as soon as i reported that it was going on for a week.

My job at the time required fine and precise dexterity, and when I found my hands shaking with the tremors you described, I just had someone else do that aspect and be my hands for me. I had that arranged when I knew it was going to be a problem.

Like you, it would come on when I read papers or holding something...very noticeable and unpredictable when they would start or stop. Frequenter, early on the lithium therapy, and slowed down when the lithium came off to no tremors now. I've been off lithium for a couple of years now, and my hands won't even shake when I get in a very stressful situation and have to be still and calm  facing off a difficult person who is trying to get me to react to them.

My dr. knew about the tremors. He suggested cogentin to relieve it, but I did not want the med, and said I would deal with it for now. I already was on a lot of psych meds, He worried about the tremors more than I did, even when they were pretty bad. It sounds like you have the opposite situation where it detresses you more than you psychiatrist. I guess, if I was in your shoes, I would get a neurologist to consult about it after I tell my psychiatrist again that I would like a second opinion about them either with another psychiatrist or a neurologist. My primary doctor also knew aout it, since it was pretty obvious when I was being examined, and knew I respected my psychiatrist opinion about it.

A lot of people I knew had hand tremors like me who were on lithium, paxil, or whatever. For me, different psychiatrists dealt with it swiftly by taking me off the medications or adding a med to,calm it down, but they eventually took it off. I chose to stay on lithium because it worked for me, and because the tremors were less frequent over the years. I didn't really care about the feet jerking at night when I sleep, but I wasn't so sure it had to do with the meds or the very disturbing dreams I had at the time. In hindsight, I am comfortable with the decisions, and I know I put up with a lot of side effects with a  "wait and see" attitude. If I had made a fuss about the tremors,  I knew my psychiatrist would have taken me off the lithium and put me on depakote, before he even suggested it. When he was really uncomfortable with side effects, he was very decisive and took me off or weaned me off the med. When my psychiatrist takes that stance, I don't argue with him.