I fucking hate tremors

It’s a wee but of a vent but I fucking HATE tremors. Hate that people make their minds up about you afore you’ve any chance to express yourself because you’re shaking.
Hate that it’s slowly, surely, stealing everything from me.
Can’t play guitar for shit. Can’t draw for shit.
Couldn’t be a tattooist because I shake.

Can’t even reliably settle it down with alcohol anymore. Weights for pens, pencils or brushes don’t reliably fix it anymore because *whoops* spasmed.

Can’t do any of the shit I love to the level I used to be able to, despite skill progression, because ol quivery jones over here can’t get a handle on his muscle movements.

Cant do beta blockers because of asthma, and none of my coping techniques work anymore.

It’s fucking exhausting. Typing? Errors. Writing? Errors. Drawing or playing? Errors.

I could have done so much, been so good at so many things, but there’s this slow wasting away - and I’m only just fucking thirty. I don’t even want to know what it’ll be like at 40, 50, 60, it’s so unfair.

My own body is actively working against me, it takes so much patience to do things I used to love. Nevermind the slopping, the spilling, the head twitching or leg spasming when upset. I fucking hate it, must have been an absolute monster in a past life to deserve this, it’s all I can think

We are a team of students at the University of Michigan studying how Essential Tremor affects everyday smartphone use and experiences with assistive tools.

We welcome input from:

• People living with ET
• Caregivers
• Researchers and healthcare professionals

Your experience and insights will help us better understand current challenges and potential needs.

Survey (approximately 6 minutes): Essential Tremor and Everyday Phone Use 

Accessibility support: We understand that completing an online survey may be challenging for some people with ET. If you experience any difficulties accessing or completing the survey, please contact Mia Weng ([mhsuano@umich.edu](mailto:mhsuano@umich.edu)). We'd be happy to arrange a meeting to help you complete it.

Thank you for your time and support!

I've been dealing with tremors and unusual sensory disturbances, like a humming or vibrating sensation inside my body and a feeling that my body or the ground is moving. I've visited multiple doctors, but so far, I haven't found a solution.

At this point, I really hope that advances in AI and medical research might eventually help find answers and treatments for conditions like mine.

What do you guys think? Do you believe AI will eventually be able to solve or find effective treatments for neurological conditions that doctors struggle with today? Do you have any information or research about this?

Hi, I'm 20 years old and for about 3 years now I've been struggling with head tics whenever I'm in social situations, when I'm walking outside alone and someone passes by, or when I'm at the barber. They are subtle head twitches/tics. As far as I can tell, after doing some sports or when I've been around people for a while, I get used to it, relax, and it doesn't happen. The worst time, though, is in the morning when I have to go out into public or get a haircut.
Recently, I've started working out, taking dietary supplements, cutting down on screen time, and cutting out sugar—whether that helps, I don't know yet. I'm also planning to try Ashwagandha. These tics first appeared during COVID when we were locked down at home. Thanks for any advice, and I really hope I'm not the only one whose life is made harder by head tics. 😕

Is there any evidence that box breathing (also called square breathing or 4x4 breathing) helps allay tremors?

Since hearing about this technique being used to reduce anxiety, I’ve tried it when feeling tremors coming on (both visible and internal), for the past few weeks.

It seems like it may help slightly, but the effect is seemingly delayed and I could also be imagining it anyway, as my tremors inevitably come and go.

Curious to know if this (or other breathing relaxation techniques) are worth pursuing further.

My Mom developed her tremor in her late 30's. I started getting it in my 20's. My 15-year-old just started showing signs of a tremor. It seems like this familial tremor is showing up earlier and earlier and I can't figure out why. His doctor just put him on propranolol for anxiety (and the tremor) to see if they calm down. I wasn't very tolerant of propranolol so we will see.

Why do you think it seems to be showing up so early. I'm sad because his hobbies all include fine motor skills (computers, instruments, drawing...). It just sucks.

buddy gave me some 125mg “primidone” pills, wondering if these look sketch or if these look the same as anybody else’s?

It's probably stress that triggered it? I'm not sure. I haven't been diagnosed. I noticed the shaking during the summer, but it was my hands, making picking up drinks difficult. Now it's full body tremors and it lasts for hours. Today it started at 6 and it's going still, just not as bad as before.

My husband is sick and we're at the ER, so it might have triggered it? This is my first time posting here, so I'm unsure about everything and am still learning.

Is this normal for others?

Hi everyone. First off, I’m not sure if “spasm” is the right word or even PC, but I wasn’t sure of any other terms to describe it.

For reference I am a 23 F who’s had ET since I was about 16. It was passed down genetically, as my grandpa and mother both have it. My mom’s tremors are more of a constant bilateral hand shaking and have not changed much over time. I have a constant bilateral tremor but I also feel that they’ve gotten more “spastic” over the last couple of years and wanted to see if anyone else relates? They can get worse unprovoked but typically due to missing medication, anxiety, caffeine, nicotine, etc. and start to almost “spasm”. I can barely eat, hold a cup, hold my phone, etc. without almost breaking or throwing whatever i’m holding. For example, if i’m getting an IV and i have to hold that arm still, it will literally start uncontrollably spasming if my arm isn’t held down hard. or if Im holding my phone with one hand, my wrist/ hand will spazz it out of my hand.

