[Standup2me]

My meds give me the shakes. Anyone else?

[minus]

When I'm going through a med change (such as now), I wake up feeling extremely shaky, like I'm shaking from the inside... if that makes sense. I have to curl up real tight in a blanket or have my husband hold me until it lets up... usually within 30 minutes. He say's I'm not actually shaking... it just feels like it on the inside. It's very unpleasant. But as for the shakes--like shaky hands--I only have that when I'm extremely upset or anxious, and I don't think it's med related. But, my meds are probably different from yours. Ask your doctor, of course.

[Silent Void]

Yes. For me, it's the risperidone.

[wildflowerchild25]

I had tremors on lithium. I have muscle stiffness and akathesia (restless feeling) on seroquel, which is why I only take it if I absolutely need to.

[r010159]

On resperidone I had significant hand tremors. It even enlarged my breasts. Not happy with that.

[gayleggg]

I have trouble with that with most antidepressants I take. Some worse than others. Some got so bad I could barely write my name. My doctor gave me something to help with the tremors and it worked but I can't remember what is was called.

[wildflowerchild25]

Possibly cogentin, gayle. That's what I have for Seroquel.

Yeah, hand tremors. Not sure what it might have been, its common though.

[cashart10]

Lithium does it to me but it's mild.

[live2ski66]

Yes, I think it is the Lithobid. It's very mild. I have more intense handshaking from anxiety and panic.

When I started taking Wellbutrin, I got some tremors, but they went away in a few weeks. I don't take W anymore.

@Standup2me: What medication are you taking? Tremors/shakes are quite a common side effect for some medication. How long have you been experiencing them? Have you discussed this with your psychiatrist/doctor?

[Standup2me]

Does the shacking come from inside, or outside, or both?

Originally Posted by Standup2me

Does the shacking come from inside, or outside, or both?

For me, it's definitely from the inside, i.e. I'll feel tremors inside my body. This happens with my mood stabilizer, but not as noticeably or as prominently as with Wellbutrin. i.e. now it's minor enough that I don't pay any notice really. What do you mean by shaking coming from the "outside"?

[Ashley's Mom]

Yes!!! I cannot paint my fingernails, it's always a complete disaster! lol
I know drinking coffee doesn't help but good God you can't take THAT away from me. I get to keep my coffee!

[Trippin2.0]

I had severe tremors (among other severe things) on lithium. I eventually lost most of my fine motor skills. I could not even put a cigarette to my mouth without concentrating really hard, had to give up eyeliner, force my brother to tweeze my brows and paint my nails.
I could not even button a shirt or write for shyt.

It was a very gradual decline for me though, they started out mild, and I waited to see if they would disappear, but then they morphed into the horror I described above...
My pdoc offered me propranolol for the tremors, which is a beta blocker and apparantly very effective.
I however haven't used it as by that time I was fed up with all the horrific side effects and draw the line at meds for side effects.
So I flushed the whole happy lot after he refused to change my meds.
So can't comment on efficacy, even though he swore by it....

The reason I'm partaking in this thread is to voice the fact that more than 2 years later my nail painting skills are still not up to par as I still have a slight tremor that becomes more pronouced when exercising my fine motor skills.

I think these tremors are downplayed alot, (even by my own pdoc) made out to be normal when on psych meds.
Maybe its just because of my severe and long lasting symptoms, but I think it's an injustice to pretend that they're no big deal, when that's clearly not always the case. Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out my a.s.s and tremors are really no big deal in the grander scheme of things. Maybe I should of been ok with shaking like a fool...

On a more positive note, I have noticed that the more I practice, the easier it becomes.
I even managed (with only minimal mess) to paint my nails 2 shades each again, not too long ago.
So maybe part of the solution is to keep at all the things your hands struggle to do.

[LacunaCoiler]

When I was taking Abilify I started developing tardive dyskinesia which is the whole involuntary shakes and the doctor that treated me for those (because it eventually became painful since I was fighting it) said that i was lucky they caught it early enough because it can become permanent. After taking a heavy dose of Benadryl for about one to two weeks they went away and I'm fine now. Now I'm terrified every time the doc brings up Abilify or the possibility of tardive dyskinesia as a side effect.

I have had hand tremors for a couple of months now. Not sure which med, if any, is causing it or if it's just anxiety. I find it hard to put on eyeliner, pluck my eyebrows, thread a needle, and my writing is horrific.

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

I think these tremors are downplayed alot, (even by my own pdoc) made out to be normal when on psych meds.
Maybe its just because of my severe and long lasting symptoms, but I think it's an injustice to pretend that they're no big deal, when that's clearly not always the case. Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out my a.s.s and tremors are really no big deal in the grander scheme of things. Maybe I should of been ok with shaking like a fool...

On a more positive note, I have noticed that the more I practice, the easier it becomes.
I even managed (with only minimal mess) to paint my nails 2 shades each again, not too long ago.
So maybe part of the solution is to keep at all the things your hands struggle to do.

Lia, I think you make some really good points here. Your doctor seems unreasonable for not even trying another mood stabilizer and just prescribing lithium (given the severity of your tremors).

As much as I've convinced myself that (my) small tremors are ok, I guess it all comes down to whether the benefits of a medication outweigh the negatives.

[Trippin2.0]

Originally Posted by psychehedone

Lia, I think you make some really good points here. Your doctor seems unreasonable for not even trying another mood stabilizer and just prescribing lithium (given the severity of your tremors).

As much as I've convinced myself that (my) small tremors are ok, I guess it all comes down to whether the benefits of a medication outweigh the negatives.

My meds did NOT outweigh the negatives. Lol.

This time around my pdoc finally agreed Lithium was a bad move for me and is rx'ing me tegretol. Poor fool doesn't realize I now refuse to take anything, especially after what happened to me on lithium. Buuut he needs to think I'm medicated, so I won't enlighten him

You're absolutely right, we have to weigh the benefits and the costs closely, because sometimes the costs are as permanent as your disorder.