Essential Tremor

For everything and anything else not covered in the other RLS sections.
Post Reply
PeteB
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2004 3:16 pm

Essential Tremor

Post by PeteB »

I searched all the Forums for "Essential Tremor" and only found one very very long thread which had those two words.

I was wondering if anybody else suffers from this condition.

For those who do not recognise the condition, here is a brief description, following which you may identify that you have some of the symptoms.

Essential Tremor is a neurological condition that from a medical perspective probably falls in to the same genre as RLS. They know it exists but they don't know what causes it or how to treat it.

Nearly everybody has experienced a form of it. For example, when you are nervous and you are trying to pass a spoonful of sugar from the sugar bowl to your coffee cup, your hand is steady whilst over the sugar bowl. No problem. But as you move the spoon away from the sugar bowl, you hand starts to shake and you start to worry that you are about to spill the sugar. So you worry even more which causes your hand to shake even more and so it goes on.

In Essential Tremor (ET) this condition is very much more acute. Taking money from a purse and handing it to another may become impossible, as the 'moment of exchange' nears so does the increasing worry that you're about to make a mess of it.

Like RLS it has varying degree of severity. There have been times when I've been in a hotel and knowing that in 10 minutes time I have to check out - which means signing a credit card slip - I've practiced signing my name in the hotel room. I can do it without a problem. But at the check out desk I am unable to even hold the pen. My fingers will not obey me. BUT - if only the clerk would look away, then I'd not have a problem!!!

Another example - trying to fit the tail light bulb. You can hold the bulb between two fingers with no problem - but as you slowly approach the bulb fitting your hands take on a mind of their own and you cannot insert the bulb.

Worst of all are full glasses. In England - they have a (nasty?) habit of filling beer glasses brim full. Really - right to the top. To hold the glass on the bar top is not a problem but as you start to lift it the worry becomes unbearable. At one time I stopped drinking pints of beer and opted for bottles. At it's worst, it was hard enough to lift a bottle to my lips and I'd have to wait for nobody to be looking before taking the first few swigs from the bottle. Once the bottle had a few swigs taken from it - all was well. But, it was nearly impossible to spill from the bottle when it was full anyway!!!!

Those with ET find that the best way to 'treat' it is to accept it. Taking the above example with the money handover. If you tell the person that you've got a problem then you don't feel so bad about it happening. In fact - you almost expect it to happen to verify your story - so law says that it won't happen!!!

Anyway, I'd be interested to learn if there are others here who experience ET. At times I've even had trouble getting through a door way because I've been affaid that I won't be able to fit through (and that's without any alcohol.....!).

Also, (and this is the really difficult bit) I wonder if there is any medical connection between the ET and RLS.


P

Post Reply