Nervous Wreck- Help!!!!

[windchaser, ASN]

Hello again and thanks to Tweety for letting me know where to post..

Well long story short I was saying that I have Essential Tremor( a movement disorder) that is an uncontrollable tremor in both of my hands.

I have tried meds but haven't found the right combination to get rid of or at least lessen the shakiness. I started nursing school 2 weeks ago and in lab we have started to practice taking each others vital signs.

When I was being tested on taking my fellow students BP my hands were shaking so badly that I could not even release the valve on the BP bulb correctly so I failed. It was so embarrasing!!!! My instructor says that my tremors shouldn't stop me from becoming a nurse but I am worried sick I won't be able to make it through school because of this reason. I start clinicals in July and am horrified just thinking about performing simple procedures like taking the patient's VITAL SIGNS, FEEDING, INJECTING INSULIN, ETC.. because I know my hands will start shaking immediatley and I won't be able to stop them!!!!!!!

I am so stressed about this that I want to drop out already even though it has taken me forever to get to this point. Has anyone here made it through nursing school with hand tremors?????

If so, how were you able to make it through clinicals????

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Beary-nice]

wow...i have the same thing but i take a tiny beta blocker for it and it helps me. i have had benign familial tremor syndrome since as long as i can remember...middle childhood perhaps...i made it through lpn school just fine but now in adn program i knew that it would affect my iv starting technique plus i worried immensely about getting the instructor who i know is tough all over my case. i talked to my pcp about it and she felt bfts was my problem as my father has it and so does my younger brother.

the beta blocker worked for me and maybe you have gone that route already...but good luck i know it is hard.

[melpn]

I agree; I've seen pts. treated with 20 mg or so of Inderal and it seemed to work for them. Mention it to your doc- it's worth a try. Good luck and I wish you the best with this difficult problem.

[HARRN2b]

Is it possible that stress also makes the condition worse. I admit I know little about it, but my hands shake a little when I am stressed. I talked to my mother about it and she said she has had it all her life.

[clemmm78, RN]

I have a tremor that, oddly enough, rarely shows up at work. It could be that the stress of doing these things in the lab are aggravating it. I know my tremor greatly increases when I'm in a situation when it can be seen. For example, if I'm having dinner with coworkers or my boss and I go to pick up a glass (especially a slim, tapered glass), my hand will shake uncontrollably, but I can pick up my fork without a problem. I've also learned that certain hand positions and angles make the tremor worse.

I have had a few times that my tremor made it difficult to withdraw from an ampule, but I've never had it affect giving an injection, starting an IV, etc. It could be, again, because of the angle and approach.

Just make sure that your instructors know about it so they don't chalk it down to nervousness. It's likely that as you become more comfortable with things, your tremor may not be activated as strongly.