Give me some advice...hand tremor

miloisstinky · Mar 10, 2007

Could it be too much coffee or caffeine, i try to avoid coffee if im doing a procedure that involves steady hands. Also i practice my steadiness and try to relax myself (steady any nerves) before attempting procedures, im a crna, so its super important when im sticking needles in peoples backs :0 :0

muffie, RN · Mar 10, 2007

no ideas but good luck

see a doc

marieLVN · Mar 10, 2007

I also had hyperthyroidism while in nursing school, and experienced hand tremors, sweating, muscle weakness, rapid heart rate, etc. what I had was graves disease and was treated with Methimizole, which lowered my thyroid levels and helped decrease some of these symptoms. Ativan sometimes helped when I felt especially nervous and shaky. I eventually had radioactive iodine treatment and don't experience these problems anymore. good luck!

BensMom · Mar 10, 2007

I also have a tremor in both my hands. Sometimes it is worse than other times. I find that if I can steady my upper arm against my body or something else that it reduces the shaking. If it makes you feel better; my PCP has tremors as does a medical student that I met recently. I'm sure that you notice the tremor more than anyone else. I think mine is horrible, but it has never been commented on in either nursing school (I graduate in May) or at work as a nurse intern.

Good Luck.

yatyu · Mar 11, 2007

How to steady my upper arm against my body ?? is it pressing hardly towards my abdominal side?

bill4745, RN · Mar 11, 2007

There are treatments for essential tremor, the first one they usually try is inderal. Do some research online.

lindarn · Mar 11, 2007

here's the thing: my left hand has essential tremor. it may be due to hyperthyrodism...or anxiety....still diagnosed yet.
the problem is....i am still a nursing student.....this tremor has greatly affected my performance.....i don't want it to shake again....
could anyone give me some alternative methods that stop their shaking....i am going to have some placement next week.......thanks a
lot.........

have you been worked up for multiple sclerosis yet? tremors are a vey common problem with ms. my sister in law started with hand tremors, went undiagnosed for years, as her tremors got worse, and the kept telling her that she had essential tremors. she now has tremors all over, can't keep weight on because her body is in constant motion. the delay in diagnose, coupled with the fact that she smokes, have made her a basket case on disability, and she is only in her

40's.

i would see a neurologist, and have an mri, the gold standard for diagosing ms. good luck.

lindarn, rn, bsn, ccrn

spokane, washington

clemmm78, RN · Mar 12, 2007

I have a right hand tremor. Most of the time it's very benign but there are times when I spill drinks as I pick them up. At work, it rarely kicks in but when it does, I brace my upper arm against my side and that seems to help calm it down. I've never had it affect me while administering a drug or doing something with a patient, but it has occurred while drawing up meds and stuff. One time I had to resort to putting my forearm on the edge of the counter and that worked too. Looked odd, but worked.

Jennifer, RN · Mar 12, 2007

Are you on any medication? I was taking wellbutrin a while ago and had tremors in both my hands. Once I stopped taking the med, they went away. What's your blood sugar? Like someone said before, are you drinking too much caffiene or smoking a lot of cigarettes (both of which are increased during times of stress, like nursing school)? If no to all of the above, I would see a doctor about it. My friend had to take some kind of med (I don't know the name) for her benign tremors. Good luck!!

yatyu · Mar 17, 2007

I've seen a doctor.....he took my T4 but it was normal....So I could rule out hyperthyroidism...he said it might be due to anxiety....

Could i need a psychological doctor......It seems that my tremor's getting worse......cring.....

RunnerRN, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2007

I have a slight tremor - have had it since nursing school. I finally figured out that the more I freaked out about it, the worse it got. So I just started to ignore it and if a patient asked why my hand was shaking I would just say "a little too much caffeine today I guess." By taking away its importance in my head, it wasn't as big of a deal to me.

Like I said, it was a SLIGHT tremor - nothing that was noticable except when giving IV meds or pulling up drugs. Maybe seeing a psych would be helpful to you if all medical possibilities have been ruled out.