darn shaky hands

[9livesRN]

well... i kinda shake a little (not an alcky lol) but my hands kind of shake a litle when i spread them in the air, but when i am painting or drawing i am pretty steady and when i was doing finger pricks and dissections i was very precise and dont shake when i am doing something but my teacher kinda poped her eyes when she saw my hands shaking.... i told her that i was precise she went like humpf!

now i am wondering is this going to give me trouble... ? (then again, my hands are steady and precise, just when i hold them flat on mid air they sorta shake!)

what is up with that?

i am sort of worried!

[kimbilina]

I just wanted to share my story so far with shaky hands. I am in nursing school now and have problems with shaky hands. It happens worse when I am giving shots! Not good. My instructor pointed it out to me and told me I needed to correct the problem. So, 6 months left of the program and I drove home crying about my situation. I called my doctor and she put me on cogentin. It seems to be working. Hopefully, I will have another post about a very successful clinical day :) I guess what I am trying to say is there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Try try and try again and most importantly don't give up. This is just another hurdle to pass and we all have our weaknesses.

[OTAS]

I enjoyed reading the posts here, and just wanted to pass along a suggestion to those whose shaky hands give them trouble in clinical. I, too, have this problem, which was identified by one of my instructors as an "intentional tremor" (i.e. a tremor that results from or is exacerbated by one's focused intention on doing something). She gave me a suggestion that has saved my bacon, and is one which I've passed on to other students with the same issue.

For me (and for most people posting here), the problem appears to be shaky hands. My hands shake when they are unsupported and when I am concentrating on doing something intricate (such as drawing up medication from a vial). The solution for me is to put the "edges" of my hands (i.e. the part immediately below the base of the little finger) together, with my palms up and open, when performing delicate two-handed tasks, and use my fingers (which do not shake) to manipulate the vial and syringe. 'Works like a charm: my hands don't shake and my fingers are steady as can be.

For tasks where I can't always put my hands together (such as starting IVs), I make sure to anchor my hand against something steady (e.g. the patient's arm) and use my fingers to guide/push the needle. It took a little practice, but "the shakes" are no longer a problem for me.

Good luck!

[kimbilina]

Well, here is the update. Last time I told everyone about how I was started on Cogentin for my Shaky hands problem. I just wanted to add that this problem was not just associated with nerves sometimes when I am painting my nails by myself I was to shaky to even finish. So, when the cogentin didn't work I was very distrought. I decided to take another route and ask my doctor if I could try inderal because it has claimed to help others with essential tremor and guess what? worked like a charm! I can't believe it still! I am so happy now that I appear calm I actually am and I am much more confident. I don't mind passing things to people in clinical now. Gosh I couldn't be happier. So I guess the lesson is make sure you know what you are dealing with anxiety or familial tremor! Facts help, Best wishes to all hope this helps someone one day Kim

[Jonathank]

I have an intention tremor as well. It's good to see I won't be the first RN with this issue.

[ownt]

a really good way i found to to stop my hands from shaking was to hold my breath. some people say count to 10 - but if you do that and don't hold your breath, it probably wont work.

why? i learned a little while ago that a major cause of "twitchiness" is that your blood CO2 is too low from breathing slightly too fast or too shallow - even if you don't notice that you're doing it (which causes respiratory alkalosis). hands will start to shake and your thumb twitches back towards the palm of your hand - called trousseau's sign. just quietly hold your breath while preparing the IV (or whatever) and your blood CO2 will come back up and the twitchiness will be all but gone. do it a few times back to back if once doesn't work. good luck!

[windmill182]

Do you shake because of nervousness? I shake when Im really nervous. I completely stopped drinking caffeine because of it. I also talked to my doctor who gave me a script for a beta blocker, which I take only when I anticipate a situation that spikes my nerves. It completely made my physical anxiety disappear and didn't fog my thoughts out. My doctor said she knew a ton of doctors who used the same script in Med school. If you can't figure something natural out, maybe talk to your doctor? I'm so glad I did!