Anyway, I’m just hoping for some relatability or insight as to how tremors can change over time and if it’ll be this way forever? As someone so young, I fear them getting even worse over time. I know I can do things to “reduce my tremors” but I doubt that changes anything long-term.

Hi all!
I am a student researcher with the Voice, Emotion, and Cognition Lab at the University of Memphis. Our lab is currently conducting a study investigating how our bodies contribute to loneliness and isolation. We are looking for volunteers aged 18 to 75 to complete a series of anonymous self-report measures. These measures should take around 30 minutes to complete.
If you or someone you know are interested in participating, please follow the QR code in the poster or use this link to access the self-report measures: https://memphis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0ilGdHnmV56Tpsi?Q_CHL=qr

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact [voiceemotioncognition@gmail.com](mailto:voiceemotioncognition@gmail.com). Thank you!

hola saben quien aplica toxina botulinica en las manos para el temblor, en colombia? sino saben quisiera saber cómo les fue con ella los que han usado ese tratamiento

I am 68/m, when I retired 3 years ago I had multiple dreams of all the things I would occupy my time with that I've always been Passionate about, however never enough time for them. I have always been a person that enjoys creative projects with either metal or wood. My biggest frustration now is welding with the Tremors has been becoming almost impossible.

Do any of you have suggestions that might help with this short of medications or surgery? Unfortunately all of the medications have produced dangerous or unwanted side effects, and I am trying to avoid surgery. If surgery becomes my only option then which of the surgeries available do you think is best knowing what we know currently?

Hi everyone! im in the process of making a painting app specifically for people with tremors

and I have a early proof of concept, I have hosted it online in this link

https://ariell23.github.io/Tremorpainter/

please do try and let me know how it works for you!

Hello Everyone, 

I am currently working on a school project related to helping people with hand tremors. Particularly a solution to help those with this issue eat more effectively when using utensils such as spoons or picking up items with their hand. Our goal is to build a device focused on assisting motor function for different kinds of tremors such as those originating from Essential Tremors or Parkinsons . For this project, I wanted to know out of these 4 criteria below, how would you rank them based on how important they would be to a person experiencing hand tremors. 

• Effectiveness: How well our design works to assist the motor function of the hand.
• Cost: How affordable our device is
• Convenience: The ease of use of our device, such as how easy our device is to put on.
• Aesthetic: How pleasing our design is from a visual standpoint/how well our device looks.

Please also feel free to let me know if you have any personal insights regarding what is the best approach to a device assisting with hand tremors. Such as a tool that sort of massages the hand, or a device that constricts itself.

Thank You!

My mom (73yo) has had an essential tremor for years, but it has gotten markedly worse in the last 5-10yrs. Anyway, I was out to breakfast with my parents this past weekend and my mom pointed out how bizarrely tremor free her hands were. My dad and I were both shocked. This is a woman that has to use a large spoon to eat her meals because her tremor prevents her from keeping food on a fork. The only thing that she says she can think of that was different is that she is currently on a dose of anti-inflammatory steroids for her very painful neuropathy. Now, I know that corticosteroids usually make a tremor worse, not improved. It is so confusing.

My mom unfortunately is one of those people that often experiences the opposite of a known side effect of a medication. Example: opioid pain medications that make people drowsy, nope she becomes a pain free insomniac. I guess I am wondering, is this just another one of her weird opposite side effect things or has anyone else experienced this?

It could have also just been a good day/morning. I tried calling her yesterday to chat and follow up but she didn't pick up.

Hey everyone ET since i can remember, officially diagnosed a year ago. Anyone have walking issues sometimes it feels like my legs do not want to walk correctly and I have to think about walking to counter it. Anyone else experienced this

Thank you

I’m taking meds for my ET and have it almost under control. I have a minor shake but it’s totally manageable in terms of daily functioning so I decided I’d rather not increase my dosage more at the expense of suffering potential side effects.

However recently I’ve had a number of people call out how they’d noticed my shaking and I’ve realised it must be a lot more prominent to others than I think it is. I’m getting a bit self-conscious and wondering if I should just up my dosage. Has anyone gone through the same dilemma of deciding when to trade off increasing dosage for vanity purposes and potentially suffering side effects, even if the meds aren’t technically needed for functioning.

Just wanted to see if any of you dealt with this before on a every day basis.... My neurologist had me do a brain MRI yesterday and the results came back clean, so I figure my nervous system must be jacked up and causing the tremors that I'm experiencing.

hello all

i went to my dr about a month ago because i noticed when i would try to do certain things my hands would shake. they told me it was essential tremors, no family history of it what so ever. I was also just starting out on my TRT at the time as well when i noticed the shaking was getting worse. ive dealt with it for years, it started after i had a panic attack for the first time.

They put me on propranolol or what ever it is and that caused severe anxiety, they switched me to primidone and that caused severe anxiety as well.

i have to wait until feb to meet with a neurologist but at this point im just lost